CTNF 18/592,144 CTNF 82841 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/30/2025 is considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-2, 7-10, 15-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (US 2022/0225320; hereinafter Li) in view of Zhai et al., "mm-Wave Active Phased Array SiP Module for UE Devices in 5G Communications," 2021, pages 1031-1034 (hereinafter Zhai) . Regarding claim 1, Li shows a user equipment (UE) (Figure 8 shows a terminal performing in part the method of Figure 4.) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories (Figure 4; memory 804); and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories (Figure 4; processor 803 coupled to memory 804 and configured to perform the disclosed method.), configured to cause the UE to: transmit a capability indication indicating a capability for steering beams across two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0088-0093; terminal reports antenna capability information for configuring beams to transmit in different directions across two or more antenna panels.), wherein the capability indication further indicates that: each of the beams is associated with one of the two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0088-0093; antenna capability information for configuring beams to transmit in different directions across two or more antenna panels.), and the beams of the two or more antenna arrays are steered by a single module (Figure 4; Par. 0092; antenna capability information includes information associated with the antenna panel in the terminal. If there is only one antenna panel entity in the terminal, and the antenna panel entity can point to different directions at different times, it is considered that the terminal can activate only one antenna panel simultaneously.); and receive signals via the beams of the two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0093, 0138; the terminal receives downlink data simultaneously through respective beams across the two or more antenna panels.). Li shows all of the elements including the single antenna entity, as discussed above. Li does not specifically show that the single antenna entity is a single system-in-package (SiP) module. However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Zhai. Specifically, Zhai shows a single system-in-package (SiP) module (Figures 1 and 3; noted mm-Wave phased array system in package (SiP) module configured for beam steering/beamforming.). In view of the above, having the system of Li, then given the well-established teaching of Zhai, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li as taught by Zhai, in order to provide motivation to efficiently complete spatial coverage for a UE (Conclusion of Zhai). Regarding claim 2, modified Li shows wherein the SiP module includes a single radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) chip (Zhai: Figures 1-2; noted single RFIC chip design for the mm-Wave phased array system.). Regarding claim 7, modified Li shows wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to steer, with the SiP module, the beams of the two or more antenna arrays in different directions (Li: Figure 4; Par. 0092; If there is only one antenna panel entity in the terminal, and the antenna panel entity can point to different directions at different times, it is considered that the terminal can activate only one antenna panel simultaneously.). Regarding claim 8, modified Li shows wherein the signals are received over a single layer (Li: Figure 4; Par. 0092; If there is only one antenna panel entity in the terminal, and the antenna panel entity can point to different directions at different times, it is considered that the terminal can activate only one antenna panel simultaneously.). Regarding claim 9, modified Li shows wherein the signals are received over multiple layers (Li: Figure 4; Par. 0093; regarding whether the N antenna panels are capable of performing downlink reception simultaneously when the value of N is greater than or equal to 2 and the N antenna panels are capable of being activated simultaneously, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the terminal includes two or more antenna panels, and the two or more antenna panels can be activated simultaneously, the terminal may also report to the base station whether the two or more antenna panels can receive downlink data simultaneously.). Regarding claim 10, Li shows a network node (Figure 9 shows a base station performing in part the method of Figure 4.) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories (Figure 9; memory 903.); and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories (Figure 9; processor 902 coupled to memory 903 and configured to perform the disclosed method.), configured to cause the network node to: receive a capability indication indicating a user equipment (UE) capability for steering beams across two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0088-0093; base station receives antenna capability information for configuring beams to transmit in different directions across two or more antenna panels.), wherein the capability indication further indicates that: each of the beams is associated with one of the two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0088-0093; antenna capability information for configuring beams to transmit in different directions across two or more antenna panels.), and the beams of the two or more antenna arrays are steered by a single module (Figure 4; Par. 0092; antenna capability information includes information associated with the antenna panel in the terminal. If there is only one antenna panel entity in the terminal, and the antenna panel entity can point to different directions at different times, it is considered that the terminal can activate only one antenna panel simultaneously.); and output, to the UE, signals over a single layer via a distributed beam (Figure 4; Par. 0092; If there is only one antenna panel entity in the terminal, and the antenna panel entity can point to different directions at different times, it is considered that the terminal can activate only one antenna panel simultaneously.). Li shows all of the elements including the single antenna entity, as discussed above. Li does not specifically show that the single antenna entity is a single system-in-package (SiP) module. However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Zhai. Specifically, Zhai shows a single system-in-package (SiP) module (Figures 1 and 3; noted mm-Wave phased array system in package (SiP) module configured for beam steering/beamforming.). In view of the above, having the system of Li, then given the well-established teaching of Zhai, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li as taught by Zhai, in order to provide motivation to efficiently complete spatial coverage for a UE (Conclusion of Zhai). Regarding claim 15, Li shows a method (Figure 4 shows a method performed in part by a terminal of Figure 8.) of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting a capability indication indicating a capability for steering beams across two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0088-0093; terminal reports antenna capability information for configuring beams to transmit in different directions across two or more antenna panels.), wherein the capability indication further indicates that: each of the beams is associated with one of the two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0088-0093; antenna capability information for configuring beams to transmit in different directions across two or more antenna panels.), and the beams of the two or more antenna arrays are steered by a single module (Figure 4; Par. 0092; antenna capability information includes information associated with the antenna panel in the terminal. If there is only one antenna panel entity in the terminal, and the antenna panel entity can point to different directions at different times, it is considered that the terminal can activate only one antenna panel simultaneously.); and receiving signals via the beams of the two or more antenna arrays (Figure 4; Par. 0093, 0138; the terminal receives downlink data simultaneously through respective beams across the two or more antenna panels.). Li shows all of the elements including the single antenna entity, as discussed above. Li does not specifically show that the single antenna entity is a single system-in-package (SiP) module. However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Zhai. Specifically, Zhai shows a single system-in-package (SiP) module (Figures 1 and 3; noted mm-Wave phased array system in package (SiP) module configured for beam steering/beamforming.). In view of the above, having the system of Li, then given the well-established teaching of Zhai, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li as taught by Zhai, in order to provide motivation to efficiently complete spatial coverage for a UE (Conclusion of Zhai). Regarding claim 16, this claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 2. Regarding claim 20, this claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 7 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 3-4, 11-12 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Zhai and Gao et al. (US 2021/0345299; hereinafter Gao) . Regarding claim 3, modified Li shows all of the elements except wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to transmit a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state indication message. However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Gao. Specifically, Gao shows wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to transmit a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state indication message (Figure 7; Par. 0037-0039, 0052; transmitting, from a first communication node and to a second communication node, a signal according to a beam set that comprises a first subset of B beams selected from a pool of beams, wherein B is positive integer. In some embodiments, a beam of the beam set comprises at least one or more TCI states. First communication node is a wireless device per claim 45.). In view of the above, having the system of Li, then given the well-established teaching of Gao, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li as taught by Gao, in order to provide motivation to ensure a low implementation cost while still benefiting from the advantages provided by an antenna array (Par. 0019 of Gao). Regarding claim 4, modified Li shows wherein the TCI state indication message indicates a set of TCI states for beam combining (Gao: Figure 7; Par. 0037-0039, 0052; different configurations are provided for combining multiple beams (e.g., QCL states, transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, spatial relation states or spatial relation information (SRI)) for one or more transmissions (e.g., PDSCH, PDCCH, PUSCH or PUCCH) as one beam set.). Regarding claims 11 and 17, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 3. Regarding claims 12 and 18, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 4 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5-6, 13-14 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Zhai and Marupaduga et al. (US Pat. 11,723,096; hereinafter Marupaduga) . Regarding claim 5, modified Li shows all of the elements except wherein the capability indication includes an information element. However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Marupaduga. Specifically, Marupaduga shows wherein the capability indication includes an information element (col. 8, lines 42-50; the UE could respond to the eNB with a “UE capability information” information element (IE). This UE capability information IE could take various forms. For instance, the IE could include a set of feature group indicator (FGI) bits, each mapped to a particular capability, and each having a value (0 or 1) indicating whether or not the UE has that capability.). In view of the above, having the system of Li, then given the well-established teaching of Marupaduga, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Li as taught by Marupaduga, in order to provide motivation to stop further ping-ponging can advantageously leverage conventional UE-capability-reporting functionality, avoiding the need to introduce a new form of messaging for this purpose (col. 5, lines 18-34 of Marupaduga). Regarding claim 6, modified Li shows wherein the capability indication includes a bit in the information element (Marupaduga: col. 8, lines 42-50; the UE could respond to the eNB with a “UE capability information” information element (IE). This UE capability information IE could take various forms. For instance, the IE could include a set of feature group indicator (FGI) bits, each mapped to a particular capability, and each having a value (0 or 1) indicating whether or not the UE has that capability.). Regarding claims 13 and 19, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 5. Regarding claim 14, this claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 6 . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20250374128 A1 - In this method, because a gain and/or a width of a beam of the terminal device may indicate a beam coverage area of the terminal device, a first network device may determine the beam coverage area of the terminal device based on first indication information reported by the terminal device. US 20230189157 A1 - An antenna panel management method, an apparatus, and a system, implement management of a plurality of antenna panels, and reduce power consumption of a terminal device. US 20230110967 A1 - Apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device and a cellular base station to support common analog beam steering for band groups. US 20220322072 A1 - In an aspect, a UE transmits an indication of capability of the UE to support one or more reference signal (RS) types as a quasi co-location (QCL) source RS for one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. US 20220007207 A1 - A communication device, otherwise known as a user equipment (UE) may receive a first beamformed transmission associated with a directional beam from another UE. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REDENTOR M PASIA whose telephone number is (571)272-9745. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /REDENTOR PASIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 2 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 3 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 4 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 5 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 6 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 7 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 8 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 9 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 10 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 11 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 12 Art Unit: 2413 Application/Control Number: 18/592,144 Page 13 Art Unit: 2413