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 .
This office action is in response to Pre-Amendment filed on Jan. 03, 2024.
Claims 1-5, 8, 12-16 and 19 have been amended.
Claims 9-11 and 20-21 have been canceled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-8 and 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because Claim 1 is drawn to a method comprising steps compute beamforming weights using the transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V, wherein computing the beamforming weights comprises selecting one or more best SRS ports, according to the singular values.
According to the revised PEG, the claim includes an "abstract idea" being the steps involved to compute beamforming weights using the transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V, wherein computing the beamforming weights comprises selecting one or more best SRS ports, according to the singular values, which as drafted, is a process that under its broadest reasonable interpretation covers performance of the limitations as mathematical calculations/ manipulations performed in the mind, or by hand/ paper Nothing precludes the steps pf the claimed method from practically being performed in the human mind. Accordingly, under the revised PEG, this falls under "mental processes." Additionally, since the method is drawn to manipulation of a channel matric and performing other calculations to obtain other matrices, the claim is also drawn to "mathematical concepts".
Dependent claims 2-8 further claim limitations that are drawn to either "mathematical concepts" such as dividing, computing, applying matrices or "mental processes " such as finding/ selecting vectors. Similarly, claims 8 and 12-19 are drawn to "mathematical concepts" such as dividing, computing, applying matrices or "mental processes " such as finding/ selecting vectors.
Claims 1-8 have a Radio Access Node (RAN) performing the method claimed or adapted to perform claimed limitations.
Claims 12-19 also have a processing circuitry in the RAN to perform claimed limitations. However, none of the claims integrate the RAN node/ processing circuitry performing the abstract idea into a practical application to overcome the judicial exception of the abstract idea. The mere application or use of a computer or linking the judicial exception to a particular technological environment is also not enough to overcome the judicial exception of the abstract idea. Hence claims 1-8 and 12-19 are rejected under 101.
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 1-3 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (EP 1657829) in view of Bhavatharini M., et al, Offloading Mobile Computations To Cloud To Save Mobile Energy.
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Kim discloses a method performed by a radio access network, RAN, node for mapping Sounding Reference Signal, SRS, ports to transmission layers (see abstract, fig.1, element W, paragraph [0003] and its description), the method comprising: obtaining a channel matrix, H, for one subcarrier or a group of subcarriers for a particular User Equipment, UE (see abstract, fig.1, elements W, Receivers, paragraph [0003-0004] and its description); transforming the channel matrix, H, using a Singular Value Decomposition, SVD, of the channel matrix, H, to thereby provide a transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V (The decomposed channel information, SVD, is further transformed to provide a transformed channel matrix The effective channel matrix is fed back to the transmitting apparatus, on which the transmitting apparatus performs a QR decomposition, and antenna settings and thereby performs beamforming, i.e., mapping to transmission layers, wherein beamforming is considered to involve the computing of beamforming weights called the effective channel matrix (see abstract, [0019-0021]), wherein: the SVD of the channel matrix, H, is given by H=USV.sup.H, where: matrix U is orthogonal and of size P×P, where P is the number of SRS ports that are available; matrix V is orthogonal and of size A×A, where A is the number of antennas in RAN node; matrix S is of size P×A and holds zero entries except on its main diagonal which is occupied by singular values of the SVD; and the m:th column vector in the matrix V relates to the singular value found at element S(m, m) of the matrix S such that the column vectors in the matrix V are arranged in descending order of SRS port quality (see abstract, paragraphs [0019-0021] and equation on pages 2-3). Except for computing beamforming weights. However, Bhavatharini M., et al, Offloading Mobile Computations To Cloud To Save Mobile Energy including the computing beamforming weights in RAN using the transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V (see abstract, pages 26-27 and 30). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to use Bhavatharini computing beamforming weights in order to determine the optimal weights for a signal processing array to maximize the desired signal while minimizing interference.
Regarding claim 2, Kim further discloses wherein computing beamforming weights using the transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V, comprises selecting one or more best ports, according to the singular values, for mapping to one transmission layer each up to a number of transmission layers supported by a current transmission rank of the particular UE (see paragraphs [0019-0021]).
Regarding claim 3, Kim further discloses wherein computing beamforming weights using the transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V, comprises selecting the first L columns of the transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V, for mapping to L transmission layers, respectively, wherein L is the number of transmission layers supported by a current transmission rank of the particular UE (see abstract, paragraphs [0019-0021] and equation on pages 2-3).
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.
Claims 12 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vaidyanathan (20040209579)
Regarding claims 12 and 19, Vaidyanathan discloses a A RAN node for mapping Sounding Reference Signal, SRS, ports to transmission layers (see abstract, fig.1, element 100, 200, fig.3, element 100, paragraph [0015] and its description), the RAN node adapted to: transform a channel matrix, H, for a particular User Equipment, UE to thereby provide a transformed channel matrix, Ĥ, in which SRS ports are ordered in order of importance, according to singular values of an eigen decomposition derived using either a wideband channel covariance matrix or a sub band channel covariance matrix as an input (see abstract, fig.1, element 100, fig.6, step 510, paragraphs [0008], [0013], [0018], [0025-0027], [0072-0074]); and compute beamforming weights using the transformed channel matrix, Ĥ=V, wherein computing the beamforming weights comprises selecting one or more best SRS ports, according to the singular values, for mapping to one transmission layer each up to a number of transmission layers supported by a current transmission rank of the particular UE (see abstract, fig.1, element 100, 110(1-N), fig.6, step 510, paragraphs [0008-0009], [0012], [0030-0033], [0051], [0072-0073]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7 and 13-18 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.
Kim, Bhavatharinia and Vaidyanathan disclose all subject matters above. However, Kim, Bhavatharinia and Vaidyanathan fail to explicitly or implicitly teach or disclose all the limitations cited in depended claims 4-7 and 13-18.
Examiner's Note: Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
When responding to this Office Action, Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-20240056137-A1
US-20230268970-A1
US-20230058307-A1
US-20240313832-A1
US-20220377758-A1
US-11792782-B1
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UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
/CONGVAN TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647