DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Introduction
This is a non-final office action in response to Application Number 18/570,722 filed on 15 December 2023 with a preliminary amendment also filed on 15 December 2023 in which claims 1-20 are cancelled, no claims are amended, and claims 21-40 are added.
The instant application is a 371 of PCT/US2022/047395 filed on 21 October 2022 that also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 63/270,865 filed on 22 October 2021. There is no listed applicant of record, however the inventors of record are Ilya Bolotin, Meng Zhang, Andrey Chervyakov, Hua Li, and Rui Huang.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 15 December 2023 was filed on the filing date of the instant application on 15 December 2023 and before the mailing date of the first office action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The claims have been considered according to the latest Patent Eligibility Guidelines and are considered eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(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 38 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Dalsgaard et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0349348, corresponds to WO 2023/011731 A1 filed on 6 August 2021; the citations below are from the US document).
Regarding claim 38, Dalsgaard disclosed a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) (see Dalsgaard Fig. 12 [0117]: UE memory #1220, processor #1210), the one or more processors to configure the UE to, when the instructions are executed:
switch from a serving remote radio head (RRH) of a fifth generation (5G) nodeB (gNB) to a neighboring RRH of the gNB, the serving RRH and the neighboring RRH in a unidirectional high speed train (HST) deployment (see Dalsgaard Fig. 2, [0070]: “FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) switch (i.e. beam switch) in a unidirectional HST FR2 network deployment...The RRHs 201, 202, 203 are non-collocated, i.e. they are located at different physical positions…” | Fig. 7, [0090]: “FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram according to an exemplary embodiment, wherein the indication is transmitted to the UE together with the TCI state switch command (or request) 709. In other words, when the UE receives the TCI state switch command, the UE is also indicated, or requested, to perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch. The preamble may be a dedicated preamble (e.g. in CFRA), for example.”; [0091]: “The UE (for example the CPE of FIG. 2 or any other UE) is in RRC connected mode and the UE is connected to a first base station (gNB1) via a first RRH (gNB1 RRH1) of gNB1. gNB1 may also comprise (or be connected to) a second RRH (gNB1 RRH2). Alternatively, the second RRH may be comprised in (or connected to) a different base station than the first RRH. In addition, a third RRH (gNB2 RRH1) connected to a second base station (gNB2) may also be present in the system as a potential target for a beam switch. gNB2 may be a neighbour cell of the current serving cell gNB1. The UE may be indicated by the network (e.g. by gNB1) to apply a method as described below, or the method may be pre-configured at the UE.”; [0095]: “gNB1 determines, for example based on the UE L1-RSRP report, that there is a need to change the serving DL beam for example from gNB1 RRH1 to gNB1 RRH2. Therefore, gNB1 transmits 709 a TCI state switch command to the UE via gNB1 RRH1 in order to request the UE to do a TCI state switch to gNB1 RRH2. The TCI state switch command also comprises an indication that the UE shall perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch…”); and
adjust timing for uplink frequency range 2 (FR2) transmission to the neighboring RRH using a one-shot uplink timing adjustment after switching from the serving RRH to the neighboring RRH (see Dalsgaard Fig. 7, [0095]: “gNB1 determines, for example based on the UE L1-RSRP report, that there is a need to change the serving DL beam for example from gNB1 RRH1 to gNB1 RRH2. Therefore, gNB1 transmits 709 a TCI state switch command to the UE via gNB1 RRH1 in order to request the UE to do a TCI state switch to gNB1 RRH2. The TCI state switch command also comprises an indication that the UE shall perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch.”; [0096]: “The UE switches 710 the TCI state based on the TCI state switch command received from gNB1 RRH1. The UE transmits 711 the preamble to gNB1 RRH2 for example by using the dedicated preamble, if such a dedicated preamble has been allocated. Otherwise, the UE may use any PRACH preamble.”; [0097]: “Following the reception of the preamble, gNB1 calculates, based on the received preamble, an adjusted TA value to be used by the UE. gNB1 indicates 712 the adjusted TA value to the UE via gNB1 RRH2, for example by using a MAC CE TA update command (i.e. TAC) or a RAR message. The UE may then transmit 713 uplink data to gNB1 RRH2 based at least partly on the adjusted TA value indicated from gNB1 RRH2. The UE may also perform UE-autonomous timing adjustment in addition to using the TA value received from gNB1 RRH2.”; [0098]: “It should be noted that the TCI state switch may alternatively be performed to gNB2 RRH1 instead of gNB1 RRH2, depending on the measurement results in the L1-RSRP report. In this case, the UE may transmit the preamble to gNB2 RRH1. gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1. The UE may then transmit uplink data to gNB2 RRH1 by applying the TA value indicated from gNB2 RRH1. In other words, the target RRH of the beam switch may also be from another base station than the serving base station associated with the source RRH.”).
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.
Claims 21-24, 29, and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dalsgaard et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0349348, corresponds to WO 2023/011731 A1 filed on 6 August 2021; the citations below are from the US document) in view of Ohara et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0188016, corresponds to WO 2022/208896 A1 filed on 4 February 2021; the citations below are from the US document).
Regarding claim 21, Dalsgaard disclosed an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising memory and processing circuitry (see Dalsgaard Fig. 12 [0117]: UE memory #1220, processor #1210) to configure the UE to:
switch from a serving remote radio head (RRH) of a serving cell to a neighboring RRH of the serving cell, the serving RRH and the neighboring RRH in a unidirectional high speed train (HST) deployment (see Dalsgaard Fig. 2, [0070]: “FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) switch (i.e. beam switch) in a unidirectional HST FR2 network deployment...The RRHs 201, 202, 203 are non-collocated, i.e. they are located at different physical positions…” | Fig. 7, [0090]: “FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram according to an exemplary embodiment, wherein the indication is transmitted to the UE together with the TCI state switch command (or request) 709. In other words, when the UE receives the TCI state switch command, the UE is also indicated, or requested, to perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch. The preamble may be a dedicated preamble (e.g. in CFRA), for example.”; [0091]: “The UE (for example the CPE of FIG. 2 or any other UE) is in RRC connected mode and the UE is connected to a first base station (gNB1) via a first RRH (gNB1 RRH1) of gNB1. gNB1 may also comprise (or be connected to) a second RRH (gNB1 RRH2). Alternatively, the second RRH may be comprised in (or connected to) a different base station than the first RRH. In addition, a third RRH (gNB2 RRH1) connected to a second base station (gNB2) may also be present in the system as a potential target for a beam switch. gNB2 may be a neighbour cell of the current serving cell gNB1. The UE may be indicated by the network (e.g. by gNB1) to apply a method as described below, or the method may be pre-configured at the UE.”; [0095]: “gNB1 determines, for example based on the UE L1-RSRP report, that there is a need to change the serving DL beam for example from gNB1 RRH1 to gNB1 RRH2. Therefore, gNB1 transmits 709 a TCI state switch command to the UE via gNB1 RRH1 in order to request the UE to do a TCI state switch to gNB1 RRH2. The TCI state switch command also comprises an indication that the UE shall perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch…”); and
adjust timing for uplink frequency range 2 (FR2) transmission to the neighboring RRH using a one-shot uplink timing adjustment after switching from the serving RRH to the neighboring RRH (see Dalsgaard Fig. 7, [0095]: “gNB1 determines, for example based on the UE L1-RSRP report, that there is a need to change the serving DL beam for example from gNB1 RRH1 to gNB1 RRH2. Therefore, gNB1 transmits 709 a TCI state switch command to the UE via gNB1 RRH1 in order to request the UE to do a TCI state switch to gNB1 RRH2. The TCI state switch command also comprises an indication that the UE shall perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch.”; [0096]: “The UE switches 710 the TCI state based on the TCI state switch command received from gNB1 RRH1. The UE transmits 711 the preamble to gNB1 RRH2 for example by using the dedicated preamble, if such a dedicated preamble has been allocated. Otherwise, the UE may use any PRACH preamble.”; [0097]: “Following the reception of the preamble, gNB1 calculates, based on the received preamble, an adjusted TA value to be used by the UE. gNB1 indicates 712 the adjusted TA value to the UE via gNB1 RRH2, for example by using a MAC CE TA update command (i.e. TAC) or a RAR message. The UE may then transmit 713 uplink data to gNB1 RRH2 based at least partly on the adjusted TA value indicated from gNB1 RRH2. The UE may also perform UE-autonomous timing adjustment in addition to using the TA value received from gNB1 RRH2.”; [0098]: “It should be noted that the TCI state switch may alternatively be performed to gNB2 RRH1 instead of gNB1 RRH2, depending on the measurement results in the L1-RSRP report. In this case, the UE may transmit the preamble to gNB2 RRH1. gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1. The UE may then transmit uplink data to gNB2 RRH1 by applying the TA value indicated from gNB2 RRH1. In other words, the target RRH of the beam switch may also be from another base station than the serving base station associated with the source RRH.”), and
wherein the memory is configured to store the one-shot uplink timing adjustment (see Dalsgaard-Ohara combination below).
Dalsgaard did not explicitly disclose “wherein the memory is configured to store the one-shot uplink timing adjustment”, however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that Dalsgaard’s UE would store the received TA value prior to using it (see Dalsgaard Fig. 12 #1220, [0117]: UE memory; [0098]: “…gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1. The UE may then transmit uplink data to gNB2 RRH1 by applying the TA value indicated from gNB2 RRH1…”).
Additionally, in a related art of communication involving a high-speed vehicle, e.g., airplane (see Ohara [0218]), Ohara disclosed a UE acquiring and storing a plurality of TA values (see Ohara Fig. 1, [0035]: “A UE may store a plurality of information (hereinafter also referred to as TA information) related to TAs for a plurality of base stations/beams at the same time to establish UL synchronization with the plurality of base stations (see FIG. 1). FIG. 1 shows a case where a UE establishes UL synchronization with base stations #1 to #3. The UE may acquire/store/adjust a plurality of TA information to control communications with the base stations (for example, UL transmissions to the base stations).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard and Ohara to clarify that the UE stores the received UL timing adjustment. Incorporating Ohara’s teachings would ensure UL synchronization can be appropriately controlled even when communicating with multiple base stations (see Ohara [0010]).
Regarding claim 22, Dalsgaard-Ohara disclosed the invention, substantially as claimed, as described in the apparatus of claim 21 above, but did not explicitly disclose “wherein the one-shot uplink timing adjustment is twice a magnitude of a timing jump between downlink transmissions from the serving RRH and the neighboring RRH” (Dalsgaard [0098]: “…gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1…”; [0058]: “A TAC, in case of a RAR or in an absolute TAC MAC CE, for a TAG indicates N.sub.TA values by index values of TA=0, 1,2, . . . ”; [0059]: “…adjustment of a current N.sub.TA value, N.sub.TA old, to the new N.sub.TA value, N.sub.TA_new, by index values of TA=0, 1, 2, . . . , 63…” Examiner notes that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the particular algorithm for calculating the timing adjustment is a matter of implementation choice).
Regarding claim 23, Dalsgaard-Ohara disclosed the apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing circuitry further configures the UE to apply the one-shot uplink timing adjustment with Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switching (see Dalsgaard Fig. 7, [0095]: “gNB1 determines, for example based on the UE L1-RSRP report, that there is a need to change the serving DL beam for example from gNB1 RRH1 to gNB1 RRH2. Therefore, gNB1 transmits 709 a TCI state switch command to the UE via gNB1 RRH1 in order to request the UE to do a TCI state switch to gNB1 RRH2. The TCI state switch command also comprises an indication that the UE shall perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch.”; [0096]: “The UE switches 710 the TCI state based on the TCI state switch command received from gNB1 RRH1. The UE transmits 711 the preamble to gNB1 RRH2 for example by using the dedicated preamble, if such a dedicated preamble has been allocated. Otherwise, the UE may use any PRACH preamble.”; [0097]: “Following the reception of the preamble, gNB1 calculates, based on the received preamble, an adjusted TA value to be used by the UE. gNB1 indicates 712 the adjusted TA value to the UE via gNB1 RRH2, for example by using a MAC CE TA update command (i.e. TAC) or a RAR message. The UE may then transmit 713 uplink data to gNB1 RRH2 based at least partly on the adjusted TA value indicated from gNB1 RRH2. The UE may also perform UE-autonomous timing adjustment in addition to using the TA value received from gNB1 RRH2.”; [0098]: “It should be noted that the TCI state switch may alternatively be performed to gNB2 RRH1 instead of gNB1 RRH2, depending on the measurement results in the L1-RSRP report. In this case, the UE may transmit the preamble to gNB2 RRH1. gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1. The UE may then transmit uplink data to gNB2 RRH1 by applying the TA value indicated from gNB2 RRH1. In other words, the target RRH of the beam switch may also be from another base station than the serving base station associated with the source RRH.” ).
Regarding claim 24, Dalsgaard-Ohara disclosed the apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry further configures the UE to not apply the one-shot uplink timing adjustment for TCI state switching within the serving RRH or the neighboring RRH (see Ohara [0063]: “Alternatively, activation/deactivation of at least one of a plurality of TA values may be indicated. For example, activation/deactivation of TAs may be notified to the UE by using DCI/MAC CE. With the DCI/MAC CE, one TA value may be activated/deactivated, or the plurality of TA values may be activated/deactivated at the same time. When the plurality of TA values are activated, the UE may select which TA value to use among from the plurality of TA values, or may perform control to perform a plurality of UL transmissions by using the plurality of TA values.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard and Ohara to clarify that the UE stores the received UL timing adjustment. Incorporating Ohara’s teachings would ensure UL synchronization can be appropriately controlled even when communicating with multiple base stations (see Ohara [0010]).
Regarding claim 29, Dalsgaard-Ohara disclosed the apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing circuitry further configures the UE to receive, from the serving RRH, information of the deployment, the information comprising at least one of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state to RRH mapping, number of beams per RRH and number of RRHs per 5th generation NodeB (gNB), and distance between neighboring RRHs (see Ohara [0064]: “The UE may determine a TA value to use for a UL transmission on the basis of a given condition/parameter. For example, the given condition/parameter may be at least one of the type of a DL reference signal received and a measurement result (for example, quality and the like) of the DL reference signal. Which condition to apply (for example, which condition to be based on, which TA to use) may be defined in a specification, or notified/configured for the UE by a base station” | [0091]: “A correspondence relation between each beam and UL synchronization (or TA) may be defined in a specification or may be notified/configured for a UE by a base station.” | [0082]: “The TA information corresponds to information corresponding to propagation times (or propagation distances) between base stations and a UE. Thus, a UE/base station can estimate the position of the UE on the basis of a plurality of the TA information corresponding to a plurality of base stations.”; [0083]: “When a UE calculates/acquires information related to a result of position measuring for the UE, the UE may transmit/report to a base station the information related to the result of the position measuring. When a base station calculates/acquires information related to a result of position measuring for a given UE, the base station may notify the UE of the information related to the result of the position measuring.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard and Ohara to clarify that the UE stores the received UL timing adjustment. Incorporating Ohara’s teachings would ensure UL synchronization can be appropriately controlled even when communicating with multiple base stations (see Ohara [0010]).
Regarding claim 40, Dalsgaard disclosed the invention, substantially as claimed, as described in the medium of claim 38 above, but did not explicitly disclose the following limitation that is taught in a related art, Ohara:
wherein at least one of:
the one or more processors further configure the UE to, when instructions are executed receive, from the serving RRH, information of the deployment, the information comprising at least one of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state to RRH mapping, number of beams per RRH and number of RRHs per gNB, and distance between neighboring RRHs (see Ohara [0064]: “The UE may determine a TA value to use for a UL transmission on the basis of a given condition/parameter. For example, the given condition/parameter may be at least one of the type of a DL reference signal received and a measurement result (for example, quality and the like) of the DL reference signal. Which condition to apply (for example, which condition to be based on, which TA to use) may be defined in a specification, or notified/configured for the UE by a base station” | [0091]: “A correspondence relation between each beam and UL synchronization (or TA) may be defined in a specification or may be notified/configured for a UE by a base station.” | [0082]: “The TA information corresponds to information corresponding to propagation times (or propagation distances) between base stations and a UE. Thus, a UE/base station can estimate the position of the UE on the basis of a plurality of the TA information corresponding to a plurality of base stations.”; [0083]: “When a UE calculates/acquires information related to a result of position measuring for the UE, the UE may transmit/report to a base station the information related to the result of the position measuring. When a base station calculates/acquires information related to a result of position measuring for a given UE, the base station may notify the UE of the information related to the result of the position measuring.”), and
an accuracy of the one-shot uplink timing adjustment is four times a downlink timing estimation and quantization error due to a time chip granularity, the time chip granularity derived from a downlink sampling time interval as 1/(2Δf.sub.max*N.sub.f), where Δf.sub.max is a subcarrier spacing (SCS) size and N.sub.f is a fast Fourier transform (FFT) size.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard and Ohara to clarify that the UE stores the received UL timing adjustment. Incorporating Ohara’s teachings would ensure UL synchronization can be appropriately controlled even when communicating with multiple base stations (see Ohara [0010]).
Claims 31-34 and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dalsgaard-Ohara as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of Bai et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2022/0217669).
Regarding claim 31, Dalsgaard-Ohara disclosed the invention, substantially as claimed, as described in the apparatus of claim 21 above, but did not explicitly disclose “wherein the processing circuitry further configures the UE to receive, from the serving RRH, a network flag to inform the UE that the one-shot uplink timing adjustment is expected from the UE”.
However in a related art of dynamically making timing adjustments for a rapidly moving UE (see Bai [0098]), Bai disclosed “…Base station 105-a may transmit a TA adjustment scheme configuration 220 after receiving the capability or mobility mode indication 215 and determining that UE 115-a is in a given mobility mode, a given environment, or is otherwise capable of supporting the TA adjustment scheme…” (see Bai [0101]) and also “In some examples, UE 115-a may perform a one-shot timing adjustment to reduce signaling overhead when the base station 105 transmits a command to UE 115-a to adjust a TA value, which may be desirable in scenarios where UE 115-a may be moving around frequently, rapidly, or both. For example, UE 115-a may be moving at high speed or located on a high-speed vehicle, such as a high-speed train (e.g., moving at 500 kilometers per hour (km/h)), and may receive a transmission including one or more symbols…” (see Bai [0098]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard-Ohara and Bai to further clarify additional details about the uplink timing adjustment. Incorporating Bai’s teachings would enable making timing adjustments based on device capability information (see Bai [0003]) and improve efficiencies and ensure that adjustments are suited to the conditions experienced by the UE (see Bai [0048]).
Regarding claim 32, Dalsgaard-Ohara disclosed the invention, substantially as claimed, as described in the apparatus of claim 21 above, but did not explicitly disclose “wherein the processing circuitry further configures the UE to transmit, to the serving RRH, UE capability signaling including an indication whether the one-shot uplink timing adjustment is supported by the UE”.
However in a related art of dynamically making timing adjustments for a rapidly moving UE (see Bai [0098]), Bai disclosed “…Base station 105-a may transmit a TA adjustment scheme configuration 220 after receiving the capability or mobility mode indication 215 and determining that UE 115-a is in a given mobility mode, a given environment, or is otherwise capable of supporting the TA adjustment scheme…” (see Bai [0101]) and also “In some examples, UE 115-a may perform a one-shot timing adjustment to reduce signaling overhead when the base station 105 transmits a command to UE 115-a to adjust a TA value, which may be desirable in scenarios where UE 115-a may be moving around frequently, rapidly, or both. For example, UE 115-a may be moving at high speed or located on a high-speed vehicle, such as a high-speed train (e.g., moving at 500 kilometers per hour (km/h)), and may receive a transmission including one or more symbols…” (see Bai [0098]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard-Ohara and Bai to further clarify additional details about the uplink timing adjustment. Incorporating Bai’s teachings would enable making timing adjustments based on device capability information (see Bai [0003]) and improve efficiencies and ensure that adjustments are suited to the conditions experienced by the UE (see Bai [0048]).
Regarding claim 33, Dalsgaard disclosed an apparatus for a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), the apparatus comprising memory and processing circuitry (see Dalsgaard Fig. 13, [0125]: gNB memory #1329, processor #1310) to configure the gNB to:
receive, from a user equipment (UE), UE capability signaling including an indication whether a one-shot uplink timing adjustment is supported by the UE (see Bai combination below);
transmit, to the UE, a network flag to inform the UE that the one-shot uplink timing adjustment is expected from the UE (see Bai combination below);
receive, from the UE, first uplink frequency range 2 (FR2) signals transmitted at a serving remote radio head (RRH), the first uplink FR2 signals transmitted at a first timing (see Dalsgaard Fig. 2, [0070]: “FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) switch (i.e. beam switch) in a unidirectional HST FR2 network deployment...The RRHs 201, 202, 203 are non-collocated, i.e. they are located at different physical positions…” | Fig. 7, [0090]: “FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram according to an exemplary embodiment, wherein the indication is transmitted to the UE together with the TCI state switch command (or request) 709. In other words, when the UE receives the TCI state switch command, the UE is also indicated, or requested, to perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch. The preamble may be a dedicated preamble (e.g. in CFRA), for example.”; [0091]: “The UE (for example the CPE of FIG. 2 or any other UE) is in RRC connected mode and the UE is connected to a first base station (gNB1) via a first RRH (gNB1 RRH1) of gNB1...”; [0092]: “Referring to FIG. 7, while in connected mode and e.g. data transmissions 701 are ongoing between the UE and gNB1 RRH1, the UE may perform serving cell measurements (for example RSRP measurements)…The UE may transmit 706 one or more UL reference signals (e.g. DMRS or SRS) to gNB1 RRH1 for assisting TA estimation at gNB1. The UE may transmit 707 an L1-RSRP report to gNB1 RRH1 for assisting network beam management at gNB1. The L1-RSRP report may comprise the measurement results from gNB1 RRH1, gNB1 RRH2, and/or gNB2 RRH1.”); and
receive, from the UE, second uplink FR2 signals transmitted at a neighboring RRH after the UE has switched to the neighboring RRH, the serving RRH and the neighboring RRH in a unidirectional high speed train (HST) deployment, the second uplink FR2 signals transmitted at a second timing using the one-shot uplink timing adjustment (see Dalsgaard Fig. 2, [0070]: “FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) switch (i.e. beam switch) in a unidirectional HST FR2 network deployment...The RRHs 201, 202, 203 are non-collocated, i.e. they are located at different physical positions…” | Fig. 7, [0090]: “FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram according to an exemplary embodiment, wherein the indication is transmitted to the UE together with the TCI state switch command (or request) 709. In other words, when the UE receives the TCI state switch command, the UE is also indicated, or requested, to perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch. The preamble may be a dedicated preamble (e.g. in CFRA), for example.”; [0091]: “The UE (for example the CPE of FIG. 2 or any other UE) is in RRC connected mode and the UE is connected to a first base station (gNB1) via a first RRH (gNB1 RRH1) of gNB1. gNB1 may also comprise (or be connected to) a second RRH (gNB1 RRH2). Alternatively, the second RRH may be comprised in (or connected to) a different base station than the first RRH. In addition, a third RRH (gNB2 RRH1) connected to a second base station (gNB2) may also be present in the system as a potential target for a beam switch. gNB2 may be a neighbour cell of the current serving cell gNB1. The UE may be indicated by the network (e.g. by gNB1) to apply a method as described below, or the method may be pre-configured at the UE.”; [0095]: “gNB1 determines, for example based on the UE L1-RSRP report, that there is a need to change the serving DL beam for example from gNB1 RRH1 to gNB1 RRH2. Therefore, gNB1 transmits 709 a TCI state switch command to the UE via gNB1 RRH1 in order to request the UE to do a TCI state switch to gNB1 RRH2. The TCI state switch command also comprises an indication that the UE shall perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch…”; [0096]: “The UE switches 710 the TCI state based on the TCI state switch command received from gNB1 RRH1. The UE transmits 711 the preamble to gNB1 RRH2 for example by using the dedicated preamble, if such a dedicated preamble has been allocated. Otherwise, the UE may use any PRACH preamble.”; [0097]: “Following the reception of the preamble, gNB1 calculates, based on the received preamble, an adjusted TA value to be used by the UE. gNB1 indicates 712 the adjusted TA value to the UE via gNB1 RRH2, for example by using a MAC CE TA update command (i.e. TAC) or a RAR message. The UE may then transmit 713 uplink data to gNB1 RRH2 based at least partly on the adjusted TA value indicated from gNB1 RRH2. The UE may also perform UE-autonomous timing adjustment in addition to using the TA value received from gNB1 RRH2.”; [0098]: “It should be noted that the TCI state switch may alternatively be performed to gNB2 RRH1 instead of gNB1 RRH2, depending on the measurement results in the L1-RSRP report. In this case, the UE may transmit the preamble to gNB2 RRH1. gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1. The UE may then transmit uplink data to gNB2 RRH1 by applying the TA value indicated from gNB2 RRH1. In other words, the target RRH of the beam switch may also be from another base station than the serving base station associated with the source RRH.”), and
wherein the memory is configured to store the one-shot uplink timing adjustment (see Dalsgaard-Ohara combination below).
Dalsgaard did not explicitly disclose “wherein the memory is configured to store the one-shot uplink timing adjustment”, however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that Dalsgaard’s UE would store the received TA value prior to using it (see Dalsgaard Fig. 12 #1220, [0117]: UE memory; [0098]: “…gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1. The UE may then transmit uplink data to gNB2 RRH1 by applying the TA value indicated from gNB2 RRH1…”).
Additionally, in a related art of communication involving a high-speed vehicle, e.g., airplane (see Ohara [0218]), Ohara disclosed a UE acquiring and storing a plurality of TA values (see Ohara Fig. 1, [0035]: “A UE may store a plurality of information (hereinafter also referred to as TA information) related to TAs for a plurality of base stations/beams at the same time to establish UL synchronization with the plurality of base stations (see FIG. 1). FIG. 1 shows a case where a UE establishes UL synchronization with base stations #1 to #3. The UE may acquire/store/adjust a plurality of TA information to control communications with the base stations (for example, UL transmissions to the base stations).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard and Ohara to clarify that the UE stores the received UL timing adjustment. Incorporating Ohara’s teachings would ensure UL synchronization can be appropriately controlled even when communicating with multiple base stations (see Ohara [0010]).
Dalsgaard-Ohara did not explicitly disclose “receive, from a user equipment (UE), UE capability signaling including an indication whether a one-shot uplink timing adjustment is supported by the UE” and “transmit, to the UE, a network flag to inform the UE that the one-shot uplink timing adjustment is expected from the UE”.
However in a related art of dynamically making timing adjustments for a rapidly moving UE (see Bai [0098]), Bai disclosed “…Base station 105-a may transmit a TA adjustment scheme configuration 220 after receiving the capability or mobility mode indication 215 and determining that UE 115-a is in a given mobility mode, a given environment, or is otherwise capable of supporting the TA adjustment scheme…” (see Bai [0101]) and also “In some examples, UE 115-a may perform a one-shot timing adjustment to reduce signaling overhead when the base station 105 transmits a command to UE 115-a to adjust a TA value, which may be desirable in scenarios where UE 115-a may be moving around frequently, rapidly, or both. For example, UE 115-a may be moving at high speed or located on a high-speed vehicle, such as a high-speed train (e.g., moving at 500 kilometers per hour (km/h)), and may receive a transmission including one or more symbols…” (see Bai [0098]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard-Ohara and Bai to further clarify additional details about the uplink timing adjustment. Incorporating Bai’s teachings would enable making timing adjustments based on device capability information (see Bai [0003]) and improve efficiencies and ensure that adjustments are suited to the conditions experienced by the UE (see Bai [0048]).
Regarding claim 34, Dalsgaard-Ohara-Bai disclosed the apparatus of claim 33, wherein the one-shot uplink timing adjustment is applied with Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state switching (see Dalsgaard Fig. 7, [0095]: “gNB1 determines, for example based on the UE L1-RSRP report, that there is a need to change the serving DL beam for example from gNB1 RRH1 to gNB1 RRH2. Therefore, gNB1 transmits 709 a TCI state switch command to the UE via gNB1 RRH1 in order to request the UE to do a TCI state switch to gNB1 RRH2. The TCI state switch command also comprises an indication that the UE shall perform a PRACH preamble transmission following the TCI state switch.”; [0096]: “The UE switches 710 the TCI state based on the TCI state switch command received from gNB1 RRH1. The UE transmits 711 the preamble to gNB1 RRH2 for example by using the dedicated preamble, if such a dedicated preamble has been allocated. Otherwise, the UE may use any PRACH preamble.”; [0097]: “Following the reception of the preamble, gNB1 calculates, based on the received preamble, an adjusted TA value to be used by the UE. gNB1 indicates 712 the adjusted TA value to the UE via gNB1 RRH2, for example by using a MAC CE TA update command (i.e. TAC) or a RAR message. The UE may then transmit 713 uplink data to gNB1 RRH2 based at least partly on the adjusted TA value indicated from gNB1 RRH2. The UE may also perform UE-autonomous timing adjustment in addition to using the TA value received from gNB1 RRH2.”; [0098]: “It should be noted that the TCI state switch may alternatively be performed to gNB2 RRH1 instead of gNB1 RRH2, depending on the measurement results in the L1-RSRP report. In this case, the UE may transmit the preamble to gNB2 RRH1. gNB2 may then calculate the TA value to be used by the UE, and indicate the TA value to the UE via gNB2 RRH1. The UE may then transmit uplink data to gNB2 RRH1 by applying the TA value indicated from gNB2 RRH1. In other words, the target RRH of the beam switch may also be from another base station than the serving base station associated with the source RRH.” ).
Regarding claim 36, Dalsgaard-Ohara-Bai disclosed the apparatus of claim 33, wherein the processing circuitry further configures the gNB to transmit, from the serving RRH, information of the deployment, the information comprising at least one of Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state to RRH mapping, number of beams per RRH and number of RRHs per gNB, and distance between neighboring RRHs (see Ohara [0064]: “The UE may determine a TA value to use for a UL transmission on the basis of a given condition/parameter. For example, the given condition/parameter may be at least one of the type of a DL reference signal received and a measurement result (for example, quality and the like) of the DL reference signal. Which condition to apply (for example, which condition to be based on, which TA to use) may be defined in a specification, or notified/configured for the UE by a base station” | [0091]: “A correspondence relation between each beam and UL synchronization (or TA) may be defined in a specification or may be notified/configured for a UE by a base station.” | [0082]: “The TA information corresponds to information corresponding to propagation times (or propagation distances) between base stations and a UE. Thus, a UE/base station can estimate the position of the UE on the basis of a plurality of the TA information corresponding to a plurality of base stations.”; [0083]: “When a UE calculates/acquires information related to a result of position measuring for the UE, the UE may transmit/report to a base station the information related to the result of the position measuring. When a base station calculates/acquires information related to a result of position measuring for a given UE, the base station may notify the UE of the information related to the result of the position measuring.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Dalsgaard and Ohara to clarify that the UE stores the received UL timing adjustment. Incorporating Ohara’s teachings would ensure UL synchronization can be appropriately controlled even when communicating with multiple base stations (see Ohara [0010]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25-28, 30, 35, 37, and 39 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: With respect to the claims 25-28, 30, 35, 37, and 39, the prior arts of record, singly or in combination, fail to teach the features of claim(s) limitations thereof. Specifically, inter alia, it fails to teach the claimed invention according to the entirety of the claimed language, in particular the combination and variety of factors used to calculate the one-shot uplink timing adjustment, as well as the particular conditions for applying the one-shot uplink timing adjustment.
Conclusion
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/ANGELA WIDHALM DE RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2443