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 .
Status of the Application
This Office action is in response to the amendment and remarks filed on June 1, 2026. Claims 2, 3, 13, 14, and 19 have been cancelled; claims 1, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, and 20 have been amended; and claims 21-25 have been added. Accordingly, claims 1, 4-12, 15-18, and 20-25 are pending and are examined herein. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL.
The new grounds of rejection set forth below were necessitated by Applicant’s amendment, which cancelled claims 2, 3, 13, 14, and 19 and incorporated their subject matter into independent claims 1, 12, and 18, and added new claims 21-25. Accordingly, this action is properly made final. See MPEP 706.07(a).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed June 1, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to Applicant’s argument that “LI and HE do not disclose” the amended limitations reciting receipt of a first CSI-RS in a first LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource using a first LP-WUR antenna port and receipt of a second CSI-RS in a second LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource using a second LP-WUR antenna port (Remarks, pages 10-12), the Examiner respectfully disagrees.
The recited structure of receiving a first reference signal in a first time-domain resource using a first receive antenna port associated with that resource, and receiving a second reference signal in a second time-domain resource using a second receive antenna port associated with that resource, is taught by Li, not by He. Li teaches determining an association between a downlink transmission occasion and a receive antenna port, and receiving a first reference signal during a first transmission occasion based on a first receive antenna port and a second reference signal during a second transmission occasion based on a second receive antenna port. (Li, para [0032], [0033].) Li further illustrates this antenna-port switching in FIG. 3A, in which a base station transmits a CSI-RS corresponding to a first receive antenna port (Rx0) and then repeats the process for a second receive antenna port (Rx1). (Li, para [0129], [0130].) Each limitation of claim 1 is separately mapped to its supporting passage of Li in the rejection set forth below.
In regard to Applicant’s argument that “HE merely discloses generic receive antenna switching operations using conventional receive antenna ports” and that He does not disclose “a first low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) antenna port” (Remarks, pages 11-12), one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking the references individually where the rejection is based on a combination of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981).
Applicant’s argument mis-attributes to He the antenna-port switching passages that are in fact disclosed by Li. He is not relied upon to teach receive antenna port switching; He is relied upon only for the low-power wake-up receiver context, namely that a UE may be equipped with a low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) that utilizes less power than a main radio of the UE. (He, para [0021].) In the combination, the receive antenna ports and antenna-switching resources of Li are those of the low-power wake-up receiver of He, which reads on the recited LP-WUR antenna ports and LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources.
As to Applicant’s argument that “the Office Action does not provide sufficient reasoning explaining how or why one of ordinary skill in the art would have modified LI’s generic receive antenna switching framework to arrive at the specifically claimed LP-WUR antenna switching framework” (Remarks, page 12), the rejection provides articulated reasoning with a rational underpinning: it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to implement Li’s receive-antenna-port CSI-RS reception and reporting using the low-power wake-up receiver of He in order to reduce UE power consumption while still enabling channel-state feedback usable by a base station, which is the combination of prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). The motivation is drawn from the references themselves and not from Applicant’s disclosure.
Applicant’s arguments directed to dependent claims 4-8, 16, and 17, and to new claims 21-25 (Remarks, pages 12-13), rely on the patentability of the independent claims and are unpersuasive for the reasons given above and for the reasons set forth in the rejections below.
Because Applicant cancelled claims 2, 3, 13, 14, and 19 and incorporated their subject matter into independent claims 1, 12, and 18, and added new claims 21-25, the rejections set forth below rely on portions of the applied references not relied upon in the prior Office action. In particular, claims 1, 12, and 18 are now rejected on Li, para [0016], [0023], [0024], [0025], [0032], and [0033], which were not relied upon in the rejection of claim 1 in the prior Office action; new claim 21 is rejected on He, para [0068], [0069], and [0079]; new claim 22 is rejected on Li, para [0024] and Duan, para [0081]; and new claim 24 newly relies on Duan, para [0075] and [0081]. Accordingly, the rejections below constitute new grounds of rejection necessitated by Applicant’s amendment, and THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL.
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.
Claims 1, 9-12, 18, 20, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2021/217489 A1) in view of He (WO 2024/011572 A1).
Regarding claim 1, (Currently Amended) Li discloses: A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and configured to cause the UE to: because Li teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a UE that includes a processor and memory coupled with the processor, together with instructions stored in the memory that are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the recited operations: (Li, para [0006] “An apparatus for wireless communications at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory coupled with the processor”; Li, para [0006] “The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive a reference signal from a base station”).
Furthermore, Li discloses: receive, in a first low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) antenna switching time-domain resource of a plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, because Li teaches determining a set of repeated resources for a reference signal based on a configuration and receiving the reference signal from the base station via that set of repeated resources, where the set of repeated resources is within a slot and the first reception occurs during a first transmission occasion: (Li, para [0023] “determining a set of repeated resources for a reference signal from the base station based on the configuration, and receiving, from the base station, the reference signal via the set of repeated resources using the group of receive antenna ports”; Li, para [0024] “the set of repeated resources may be within a slot”; Li, para [0033] “receiving a first reference signal of the set of reference signals during a first transmission occasion”).
Furthermore, Li discloses: a first channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) using a first low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) antenna port of a plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports, wherein the first LP-WUR antenna port is associated with the first LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource; because Li teaches that the set of repeated resources are resources for channel state information reference signals, that the first reference signal is received based on a first receive antenna port of the group in accordance with an association, and that the association is determined between a downlink transmission occasion and a receive antenna port of the group and is indicated for a resource of the reference signal: (Li, para [0025] “the set of repeated resources may be resources for channel state information reference signals”; Li, para [0033] “based on a first receive antenna port of the group based on the association”; Li, para [0032] “determining an association between a downlink transmission occasion and a receive antenna port of the group of receive antenna ports”; Li, para [0016] “receiving an indication of an association between a resource for the reference signal and the receive antenna port”).
Furthermore, Li discloses: receive, in a second LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, because Li teaches that a second reference signal of the same set is received from the base station via the set of repeated resources during a second transmission occasion: (Li, para [0033] “receiving a second reference signal of the set of reference signals during a second transmission occasion”; Li, para [0023] “receiving, from the base station, the reference signal via the set of repeated resources using the group of receive antenna ports”).
Furthermore, Li discloses: a second CSI-RS using a second LP-WUR antenna port of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports, wherein the second LP-WUR antenna port is associated with the second LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource; and because Li teaches that the second reference signal is received based on a second receive antenna port of the group in accordance with the same association between transmission occasion and receive antenna port, and that the repeated resources are channel state information reference signal resources: (Li, para [0033] “based on a second receive antenna port of the group based on the association”; Li, para [0032] “receiving a set of reference signals from the base station based on the association”; Li, para [0025] “the set of repeated resources may be resources for channel state information reference signals”).
Furthermore, Li discloses: transmit a CSI report associated with the first CSI-RS and the second CSI-RS. because Li teaches generating channel state information associated with a set of UE receive antenna ports based on the reference signal received from the base station and transmitting a channel state information report to the base station that includes that channel state information: (Li, para [0005] “transmitting a channel state information report to the base station, the channel state information report including the channel state information associated with the set of UE receive antenna ports and an indication of the set of UE receive antenna ports”).
Even though Li teaches the reception of the first and second channel state information reference signals in the repeated time-domain resources using first and second receive antenna ports of the group and the transmission of the associated channel state information report: (Li, para [0005], [0016], [0023], [0024], [0025], [0032], [0033]), Li does not explicitly disclose that the antenna ports and the antenna switching time-domain resources are those of a low-power wake-up receiver.
However, Li in view of He discloses that the recited antenna ports and antenna switching time-domain resources are those of a low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR), because He teaches that a UE may be equipped with a low-power wakeup radio that utilizes less power than a main radio of the UE and that the UE uses the low-power wakeup radio to monitor for signaling in order to reduce UE power consumption: (He, para [0021], “A UE may be equipped with a low-power wakeup radio (LP-WUR) that utilizes less power than a main radio of the UE”; He, para [0021], “a UE may use a LP-WUR to monitor for a LP-WUS”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement Li’s receive-antenna-port CSI-RS reception and CSI reporting using the low-power wake-up receiver of He, such that the receive antenna ports and the antenna switching time-domain resources are those of the low-power wake-up receiver, because doing so would predictably reduce UE power consumption while still enabling channel-state feedback usable by a base station for downlink communications.
Regarding claim 9, (Currently Amended) Li in view of He discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: receive a configuration of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, because Li teaches receiving a configuration for reporting channel state information and determining, based on the configuration, a set of repeated resources for a reference signal from the base station: (Li, para [0023] “determining a set of repeated resources for a reference signal from the base station based on the configuration”). Accordingly, the rationale to combine Li and He is the same as set forth for claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 10, (Original) Li in view of He discloses: The UE of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: receive an indication to perform LP-WUR antenna switching in accordance with the configuration of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, because Li teaches receiving an indication of an association between a resource for the reference signal and the receive antenna port: (Li, para [0016] “receiving an indication of an association between a resource for the reference signal and the receive antenna port”). Accordingly, the rationale to combine Li and He is the same as set forth for claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 11, (Currently Amended) Li in view of He discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE does not support LP-WUR antenna switching, because Li teaches transmitting a common channel quality parameter that indicates a preference to disable receive antenna port switching at the UE: (Li, para [0034] “the common channel quality parameter indicating a preference to disable receive antenna port switching at the UE”).
Furthermore, Li in view of He discloses: and wherein the plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports are fixed, because Li teaches that, where port switching is so disabled, the UE reports a single common channel quality parameter in the channel state information report for the set of receive antenna ports rather than switching among them: (Li, para [0034] “transmitting a common channel quality parameter in the channel state information report”). Accordingly, the rationale to combine Li and He is the same as set forth for claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 12, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, in a first low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) antenna switching time-domain resource of a plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, a first channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) using a first low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) antenna port of a plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports, wherein the first LP-WUR antenna port is associated with the first LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource; receiving, in a second LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, a second CSI-RS using a second LP-WUR antenna port of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports, wherein the second LP-WUR antenna port is associated with the second LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource; and transmitting a CSI report associated with the first CSI-RS and the second CSI-RS. Claim 12 is analogous to claim 1 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Regarding claim 18, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving, in a first low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) antenna switching time-domain resource of a plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, a first channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) using a first low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) antenna port of a plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports, wherein the first LP-WUR antenna port is associated with the first LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource; means for receiving, in a second LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources, a second CSI-RS using a second LP-WUR antenna port of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports, wherein the second LP-WUR antenna port is associated with the second LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource; and means for transmitting a CSI report associated with the first CSI-RS and the second CSI-RS. Claim 18 is analogous to claim 1 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Regarding claim 20, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus does not support LP-WUR antenna switching, and wherein the plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports are fixed. Claim 20 is analogous to claim 11 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Regarding claim 21, (New) Li in view of He discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: receive an indication that a main radio (MR) is off and an LP-WUR of the UE is on prior to receiving the first CSI-RS and receiving the second CSI-RS, because He teaches that the UE is equipped with a low-power wake-up receiver, distinct from and consuming less power than the main radio, that is configured to receive a low-power wake-up signal while the main radio remains asleep for the discontinuous reception cycle, so that the received wake-up signaling informs the UE that the main radio is off and the low-power wake-up receiver is on: (He, para [0069], “a UE may be equipped with a low-power wakeup radio (LP-WUR) that utilizes less power than a main radio of the UE”; He, para [0069], “The LP-WUR may be configured to receive a low-power wakeup signal (LP-WUS)”; He, para [0068], “If the UE does not receive the WUS, the UE returns to sleep for the next long DRX cycle”; He, para [0079], “reduce an amount of time that the UE wakes up the main radio”). Accordingly, the rationale to combine Li and He is the same as set forth for claim 1 above.
Claims 4 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2021/217489 A1) in view of He (WO 2024/011572 A1) and further in view of Lincoln (WO 2017/196243 A1).
Regarding claim 4, (Currently Amended) even though Li in view of He teaches the UE of claim 1, including the plurality of antenna switching time-domain resources and the plurality of antenna ports: (Li, para [0023], [0032], [0033]; He, para [0021]), Li in view of He does not explicitly disclose that each such time-domain resource corresponds to multiple antenna ports.
However, Li in view of He and further in view of Lincoln discloses The UE of claim 1, wherein each LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources corresponds to multiple LP-WUR antenna ports of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports, because Lincoln teaches that each beam has between one and eight antenna ports and that each such beam is associated with a CSI-RS: (Lincoln, page 10, lines 26-28, “A useful working assumption is that each beam has between 1 and 8 ports, and that each beam is associated with a CSI-RS with a rank ranging from 1 to 8”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li’s LP-WUR receive-antenna switching scheme, as applied in view of He, to have a single antenna-switching time-domain resource correspond to multiple antenna ports as taught by Lincoln, because doing so would have predictably enabled multi-port CSI-RS measurements within a given time-domain resource, thereby improving channel-sounding support while reducing resource overhead. Li and He are combined for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 15, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: The method of claim 12, wherein each LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resource of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources corresponds to multiple LP-WUR antenna ports of the plurality of LP-WUR antenna ports. Claim 15 is analogous to claim 4 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Claims 5-7, 16, 17, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2021/217489 A1) in view of He (WO 2024/011572 A1) and further in view of Liu (US 2023/0047048 A1).
Regarding claim 5, (Currently Amended) even though Li in view of He teaches the UE of claim 1, including the reception of the CSI-RSs using the LP-WUR antenna ports: (Li, para [0023], [0033]; He, para [0021]), Li in view of He does not explicitly disclose transmitting a capability report associated with the antenna switching.
However, Li in view of He and further in view of Liu discloses The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: transmit a capability report associated with LP-WUR antenna switching, because Liu teaches reporting a capability of the remote unit indicating the supported transmission port switching, and receiving a configuration according to the reported capability in which resource sets are configured for antenna switching: (Liu, para [0007], “reporting a capability of the remote unit indicating the supported Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) transmission port switching”; Liu, para [0007], “receiving an SRS configuration according to the reported capability, wherein one or more SRS resource sets are configured at the base unit each consisting of one or more SRS resources for antenna switching”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li’s LP-WUR receive-antenna switching scheme, as applied in view of He, to transmit a capability report associated with the antenna switching as taught by Liu, because doing so would have predictably enabled the base station to configure the antenna-switching resources in accordance with the reported capability. Li and He are combined for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 6, (Original) Li in view of He and further in view of Liu discloses: The UE of claim 5, wherein the capability report includes one or more of: an indication of a quantity of receive antennas associated with an LP-WUR of the UE, an indication that the UE supports the LP-WUR antenna switching, an indication of a minimum timing gap associated with the LP-WUR antenna switching, or an indication of a maximum bandwidth associated with CSI estimation using the LP-WUR, as Liu further teaches that the reported capability enumerates the supported antenna-switching configurations, each of which specifies a quantity of receive antennas: (Liu, para [0007], “the capability includes at least 1T6R, 2T6R, 4T6R, 1T8R, 2T8R and 4T8R”). Accordingly, the rationale to combine Li, He, and Liu is the same as set forth for claims 1 and 5 above.
Regarding claim 7, (Original) Li in view of He and further in view of Liu discloses: The UE of claim 5, wherein the capability report is a dedicated capability report associated with the LP-WUR antenna switching, as Liu further teaches a capability report dedicated to the supported antenna switching that is used to configure the resource sets for antenna switching: (Liu, para [0007], “one or more SRS resource sets are configured at the base unit each consisting of one or more SRS resources for antenna switching”). Accordingly, the rationale to combine Li, He, and Liu is the same as set forth for claims 1 and 5 above.
Regarding claim 16, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: The method of claim 12, further comprising: transmitting a capability report associated with LP-WUR antenna switching. Claim 16 is analogous to claim 5 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Regarding claim 17, (Original) the claim recites: The method of claim 16, wherein the capability report includes one or more of: an indication of a quantity of receive antennas associated with an LP-WUR of the UE, an indication that the UE supports the LP-WUR antenna switching, an indication of a minimum timing gap associated with the LP-WUR antenna switching, or an indication of a maximum bandwidth associated with CSI estimation using the LP-WUR. Claim 17 is analogous to claim 6 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Regarding claim 23, (New) the claim recites: The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising: means for transmitting a capability report associated with LP-WUR antenna switching. Claim 23 is analogous to claim 5 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Claims 8, 24, and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2021/217489 A1) in view of He (WO 2024/011572 A1) and further in view of Liu (US 2023/0047048 A1) and further in view of Duan (US 2021/0112498 A1).
Regarding claim 8, (Original) even though Li in view of He and further in view of Liu teaches the UE of claim 5, including the transmission of a capability report associated with the antenna switching: (Li, para [0023], [0033]; He, para [0021]; Liu, para [0007]), the combination does not explicitly disclose that the capability report includes the recited maximum quantities of main radio and low-power wake-up receiver antennas.
However, Li in view of He and Liu and further in view of Duan discloses The UE of claim 5, wherein the capability report includes: an indication of a maximum quantity of main radio (MR) antennas associated with transmission, because Duan teaches that determining the antenna switching capability includes determining a number of transmit chains of the UE that are switchably coupled to the receive antenna ports: (Duan, para [0008], “determining a number of transmit (TX) chains of the UE switchably coupled to two or more of the RX antenna ports”).
Furthermore, Li in view of He and Liu and further in view of Duan discloses an indication of a maximum quantity of MR antennas associated with reception, because Duan teaches that the antenna switching capability reported for the UE represents the number of receive antenna ports of the UE, which may be equal to 6 or 8: (Duan, para [0007], “the antenna switching capability represents a number of receive (RX) antenna ports of the UE”; Duan, para [0007], “the number of RX antenna ports of the UE may be equal to 6 or 8”).
Furthermore, Li in view of He and Liu and further in view of Duan discloses and an indication of a maximum quantity of LP-WUR antennas associated with reception, because Duan teaches generating an antenna switching capability report that reports the number of receive antenna ports available at the device for reception, which in the combination with He are the receive antenna ports of the low-power wake-up receiver: (Duan, para [0007], “determining an antenna switching capability of a user equipment (UE), where the antenna switching capability represents a number of receive (RX) antenna ports of the UE”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the combination to report maximum quantities of main-radio and low-power wake-up receiver antennas associated with transmission and reception as taught by Duan, because doing so would have predictably enabled the base station to account for the UE’s transmit and receive antenna resources when scheduling and configuring the antenna switching. Li and He are combined for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Liu is combined for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 5 above.
Regarding claim 24, (New) even though Li in view of He and further in view of Liu teaches the apparatus of claim 23, including the capability report associated with the antenna switching: (Li, para [0023], [0033]; He, para [0021]; Liu, para [0007]), the combination does not explicitly disclose that the capability report includes an indication of a minimum timing gap associated with the antenna switching.
However, Li in view of He and Liu and further in view of Duan discloses The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the capability report includes one or more of: an indication of a minimum timing gap associated with the LP-WUR antenna switching, or an indication of a maximum bandwidth associated with CSI estimation using an LP-WUR of the apparatus, because Duan teaches that the number of resources that can be transmitted in the same slot depends on a switching time between antenna ports, and that a guard period is inserted between individual resources to allow time for the UE to switch between different receive antenna ports: (Duan, para [0075], “a switching time between antenna ports”; Duan, para [0081], “A guard period is inserted between individual SRS resources”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the capability report of the combination an indication of the minimum timing gap required for the antenna switching as taught by Duan, because the switching time between antenna ports is a UE-dependent constraint that the base station must know in order to schedule the antenna-switching resources without collision. Li and He are combined for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Liu is combined for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 5 above.
Regarding claim 25, (New) the claim recites: The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the capability report includes: an indication of a maximum quantity of main radio (MR) antennas associated with transmission, an indication of a maximum quantity of MR antennas associated with reception, and an indication of a maximum quantity of LP-WUR antennas associated with reception. Claim 25 is analogous to claim 8 and therefore is rejected for the same reason.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2021/217489 A1) in view of He (WO 2024/011572 A1) and further in view of Duan (US 2021/0112498 A1).
Regarding claim 22, (New) Li in view of He discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the plurality of LP-WUR antenna switching time-domain resources are configured in a same slot because Li teaches that the set of repeated resources may be within a slot: (Li, para [0024] “the set of repeated resources may be within a slot”). Accordingly, the rationale to combine Li and He is the same as set forth for claim 1 above.
Even though Li in view of He teaches that the antenna switching time-domain resources are configured within a same slot: (Li, para [0023], [0024]; He, para [0021]), Li in view of He does not explicitly disclose that those resources are separated from each other by one or more guard symbols.
However, Li in view of He and further in view of Duan discloses and separated from each other by one or more guard symbols, because Duan teaches that a guard period is inserted between the individual resources of a resource set to allow time for the UE to switch between different receive antenna ports: (Duan, para [0081], “A guard period is inserted between individual SRS resources”; Duan, para [0081], “to allow time for the TX chains of the UE to switch between different RX antenna ports”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to separate Li’s plurality of antenna switching time-domain resources within the same slot by one or more guard symbols as taught by Duan, because doing so would have predictably provided the time needed for the UE to switch between antenna ports between the resources. Li and He are combined for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/CHONGSUH PARK/Examiner, Art Unit 2478
/JAY L VOGEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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