DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to the application 18/586,884 filed on February 26, 2024.
Claims 1-12 are pending.
Claims 1-12 are rejected.
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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 17/046,205.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 19, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
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 1, 4, 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raghavan et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/0198474, hereinafter Raghavan, in view of Chen U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/0099763, hereinafter Chen.
Regarding Claim 1, Raghavan discloses a method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system (Abstract; Figure 1-4, 6, 7, 10-12), the method comprising:
configurating a default beam book (Paragraph [0073] In some examples, a UE 115, during an initial UE discovery phase in millimeter access, may receive signals by physical angle-based beam sweep initialized by the base station 105. The signal may be transmitted by the base station 105 utilizing a default beam codebook (e.g., coarse codebook) that utilizes broader beams with each beam covering a greater space (equivalently, a large 3-dB bandwidth) in the physical angle space);
transmitting, to a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) connection request message (Paragraph [0071] The UE 115 may then transmit an RRC connection request along with a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) (if the UE 115 has previously been connected to the same wireless network) or a random identifier. The RRC connection request may also indicate the reason the UE 115 is connecting to the network (e.g., emergency, signaling, data exchange, etc.). The base station 105 may respond to the connection request with a contention resolution message addressed to the UE 115, which may provide a new C-RNTI. If the UE 115 receives a contention resolution message with the correct identification, it may proceed with RRC setup);
identifying whether a preconfigured event occurred; and changing a beam book, in case that the preconfigured event occurred (Figure 15; Paragraph [0073-0088] The default beam codebook, however, may not offer optimal power gains for beamforming, and thus negatively impact the signal quality for UEs 115 that may not be in direct line of sight (LOS) of the base station. Therefore, the UE 115, upon receiving a signal from the millimeter wave base station 105, may estimate the SNR of the received signal and determine whether the received signal satisfies signal quality thresholds established by the UE 115. In some cases, the SNR thresholds may be predetermined or dynamically adjustable by the UE 115. The signal quality may further be impacted by the utilization of the default beam codebook 420 that offers reduced power gains. Based on determining that the received signal 430 is below an established SNR threshold, the UE 115-c may select an alternate codebook 425 (e.g., intermediate or fine beam codebook) from a plurality of available beam codebooks. In one example, the UE 115-c may switch the UE codebook to a fine beam codebook 425 that offers higher power gains).
Raghavan discloses RRC connection request and an RRC setup procedure but may not explicitly disclose receiving, from the base station, an RRC connection setup message; transmitting, to the base station, an RRC connection setup complete message.
However, Chen more specifically teaches receiving, from the base station, an RRC connection setup message; transmitting, to the base station, an RRC connection setup complete message (Figure 1, 2, 4 and 5; Paragraph [0035-0039] UE 501 transmits an RRC connection request with L2/L3 message. In step 514a, UE 501 receives connection resolution with C-RNTI. In step 514b, BS 502 sends an RRC connection setup with UE specific configuration. In step 515, UE 501 sends an RRC connection setup complete with PLMN ID and dedicated NAS info. The random access and RRC connection setup procedure are completed).
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 teachings of Raghavan with the teachings of Chen. The method enables using a control beam and dedicated data beam architecture that provides a robust control-signaling scheme to facilitate a beamforming operation in mmWave cellular network systems. The method enables using switched beamforming to reduce complexity and cost while the BS uses adaptive or digital beamforming to obtain more degree of freedom in antenna beam patterns and ensuring reduced overhead (Chen Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0010]).
Regarding Claim 4, Raghavan discloses a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system (Abstract; Figure 1-4, 6, 7, 10-12), the method comprising:
receiving, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) connection request message (Paragraph [0071] The UE 115 may then transmit an RRC connection request along with a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) (if the UE 115 has previously been connected to the same wireless network) or a random identifier. The RRC connection request may also indicate the reason the UE 115 is connecting to the network (e.g., emergency, signaling, data exchange, etc.). The base station 105 may respond to the connection request with a contention resolution message addressed to the UE 115, which may provide a new C-RNTI. If the UE 115 receives a contention resolution message with the correct identification, it may proceed with RRC setup),
wherein a default beam book is configured by the terminal (Paragraph [0073] In some examples, a UE 115, during an initial UE discovery phase in millimeter access, may receive signals by physical angle-based beam sweep initialized by the base station 105. The signal may be transmitted by the base station 105 utilizing a default beam codebook (e.g., coarse codebook) that utilizes broader beams with each beam covering a greater space (equivalently, a large 3-dB bandwidth) in the physical angle space),
and wherein a beam book is changed in case that a preconfigured event occurred (Figure 15; Paragraph [0073-0088] The default beam codebook, however, may not offer optimal power gains for beamforming, and thus negatively impact the signal quality for UEs 115 that may not be in direct line of sight (LOS) of the base station. Therefore, the UE 115, upon receiving a signal from the millimeter wave base station 105, may estimate the SNR of the received signal and determine whether the received signal satisfies signal quality thresholds established by the UE 115. In some cases, the SNR thresholds may be predetermined or dynamically adjustable by the UE 115. The signal quality may further be impacted by the utilization of the default beam codebook 420 that offers reduced power gains. Based on determining that the received signal 430 is below an established SNR threshold, the UE 115-c may select an alternate codebook 425 (e.g., intermediate or fine beam codebook) from a plurality of available beam codebooks. In one example, the UE 115-c may switch the UE codebook to a fine beam codebook 425 that offers higher power gains).
Raghavan discloses RRC connection request and an RRC setup procedure but may not explicitly disclose transmitting, from the terminal, an RRC connection setup message; and receiving, to the terminal, an RRC connection setup complete message.
However, Chen more specifically teaches transmitting, from the terminal, an RRC connection setup message; and receiving, to the terminal, an RRC connection setup complete message (Figure 1, 2, 4 and 5; Paragraph [0035-0039] UE 501 transmits an RRC connection request with L2/L3 message. In step 514a, UE 501 receives connection resolution with C-RNTI. In step 514b, BS 502 sends an RRC connection setup with UE specific configuration. In step 515, UE 501 sends an RRC connection setup complete with PLMN ID and dedicated NAS info. The random access and RRC connection setup procedure are completed).
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 teachings of Raghavan with the teachings of Chen. The method enables using a control beam and dedicated data beam architecture that provides a robust control-signaling scheme to facilitate a beamforming operation in mmWave cellular network systems. The method enables using switched beamforming to reduce complexity and cost while the BS uses adaptive or digital beamforming to obtain more degree of freedom in antenna beam patterns and ensuring reduced overhead (Chen Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0010]).
Regarding Claim 7, Raghavan discloses a terminal in a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal; and a controller configured to control the transceiver (Abstract; Figure 1-4, 6, 7, 10-12), the controller is configured to:
configure a default beam book (Paragraph [0073] In some examples, a UE 115, during an initial UE discovery phase in millimeter access, may receive signals by physical angle-based beam sweep initialized by the base station 105. The signal may be transmitted by the base station 105 utilizing a default beam codebook (e.g., coarse codebook) that utilizes broader beams with each beam covering a greater space (equivalently, a large 3-dB bandwidth) in the physical angle space),
transmit, to a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) connection request message (Paragraph [0071] The UE 115 may then transmit an RRC connection request along with a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) (if the UE 115 has previously been connected to the same wireless network) or a random identifier. The RRC connection request may also indicate the reason the UE 115 is connecting to the network (e.g., emergency, signaling, data exchange, etc.). The base station 105 may respond to the connection request with a contention resolution message addressed to the UE 115, which may provide a new C-RNTI. If the UE 115 receives a contention resolution message with the correct identification, it may proceed with RRC setup),
identify whether a preconfigured event occurred, and change a beam book, in case that the preconfigured event occurred (Figure 15; Paragraph [0073-0088] The default beam codebook, however, may not offer optimal power gains for beamforming, and thus negatively impact the signal quality for UEs 115 that may not be in direct line of sight (LOS) of the base station. Therefore, the UE 115, upon receiving a signal from the millimeter wave base station 105, may estimate the SNR of the received signal and determine whether the received signal satisfies signal quality thresholds established by the UE 115. In some cases, the SNR thresholds may be predetermined or dynamically adjustable by the UE 115. The signal quality may further be impacted by the utilization of the default beam codebook 420 that offers reduced power gains. Based on determining that the received signal 430 is below an established SNR threshold, the UE 115-c may select an alternate codebook 425 (e.g., intermediate or fine beam codebook) from a plurality of available beam codebooks. In one example, the UE 115-c may switch the UE codebook to a fine beam codebook 425 that offers higher power gains).
Raghavan discloses RRC connection request and an RRC setup procedure but may not explicitly disclose receive, from the base station, an RRC connection setup message, transmit, to the base station, an RRC connection setup complete message.
However, Chen more specifically teaches receive, from the base station, an RRC connection setup message, transmit, to the base station, an RRC connection setup complete message (Figure 1, 2, 4 and 5; Paragraph [0035-0039] UE 501 transmits an RRC connection request with L2/L3 message. In step 514a, UE 501 receives connection resolution with C-RNTI. In step 514b, BS 502 sends an RRC connection setup with UE specific configuration. In step 515, UE 501 sends an RRC connection setup complete with PLMN ID and dedicated NAS info. The random access and RRC connection setup procedure are completed).
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 teachings of Raghavan with the teachings of Chen. The method enables using a control beam and dedicated data beam architecture that provides a robust control-signaling scheme to facilitate a beamforming operation in mmWave cellular network systems. The method enables using switched beamforming to reduce complexity and cost while the BS uses adaptive or digital beamforming to obtain more degree of freedom in antenna beam patterns and ensuring reduced overhead (Chen Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0010]).
Regarding Claim 10, Raghavan discloses a base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal; and a controller configured to control the transceiver (Abstract; Figure 1-4, 6, 7, 10-12), the controller is configured to:
receive, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) connection request message (Paragraph [0071] The UE 115 may then transmit an RRC connection request along with a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) (if the UE 115 has previously been connected to the same wireless network) or a random identifier. The RRC connection request may also indicate the reason the UE 115 is connecting to the network (e.g., emergency, signaling, data exchange, etc.). The base station 105 may respond to the connection request with a contention resolution message addressed to the UE 115, which may provide a new C-RNTI. If the UE 115 receives a contention resolution message with the correct identification, it may proceed with RRC setup),
wherein a default beam book is configured by the terminal (Paragraph [0073] In some examples, a UE 115, during an initial UE discovery phase in millimeter access, may receive signals by physical angle-based beam sweep initialized by the base station 105. The signal may be transmitted by the base station 105 utilizing a default beam codebook (e.g., coarse codebook) that utilizes broader beams with each beam covering a greater space (equivalently, a large 3-dB bandwidth) in the physical angle space),
and wherein a beam book is changed in case that a preconfigured event occurred (Figure 15; Paragraph [0073-0088] The default beam codebook, however, may not offer optimal power gains for beamforming, and thus negatively impact the signal quality for UEs 115 that may not be in direct line of sight (LOS) of the base station. Therefore, the UE 115, upon receiving a signal from the millimeter wave base station 105, may estimate the SNR of the received signal and determine whether the received signal satisfies signal quality thresholds established by the UE 115. In some cases, the SNR thresholds may be predetermined or dynamically adjustable by the UE 115. The signal quality may further be impacted by the utilization of the default beam codebook 420 that offers reduced power gains. Based on determining that the received signal 430 is below an established SNR threshold, the UE 115-c may select an alternate codebook 425 (e.g., intermediate or fine beam codebook) from a plurality of available beam codebooks. In one example, the UE 115-c may switch the UE codebook to a fine beam codebook 425 that offers higher power gains).
Raghavan discloses RRC connection request and an RRC setup procedure but may not explicitly disclose transmit, from the terminal, an RRC connection setup message, and receive, to the terminal, an RRC connection setup complete message.
However, Chen more specifically teaches transmit, from the terminal, an RRC connection setup message, and receive, to the terminal, an RRC connection setup complete message (Figure 1, 2, 4 and 5; Paragraph [0035-0039] UE 501 transmits an RRC connection request with L2/L3 message. In step 514a, UE 501 receives connection resolution with C-RNTI. In step 514b, BS 502 sends an RRC connection setup with UE specific configuration. In step 515, UE 501 sends an RRC connection setup complete with PLMN ID and dedicated NAS info. The random access and RRC connection setup procedure are completed).
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 teachings of Raghavan with the teachings of Chen. The method enables using a control beam and dedicated data beam architecture that provides a robust control-signaling scheme to facilitate a beamforming operation in mmWave cellular network systems. The method enables using switched beamforming to reduce complexity and cost while the BS uses adaptive or digital beamforming to obtain more degree of freedom in antenna beam patterns and ensuring reduced overhead (Chen Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0010]).
Claims 2, 5, 8 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raghavan in view of Chen as applied to claim 1, 4, 7 and 10 above, and further in view of Li et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0237218, hereinafter Li.
Regarding Claim 2, 5, 8 and 11, Raghavan in view of Chen disclose the method, terminal and base station of Claim 1, 4, 8 and 10. Raghavan in view of Chen disclose beam books with reception and transmission beams but may not explicitly disclose wherein the beam book is changed according to a resource allocated to the terminal or a frame structure.
However, Li more specifically teaches wherein the beam book is changed according to a resource allocated to the terminal or a frame structure (Paragraph [0137-0139] a beam forming codebook or codeword change can be applied when the mobile station allocates resources for cell scanning or for data communication. For example, a first codebook can be used for data communication. Then when the mobile station tunes away for cell scanning, a second codebook can be used for data communication. As another example, instead of a codebook, a codebook limitation (e.g., a subset of the general codebook) change can be applied when the mobile station allocates resources for cell scanning or for data communication. As yet another example, a rank change can be applied when the mobile station allocates resources for cell scanning or for data communication).
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 teachings of Raghavan in view of Chen with the teachings of Li. The mobile station with fewer receiver beams can reduce the time used to scan the cells in an asynchronous system. The monitoring time can be reduced when synchronization channel/broadcast channel (SCH/BCH) beams are concurrently sent and repeated. The radio interface efficiency and allocation of new spectrum is improved, so that high growth in mobile data traffic can be achieved. The spectrum utilized in this band can be acquired at a lower cost. The larger bands can be used and higher throughput can be achieved using mobile broadband (MMB) communications. The mobile station can detect a base station using omni-receiving antennas with a very wide beam. The mobile station can easily listen the downlink signal from base station and detect the base station (Li Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0007, 0034-0041 and 0114]).
Claims 3, 6, 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raghavan in view of Chen as applied to claim 1, 4, 7 and 10 above, and further in view of Singh et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/0334564, hereinafter Singh.
Regarding Claim 4, 6, 9 and 12, Raghavan in view of Chen disclose the method, terminal and base station of Claim 1, 4, 8 and 10. Raghavan in view of Chen disclose beam books with reception and transmission beams but may not explicitly disclose wherein the beam book comprises a reception beam book and a transmission beam book.
However, Singh more specifically teaches wherein the beam book comprises a reception beam book and a transmission beam book (Paragraph [0102-0129] Receiver and transmitter codebooks including different directions and determination of optimal selections).
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 teachings of Raghavan in view of Chen with the teachings of Singh. The method enables achieving performance close to be attained with exhaustive search precoder combinations, while providing exponential reduction in the precoder selection search space. The method enables reducing radio frequency beam selection complexity in the wireless communication system without having significant performance degradation by mapping dominant angles-of-departure and dominant angles-of-arrival to nearest beam directions in transmitter and receiver codebooks and by employing resulting beam directions for communication (Singh Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0008]).
Conclusion
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IVAN O. LATORRE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2409
/IVAN O LATORRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409