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
Applicant's arguments filed 2/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues:
In particular, Bengtsson describes antenna panel associations within a single wireless device, which is different than the claimed "plurality of antenna panels comprising" antenna panels across both a "first UE" and a "second UE." Put another way, a panel-to-physical-panel association technique within a same wireless device, as described in Bengtsson, fails to teach or suggest antenna panels located at different UEs being "configured as a single entity according to the UE cooperation configuration," as recited in amended independent claim 1.
The examiner calls attention to both BENGTSSON in conjunction with JASSAL. BENGTSSON writes, “The present disclosure provides a method, performed at a wireless device, the wireless device comprising one or more physical antenna panels including a first physical antenna panel. The first physical antenna panel is configured to communicate, with a network node, using one or more panels including a first panel” (paragraph 0007). BENGTSSON indicates the wireless device consists of one or more antenna panels (i.e. a plurality of antenna panels). JASSAL, previously, indicates a cooperation between the UEs and further explains, “UE cooperation is a communication technique that focuses on cooperative procedures among UEs in a group of UEs, and can benefit scenarios such as V2X, as well as others such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC). UE cooperation may be achieved by a group of UEs helping each other with either or both of Uu link transmissions and sidelink transmissions, and involves interactions among the UEs in a group for the purpose of transmission and reception” (paragraph 0003). JASSAL elaborates by writing, “Direct communications between UEs such as the EDs 110a-110c in FIG. 1 are also possible, and are represented by dashed lines in FIG. 1. UEs communicate with each other over sidelinks to enable UE cooperation, as described in further detail at least below” (paragraph 0056, figure 1). JASSAL states, “One or multiple transceivers 1702 could be used in the ED 1710, and one or multiple antennas 1704 could be used in the ED 1710. Although shown as a single functional unit, a transceiver 1702 could be implemented using at least one transmitter and at least one separate receiver” (paragraph 0222), which is similar to BENGTSSON stating that the UE contains one or more antenna panels. Therefore, based on BENGTSSON and JASSAL one can conclude that the panels for the UEs (i.e. EDs), as demonstrated by the dashed lines in figure 1 of JASSAL, are utilized as a single entity.
Therefore, the independent claims remain rejected. Likewise, the rejections of the dependent claims also persist.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 14, 28, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL et al. (US 20210328725 A1, hereinafter, "JASSAL") in view of BENGTSSON et al. (US 20220140883 A1, hereinafter, "BENGTSSON").
Regarding claim 28, JASSAL teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a first user
equipment (UE) (paragraph 0221; figure 17A, ED: 1710), comprising:
one or more processors (paragraph 0221; figure 17A, processing unit: 1700);
memory coupled with the one or more processors (paragraph 0224; figure 17A, memory: 1708);
and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
JASSAL writes, “For example, the memory 1708 could store software instructions or modules configured
to implement some or all of the functionality or embodiments described above and that are executed by
the processing unit(s) 1700” (paragraph 0224).
receive, from a network entity, first control signaling indicating an active communication configuration between the first UE and the network entity;
JASSAL writes, “Some embodiments include any one or more of the following features, examples of
which are disclosed elsewhere herein, in any of various combinations: the programming further includes
instructions for receiving, by the first UE from network equipment in the communication network,
signaling that is indicative of a configuration of the first UE for the data block retransmission
mechanism...” (paragraphs 0235-0236). JASSAL indicates the first UE receives, from network equipment
in the communication network, signaling that is indicative of a configuration of the first UE.
receive, from the network entity, second control signaling indicating a UE cooperation configuration between at least the first UE and a second UE,
JASSAL writes, “In network equipment embodiments, programming instructions may cause a processor
to perform such operations as determining, by network equipment in a wireless communication
network that further includes a first UE and a second UE, that a data block is to be transmitted to the
second UE; and concurrently transmitting the data block to at least the first UE and the second UE
according to a data block retransmission mechanism to enable the second UE to identify the data block
transmitted from the first UE and from the network equipment as being multiple concurrent
transmissions of the data block according to the data block retransmission mechanism” (paragraph
0246). JASSAL indicates that the first UE and the second UE concurrently transmit data blocks (i.e. UE
cooperation). JASSAL also indicates the operations are determined by the network equipment coinciding
with a configuration by network equipment, such as a base station.
wherein the UE cooperation configuration comprises a configuration for communicating messages between the network entity and a plurality of antenna panels comprising at least a first antenna panel at the first UE and a second antenna panel at the second UE,
JASSAL writes, “The CUE 1254 may use the same or different antenna panels to receive from the
gNB 1252 and transmit to the TUE 1256 on beam n′ 1264. The TUE 1256 may use the same or
different antenna panels to receive on beam n 1262 and beam n′ 1264” (paragraph 0147). JASAL
indicates the cooperation UE uses antenna panels to receive from the gNB and transmit to the target
UE, which may use the same or different antenna panels to receive the beam. Therefore, it may be
concluded the UEs use antenna panels to communicate messages between the UEs and the gNB as part
of the cooperation configuration.
and transmit a message to the network entity, the second UE, or both in response to the downlink message and in accordance with the UE cooperation configuration.
JASSAL writes, “The communication subsystem 1970a includes processing circuitry, transmit circuitry,
and receive circuitry for sending messages from and receiving messages at the UE 1954a. Although one
communication subsystem 1970a is illustrated, the communication subsystem 1970a may be multiple
communication subsystems. Antenna 1972a transmits wireless communication signals to, and receives
wireless communications signals from, the BS 1956. Antenna 1974a transmits sidelink communication
signals to, and receives sidelink communication signals from, other UEs, including UE 1954b. In some
implementations there may not be two separate antennas 1972a and 1974a. A single antenna may be
used. Alternatively, there may be several antennas, but not separated into antennas dedicated only to
sidelink communication and antennas dedicated only to communicating with the BS 1956” (paragraph
0263; figure 19). JASSAL indicates the UE transmits wireless communications signals to, and receives
wireless communication signals from the BS, and the UE transmits sidelink communication signals to,
and receives sidelink communication signals from, other UEs. JASSAL has previously indicated a UE
cooperation configuration, and therefore it can be concluded the UE cooperation configuration defines
the message transmission between the devices.
JASSAL fails to explicitly fully disclose information regarding, “wherein the plurality of antenna
panels are configured as a single entity according to the UE cooperation configuration,”, “and wherein the second control signaling comprises an identifier of the second UE and at least a portion of an active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity;”, and “identify, from the plurality of antenna panels, an antenna panel for reception of a downlink message from the base station based at least in part on the UE cooperation configuration;”
However, in analogous art, BENGTSSON teaches wherein the plurality of antenna panels are
configured as a single entity according to the UE cooperation configuration,
BENGTSSON writes, “The present disclosure provides a method, performed at a wireless device, the
wireless device comprising one or more physical antenna panels including a first physical antenna panel.
The first physical antenna panel is configured to communicate, with a network node, using one or more
panels including a first panel” (paragraph 0007). BENGTSSON indicates the wireless device consists of one or more antenna panels (i.e. a plurality of antenna panels). JASSAL, previously, indicates a cooperation between the UEs and further explains, “UE cooperation is a communication technique that focuses on cooperative procedures among UEs in a group of UEs, and can benefit scenarios such as V2X, as well as others such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC). UE cooperation may be achieved by a group of UEs helping each other with either or both of Uu link transmissions and sidelink transmissions, and involves interactions among the UEs in a group for the purpose of transmission and reception” (paragraph 0003). JASSAL elaborates by writing, “Direct communications between UEs such as the EDs 110a-110c in FIG. 1 are also possible, and are represented by dashed lines in FIG. 1. UEs communicate with each other over sidelinks to enable UE cooperation, as described in further detail at least below” (paragraph 0056, figure 1). JASSAL states, “One or multiple transceivers 1702 could be used in the ED 1710, and one or multiple antennas 1704 could be used in the ED 1710. Although shown as a single functional unit, a transceiver 1702 could be implemented using at least one transmitter and at least one separate receiver” (paragraph 0222), which is similar to BENGTSSON stating that the UE contains one or more antenna panels. Therefore, based on BENGTSSON and JASSAL one can conclude that the panels for the UEs (i.e. EDs), as demonstrated by the dashed lines in figure 1 of JASSAL, are utilized as a single entity.
and wherein the second control signaling comprises an identifier of the second UE and at least a portion of an active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity;
BENGTSSON writes, “The present disclosure provides a method, performed at a wireless device, the
wireless device comprising one or more physical antenna panels including a first physical antenna panel.
The first physical antenna panel is configured to communicate, with a network node, using one or more
panels including a first panel” (paragraph 0007). BENGTSSON indicates the first physical antenna panel is
configured to communicate with a network node using one or more panels. Thus, the plurality of
antenna panels can be configured as a single entity, and can therefore be identified as a single entity.
identify, from the plurality of antenna panels, an antenna panel for reception of a downlink
message from the base station based at least in part on the UE cooperation configuration;
BENGTSSON writes, “The present disclosure provides a method, performed at a wireless device, the
wireless device comprising one or more physical antenna panels including a first physical antenna panel.
The first physical antenna panel is configured to communicate, with a network node, using one or more
panels including a first panel” (paragraph 0007). BENGTSSON indicates the first physical antenna panel is
configured to communicate with a network node using one or more panels. Thus, the plurality of
antenna panels can be configured as a single entity, and can therefore be identified as a single entity.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL to include aspects described by
BENGTSSON that “pertains to the field of wireless communications. The present disclosure relates to
methods for beam control signalling, related network nodes and wireless devices.” BENGTSSON
provides the motivation for modification stating, “Advantageously, the present disclosure allows the
network node to select one or more beams to be used by the wireless device based on the association
indicating a physical antenna panel with which a panel is associated, and thereby enabling further power
efficiency at the wireless device” (paragraph 0006).
Regarding claim 30, JASSAL teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a network entity (paragraph 0225; figure 17B, base station: 1770), comprising:
one or more processors (paragraph 0225; figure 17B, processing unit: 1750);
memory coupled with the one or more processors (paragraph 0226; figure 17B, memory: 1758);
and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
JASSAL writes, “The memory 1758 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the base
station 1770. For example, the memory 1758 could store software instructions or modules configured to
implement some or all of the functionality or embodiments described herein and that are executed by
the processing unit(s) 1750” (paragraph 0226).
transmit, to a first user equipment (UE), first control signaling indicating an active communication configuration between the first UE and the network entity;
JASSAL writes, “Some embodiments include any one or more of the following features, examples of
which are disclosed elsewhere herein, in any of various combinations: the programming further includes
instructions for receiving, by the first UE from network equipment in the communication network,
signaling that is indicative of a configuration of the first UE for the data block retransmission
mechanism...” (paragraphs 0235-0236). JASSAL indicates the first UE receives, from network equipment
in the communication network, signaling that is indicative of a configuration of the first UE.
transmit, to the first UE, second control signaling indicating a UE cooperation configuration
between at least the first UE and a second UE,
JASSAL writes, “In network equipment embodiments, programming instructions may cause a processor
to perform such operations as determining, by network equipment in a wireless communication
network that further includes a first UE and a second UE, that a data block is to be transmitted to the
second UE; and concurrently transmitting the data block to at least the first UE and the second UE
according to a data block retransmission mechanism to enable the second UE to identify the data block
transmitted from the first UE and from the network equipment as being multiple concurrent
transmissions of the data block according to the data block retransmission mechanism” (paragraph
0246). JASSAL indicates that the first UE and the second UE concurrently transmit data blocks (i.e. UE
cooperation). JASSAL also indicates the operations are determined by the network equipment coinciding
with a configuration by network equipment, such as a base station.
wherein the UE cooperation configuration comprises a configuration for communicating messages between the network entity and a plurality of antenna panels comprising at least a first antenna panel at the first UE and a second antenna panel at the second UE,
JASSAL writes, “The CUE 1254 may use the same or different antenna panels to receive from the
gNB 1252 and transmit to the TUE 1256 on beam n′ 1264. The TUE 1256 may use the same or
different antenna panels to receive on beam n 1262 and beam n′ 1264” (paragraph 0147). JASAL
indicates the cooperation UE uses antenna panels to receive from the gNB and transmit to the target
UE, which may use the same or different antenna panels to receive the beam. Therefore, it may be
concluded the UEs use antenna panels to communicate messages between the UEs and the gNB as part
of the cooperation configuration.
and transmit, to the first UE using an antenna panel of the plurality of antenna panels, a
downlink message in accordance with the UE cooperation configuration.
JASSAL writes, “The communication subsystem 1970a includes processing circuitry, transmit circuitry,
and receive circuitry for sending messages from and receiving messages at the UE 1954a. Although one
communication subsystem 1970a is illustrated, the communication subsystem 1970a may be multiple
communication subsystems. Antenna 1972a transmits wireless communication signals to, and receives
wireless communications signals from, the BS 1956. Antenna 1974a transmits sidelink communication
signals to, and receives sidelink communication signals from, other UEs, including UE 1954b. In some
implementations there may not be two separate antennas 1972a and 1974a. A single antenna may be
used. Alternatively, there may be several antennas, but not separated into antennas dedicated only to
sidelink communication and antennas dedicated only to communicating with the BS 1956” (paragraph
0263; figure 19). JASSAL indicates the UE transmits wireless communications signals to, and receives
wireless communication signals from the BS, and the UE transmits sidelink communication signals to,
and receives sidelink communication signals from, other UEs. JASSAL has previously indicated a UE
cooperation configuration, and therefore it can be concluded the UE cooperation configuration defines
the message transmission between the devices.
JASSAL fails to explicitly fully disclose information regarding, “wherein the plurality of antenna
panels are configured as a single entity according to the UE cooperation configuration,” and “and
wherein the second control signaling comprises an identifier of the second UE and at least a portion of
an active communication configuration between the second UE and the base station;”
However, in analogous art, BENGTSSON teaches wherein the plurality of antenna panels are
configured as a single entity according to the UE cooperation configuration,
BENGTSSON writes, “The present disclosure provides a method, performed at a wireless device, the
wireless device comprising one or more physical antenna panels including a first physical antenna panel.
The first physical antenna panel is configured to communicate, with a network node, using one or more
panels including a first panel” (paragraph 0007). BENGTSSON indicates the wireless device consists of one or more antenna panels (i.e. a plurality of antenna panels). JASSAL, previously, indicates a cooperation between the UEs and further explains, “UE cooperation is a communication technique that focuses on cooperative procedures among UEs in a group of UEs, and can benefit scenarios such as V2X, as well as others such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC). UE cooperation may be achieved by a group of UEs helping each other with either or both of Uu link transmissions and sidelink transmissions, and involves interactions among the UEs in a group for the purpose of transmission and reception” (paragraph 0003). JASSAL elaborates by writing, “Direct communications between UEs such as the EDs 110a-110c in FIG. 1 are also possible, and are represented by dashed lines in FIG. 1. UEs communicate with each other over sidelinks to enable UE cooperation, as described in further detail at least below” (paragraph 0056, figure 1). JASSAL states, “One or multiple transceivers 1702 could be used in the ED 1710, and one or multiple antennas 1704 could be used in the ED 1710. Although shown as a single functional unit, a transceiver 1702 could be implemented using at least one transmitter and at least one separate receiver” (paragraph 0222), which is similar to BENGTSSON stating that the UE contains one or more antenna panels. Therefore, based on BENGTSSON and JASSAL one can conclude that the panels for the UEs (i.e. EDs), as demonstrated by the dashed lines in figure 1 of JASSAL, are utilized as a single entity.
and wherein the second control signaling comprises an identifier of the second UE and at least a portion of an active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity;
BENGTSSON writes, “The present disclosure provides a method, performed at a wireless device, the
wireless device comprising one or more physical antenna panels including a first physical antenna panel.
The first physical antenna panel is configured to communicate, with a network node, using one or more
panels including a first panel” (paragraph 0007). BENGTSSON indicates the first physical antenna panel is
configured to communicate with a network node using one or more panels. Thus, it can be concluded
the second UE is also configured to communicate with the base station. Further, the plurality of antenna
panels can be configured as a single entity, and can therefore be identified as a single entity.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL to include aspects described by
BENGTSSON that “pertains to the field of wireless communications. The present disclosure relates to
methods for beam control signalling, related network nodes and wireless devices.” BENGTSSON
provides the motivation for modification stating, “Advantageously, the present disclosure allows the
network node to select one or more beams to be used by the wireless device based on the association
indicating a physical antenna panel with which a panel is associated, and thereby enabling further power
efficiency at the wireless device” (paragraph 0006).
Claims 1 and 14 are method claims corresponding to the apparatus claims 28 and 30 that have
already been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 28 and 30.
Claims 1 and 14 are rejected under the same rational as claims 28 and 30.
Claim(s) 2, 5, 15, 18-19, and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL and BENGTSSON as applied to claims 1, 14, and 28 above, and further in view of MIAO (US 20210243782 A1, hereinafter, "MIAO").
Regarding claim 29, JASSAL and BENGTSSON teach the apparatus of claim 28,
Additionally, JASSAL teaches wherein the instructions to identify the antenna panel from the plurality of antenna panels are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
JASSAL writes, “For example, the memory 1708 could store software instructions or modules configured
to implement some or all of the functionality or embodiments described above and that are executed by
the processing unit(s) 1700” (paragraph 0224).
JASSAL and BENGTSSON fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “receive, from the network entity, a grant scheduling the downlink message, wherein the grant indicates an identifier of the first UE or the identifier of the second UE;” and “and identify, from the first antenna panel corresponding to the first UE and the second antenna panel corresponding to the second UE, the antenna panel for reception of the downlink message in accordance with the grant.”
However, in analogous art, MIAO teaches receive, from the network entity, a grant scheduling the downlink message, wherein the grant indicates an identifier of the first UE or the identifier of the second UE;
MIAO writes, “Example 23 includes a method to be performed at a New Radio (NR) evolved Node B
(gNB) including: encoding for transmission to one or more user equipments (UEs) a radio resource
control (RRC) message including at least one of: one or more configured scheduling radio network
temporary identifiers (CS-RNTIs) including one of: one CS-RNTI to activate, deactivate or retransmit a
semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) grant for unicast downlink (DL) transmission when the one or
more UEs include one UE, or a plurality of CS-RNTIs to activate, deactivate or retransmit a respective
plurality of SPS grants for multicast DL transmission when the one or more UEs include a plurality of UEs;
or a semi-persistent scheduling configuration message SPS-Config including parameters defining an
index of associated CS-RNTI SPS-ConfigIndex including a cs-RNTI-identification (cs-RNTI-id) parameter
and downlink scheduling PDSCH data scrambling identifications, the downlink scheduling PDSCH data
scrambling identifications including a parameter dataScramblingIdentityPDSCH, and an optional
parameter dataScramblingIdentityPDSCH2; and causing transmission to the one or more UEs of the
RRC message to configure the one or more UEs with one or more respective SPS configurations”
(paragraph 0137).
and identify, from the first antenna panel corresponding to the first UE and the second antenna panel corresponding to the second UE, the antenna panel for reception of the downlink message in accordance with the grant.
MIAO writes, “A UE reception may be established by and via the antenna panels 226, RFFE 224, RF
circuitry 222, receive circuitry 220, digital baseband circuitry 216, and protocol processing circuitry 214.
In some embodiments, the antenna panels 226 may receive a transmission from the AN 204 by receive-
beamforming signals received by a plurality of antennas/antenna elements of the one or more antenna
panels 226” (paragraph 0103). MIAO adds, “In addition to performing data transmission/reception as
described above, the components of the AN 208 may perform various logical functions that include, for
example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource
management, and data packet scheduling” (paragraph 0105). MIAO indicates the UE reception may be
established by and via the antenna panels, therefore the identity of the antenna panels for the
corresponding UE is determined. MIAO notes data transmission and reception are performed.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL and BENGTSSON to include
aspects described by MIAO that “relate to the field of wireless communications.” MIAO provides the
motivation for modification stating, “...UE PUCCH resources for multicast periodic traffic transmission
can be optimally allocated according to the service QoS as well as radio link quality of each individual
UE. As a result, the overall system spectrum and energy efficiency can be considerably improved”
(paragraph 0015). MIAO adds, "...the overall system spectrum efficiency can be significantly improved
by the additional degree of freedom for radio resource utilization" (paragraph 0014).
Claims 2 and 15 are method claims corresponding to the apparatus claim 29 that has already
been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 29. Claims 2 and 15
are rejected under the same rational as claim 29.
Regarding claim 5, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO teach the method of claim 2, wherein the
grant indicates the identifier of the first UE, the method further comprising:
Additionally, JASSAL teaches receiving the downlink message at the first antenna panel
corresponding to the first UE in accordance with the grant;
JASSAL writes, “In the example shown, the TUE receives and correctly decodes the TB from the CUE
retransmissions at the retransmission opportunities shown at 814, 816, in a next time slot in this
example, and then transmits an ACK to the gNB. Otherwise, the TUE transmits a NACK to the gNB in this
ACK/NACK example (paragraph 0084).
and transmitting, to the network entity, the message in response to the downlink message, wherein the message comprises a feedback message corresponding to the downlink message.
JASSAL writes, “In the example shown, the TUE receives and correctly decodes the TB from the CUE
retransmissions at the retransmission opportunities shown at 814, 816, in a next time slot in this
example, and then transmits an ACK to the gNB. Otherwise, the TUE transmits a NACK to the gNB in this
ACK/NACK example (paragraph 0084).
Claims 18 and 19 are method claims corresponding to the method claim 5 that has already been
rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 5. Claims 18 and 19 are
rejected under the same rational as claim 5.
Claim(s) 3-4 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO as applied to claims 2 and 15 above, and further in view of CIRIK et al. (US 20210243659 A1, hereinafter, "CIRIK").
Regarding claim 3, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO teach the method of claim 2, wherein
receiving the grant further comprises:
JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “receiving
downlink control information comprising a cell index field set to a first value corresponding to the
identifier of the first UE or a second value corresponding to the identifier of the second UE;” and “and
identifying the antenna panel in accordance with the cell index field.”
However, in analogous art, CIRIK teaches receiving downlink control information comprising a
cell index field set to a first value corresponding to the identifier of the first UE or a second value
corresponding to the identifier of the second UE;
CIRIK writes, “FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B are examples of a control command for beam management. One or
more fields of the control command (e.g., an activation command, MAC CE, DCI, an RRC message, etc.)
shown in FIG. 18A or FIG. 18B may be omitted or replaced with one or more other fields (e.g., a
serving cell index field). One or more additional fields (e.g., a serving cell index field) may be added in
the M control command (e.g., an activation command, MAC CE, DCI, an RRC message, etc.) shown
in FIG. 18A or FIG. 18B” (paragraph 0229). CIRIK adds, “...the base station may configure the wireless
device to send/transmit periodically, and selectively activate or deactivate the periodic reporting (e.g.,
via one or more activation/deactivation MAC CEs and/or one or more DCIs)” (paragraph 0127).
and identifying the antenna panel in accordance with the cell index field.
CIRIK writes, “...at least some resource changes/updates may not be efficient for all cells in a cell group,
for example, based on one or more characteristics (e.g., different channel characteristics, different
control resource sets (coresets), different transmission and reception points (TRPs), different antenna
panels, different uplink carrier types, different sounding reference signal resources, etc.). One or more
conditions and/or parameters (such as a control resource pool index, a coreset pool index, an uplink
carrier type, a sounding reference signal index, an antenna panel index, etc.) may be used to determine
whether to apply an indication to change/update a resource to one or more other resources of a
different cell” (paragraph 0004).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO to include
aspects described by CIRIK that “relate to wireless communications for changing beams (e.g., beams
associated with transmission and reception points (TRPs) of a plurality of cells).” CIRIK provides the
motivation for modification stating, “Resource control described herein may provide improved
communications (e.g., for a downlink, an uplink, a sidelink, a D2D link, a V2X link and/or any other
communication link). A wireless device may improve a likelihood of successful communications with a
base station and/or another wireless device by selectively applying a resource control/change/update
(e.g., a simultaneous resource control/change/update)” (paragraph 0200).
Regarding claim 4, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO teach the method of claim 2, wherein
receiving the grant further comprises:
JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “receiving
downlink control information comprising cyclic redundancy check information scrambled by a first
control radio network temporary identifier corresponding to the identifier of the first UE or scrambled
by a second control radio network temporary identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second
UE;” and “and identifying the antenna panel in accordance with the first control radio network
temporary identifier or the second control radio network temporary identifier.”
However, in analogous art, CIRIK teaches receiving downlink control information comprising
cyclic redundancy check information scrambled by a first control radio network temporary identifier
corresponding to the identifier of the first UE or scrambled by a second control radio network
temporary identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second UE;
CIRIK writes, “A base station may attach one or more cyclic redundancy check (CRC) parity bits to DCI,
for example, in order to facilitate detection of transmission errors. The base station may scramble
the CRC parity bits with an identifier of a wireless device (or an identifier of a group of wireless devices),
for example, if the DCI is intended for the wireless device (or the group of the wireless devices).
Scrambling the CRC parity bits with the identifier may comprise Modulo-2 addition (or an exclusive-OR
operation) of the identifier value and the CRC parity bits. The identifier may comprise a 16-bit value of
an RNTI” (paragraph 0167).
and identifying the antenna panel in accordance with the first control radio network
temporary identifier or the second control radio network temporary identifier.
CIRIK writes, “...at least some resource changes/updates may not be efficient for all cells in a cell group,
for example, based on one or more characteristics (e.g., different channel characteristics, different
control resource sets (coresets), different transmission and reception points (TRPs), different antenna
panels, different uplink carrier types, different sounding reference signal resources, etc.). One or more
conditions and/or parameters (such as a control resource pool index, a coreset pool index, an uplink
carrier type, a sounding reference signal index, an antenna panel index, etc.) may be used to determine
whether to apply an indication to change/update a resource to one or more other resources of a
different cell” (paragraph 0004).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MIAO to include
aspects described by CIRIK that “relate to wireless communications for changing beams (e.g., beams
associated with transmission and reception points (TRPs) of a plurality of cells).” CIRIK provides the
motivation for modification stating, “Resource control described herein may provide improved
communications (e.g., for a downlink, an uplink, a sidelink, a D2D link, a V2X link and/or any other
communication link). A wireless device may improve a likelihood of successful communications with a
base station and/or another wireless device by selectively applying a resource control/change/update
(e.g., a simultaneous resource control/change/update)” (paragraph 0200).
Claims 16 and 17 are method claims corresponding to the method claims 3 and 4 that have
already been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 3 and 4.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under the same rational as claims 3 and 4.
Claim(s) 6-8 and 20-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL and BENGTSSON as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of CIRIK and PELLETIER et al. (US 20110134774 A1, hereinafter, "PELLETIER").
Regarding claim 6, JASSAL and BENGTSSON teach the method of claim 1, wherein:
JASSAL and BENGTSSON fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “the active communication configuration between the first UE and the network entity comprises a radio resource control configuration between the first UE and the network entity;”, “the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity comprises a radio resource control configuration between the second UE and the network entity;”, “the second control signaling comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message indicating the identifier of the second UE and the portion of the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity;”, and “and the portion of the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity comprises a downlink control information format corresponding to the second UE, a type of the radio resource control configuration between the second UE and the network entity, or both.”
However, in analogous art, CIRIK teaches the active communication configuration between the first UE and the network entity comprises a radio resource control configuration between the first UE and the network entity;
CIRIK writes, “The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide/configure control plane functionality between the
wireless device 210 and the base station 220 and/or, more generally, between the wireless
device 210 and the RAN (e.g., the base station 220)” (paragraph 0081).
the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity comprises a radio resource control configuration between the second UE and the network entity;
CIRIK writes, “The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide/configure control plane functionality between the
wireless device 210 and the base station 220 and/or, more generally, between the wireless
device 210 and the RAN (e.g., the base station 220)” (paragraph 0081).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL and BENGTSSON to include
aspects described by CIRIK that “relate to wireless communications for changing beams (e.g., beams
associated with transmission and reception points (TRPs) of a plurality of cells).” CIRIK provides the
motivation for modification stating, “Resource control described herein may provide improved
communications (e.g., for a downlink, an uplink, a sidelink, a D2D link, a V2X link and/or any other
communication link). A wireless device may improve a likelihood of successful communications with a
base station and/or another wireless device by selectively applying a resource control/change/update
(e.g., a simultaneous resource control/change/update)” (paragraph 0200).
JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and CIRIK fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “the second control signaling comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message indicating the identifier of the second UE and the portion of the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity;” and “and the portion of the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity comprises a downlink control information format corresponding to the second UE, a type of the radio resource control configuration between the second UE and the network entity, or both.”
However, in analogous art, PELLETIER teaches the second control signaling comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message indicating the identifier of the second UE and the portion of the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity;
PELLETIER writes, “In particular, the control signaling may be received by the WTRU using at least one of
L1, L2 and L3 signaling methods. For example, L3 signaling (e.g., RRC) may use an information element
(IE) in a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or a different IE. Alternatively, L2 signaling (e.g.,
MAC) may use a control element (CE). Alternatively, L1 signaling may use an existing DCI format with
fixed codepoints and/or scrambled using a special RNTI indicating control signaling for the purpose of
SCell activation/deactivation (e.g., a carrier aggregation-radio network temporary identifier (CA-RNTI))”
(paragraph 0060).
and the portion of the active communication configuration between the second UE and the network entity comprises a downlink control information format corresponding to the second UE, a type of the radio resource control configuration between the second UE and the network entity, or both.
PELLETIER writes, “In particular, the control signaling may be received by the WTRU using at least one of
L1, L2 and L3 signaling methods. For example, L3 signaling (e.g., RRC) may use an information element
(IE) in a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or a different IE. Alternatively, L2 signaling (e.g.,
MAC) may use a control element (CE). Alternatively, L1 signaling may use an existing DCI format with
fixed codepoints and/or scrambled using a special RNTI indicating control signaling for the purpose of
SCell activation/deactivation (e.g., a carrier aggregation-radio network temporary identifier (CA-RNTI))”
(paragraph 0060).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and CIRIK to include
aspects described by PELLETIER “related to the activation/deactivation process when the WTRU may be
configured with multiple serving cells or carrier aggregation.” PELLETIER provides the motivation for
modification stating, “The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or
receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example,
in one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit
and/or receive RF signals. In another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an
emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet
another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and receive both
RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to
transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals” (paragraph 0024).
Regarding claim 7, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, CIRIK, and PELLETIER teach the method of claim 6,
Additionally, PELLETIER teaches wherein the identifier of the second UE comprises one of a
control radio network temporary identifier, an antenna panel identifier, a serving cell index, a control
resource set identifier, or a component carrier identifier.
PELLETIER writes, “In particular, the control signaling may be received by the WTRU using at least one of
L1, L2 and L3 signaling methods. For example, L3 signaling (e.g., RRC) may use an information element
(IE) in a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or a different IE. Alternatively, L2 signaling (e.g.,
MAC) may use a control element (CE). Alternatively, L1 signaling may use an existing DCI format with
fixed codepoints and/or scrambled using a special RNTI indicating control signaling for the purpose of
SCell activation/deactivation (e.g., a carrier aggregation-radio network temporary identifier (CA-RNTI))”
(paragraph 0060).
Regarding claim 8, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, CIRIK, and PELLETIER teach the method of claim 6,
Additionally, PELLETIER teaches wherein the type of the radio resource control configuration between the second UE and the network entity comprises a downlink shared channel configuration, a downlink control channel configuration, an uplink shared channel configuration, an uplink control channel configuration, or a combination thereof.
PELLETIER writes, “When referred to hereafter, the Physical Downlink Control CHannel (PDCCH) refers to
the control channel used in LTE for scheduling of radio resources, e.g. the control channel on which the
WTRU receives downlink control information (DCIs) messages. DCIs are mainly used for scheduling
downlink and uplink resources in the control region of a downlink frequency on which the WTRU
operates. It also refers to the case where the WTRU is a relay eNB for which the PDCCH channel is
mapped on another downlink channel, (e.g. a PDSCH of the relay eNB configuration), to form the relay
PDCCH (R-PDCCH)” (paragraph 0039).
Claims 20-22 are method claims corresponding to the method claims 6-8 that have already been
rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 6-8. Claims 20-22 are
rejected under the same rational as claims 6-8.
Claim(s) 9 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL and BENGTSSON as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of MA et al. (US 20200336178 A1, hereinafter, "MA").
Regarding claim 9, JASSAL and BENGTSSON teach the method of claim 1, further comprising:
JASSAL and BENGTSSON fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “receiving activation
signaling indicating an activation of UE cooperation between the first UE and the second UE in
accordance with the UE cooperation configuration,”, “wherein the activation signaling comprises a
first field indicating the activation of the UE cooperation, a second field indicating an identifier of the
first UE and the identifier of the second UE, a third field indicating a type of the UE cooperation to be
activated, or a combination thereof;”, and “and communicating, in response to the activation signaling, with the network entity, with the second UE, or both in accordance with the UE cooperation configuration.”
However, in analogous art, MA teaches receiving activation signaling indicating an activation of
UE cooperation between the first UE and the second UE in accordance with the UE cooperation
configuration,
MA writes, “...UEs communicate with each other over SLs to enable UE cooperation in some
embodiments” (paragraph 0045).
wherein the activation signaling comprises a first field indicating the activation of the UE
cooperation, a second field indicating an identifier of the first UE and the identifier of the second UE, a
third field indicating a type of the UE cooperation to be activated, or a combination thereof;
MA writes, “...UEs communicate with each other over SLs to enable UE cooperation in some
embodiments” (paragraph 0045). MA adds, “...provide, by the first UE to the second UE over the SL, an
explicit indication of the identifier or an implicit indication of the identifier...” (paragraph 0184). MA
continues, “... receive, by the first UE from the second UE, an explicit indication of the identifier... ”
(paragraph 0205). MA mentions, “...the redundant transmissions include transmissions according to
different types of UE cooperation, also referred to and disclosed elsewhere herein as hybrid
approaches...” (paragraph 0135).
and communicating, in response to the activation signaling, with the network entity, with the second UE, or both in accordance with the UE cooperation configuration.
MA writes, “...UEs communicate with each other over SLs to enable UE cooperation in some
embodiments” (paragraph 0045).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL and BENGTSSON to include
aspects described by MA that “relates generally to uplink (UL) communications in a wireless
communication network, and in particular to multi-User Equipment (UE) cooperative transmission, such
as cooperative Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission, for uplink communications.” MA
provides the motivation for modification stating, “UL joint precoding based cooperative MU-MIMO
takes advantage of more equivalent transmit antenna ports by performing MIMO jointly across all
antenna ports of all cooperative UEs, and an SUE in some embodiments, and as a result better
performance can be achieved (for example, better UL beamforming gain may be achieved due to more
transmit antennas on the UE side)" (paragraph 0059).
Claim 23 is a method claim corresponding to the method claim 9 that has already been rejected
above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 9. Claim 23 is rejected under the
same rational as claim 9.
Claim(s) 10-11 and 24-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MA as applied to claims 9 and 23 above, and further in view of OU et al. (US 20170318615 A1, hereinafter, "OU").
Regarding claim 10, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MA teach the method of claim 9, further
comprising:
Additionally, MA teaches wherein the deactivation signaling comprises the first field indicating
the deactivation of the UE cooperation, the second field indicating the identifier of the first UE and
the identifier of the second UE, the third field indicating the type of the UE cooperation to be
deactivated, or a combination thereof.
MA writes, “...UEs communicate with each other over SLs to enable UE cooperation in some
embodiments” (paragraph 0045). MA adds, “...provide, by the first UE to the second UE over the SL, an
explicit indication of the identifier or an implicit indication of the identifier...” (paragraph 0184). MA
continues, “... receive, by the first UE from the second UE, an explicit indication of the identifier...”
(paragraph 0205). MA mentions, “...the redundant transmissions include transmissions according to
different types of UE cooperation, also referred to and disclosed elsewhere herein as hybrid
approaches...” (paragraph 0135). Though MA indicates an identifier field and a type of UE cooperation
field, MA applies this for enabling UE cooperation, however, these fields can also be incorporated for
disabling or deactivating UE cooperation.
JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MA fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “wherein the
deactivation signaling comprises the first field indicating the deactivation of the UE cooperation, the
second field indicating the identifier of the first UE and the identifier of the second UE, the third field
indicating the type of the UE cooperation to be deactivated, or a combination thereof.”
However, in analogous art, OU teaches wherein the deactivation signaling comprises the first
field indicating the deactivation of the UE cooperation, the second field indicating the identifier of the
first UE and the identifier of the second UE, the third field indicating the type of the UE cooperation to
be deactivated, or a combination thereof.
OU writes, “One alternative is that activation/deactivation may be used in addition to the configuration
to enable/disable the cooperation mode of a UE. The signaling to activate/deactivate the cooperation
mode may be lower layer signaling addressed to all UEs in a cooperation set, e.g. a group ID” (paragraph
0255). OU adds, “According to one method, a first UE performs a cooperation mode transmission. The
first UE receives a configuration to disable or deactivate cooperation mode, and the first UE stops
performing an uplink transmission for data received from a second UE. The first UE flushes the UE buffer
of the data received from the second UE” (paragraph 0394).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL, BENGTSSON, and MA to include
aspects described by OU that “relates to wireless communication networks, and more particularly, to a
method and apparatus for improving uplink transmission in a wireless communication system.” OU
provides the motivation for modification stating, “Cooperation between VUEs by means of D2D
communication can improve link performance in uplink direction. Gains in terms of energy efficiency for
vehicular scenarios are expected with high penetration losses” (paragraph 0062).
Regarding claim 11, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, MA, and OU teach the method of claim 10,
Additionally, JASSAL teaches wherein the type of the UE cooperation corresponds to
cooperation for uplink communications, downlink communications, communications via an uplink
control channel, communications via a downlink control channel, or a combination thereof.
JASSAL writes, “UE cooperation behavior at the target UE can include the following: the target UE
monitoring PDCCH on the Uu link; the target UE monitoring Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH)
on one or more sidelinks; the target UE assuming that a Transport Block (TB) scheduled by PDCCH and
PSCCH is the same; and the target UE reporting ACK/NACK feedback on Physical Uplink Control Channel
(PUCCH) on the Uu link based on successful reception of the TB by combining the TBs received from
Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH)” (paragraph
0043).
Claims 24-25 are method claims corresponding to the method claims 10-11 that have already
been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 10-11. Claims 24-25
are rejected under the same rational as claims 10-11.
Claim(s) 12 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL, BENGTSSON, MA, and OU as applied to claims 10 and 24 above, and further in view of PELLETIER.
Regarding claim 12, JASSAL, BENGTSSON, MA, and OU teach the method of claim 10, further
comprising:
JASSAL, BENGTSSON, MA, and OU fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “receiving the
activation signaling via a first medium access control control element;” and “and receiving the
deactivation signaling via a second medium access control control element.”
However, in analogous art, PELLETIER teaches receiving the activation signaling via a first
medium access control control element;
PELLETIER writes, “In particular, the control signaling may be received by the WTRU using at least one of
L1, L2 and L3 signaling methods. For example, L3 signaling (e.g., RRC) may use an information element
(IE) in a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or a different IE. Alternatively, L2 signaling (e.g.,
MAC) may use a control element (CE). Alternatively, L1 signaling may use an existing DCI format with
fixed codepoints and/or scrambled using a special RNTI indicating control signaling for the purpose of
SCell activation/deactivation (e.g., a carrier aggregation-radio network temporary identifier (CA-RNTI))”
(paragraph 0060).
and receiving the deactivation signaling via a second medium access control control element.
PELLETIER writes, “In particular, the control signaling may be received by the WTRU using at least one of
L1, L2 and L3 signaling methods. For example, L3 signaling (e.g., RRC) may use an information element
(IE) in a RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or a different IE. Alternatively, L2 signaling (e.g.,
MAC) may use a control element (CE). Alternatively, L1 signaling may use an existing DCI format with
fixed codepoints and/or scrambled using a special RNTI indicating control signaling for the purpose of
SCell activation/deactivation (e.g., a carrier aggregation-radio network temporary identifier (CA-RNTI))”
(paragraph 0060).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL, BENGTSSON, MA, and OU to
include aspects described by PELLETIER “related to the activation/deactivation process when the WTRU
may be configured with multiple serving cells or carrier aggregation.” PELLETIER provides the motivation
for modification stating, “The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or
receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example,
in one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit
and/or receive RF signals. In another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an
emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet
another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and receive both
RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to
transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals” (paragraph 0024).
Claim 26 is a method claim corresponding to the method claim 12 that has already been
rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 12. Claim 26 is rejected
under the same rational as claim 12.
Claim(s) 13 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JASSAL and BENGTSSON as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of PARK et al. (US 20130064213 A1, hereinafter, "PARK").
Regarding claim 13, JASSAL and BENGTSSON teach the method of claim 1, further comprising:
JASSAL and BENGTSSON fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “transmitting, to the network entity, a request for UE cooperation with the second UE in accordance with a UE cooperation negotiation procedure performed between the first UE and the second UE;” and “and receiving the
second control signaling in response to transmitting the request for UE cooperation.”
However, in analogous art, PARK teaches transmitting, to the network entity, a request for UE cooperation with the second UE in accordance with a UE cooperation negotiation procedure performed between the first UE and the second UE;
PARK writes, “...the source UE may notify the eNB of its preference between simultaneous transmission
from the source UE and a cooperative UE and transmission from the cooperative UE only, as the
objective of the client cooperation request” (paragraph 0065).
and receiving the second control signaling in response to transmitting the request for UE
cooperation.
PARK writes, “...the eNB may transmit a message indicating that client cooperation will be performed for
the source UE to the at least one grouped cooperative UE (S330). The message indicating client
cooperation may be referred to as an AAI-CC-IND message, which does not limit the present invention.
The eNB may indicate implementation of client cooperation for the source UE to the cooperative UE by
transmitting the ID (e.g. WiFi MAC or IP address) of the source UE in the AAI -CC-IND message (S330).
The eNB may further include information about the source UE-requested client cooperation mode in the
AAI-CC-IND message (S330)” (paragraph 0068; figure 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of JASSAL and BENGTSSON to include
aspects described by PARK that “relates to a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to
an apparatus and method for performing or supporting cooperative communication between
terminals.” PARK provides the motivation for modification stating, “In the method for performing or
supporting cooperative communication between terminals according to the present invention,
communication performance can be improved remarkably through throughput enhancement and power
consumption reduction resulting from cooperative communication between terminals" (paragraph
0023).
Claim 27 is a method claim corresponding to the method claim 13 that has already been
rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 13. Claim 27 is rejected
under the same rational as claim 13.
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.
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/Christopher A. Reyes/Examiner, Art Unit 2475 6/7/2026
/ABDULLAHI AHMED/Examiner, Art Unit 2475
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