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 .
Priority
This application is a continuation of U.S. Application Number 17/529,847 (U.S. Patent Number 11,943,715).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 20, 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 lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-30 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-28 of U.S. Patent No. 11,943,715. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-30 of the current application are obvious variants of claims 1-28 of USPN 11,943,715.
USPN 11,943,715 discloses, teaches, or suggests:
1. A method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) (see claim 1), comprising:
receiving, from a wireless network device, a first control message comprising an indication of a set of configurations of the wireless network device, each configuration indicating a corresponding quantity of channel state information reference signal ports allocated per channel state information reference signal resource (see claim 1);
receiving a second control message indicating a first configuration from the set of configurations, the first configuration indicative of a quantity of channel state information reference signal resources to be used by the wireless network device (see claim 1);
monitoring one or more of the channel state information reference signal resources for a channel state information reference signal in accordance with the first configuration (see claim 1); and
transmitting, to the wireless network device, channel state information feedback determined based at least in part on measurements made by the UE of the channel state information reference signal (see claim 1);
2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the set of configurations is associated with a set of energy saving modes (see claim 1); and the first configuration is associated with a first energy saving mode of the set of energy saving modes (see claim 1);
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a message identifying a set of channel state information reference signal ports that are activated during the first configuration (see claim 2);
4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the set of configurations further comprises: receiving an indication of a number of antenna panels of the wireless network device, a number of antenna sub-panels of the wireless network device, or both associated with each configuration of the set of configurations (see claim 3).
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: receiving a message identifying a set of antenna panels, a set of antenna sub-panels, or both that are activated during the first configuration (see claim 4).
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the message comprises an indication of a mapping of a set of channel state information reference signal ports corresponding with each antenna panel of the set of antenna panels, with each antenna sub-panel from the set of antenna sub-panels, or a combination thereof (see claim 5).
7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the second control message further comprises: receiving a broadcasted message, a UE-specific message, or a group-common message indicating the first configuration from the set of configurations (see claim 6).
8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the second control message further comprises: receiving a radio resource control reconfiguration message indicating the first configuration based at least in part on a duration between a previous configuration and the first configuration (see claim 7).
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second control message indicating the first configuration is received based at least in part on a synchronization signal block configuration (see claim 8).
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless network device is a base station, or a transmission reception point of the base station (see claim 9).
11. A method for wireless communications at a wireless network device (see claim 1), comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a first control message comprising an indication of a set of configurations of the wireless network device, each configuration indicating a corresponding quantity of channel state information reference signal ports allocated per channel state information reference signal resource (see claim 10);
transmitting a second control message indicating a first configuration from the set of configurations, the first configuration indicative of a quantity of channel state information reference signal resources to be used by the wireless network device (see claim 10);
transmitting one or more channel state information reference signals in accordance with the first configuration (see claim 10); and
receiving, from the UE, channel state information feedback determined based at least in part on measurements made by the UE of the one or more channel state information reference signals (see claim 10).
12. The method of claim 11, wherein: the set of configurations is associated with a set of energy saving modes (see claim 10); and the first configuration is associated with a first energy saving mode of the set of energy saving modes (see claim 10).
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: transmitting a message identifying a set of channel state information reference signal ports that are activated during the first configuration (see claim 11).
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the channel state information reference signal ports are configured into one or more groups (see claim 12).
15. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting the set of configurations further comprises: transmitting an indication of a number of antenna panels, a number of antenna sub-panels, or both associated with each configuration of the set of configurations (see claim 13).
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting a message identifying a set of antenna panels, a set of antenna sub-panels, or both that are activated during the first configuration (see claim 14).
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the message comprises an indication of a mapping of a set of channel state information reference signal ports corresponding with each antenna panel of the set of antenna panels, with each antenna sub-panel from the set of antenna sub-panels, or a combination thereof (see claim 15).
18. The method of claim 11, further comprising: transmitting, one or more channel state information references signals via a set of resources in accordance with a default configuration (see claim 16); and receiving, from the UE, channel state information feedback determined based at least in part on measurements made by the UE of the one or more channel state information reference signals in accordance with the default configuration (see claim 16).
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: determining to switch to the first configuration from the default configuration, where transmitting the second control message is based at least in part on the determination (see claim 17).
20. The method of claim 11, wherein the first control message indicates that the set of configurations are applicable to uplink communications, downlink communications, or both (see claim 18).
21. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting the second control message further comprises: transmitting a radio resource control reconfiguration message indicating the first configuration based at least in part on a duration between a previous configuration and the first configuration (see claim 19).
22. The method of claim 11, wherein the second control message indicating the first configuration is received based at least in part on a synchronization signal block configuration (see claim 20).
23. An apparatus for wireless communications (see claim 21), comprising:
a processor (see claim 21);
memory coupled with the processor (see claim 21); and
instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to (see claim 21):
receive, from a wireless network device, a first control message comprising an indication of a set of configurations of the wireless network device, each configuration indicating a corresponding quantity of channel state information reference signal ports allocated per channel state information reference signal resource (see claim 21);
receive a second control message indicating a first configuration from the set of configurations, the first configuration indicative of a quantity of channel state information reference signal resources to be used by the wireless network device (see claim 21);
monitor one or more of the channel state information reference signal resources for a channel state information reference signal in accordance with the first configuration (see claim 21); and
transmit, to the wireless network device, channel state information feedback determined based at least in part on measurements made by the apparatus of the channel state information reference signal (see claim 21).
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein: the set of configurations is associated with a set of energy saving modes (see claim 21); and the first configuration is associated with a first energy saving mode of the set of energy saving modes (see claim 21).
25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: monitor, prior to receiving the second control message, a set of channel state information reference signal resources for the channel state information reference signal in accordance with a default configuration (see claim 23); and transmit, to the wireless network device, channel state information feedback determined based at least in part on measurements made by the apparatus of the channel state information reference signal in accordance with the default configuration (see claim 23).
26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the instructions to receive the first control message are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive a radio resource control message comprising the indication of the set of configurations of the wireless network device (see claim 24).
27. An apparatus for wireless communications (see claim 25), comprising:
a processor (see claim 25);
memory coupled with the processor (see claim 25); and
instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to (see claim 25):
output, to a user equipment (UE), a first control message comprising an indication of a set of configurations of the apparatus, each configuration indicating a corresponding quantity of channel state information reference signal ports allocated per channel state information reference signal resource (see claim 25, where transmitting corresponds to outputting);
output a second control message indicating a first configuration from the set of configurations, the first configuration indicative of a quantity of channel state information reference signal resources to be used by the apparatus (see claim 25, where transmitting corresponds to outputting);
output one or more channel state information reference signals in accordance with the first configuration (see claim 25, where transmitting corresponds to outputting); and
obtain, from the UE, channel state information feedback determined based at least in part on measurements made by the UE of the one or more channel state information reference signals (see claim 25, where receiving corresponds to obtaining).
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein: the set of configurations is associated with a set of energy saving modes (see claim 25); and the first configuration is associated with a first energy saving mode of the set of energy saving modes (see claim 25).
29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: deactivate one or more channel state information reference signals ports, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna sub-panels, or a combination thereof based at least in part on the first configuration (see claim 27).
30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the instructions to transmit the second control message are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit a broadcasted message, a UE-specific message, or a group-common message indicating the first configuration from the set of configurations (see claim 28).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of claims 1-28 of USPN 11,943,715 to teach the invention of claims 1-30 of the current application. The motivation would be to obtain a variant of the Applicant’s invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0029274 (Cheng et al.) – operation of multiple antenna panels to enable/disable a power saving mode.
U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0322887 (Pao et al.) – power saving configuration including a reference signal configuration for measurement and reporting.
U.S. Pub. No. 2022/0201605 (Yang et al.) – power saving scheme of configuring channel state information.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Pawaris Sinkantarakorn whose telephone number is (571)270-1424. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hadi Armouche can be reached at (571) 270-3618. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAO SINKANTARAKORN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409 05/08/2026
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