DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This action is in response to the communication filed on 2/29/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
Examiner Note
The examiner is here to serve, to assist, and to help applicant to the very best of his ability. The Primary Patent Examiner position is a position of serving and it is an honor to externally serve the applicant and attorney and to internally serve junior examiners and supervisors. The goal of the examiner is to work with and assist applicant to move cases along as efficiently as possible.
Applicant is encouraged to call examiner to schedule an interview if applicant has any questions about this action, wants to discuss any possible paths forward, has proposed amendments to the claims to run by the examiner, or for any other issues that applicant would like to discuss.
Examiner can normally be reached at (571) 270-3863 or michael.keller@uspto.gov, Monday-Friday, from about 6 AM - 10 PM EST and if your call is missed examiner will try to return call quickly, thank you.
Priority
This application claims priority of 63/456,376, filed 3/31/2023. The assignee of record is APPLE INC. The listed inventor(s) is/are: Kuo, Ping-Heng; Cheng, Peng; Rossbach, Ralf; Sirotkin, Alexander; Wu, Zhibin; Xu, Fangli; Chen, Yuqin; Palle Venkata, Naveen Kumar R.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 7/24/2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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)(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.
(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(s) 1-3, 10-12, & 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Taghizadeh (WO 2022195557 A1, published 9/22/2022; hereinafter WO557).
For Claim(s) 1, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 10 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth below.
For Claim(s) 2, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 11 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth below.
For Claim(s) 3, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 12 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth below.
For Claim 10, WO557 teaches an apparatus comprising: processing circuitry configured to process a sensing signal configuration (WO557 ¶ 0038 enabling configuration for different levels of sensing requirements to enable sensing scheduling in different nodes with different capabilities);
process a reporting configuration that includes an indication of a radio bearer (WO557 ¶ 0072 discloses the kind of resources which must be sent);
associate the reporting configuration with the sensing signal configuration (WO557 ¶ 0072 In one embodiment, if the UE is configured with a CSI-ReportConfig with the higher layer parameter reportQuantity set to 'cri-RSRP' or ' ssb-Index-RSRP' ,
• if the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting set to 'disabled', the UE is not required to update measurements for more than 64 channel- state information reference symbol (“CSI-RS”) and/or SSB resources, and the UE shall report in a single report nroflleportedRS (higher layer configured) different CSI-RS resource indicator (“CRI”) or SS block resource indicator (“SSBRI”) for each report setting.
• if the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting set to 'enabled', the UE is not required to update measurements for more than 64 CSI-RS and/or SSB resources, and the UE shall report in a single reporting instance two different CRI or SSBRI for each report setting, where CSI-RS and/or SSB resources can be received simultaneously by the UE either with a single spatial domain receive filter, or with multiple simultaneous spatial domain receive filters);
process a sensing signal based on the sensing signal configuration (WO557 ¶ 0079 • Enabling sensing at the nodes and BWPs outside of the configured resources for the reception of data and control information
• Dedicated measurements to identify proper links for monitoring/sensing
• Measurements and reporting to facilitate the optimization of the transmit beam and waveform for the purpose of joint communication and radar sensing);
compute a result based on the sensing signal (WO557 ¶ 0093-0094 computational strategy identified with sensing processing idx); and
generate a signal to report the result on the radio bearer based on associating the reporting configuration with the sensing signal configuration (WO557 ¶ 0103 reporting of sensing data); and
memory interface circuitry coupled with the processing circuitry, to store the indication of the radio bearer in a memory (WO557 ¶ 0147 storing).
For Claim 11, WO557 teaches the apparatus of claim 10, wherein the sensing signal configuration is to indicate: whether the sensing signal is a periodic sensing signal; a beam width or direction of the sensing signal; a power level of the sensing signal; a first radio resource set for a transmission of the sensing signal; or a second radio resource set for performing a measurement of the sensing signal (WO557 ¶ 0136).
For Claim 12, WO557 teaches the apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: detect a condition (WO557 ¶ 0102-0103); and perform an activation, a deactivation, a modification, or a release of the sensing signal configuration or the reporting configuration based on the condition (WO557 ¶ 0102-0103).
For Claim 17, WO557 teaches one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause processing circuitry to:
process a list of capabilities of a user equipment (UE) (WO557 ¶ 0038 enabling configuration for different levels of sensing requirements to enable sensing scheduling in different nodes with different capabilities);
select a radio bearer (WO557 ¶ 0072 discloses the kind of resources which must be sent);
generate a reporting configuration and a sensing signal configuration based on the list of capabilities of the UE, the reporting configuration including an indication of the radio bearer (WO557 ¶ 0072 In one embodiment, if the UE is configured with a CSI-ReportConfig with the higher layer parameter reportQuantity set to 'cri-RSRP' or ' ssb-Index-RSRP' ,
• if the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting set to 'disabled', the UE is not required to update measurements for more than 64 channel- state information reference symbol (“CSI-RS”) and/or SSB resources, and the UE shall report in a single report nroflleportedRS (higher layer configured) different CSI-RS resource indicator (“CRI”) or SS block resource indicator (“SSBRI”) for each report setting.
• if the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting set to 'enabled', the UE is not required to update measurements for more than 64 CSI-RS and/or SSB resources, and the UE shall report in a single reporting instance two different CRI or SSBRI for each report setting, where CSI-RS and/or SSB resources can be received simultaneously by the UE either with a single spatial domain receive filter, or with multiple simultaneous spatial domain receive filters); and
associate the reporting configuration with the sensing signal configuration (WO557 ¶ 0079 • Enabling sensing at the nodes and BWPs outside of the configured resources for the reception of data and control information
• Dedicated measurements to identify proper links for monitoring/sensing
• Measurements and reporting to facilitate the optimization of the transmit beam and waveform for the purpose of joint communication and radar sensing).
For Claim 18, WO557 one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein: the reporting configuration includes a reporting configuration identification, and said associate the reporting configuration with the sensing signal configuration is based on the reporting configuration identification; or the sensing signal configuration includes a sensing signal configuration identification, and said associate the reporting configuration with the sensing signal configuration is based on the sensing signal configuration identification (WO557 ¶ 0079).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim(s) 4-6, 9, 13-14, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taghizadeh (WO 2022195557 A1, published 9/22/2022; hereinafter WO557) in view of Roy (WO 2021178941 A1, published 3/6/2021; hereinafter WO941).
For Claim(s) 4, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 13 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth below.
For Claim 5, WO557-WO941 teaches the method of claim 4, wherein: the sensing session configuration is associated with a quality of service requirement;
said associating the reporting configuration with the sensing signal configuration is based on the sensing session configuration (WO941 ¶ 0286, 0359); and the method further comprises:
generating an indication (WO941 Fig. 12 ¶ 0286, 0359); and performing an activation, a deactivation, a modification, suspension or a release of the sensing signal configuration, the reporting configuration, or the sensing session configuration based on the indication (WO941 Fig. 12).
For Claim(s) 6, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 14 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth below.
For Claim(s) 9, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 16 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth below.
For Claim 13, WO557 teaches the apparatus of claim 10, WO557 does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: process a sensing session configuration, the sensing session configuration is to include a reporting configuration indication associated with the reporting configuration and a sensing signal configuration indication associated with the sensing signal configuration.
However, WO941 teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: process a sensing session configuration, the sensing session configuration is to include a reporting configuration indication associated with the reporting configuration and a sensing signal configuration indication associated with the sensing signal configuration (WO941 ¶ 0335-0336).
WO941 and WO557 are analogous art because they are both related to networking.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the sensing techniques of WO941 with the system of WO557 to improve measurement range (WO941 ¶ 0359).
For Claim 14, WO557 teaches the apparatus of claim 10, WO557 does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: generate the sensing signal based on the sensing signal configuration; and process a reflection of the sensing signal, wherein said compute the result is based on said process of the reflection of the sensing signal.
However, WO941 teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: generate the sensing signal based on the sensing signal configuration (WO941 ¶ 0359); and process a reflection of the sensing signal, wherein said compute the result is based on said process of the reflection of the sensing signal (WO941 ¶ 0171).
WO941 and WO557 are analogous art because they are both related to networking.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the sensing techniques of WO941 with the system of WO557 to improve measurement range (WO941 ¶ 0359).
For Claim 16, WO557 teaches the apparatus of claim 10, WO557 does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: process a sensing gap configuration to indicate a time interval; generate or measure the sensing signal based on the time interval; process a command; detect a condition; and perform an activation, a deactivation, a modification, a termination, or a release of the sensing gap configuration based on the command or the condition.
However WO941 teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: process a sensing gap configuration to indicate a time interval (WO941 ¶ 0395-0397); generate or measure the sensing signal based on the time interval; process a command (WO941 ¶ 0395-0397); detect a condition (WO941 ¶ 0395-0397); and perform an activation, a deactivation, a modification, a termination, or a release of the sensing gap configuration based on the command or the condition (WO941 ¶ 0395-0397).
Claim(s) 7-8, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taghizadeh (WO 2022195557 A1, published 9/22/2022; hereinafter WO557) in view of Niu (WO 2022232962 A1, published 10/11/2022; hereinafter WO962).
For Claim 7, WO557 teaches the method of claim 6, WO557 does not explicitly teach further comprising: processing a sensing triggering event, wherein said generating of the sensing signal is based on said processing of the sensing triggering event, and the sensing triggering event is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).
However, WO962 teaches further comprising: processing a sensing triggering event, wherein said generating of the sensing signal is based on said processing of the sensing triggering event, and the sensing triggering event is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (WO962 ¶ 0037, 0039).
WO962 and WO557 are analogous art because they are both related to networking.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the sensing techniques of WO962 with the system of WO557 because configurations may be tailored to different usage cases (WO962 ¶ 0039).
For Claim 8, WO557 teaches the method of claim 1, WO557 does not explicitly teach further comprising: processing a reporting triggering event, wherein said reporting of the result is based on said processing of the reporting triggering event, wherein the reporting triggering event is based on the result, a downlink control information (DCI), or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).
However, WO962 teaches further comprising: processing a reporting triggering event, wherein said reporting of the result is based on said processing of the reporting triggering event, wherein the reporting triggering event is based on the result, a downlink control information (DCI), or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (WO962 ¶ 0037, 0039).
For Claim 19, WO557 teaches the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, WO557 does not explicitly teach wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate a sensing session configuration to be transmitted to the UE, the sensing session configuration is to include a reporting configuration indication associated with the reporting configuration, a sensing signal configuration associated with the sensing signal configuration, and an indication of a triggering event associated with the reporting configuration; and generate a command to be transmitted to the UE to activate, deactivate, modify, or release the sensing session configuration, the command is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).
However, WO962 teaches wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate a sensing session configuration to be transmitted to the UE, the sensing session configuration is to include a reporting configuration indication associated with the reporting configuration, a sensing signal configuration associated with the sensing signal configuration, and an indication of a triggering event associated with the reporting configuration; and generate a command to be transmitted to the UE to activate, deactivate, modify, or release the sensing session configuration, the command is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (WO962 ¶ 0037, 0039).
For Claim 20, WO557 teaches the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, WO557 does not explicitly teach wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate a sensing gap configuration to be transmitted to the UE, sensing gap configuration including a time interval during which a transmission or a reception of a sensing signal is permitted; and generate a command to be transmitted to the UE to activate, deactivate, modify, or release the sensing gap configuration, the command is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).
However, WO962 teaches wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate a sensing gap configuration to be transmitted to the UE, sensing gap configuration including a time interval during which a transmission or a reception of a sensing signal is permitted; and generate a command to be transmitted to the UE to activate, deactivate, modify, or release the sensing gap configuration, the command is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (WO962 ¶ 0037, 0039).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO557-WO941 as applied to claim 14 above and further in view of WO962.
For Claim 15, WO557-WO941 teaches the apparatus of claim 14, WO557-WO941 does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: generate a sensing triggering event, wherein said generate of the sensing signal is based on said process of the sensing triggering event, and the sensing triggering event is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).
However, WO962 teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: generate a sensing triggering event, wherein said generate of the sensing signal is based on said process of the sensing triggering event, and the sensing triggering event is included in a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (WO962 ¶ 0037, 0039).
WO962 and WO557-WO941 are analogous art because they are both related to networking.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the sensing techniques of WO962 with the system of WO557-WO941 because configurations may be tailored to different usage cases (WO962 ¶ 0039).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed below, thank you:
i. US 20240430067 A1, SENSING SIGNAL CONFIGURATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, USER EQUIPMENT, NETWORK SIDE DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL A KELLER/
Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446