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 .
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(s) 1-8, 10-15 and 19-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Samsung, Multi-beam enhancements, R1-2105291 (Applicant admitted prior art) (hereinafter Samsung) in view of Matsumura et al. US 2023/0379936 A1.
Claims 1 and 27:
Samsung discloses a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors individually or collectively (See section 2.3, UE), configured to: receive, from the base station, an indication of a TCI state indication mode of the multiple TCI state indication modes (See page 3 section 2.3, “A UE can be dynamically indicated with either joint DL/UL TCI or separate DL/UL TCI…”); and communicate with the base station using a beam direction associated with a TCI state in the TCI state indication mode, wherein, when the TCI state indication mode is a separate downlink TCI state indication mode, the TCI state (See page 3 section 2.3, “A UE can be dynamically indicated with either joint DL/UL TCI or separate DL/UL TCI…”) is based at least in part on a configured TCI state in the shared TCI state configuration information (See section 4.1, “apply the indicated beam to the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI format and its corresponding HARQ-ACK feedback”).
Samsung discloses a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration that includes shared TCI state configuration information for multiple TCI state indication modes (See fig.1, A common TCI state pool).
Samsung doesn’t disclose receive, from a base station, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration that includes shared TCI state configuration information for multiple TCI state indication modes.
Matsumura discloses receive, from a base station, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration that includes shared TCI state configuration information for multiple TCI state indication modes (See para 263, “receive TCI state information (the common TCI state pool configured/indicated by the RRC/MAC CE) indicating a plurality of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states…”).
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 system of Samsung with the teachings of Matsumura to improve the method disclosed by Samsung by including the feature of receiving shared TCI configuration. The motivation to combine would have been to efficiently communicate future TCI indication.
Claims 19 and 30:
Samsung discloses a base station for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memory; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors individually or collectively, configured to: transmit, to the UE, an indication of a TCI state indication mode of the multiple TCI state indication modes (See page 3 section 2.3, “A UE can be dynamically indicated with either joint DL/UL TCI or separate DL/UL TCI…”); and communicate with the UE using a beam direction associated with a TCI state for the TCI state indication mode, wherein, when the TCI state indication mode is separate downlink TCI state indication mode(See page 3 section 2.3, “A UE can be dynamically indicated with either joint DL/UL TCI or separate DL/UL TCI…”), the TCI state is based at least in part on a configured TCI state in the shared TCI state configuration information (See section 4.1, “apply the indicated beam to the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI format and its corresponding HARQ-ACK feedback”. Also see fig. 1 common TCI state).
Samsung discloses a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration that includes shared TCI state configuration information for multiple TCI state indication modes (See fig.1, A common TCI state pool).
Samsung doesn’t disclose transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration that includes shared TCI state configuration information for multiple TCI state indication modes.
Matsumura discloses transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration that includes shared TCI state configuration information for multiple TCI state indication modes (See para 263, “receive TCI state information (the common TCI state pool configured/indicated by the RRC/MAC CE) indicating a plurality of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states…”).
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 system of Samsung with the teachings of Matsumura to improve the method disclosed by Samsung by including the feature of receiving shared TCI configuration. The motivation to combine would have been to efficiently communicate future TCI indication.
Claims 2 and 20:
Samsung discloses that the multiple TCI state indication modes include a joint downlink and uplink TCI state indication mode and a separate downlink TCI state indication mode (See page 3 section 2.3, “A UE can be dynamically indicated with either joint DL/UL TCI or separate DL/UL TCI…”).
Claims 3, 21 and 28:
Samsung discloses that the shared TCJ state configuration information includes a set of configured TCI states, and the TCI configuration further includes mappings between the configured TCI states in the shared TCI state configuration information and TCI states in the multiple TCI state indication modes (See fig.1, A common TCI state pool with TCI State 0 to N-1 mapping for joint and separate DL/UL beam indications).
Claims 4 and 22:
Samsung discloses that the mappings include a mapping between the configured TCI states in the shared TCI state configuration information and TCI states for joint downlink and uplink TCI state indication, a mapping between the configured TCI states in the shared TCJ state configuration information and TCJ states for separate downlink TCI state indication, and a mapping between the configured TCI states in the shared TCI state configuration information and TCI states for separate uplink TCI state indication (See fig.1, A common TCI state pool with TCI State 0 to N-1 mapping for joint and separate DL/UL beam indications).
Claims 5 and 23:
Samsung discloses that the shared TCJ state configuration information includes a set of configured TCJ states for the joint downlink and uplink TCI state indication mode, and the TCI configuration further includes a mapping between the configured TCI states for the joint downlink and uplink TI state indication mode and TCI states for the separate downlink TCI state indication mode (See fig.1, A common TCI state pool with TCI State 0 to N-1 mapping for joint and separate DL/UL beam indications).
Claims 6, 24 and 29:
Samsung discloses that the shared TCJ state configuration information includes, for each configured TCI state in a set of configured TCI states identified in the shared TCI state configuration information, an indication of one or more quasi co- location (QCL) types for the configured TCI state and an indication of a respective source reference signal for the configured TCI state for each of the one or more QCL types (See fig.1, A common TCI state pool with source RS of TCI State 0 to N-1 mapping for joint and separate DL/UL beam indications. Also see proposal 9 page 8, “A common TCI state ID provides common QCL information for CCs within a group of CCs. This applies for joint DL/UL and separate DL/UL beam indications”).
Claims 7:
Samsung discloses that the shared TCI state configuration information further includes, for each configured TCI state in the set of configured TCI states identified in the shared TCI state configuration information, at least one of bandwidth part or component carrier identifier information associated with the configured TCI state (See fig.1, A common TCI state pool with source RS of TCI State 0 to N-1 mapping for joint and separate DL/UL beam indications. Also see proposal 9 page 8, “A common TCI state ID provides common QCL information for CCs within a group of CCs. This applies for joint DL/UL and separate DL/UL beam indications”).
Claim 8:
Samsung discloses that the shared TCJ state configuration information further includes, an indication of power control parameters and a path loss reference signal associated with the configured TCI state (See section 2.4, “UL power control parameters and the PL-RS…”).
Claim 10:
Samsung discloses that the indication is included in at least one of a medium access control (MAC) control element or downlink control information (Section 2.3, MAC CE signaling for TCI state).
Claims 11 and 25:
Samsung discloses that the indication indicates an activated TCI state indication mode of the multiple TCI state indication modes (See page 3, “A TCI state ID indicates a pair of DL TCI state and UL TCI state. As the TCI state bit field is only 3 bits, 8 pairs of DL/UL TCI states can be activated for indication at a time, out of a potential of 64 pairs when 8 DL TCI states are activated and 8 UL TCI states are activated”).
Claims 12 and 26:
Samsung discloses a dynamic indication of a TCI state for a channel and a TCI state indication mode, of the multiple TCI state indication modes, for the TCI state for the channel (See section 2.3, “Dynamically signalling the TCI state type by MAC CE signalling”).
Claim 13:
Samsung discloses that the indication is an indication of a joint downlink and uplink TCI state indication mode (See page 3 section 2.3, “A UE can be dynamically indicated with either joint DL/UL TCI or separate DL/UL TCI…”), and the indication identifies power control parameters for an uplink transmission using the beam direction associated with the TCI state (See section 2.4, “UL power control parameters and the PL-RS…”).
Claim 14:
Samsung discloses that the indication indicates an index associated with a configured set of power control parameters (See page 4, “UL Power Control parameters include P0/alpha and CL index”).
Claim 15:
Samsung discloses that the indication indicates at least one of: one or more channels associated with the TCI state in the TCI state indication mode (See proposal 9 page 8, “A common TCI state ID provides common QCL information for CCs within a group of CCs. This applies for joint DL/UL and separate DL/UL beam indications”.), or one or more reference signals associated with the TCI state in the TCI state indication mode (See page 6, “Joint DL/UL beam indication. Since beam correspondence is default, a common beam indication RS can be used for DL and UL transmissions. In this case, one RS can be used as a source RS for QCL Type-D or spatial relation information for both DL and UL transmissions respectively. Thus, the TCI state indicates a same source RS for DL and UL transmissions”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 16-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. With regards to claims 1, 19, 27 & 30, on page 3 of the applicant’s remarks, the applicant argues that Samsung and Matsumura do not disclose when TCI state indication mode is DL TCI state indication mode, the TCI state is based at least in part on the configured TCI state in the shared TCI state configuration.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. See page 3 section 2.3, “A UE can be dynamically indicated with either joint DL/UL TCI or separate DL/UL TCI…”. Also see fig. 1, common TCI state pool. Common TCI state pool corresponds to the claimed shared TCI state configuration on which the separate DL TCI state is indicated from.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HASHIM S BHATTI whose telephone number is (571)270-7748. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00am-5:30pm.
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HASHIM S. BHATTI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2472
/HASHIM S BHATTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2475
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