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 .
Preliminary Amendment
The present Office Action is based upon the original patent application filed on 01/04/2024 as modified by the preliminary amendment filed on 01/04/2024. Claims 1-15 and 17 are now pending in the present application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements submitted on 01/04/2024 and 08/26/2025 have been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
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 1, 8-9, 13-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Manolakos et al. (US 2019/0260532 A1, hereinafter Manolakos).
Regarding claim 1, Manolakos discloses a method for a user equipment (UE) (see e.g., Fig. 2, UE 115-a) to perform uplink transmission or downlink reception in a wireless communication system (see e.g., “wireless communications…to transmission configuration indication (TCI) states indicating quasi-collocation (QCL) groups.”, [0002]), the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station (see e.g., Fig. 2, base station 105-a), configuration information for an individual quasi co- located (QCL) RS for each of a plurality of port groups of a specific reference signal (RS) (see e.g., “A base station may transmit a QCL relationship indication to a UE…The QCL relationship indication may indicate a QCL relationship between one or more port groups of a first reference signal set and a plurality of port groups associated with a second reference signal set…each QCL group includes a QCL relationship between a port group of the first reference signal set (e.g., a reference signal resource) and a port group associated with the second reference signal set (e.g., a port group associated with a target reference signal).”, [0006] and/or “a base station may configure a set of transmission configuration indication (TCI)-states to use to indicate, to a UE, QCL relationships between antenna ports used for transmitting downlink signals to the UE. Each TCI-state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs))…”, [0027] and/or “a TCI-state may indicate a QCL relationship between a reference signal resource (e.g.,)…channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.)…”, [0004]); and
performing the uplink transmission or the downlink reception based on at least one of a plurality of QCL RSs corresponding to a plurality of port groups of the specific RS (see e.g., “the UE may use the reference signals associated with the TCI-state to perform channel estimation for demodulating data or control information (e.g., target reference signals) received from the base station”, [0027] and/or “UE 115-b may optionally transmit the reference signal measurements obtained at 310 to the base station 105-b”, [0093] and/or “Communication links 125 shown in wireless communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105 to a UE 115”, [0034] and/or “a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device…”, [0048]).
Regarding claim 8, Manolakos discloses information for configuring a QCL RS to be used for the uplink transmission or the downlink reception among the plurality of QCL RSs is received from the base station (see e.g., “A base station may transmit a QCL relationship indication to a UE. T…The QCL relationship indication may indicate a QCL relationship between one or more port groups of a first reference signal set and a plurality of port groups associated with a second reference signal set…each QCL group includes a QCL relationship between a port group of the first reference signal set (e.g., a reference signal resource) and a port group associated with the second reference signal set (e.g., a port group associated with a target reference signal).”, [0006] and/or “a base station may configure a set of transmission configuration indication (TCI)-states to use to indicate, to a UE, QCL relationships between antenna ports used for transmitting downlink signals to the UE. Each TCI-state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs))…”, [0027]).
Regarding claim 9, Manolakos discloses the uplink transmission includes at least one of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission (see e.g., “SIB2 may contain RRC configuration information related to random access channel (RACH) procedures, paging, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)…”, [0067] and/or “may be applied to different configurations or groupings of antenna ports for reference signals, different target reference signal measurements such as PUSCH DM-RS, CSI-RS, TRS, SRS”, [0086]) and
the downlink reception includes at least one of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception, or aperiodic (AP) CSI-RS reception (see e.g., “Communications manager 415 may then obtain reference signal measurements for reference signals associated with the reference signal port groups based on the indicated QCL relationship. In some cases, the second reference signal may be a DM-RS of PDSCH or PDCCH, or CSI-RS”, [0097 and/or “base station 105-a may use PDCCH to indicate a TCI-state to UE 115-a. UE 115-a may decode the PDCCH and, based on the TCI-state, identify a QCL relationship (e.g., based on QCL-Types indicated by the TCI-state) to determine a delay spread, Doppler shift, etc. that should be used to receive PDSCH DM-RS”, [0078]).
Regarding claim 13, Manolakos discloses the specific RS includes CSI (channel state information)-RS. (see e.g., “a TCI-state may indicate a QCL relationship between a reference signal resource (e.g., a tracking reference signal (TRS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.)…”, [0004] and/or “Each TCI-state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs)), and the TCI-state may indicate a QCL relationship between antenna ports used to transmit these reference signals and antenna ports used to transmit data or control information to a UE.”, [0027]).
Regarding claim 14, Manolakos discloses a plurality of QCL RSs corresponding to each of the plurality of port groups are different from each other (see e.g., “A base station may transmit a QCL relationship indication to a UE…The QCL relationship indication may indicate a QCL relationship between one or more port groups of a first reference signal set and a plurality of port groups associated with a second reference signal set…each QCL group includes a QCL relationship between a port group of the first reference signal set (e.g., a reference signal resource) and a port group associated with the second reference signal set (e.g., a port group associated with a target reference signal).”, [0006] and/or “a base station may configure a set of transmission configuration indication (TCI)-states to use to indicate, to a UE, QCL relationships between antenna ports used for transmitting downlink signals to the UE. Each TCI-state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs))…”, [0027]).
Regarding claim 15, Manolakos discloses a user equipment (UE) (see e.g., Fig. 2, UE 115-a) that performs uplink transmission or downlink reception in a wireless communication system (see e.g., “base station 105-a may transmit QCL relationship indications 210 to UE 115-a via downlink 205 (e.g., DCI, downlink RRC signaling, etc.).”, Fig. 2, [0073]), the UE comprising:
at least one transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 5, UE 505, Transmitter 535 and receiver 510); and
at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 5, UE 505, and/or “UE 505 may also include a processor.”, [0099]), wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
receive, from a base station through the at least one transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 2, base station 105-a), configuration information for an individual quasi co-located (QCL) RS for each of a plurality of port groups of a specific reference signal (RS) (see e.g., “A base station may transmit a QCL relationship indication to a UE…The QCL relationship indication may indicate a QCL relationship between one or more port groups of a first reference signal set and a plurality of port groups associated with a second reference signal set…each QCL group includes a QCL relationship between a port group of the first reference signal set (e.g., a reference signal resource) and a port group associated with the second reference signal set (e.g., a port group associated with a target reference signal).”, [0006] and/or “a base station may configure a set of transmission configuration indication (TCI)-states to use to indicate, to a UE, QCL relationships between antenna ports used for transmitting downlink signals to the UE. Each TCI-state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs))…”, [0027] and/or “a TCI-state may indicate a QCL relationship between a reference signal resource (e.g.,)…channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.)…”, [0004]); and
perform the uplink transmission or the downlink reception based on at least one of a plurality of QCL RSs corresponding to a plurality of port groups of the specific RS (see e.g., “the UE may use the reference signals associated with the TCI-state to perform channel estimation for demodulating data or control information (e.g., target reference signals) received from the base station”, [0027] and/or “UE 115-b may optionally transmit the reference signal measurements obtained at 310 to the base station 105-b”, [0093] and/or “Communication links 125 shown in wireless communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105 to a UE 115”, [0034] and/or “a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device…”, [0048]).
Regarding claim 17, Manolakos discloses a base station (see e.g., Fig. 2, base station 105-a) that that performs uplink reception or downlink transmission in a wireless communication system (see e.g., “base station 105-a may transmit QCL relationship indications 210 to UE 115-a via downlink 205 (e.g., DCI, downlink RRC signaling, etc.).”, Fig. 2, [0073]), the base station comprising:
at least one transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 2, base station 105-a with inherent transceiver, and/or “ base station 105-a may transmit QCL relationship…”, Fig. 2, [0073]); and
at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 2, Base station 105-a with inherent processor), wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
transmit, to a user equipment (UE) (see e.g., Fig. 2, UE 115-a), configuration information for an individual quasi co- located (QCL) RS for each of a plurality of port groups of a specific reference signal (RS) (see e.g., “A base station may transmit a QCL relationship indication to a UE…The QCL relationship indication may indicate a QCL relationship between one or more port groups of a first reference signal set and a plurality of port groups associated with a second reference signal set…each QCL group includes a QCL relationship between a port group of the first reference signal set (e.g., a reference signal resource) and a port group associated with the second reference signal set (e.g., a port group associated with a target reference signal).”, [0006] and/or “a base station may configure a set of transmission configuration indication (TCI)-states to use to indicate, to a UE, QCL relationships between antenna ports used for transmitting downlink signals to the UE. Each TCI-state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs))…”, [0027] and/or “a TCI-state may indicate a QCL relationship between a reference signal resource (e.g.,)…channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.)…”, [0004]); and
perform the uplink reception or the downlink transmission based on at least one of a plurality of QCL RSs corresponding to a plurality of port groups of the specific RS (see e.g., “the UE may use the reference signals associated with the TCI-state to perform channel estimation for demodulating data or control information (e.g., target reference signals) received from the base station”, [0027] and/or “UE 115-b may optionally transmit the reference signal measurements obtained at 310 to the base station 105-b”, [0093] and/or “Communication links 125 shown in wireless communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105 to a UE 115”, [0034] and/or “a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device…”, [0048]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Manolakos, in view of Applicant provided document, 3GPP TS 38.214 (3GPP TS 38.214 V16.5.0 (2021-03), hereinafter 3GPP.38214).
Regarding Claim 2, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed in a plurality of transmission occasions (TO), the first TO among the plurality of TOs is a TO in which the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed using a first QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs, and
the second TO among the plurality of TOs is a TO in which the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed using a second QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs.
In the same field of endeavor, 3GPP.38214 discloses the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed in a plurality of transmission occasions (TO), the first TO among the plurality of TOs is a TO in which the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed using a first QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs (see e.g., “if two TCI states are indicated by the DCI field Transmission Configuration indication together with the DCI field Time domain resource assignment indicating…and DM-RS ports within one CDM group in the DCI field ‘Antenna Port9s)…the first TCI state is applied to the first PDSCH transmission occasion and resource allocation in time domain for the first PDSCH transmission occasion fallows clause 5.1.2.1.”, page 15, lines 36-41 , and
the second TO among the plurality of TOs is a TO in which the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed using a second QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs (see e.g., “…when the value indicated by repetitionNumber in PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation equals to two, the second TCI state is applied to the second PDSCH transmission occasion…”, page 15, lines 36-45).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with 3GPP.38214, in order to meet the 3GPP standards on UE procedures for receiving the physical downlink shared channel (please see 3GPP.38214, section 5.1).
Regarding Claim 5, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, the specific RS is configured as a reference RS for the downlink reception by an active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state.
In the same field of endeavor, 3GPP.38214 discloses the specific RS is configured as a reference RS for the downlink reception by an active transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state (see e.g., “if a UE is configured with enablTwoDefault-states, and at least one TCI codepoint indicates two TCI states, the UE may assume that the DM-RS ports of PDSCH or PDSCH transmission occasions of a serving cell are quasi co-located with the RS(s) with respect to the QCL parameters associated with the TCI states. ”, Sec. 5.1.5, page 36, lines 54-57).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with 3GPP.38214, in order to meet the 3GPP standards on UE procedures for receiving the physical downlink shared channel (please see 3GPP.38214, section 5.1).
Regarding Claim 6, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, the specific RS is configured as a reference RS for the uplink transmission by spatial relation information.
In the same field of endeavor, 3GPP.38214 discloses the specific RS is configured as a reference RS for the uplink transmission by spatial relation information (see e.g., “If a PUSCH with a priority index 0 and SRS configured by SRS-Resource are transmitted in the same slot on a serving cell, the UE may only be configured to transmit SRS after the transmission of the PUSCH and the corresponding DM-RS”, sec. 6.2.1, page 136, lines 32-34 and “if the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter spatialrelationinfo…containing the ID of a reference ,ssb-index…, the UE shall transmit the target SRS resource with the same spatial domain…, page 136, Sec. 6.2.1, lines 39-43).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with 3GPP.38214, in order to meet the 3GPP standards on UE procedures for receiving the physical downlink shared channel (please see 3GPP.38214, section 5.1).
Regarding Claim 7, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, based on a size of an index value of the plurality of QCL RS or a size of an index value of a port group corresponding to the plurality of QCL RS, a specific QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RS is determined, and the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed using the specific QCL RS.
In the same field of endeavor, 3GPP.38214 discloses based on a size of an index value of the plurality of QCL RS or a size of an index value of a port group corresponding to the plurality of QCL RS, a specific QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RS is determined, and the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed using the specific QCL RS (see e.g., “If a PUSCH with a priority index 0 and SRS configured by SRS-Resource are transmitted in the same slot on a serving cell, the UE may only be configured to transmit SRS after the transmission of the PUSCH and the corresponding DM-RS”, sec. 6.2.1, page 136, lines 32-34 and “if a UE is configured with enablTwoDefault-states, and at least one TCI codepoint indicates two TCI states, the UE may assume that the DM-RS ports of PDSCH or PDSCH transmission occasions of a serving cell are quasi co-located with the RS(s) with respect to the QCL parameters associated with the TCI states. ”, Sec. 5.1.5, page 36, lines 54-57).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with 3GPP.38214, in order to meet the 3GPP standards on UE procedures for receiving the physical downlink shared channel (please see 3GPP.38214, section 5.1).
Claims 3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Manolakos, in view of YU et al. (US 2020/0322109 A1, hereinafter Yu-109).
Regarding Claim 3, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed through a first panel and a second panel, the uplink transmission or the downlink reception performed through the first panel is performed using a first QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RS, and the uplink transmission or the downlink reception performed through the second panel is performed using a second QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RS.
In the same field of endeavor, Yu-109 discloses, the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed through a first panel and a second panel (see e.g., “QCL #1 is associated with panel #1, and QCL #2 is associated with panel #2. PDSCH #1 is scheduled via CORESET #1 and PDSCH #2 is scheduled via CORESET #2”, Fig. 4, [0030]), the uplink transmission or the downlink reception performed through the first panel is performed using a first QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RS (see e.g., “QCL #1 is associated with panel #1…Therefore, a PDSCH #1 default beam is determined according to the CORESET #1 and is not related to CORESET #2”, Fig. 4, [0030]), and the uplink transmission or the downlink reception performed through the second panel is performed using a second QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RS (see e.g., “QCL #2 is associated with panel #2…Therefore, a PDSCH #1 default beam is determined according to the CORESET #1 and is not related to CORESET #2, and vice-versa for PDSCH #2.”, Fig. 4, [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with Yu-109, in order to apply the default QCL assumption for reception of the DM-RS port(s) of the at least one PDSCH (please see Yu, paragraph [0008]).
Regarding Claim 10, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, based on a time offset between reception time of downlink control information (DCI) and the PDSCH reception time scheduled by the DCI being less than a threshold, the PDSCH reception is performed using at least one of the plurality of QCL RSs as a default beam.
In the same field of endeavor, Yu-109 discloses, based on a time offset between reception time of downlink control information (DCI) and the PDSCH reception time scheduled by the DCI being less than a threshold, the PDSCH reception is performed using at least one of the plurality of QCL RSs as a default beam (see e.g., “the panel-specific default beam is determined according to the QCL type-D assumption of a CORESET group when the time offset between the reception of DCI in the PDCCH and the PDSCH reception is less than the threshold. In FIG. 4, two CORESET groups are configured to the UE with individual CORESET groups consisting of only one CORESET. It is noted that, in some implementations, a CORESET group is not limited to one CORESET, but also a plurality of CORESETs. In addition, the UE has capability of simultaneous reception with two QCL assumptions, so that each UE panel is associated with an individual QCL assumption. For example, QCL #1 is associated with panel #1, and QCL #2 is associated with panel #2. PDSCH #1 is scheduled via CORESET #1 and PDSCH #2 is scheduled via CORESET #2. Therefore, a PDSCH #1 default beam is determined according to the CORESET #1… and is not related to CORESET #2,”, Fig. 4, [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with Yu-109, in order to apply the default QCL assumption for reception of the DM-RS port(s) of the at least one PDSCH (please see Yu, paragraph [0008]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Manolakos, in view of NILSSON et al. (ID P 202402574 A August 30, 2022, hereinafter Nilsson).
Regarding Claim 4, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, by an unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a first QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs is configured to be used for the downlink reception, and a second QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs is configured to be used for the uplink transmission.
In the same field of endeavor, Nilsson discloses, by an unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a first QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs is configured to be used for the downlink reception, and a second QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs is configured to be used for the uplink transmission (see e.g., “a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD, involves sending at least one of an activation command and an indication for the status of a transmission configuration indicator, TCI, the first and second combination of a set of combined TCI states, respectively each first and second combined TCI status including quasi co-location information, QCL, for at least one of the downlink receptions and uplink transmissions of the plurality of at least one of the physical channels and the reference signal by the WD”, page 1, P lines 36-41 , and
the second TO among the plurality of TOs is a TO in which the uplink transmission or the downlink reception is performed using a second QCL RS among the plurality of QCL RSs (see e.g., “…when the value indicated by repetitionNumber in PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation equals to two, the second TCI state is applied to the second PDSCH transmission occasion…”, page 15, lines 24-28).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with Nilsson, in order to provide assistance to wireless devices to measure TRS to assist DMRS receptions (please see Nilsson, page 2, lines 10-11).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Manolakos, in view of Applicant provided 3GPP document MediaTek Inc. (3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #94, R1-1808264, Aug. 20th-24th, 2018, hereinafter Mediatek).
Regarding Claim 11, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, based on DCI format 0_0 being received from the base station, the PUSCH transmission scheduled by the DCI format 0_0 is performed using at least one of the plurality of QCL RSs as a default beam.
In the same field of endeavor, Mediatek discloses, based on DCI format 0_0 being received from the base station, the PUSCH transmission scheduled by the DCI format 0_0 is performed using at least one of the plurality of QCL RSs as a default beam (see e.g., “the configuration signaling indicating that a default spatial relation behavior for PUSCH transmission scheduled by a DCI format 0_0 is enabled; receiving, from the cell, the DCI format 0_0 on an active DL BWP, the DCI format 0_0 providing scheduling information for a PUSCH; and transmitting the PUSCH according to the default spatial relation behavior which determines a spatial relation with reference to a QCL-TypeD RS corresponding to a QCL assumption of a pre-determined CORESET on the active DL BWP of the cell.”, [0008]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with Mediatek, in order to meet 3GPP standards on beam management and Beam failure recovery (please see Mediatek, Page 1, introduction section).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Manolakos, in view of Applicant provided 3GPP document KIM et al. (US 2022/0338233 A1, hereinafter Kim).
Regarding Claim 12, Manolakos fails to explicitly disclose, at least one of information configuring an individual panel ID for each of the plurality of port groups or information configuring whether to receive the specific RS through a single panel or multiple panels is received from the base station.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim discloses, at least one of information configuring an individual panel ID for each of the plurality of port groups or information configuring whether to receive the specific RS through a single panel or multiple panels is received from the base station (see e.g., “A TCI state is used to announce a QCL relationship between an NR PDSCH (or NR PDSCH DMRS) and another RS or channel. When it is said that a certain reference antenna port, antenna port A (reference RS #A) is QCLed with another target antenna port, antenna port B (target RS #B)…”, [0327]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Manolakos with Kim, in order to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC) (please see Kim, paragraph [0004]).
Conclusion
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/FARID SEYEDVOSOGHI/Examiner, Art Unit 2645