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 communication is in response to Applicant's response filed under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111 in response to a Non-Final Office Action. Claims 1-30 have been amended; No claims have been added or canceled. Claims 1-30 are subject to examination.
Acknowledgement is made to this application's amendment to claim 13-15 and 20-22 to obviate the previous object. The previous objection to claim 13-15 and 20-22 is hereby withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 7 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites “the at least one processor is configured to transmit the sounding reference signal based at least in part on receipt of the MAC control element signaling prior to the threshold time relative to transmission of the second sounding reference signal”. It is not clear to examiner how the transmission of the sounding reference signal depend on the second sounding reference signal and the MAC CE.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5, 12-15, 20-22, and 27 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-11, 16-19, 23-26, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jacobsson et al. (Jacobsson hereinafter) (US 20240364468 A1).
Regarding claim 1 and claim 23, Jacobsson teaches, An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
at least one memory (Jacobsson; the UE, Par. 0093); and
at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to (Jacobsson; the UE, Par. 0093):
receive control signaling identifying a configuration for a sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; FIG. 14, where an additional parameter “partialSoundingHopping-r17” is used to indicate if the SRS resource should be transmitted according to Type 1 or Type 2 partial frequency sounding, Par. 0096; the SRS is configured via radio resource control (RRC), Par. 0004);
determine a frequency-domain starting position based at least in part on the configuration, a first parameter associated with partial frequency sounding of the sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; the offset due to type-1 partial sounding, k.sub.PS, Par. 0100), and a second parameter associated with frequency hopping (Jacobsson; k.sub.FH(l) is the frequency-hopping offset (including frequency-domain position) , Par. 0099) of the sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; for Type 1 partial sounding ... k.sub.start(p,l)=k.sub.shift+k.sub.comb(p)+k.sub.FH(l)+k.sub.PS,1, Par. 0100); and
transmit the sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; FIG. 8 ... partial-sounding frequency band is transmitted, Par. 0097).
Specifically for claim 23, Jacobsson teaches, An method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE),comprising (Jacobsson; the UE, Par. 0093).
Regarding claim 16 and claim 30, Jacobsson teaches, An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:
at least one memory (Jacobsson; a base station, Par. 0037); and
at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to (Jacobsson; a base station, Par. 0037):
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), control signaling identifying a configuration for a sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; FIG. 14, where an additional parameter “partialSoundingHopping-r17” is used to indicate if the SRS resource should be transmitted according to Type 1 or Type 2 partial frequency sounding, Par. 0096; the SRS is configured via radio resource control (RRC), Par. 0004);
determine a frequency-domain starting position based at least in part on the configuration, a set of parameters first parameter associated with partial frequency sounding of the sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; the offset due to type-1 partial sounding, k.sub.PS, Par. 0100), and a second parameter associated with frequency hopping (Jacobsson; k.sub.FH(l) is the frequency-hopping offset (including frequency-domain position) , Par. 0099) of the sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; for Type 1 partial sounding ... k.sub.start(p,l)=k.sub.shift+k.sub.comb(p)+k.sub.FH(l)+k.sub.PS,1, Par. 0100); and
receive, from the UE, the sounding reference signal (Jacobsson; FIG. 8 ... partial-sounding frequency band is transmitted, Par. 0097).
Specifically for claim 30, Jacobsson teaches, A method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising (Jacobsson; a base station, Par. 0037).
Regarding claim 2 and claim 24, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 1 and The method of claim 23 respectively, wherein, to determine the frequency-domain starting position, the at least one processor is configured to determine the frequency-domain starting position based at least in part on a third parameter associated with a position of a resource (Jacobsson; P.sub.p, Par. 0100; different possible partial starting positions (P.sub.p), Par. 0092) and a fourth parameter associated with a resource pattern (Jacobsson; P.sub.ƒ, Par. 0100; FIG. 8 ... the partial sounding factor is P.sub.ƒ=2. Shown in black is the SRS transmission after partial sounding and in cross hatch is the part of the configured SRS bandwidth that is not sounded due to the partial sounding, Par. 0087).
Regarding claim 3 and claim 25, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 2 and The method of claim 24 respectively, wherein the first parameter is based at least in part on the third parameter and the fourth parameter (Jacobsson; k.sub.PS=12.Math.m.sub.SRS, b.sub.SRS/P.sub.ƒ.Math.mod(P.sub.p, P.sub.ƒ), Par. 0100).
Regarding claim 4 and claim 26, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 1 and The method of claim 23 respectively, wherein, to determine the frequency-domain starting position, the at least one processor is further configured to:
determine the frequency-domain starting position based at least in part on a summation of the first parameter and the second parameter (Jacobsson; for Type 1 partial sounding ... k.sub.start(p,l)=k.sub.shift+k.sub.comb(p)+k.sub.FH(l)+k.sub.PS,1, Par. 0100).
Regarding claim 8, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
a set of resources for the sounding reference signal are associated with a set of symbols (Jacobsson; symbol index l, Par. 0101),,
each symbol of the set of symbols is associated with two or more resources of the set of resources that are contiguous with each other (Jacobsson; the SRS frequency-domain start position is defined according to ... depends on symbol index l ... l.sub.start is the (RRC-configured) SRS time-domain start position within a slot, Par. 0101),
the two or more resources for each symbol have an order (Jacobsson; the SRS frequency-domain start position is defined according to, Par. 0101),
the at least one processor is configured to determine a subset of the set of resources over which the sounding reference signal is transmitted based at least in part on a determination of an index for the each symbol (Jacobsson; depends on symbol index l, Par. 0101), and
a position in the order for the subset of the set of resources for the each symbol is based at least in part on the corresponding index (Jacobsson; k.sub.start(p, l), Par. 0101).
Regarding claim 9, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each index is based at least in part on a position of the corresponding symbol relative to each other symbol of the set of symbols (Jacobsson; k.sub.start(p, l)=K.sub.shift+k.sub.comb(p)+k.sub.FH(l) where ... l∈{0, . . . , 13} is the symbol index, Par. 0099).
Regarding claim 10, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each index is based at least in part on a hop number associated with the symbol corresponding to each index (Jacobsson; k.sub.start(p, l)=K.sub.shift+k.sub.comb(p)+k.sub.FH(l) where ... k.sub.FH(l) is the frequency-hopping offset (including frequency-domain position), Par. 0099).
Regarding claim 11, Jacobsson teaches, The method apparatus of claim 1, wherein a set of resources for the sounding reference signal are configured for each of a first slot and a second slot that occurs after the first slot, wherein the sounding reference signal is transmitted during the first slot, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
transmit, during the second slot, a second sounding reference signal over each resource of the set of resources configured for the second slot (Jacobsson; FIG. 8, where an SRS resource with symbol length N=4 and repetition factor R=1 is configured ... for Type 1 (upper example), the same partial-sounding frequency band is transmitted in both slots, Par. 0087).
Regarding claim 17, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 16, wherein,
to determine the frequency- domain starting position, the at least one processor is configured to determine the frequency-domain starting position based at least in part on a third parameter associated with a position of a resource (Jacobsson; P.sub.p, Par. 0100; different possible partial starting positions (P.sub.p), Par. 0092) and a fourth parameter associated with a resource pattern (Jacobsson; P.sub.ƒ, Par. 0100; FIG. 8 ... the partial sounding factor is P.sub.ƒ=2. Shown in black is the SRS transmission after partial sounding and in cross hatch is the part of the configured SRS bandwidth that is not sounded due to the partial sounding, Par. 0087).
Regarding claim 18, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:
a set of resources for the sounding reference signal are associated with a set of symbols (Jacobsson; symbol index l, Par. 0101),,
each symbol of the set of symbols is associated with two or more resources of the set of resources that are contiguous with each other (Jacobsson; the SRS frequency-domain start position is defined according to ... depends on symbol index l ... l.sub.start is the (RRC-configured) SRS time-domain start position within a slot, Par. 0101),
the two or more resources for each symbol have an order (Jacobsson; the SRS frequency-domain start position is defined according to, Par. 0101),
the at least one processor is configured to determine a subset of the set of resources over which the sounding reference signal is received based at least in part on a determination of an index for the each symbol (Jacobsson; depends on symbol index l, Par. 0101), and
a position in the order for the subset of the set of resources for the each symbol is based at least in part on the corresponding index (Jacobsson; k.sub.start(p, l), Par. 0101).
Regarding claim 19, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 16, wherein a set of resources for the sounding reference signal are configured for each of a first slot and a second slot that occurs after the first slot, wherein the sounding reference signal is received during the first slot, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
receive, during the second slot, a second sounding reference signal over each resource of the set of resources configured for the second slot (Jacobsson; FIG. 8, where an SRS resource with symbol length N=4 and repetition factor R=1 is configured ... for Type 1 (upper example), the same partial-sounding frequency band is transmitted in both slots, Par. 0087).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 6 and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jacobsson and in further view of Sun et al. (Sun hereinafter) (US 20230117977 A1).
Regarding claim 6 and claim 28, Jacobsson teaches, The apparatus of claim 2 and The method of claim 24 respectively, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
receive medium access control (MAC) control element signaling that reconfigures (Jacobsson; the SRS is configured via radio resource control (RRC) and some parts of the configuration can be updated (for reduced latency) by medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, Par. 0004); and
transmit a second sounding reference signal according to the reconfigured (Jacobsson; updated (for reduced latency), Par. 0004) .
Jacobsson failed to explicitly teach,
reconfigures the position of the resource, the resource pattern, or both; and
reconfigured the position of the resource, the reconfigured resource pattern, or both.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Sun teaches,
reconfigures the position of the resource, the resource pattern, or both; and
reconfigured the position of the resource, the reconfigured resource pattern, or both (Sun; MAC-CE can be configured to apply the P.sub.F and the partial frequency sounding offset per SRS-Resource in a SRS-ResourceSet, Par. 0065).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Jacobsson to include the use of MAC-CE as taught by Sun in order to dynamically configure parameters (Sun; Par. 0065).
Claim 7 and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jacobsson-Sun and in further view of Sun et al. (Sun-1 hereinafter) (US 20220303088 A1).
Regarding claim 7 and claim 29, Jacobsson-Sun teaches, The apparatus of claim 6 and The method of claim 28 respectively, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
receive the MAC control element signaling before transmission of the sounding reference signal, wherein, to transmit the sounding reference signal, the at least one processor is configured to transmit the sounding reference signal based at least in part on receipt of the MAC control element signaling (Jacobsson; the SRS is configured via radio resource control (RRC) and some parts of the configuration can be updated (for reduced latency) by medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, Par. 0004), and wherein, to transmit the second sounding reference signal according to the reconfigured position of the resource, the reconfigured resource pattern, or both, the at least one processor is configured to transmit the sounding reference signal based at least in part on receipt of the MAC control element signaling (Sun; MAC-CE can be configured to apply the P.sub.F and the partial frequency sounding offset per SRS-Resource in a SRS-ResourceSet, Par. 0065) .
Jacobsson-Sun failed to explicitly teach,
receipt of the MAC control element signaling within a threshold time relative to transmission of the sounding reference signal and
receipt of the MAC control element signaling prior to the threshold time relative to transmission of the second sounding reference signal.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Sun-1 teaches,
receipt of the MAC control element signaling within a threshold time relative to transmission of the sounding reference signal and
receipt of the MAC control element signaling prior to the threshold time relative to transmission of the second sounding reference signal (Sun-1; the MAC-CE could have a hardcoded time duration in which to apply the MAC-CE update until said time duration had passed, Par. 0157).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Jacobsson-Sun to include the use of time duration as a limit as taught by Sun-1 in order to apply updates (Sun-1; Par. 0157).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 SHARMIN CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-6419. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached at 5712705630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHARMIN CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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