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 .
Response to Amendment
Amendments filed on 07/14/2026 are entered for prosecution. Claims 1, 3-9, 11-17, and 19-23 remain pending in the application. The amendments change the scopes of the previously presented claims. New grounds of rejections are applied to the amended claims and the current Office Action is made FINAL as necessitated by the claim amendments.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3-9, 11-17, and 19-23 in a reply filed 07/14/2026 (hereinafter, Remarks) regarding newly added limitations have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the references being used in the current rejection.
Regarding claim 1:
The applicant respectfully argues “First, Claim 1 recites a configuration indicating a UL codebook for eight antenna ports with Ng = 8 antenna port groups. The cited references do not appear to disclose or suggest a codebook for eight antenna ports with eight antenna port groups” (Remarks Page 30, Emphasis added).
However, the examiner respectfully disagrees. WANG discloses a codebook for eight antenna ports ([0103] one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”, wherein the TPMI is 8-port TPMI. Correspondingly, the field of “Precoding information and number of layers” should be extended to more bits to support 8-port TPMI [0173] In an embodiment, for codebook-based transmission with up to 8 ports… for uplink transmission with N (N<=8) ports, port group may be defined with the number of port group is M. For example, for PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, the 8 antenna ports are split into two port groups. The 1.sup.st port group includes port #0 to port #3, and the 2.sup.nd port group includes port #4 to port #7) with 8 antenna port groups ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port));
The applicant further alleges “Second, Claim 1 recites that the port indices are increasing over the set of antenna ports
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. The cited references do not disclose or suggest this element. Further, these limitations are not recited in isolation. Claim 1 recites a port-selection precoding structure in which the strictly increasing port set
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, the index I =
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, and the recited TPMI-index-to-layer association operate together to define a mapping between the TPMI indexes and a corresponding subset of the eight antenna ports. The cited references do not disclose or suggest such a mapping as recited in Claim 1” (Remarks Page 30, Emphasis added).
However, the examiner respectfully disagrees. WANG discloses port indices are increasing over a set of antenna ports ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., ports 0-7 are the port indices)). Furthermore, annotated Tables 10 and 17 shows Index I and the recited TPMI-index-to-layer association (e.g., Tables 10 and Tables 17, the TPMI index-to-layer association similar to Table 1) operate together to define a mapping between the TPMI indexes and a corresponding subset of the eight antenna ports ([0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table).
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Wang does not explicitly disclose all of the TPMI index, all of the Index I, and all of the element 1 at the row according to the port
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on which the layer i is to be transmitted and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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.
However, 3GPP CATT discloses all of the TPMI index, all of the Index I, and all of the element 1 at the row according to the port
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on which the layer i is to be transmitted ([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows: Rank 1... Rank 8; 3GPP Table 1) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook... With the scaling factor of 1/2√2).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the TPMI index, the Index I, and the element 1 at the row according to the port
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on which the layer i is to be transmitted of WANG to include all of the TPMI index, all of the Index I, and all of the element 1 at the row according to the port
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on which the layer i is to be transmitted and the precoding matrix has the scaling factor of
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as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Thus, the applicant argument is not persuasive.
Regarding independent claims 9 and 17, the applicant submits the same arguments as presented in claim 1. Thus, examiner applies the same reasoning as presented in claim 1. Similarly, examiner applies the same reasoning for their dependent claims.
Claim Interpretation
Regarding claims 1, 3-9, 11-17, and 19-23:
The broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) of “TPMI Index” recited in dependent claims includes the number of TPMIs in bits according to the rank for the 8TX UL. The instant of specification (Table 30, near [0175]) includes the relationship between TPMI index according the given rank.
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Therefore, 3GPP CATT discloses the TPMI index according the given rank (3GPP CATT Table 1).
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3-9, 11-17, and 19-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US-20250112675-A1, hereinafter, WANG) in view of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #112bis-e “Discussion on SRI/TPMI enhancement for 8TX UL transmission”; CATT; R1-2302686; e-Meeting, April 17th – April 26th, 2023 (hereinafter 3GPP CATT).
Regarding claim 1, WANG discloses:
A user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1A, UE; Fig. 2 – 200; [0056] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments. Such… an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects and to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.) comprising:
a processor (Fig. 2 – 202 processor); and
a transceiver (Fig. 2 – 220 network interface device; [0062] The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network using a transmission medium 226 via the network interface device 220 utilizing any one of a number of wireless local area network (WLAN) transfer protocols (hence the UE comprises a transceiver)) operably coupled to the processor (Fig. 2 – 202 processor), the transceiver configured ([0234] user equipment (UE)… configure the UE to: receive, from a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), a codebook for eight port uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, the codebook containing a plurality of Transmit Precoder Matrix Indicators (TPMIs) that includes, a non-coherent TPMI, a partial coherent TPMI, and a full coherent TPMI; receive, from the gNB, downlink channel information (DCI) scheduling a PUSCH, the DCI indicating one of the TPMIs; and transmit, to the gNB, the PUSCH on eight ports of the UE based on the DCI; and wherein the memory is configured to store the codebook) to:
receive a configuration including a value corresponding to an uplink (UL) codebook for eight antenna ports ([0102] In Rel-18, in order to support PUSCH transmission with 8-ports, the DCI may be enhanced to indicate the UE with 8-port precoder; [0103] In an embodiment, in the DCI format scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2), one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”, wherein the TPMI is 8-port TPMI; [0103] one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”, wherein the TPMI is 8-port TPMI. Correspondingly, the field of “Precoding information and number of layers” should be extended to more bits to support 8-port TPMI [0173] In an embodiment, for codebook-based transmission with up to 8 ports… for uplink transmission with N (N<=8) ports, port group may be defined with the number of port group is M. For example, for PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, the 8 antenna ports are split into two port groups. The 1.sup.st port group includes port #0 to port #3, and the 2.sup.nd port group includes port #4 to port #7) with Ng= 8 antenna ports groups ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port));
receive a transmit precoding matrix indicator (TPMI) index indicating a precoding matrix from the UL codebook ([0112] In the DCI scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2)… After receiving the DCI, the UE may construct the 8-port precoding matrix; [0234] Example 1... to configure the UE to: receive, from a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), a codebook for eight port uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, the codebook containing a plurality of Transmit Precoder Matrix Indicators (TPMIs) that includes, a non-coherent TPMI, a partial coherent TPMI, and a full coherent TPMI; receive, from the gNB, downlink channel information (DCI) scheduling a PUSCH, the DCI indicating one of the TPMIs; and transmit, to the gNB, the PUSCH on eight ports of the UE based on the DCI); and
transmit a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) using the precoding matrix, wherein the precoding matrix is given ([0234]; [0112]; [0173] for codebook-based transmission with up to 8 ports… for uplink transmission with N (N<=8) ports, port group may be defined with the number of port group is M. For example, for PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, the 8 antenna ports are split into two port groups; [0207] in codebook-based PUSCH transmission, a UE different coherence including maintaining… transmit chains/antenna ports over time) by:
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((TABLE 10 Rank-1 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 10); TABLE 17 Rank-8 precoding matrix with 8-ports Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 17 )); [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table, W.sub.1,4Tx,R(X1) is a 4-port non-coherent TPMI with Rank X1, and W.sub.2,4Tx,R(X2) is a 4-port non-coherent TPMI with Rank X2, as shown in Table; [0195] Or when the 8-port non-coherent TPMI is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table plus [0 0].sup.T);
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(annotated Table 10 and Table 17)
where v is a number of layers (e.g., rank) of the precoding matrix (Table 10; Table 17; [0206] the precoders with 8-ports for Rank-1 to Rank-8 are shown below),
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is a set of antenna ports ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port)),
a column i of W, denoted
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has an element 1 at row corresponding to port
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on which layer i is to be transmitted, and element 0 at other rows, where
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,
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,
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(e.g., annotated Table 10 and Table 17), and
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([0188] In another embodiment, if V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) in Equation (8) may select one matrix as shown in Table 9 (i.e., the candidate values for V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) include the Rank-1 precoder with 2-ports plus [0 0].sup.T), then Equation (8) may be used to generate 8-port precoding matrix for all the Ranks, i.e., Rank X∈{1, 2, 3, 4 . . . 8}),
wherein the TPMI index is mapped to an index i (annotated Table 10 and Table 17; e.g., TPMI index similar to Table 1; [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table; [0103] In an embodiment, in the DCI format scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2), one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”… the field of “Precoding information and number of layers” should be extended to more bits to support 8-port TPMI),
wherein the index I =
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if a layer is to be transmitted on port p and
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(Annotated Table 10; [0079] Mode 2: some PAs can deliver full power. For example, the UE has PA architecture of [23 23 20 20] dBm; the UE should report TPMI(s) to the gNB, which can enable full power transmission, for example, [1 0 0 0] and [0 1 0 0]; for the TPMIs supporting full power, the power scaling factor is fixed to 1; [0234] Example 1... to configure the UE to: receive, from a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), a codebook for eight port uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, the codebook containing a plurality of Transmit Precoder Matrix Indicators (TPMIs) that includes, a non-coherent TPMI, a partial coherent TPMI, and a full coherent TPMI; receive, from the gNB, downlink channel information (DCI) scheduling a PUSCH, the DCI indicating one of the TPMIs; and transmit, to the gNB, the PUSCH on eight ports of the UE based on the DCI), and
wherein association of the TPMI index ((annotated Table 10 and Table 17; e.g., TPMI index similar to Table 1; [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table) to layer v ([0206] the precoders with 8-ports for Rank-1 to Rank-8 are shown below).
WANG does not disclose the association of the TPMI index to layer v according to:
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.
However, 3GPP CATT discloses an association of a TPMI index to layer ([Page 1-2] For the non-coherent codebook of 4TX for CP-OFDM waveform in Rel-15, the total number of precoding matrices in non-coherent codebook is 12, with all of port selection precoding matrices for rank=1/2/4 included, and one precoding matrix for rank =3 included. For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows:
Rank 1: C_8^1=8;
Rank 2: C_8^2=28;
Rank 3: C_8^3=56;
Rank 4: C_8^4=70;
Rank 5: C_8^5=56;
Rank 6: C_8^6=28;
Rank 7: C_8^7=8;
Rank 8: C_8^8=1; If all of the precoding matrices are included, the number of precoding matrices and the bit widths for TPMI field when maxRank=1,2,⋯,8 are shown in Table 1. It can be seen that 8 bits are needed when maxRank >= 4 for 8TX. Compared with 4TX, the bit widths for TPMI field are doubled.
Table 1: Number of precoding matrices and bit widths of TPMI field for non-coherent codebook for UL 8TX (hereinafter 3GPP Table 1)).
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It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the association of the TPMI index and layer v of WANG to include the association of the TPMI index to layer v as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the possible port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claims 3, 11 and 19, WANG further discloses wherein:
for v = 1 layer, the TPMI index =J1 and (J1,I, x1) is according to:
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(Table 10);
Regarding claims 4, 12 and 20, WANG further discloses wherein:
for v = 2 layers, some of the TPMI index = 8+J2 and some of (J2,I, x1, x2) is according to :
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(TABLE 11 Rank-2 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 11))
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Wang does not explicitly disclose all of the TPMI index and all of the (J2,I, x1, x2).
However, 3GPP CATT discloses all the TMPI index and all of (J2,I, x1, x2) ([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows: Rank 2: C_8^2=28; 3GPP Table 1).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the TPMI index and the (J2,I, x1, x2) of WANG and 3GPP CATT to include all of the TPMI index and all of the (J2,I, x1, x2) as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claims 5 and 13, WANG further discloses wherein:
for v = 3 layers, some of the TPMI index = 36+J3 and some of (J3,I, x1, x2, x3) is according to :
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(TABLE 12 Rank-3 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 12))
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Wang does not explicitly disclose all of the TPMI index and all of the (J3,I, x1, x2, x3) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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.
However, 3GPP CATT discloses all the TMPI index and all of (J3,I, x1, x2, x3) ([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows: Rank 3: C_8^3=56; 3GPP Table 1) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook... With the scaling factor of 1/2√2).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the TPMI index and the (J3,I, x1, x2, x3) and the precoding matrix of WANG and 3GPP CATT to include all of the TPMI index and all of the (J3,I, x1, x2, x3) and the scaling factor of 1/2√2 as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claims 6 and 14, WANG further discloses wherein:
for v = 4 layers, some of the TPMI index = 92+J4 and some of (J4,I, x1,.., x4) is according to :
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(TABLE 13 Rank-4 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 13))
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Wang does not explicitly disclose all of the TPMI index and all of the (J4,I, x1,.., x4) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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.
However, 3GPP CATT discloses all the TMPI index and all of (J4,I, x1,.., x4) ([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows: Rank 4: C_8^4=70; 3GPP Table 1) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook... With the scaling factor of 1/2√2).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the TPMI index and the (J4,I, x1,.., x4) and the precoding matrix of WANG and 3GPP CATT to include all of the TPMI index and all of the (J4,I, x1,.., x4) and the scaling factor of 1/2√2 as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claims 7 and 15, WANG further discloses wherein:
for v = 5 layers, some of the TPMI index = 162+J5 and some of (J5,I, x1,.., x5) is according to :
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(TABLE 14 Rank-5 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 14))
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Wang does not explicitly disclose all of the TPMI index and all of the (J5,I, x1,.., x5) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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However, 3GPP CATT discloses all the TMPI index and all of (J5,I, x1,.., x5) ([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows: Rank 5: C_8^5=56; 3GPP Table 1) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook... With the scaling factor of 1/2√2).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the TPMI index and the (J5,I, x1,.., x5) and the precoding matrix of WANG and 3GPP CATT to include all of the TPMI index and all of the (J5,I, x1,.., x5) and the scaling factor of 1/2√2 as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claims 8 and 16, WANG further discloses wherein:
for v = 6 layers, some of the TPMI index = 218+J6 and some of (J6,I, x1,.., x6) is according to:
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(TABLE 15 Rank-6 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 15))
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,
for v = 7 layers, some of the TPMI index = 246+J7 and some of (J7,I, x1,.., x7) is according to:
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(TABLE 16 Rank-7 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 16)),
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, and
for v = 8 layers, the TPMI index = 254+J8 and some of (J8,I, x1,.., x8) is according to:
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(TABLE 17 Rank-8 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 17));
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Wang does not explicitly disclose all of the TPMI index and all of the (J6,J7, I, x1,.., x7)and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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.
However, 3GPP CATT discloses all the TMPI index and all of (J6,J7, I, x1,.., x7) ([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows: Rank 6: C_8^6=28; Rank 7: C_8^7=8; 3GPP Table 1) and wherein the precoding matrix has a scaling factor of
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([Page1-2] For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook... With the scaling factor of 1/2√2).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the TPMI index and the (J6,J7, I, x1,.., x7) and the precoding matrix of WANG and 3GPP CATT to include all of the TPMI index and all of the (J6,J7, I, x1,.., x7) and the scaling factor of 1/2√2 as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claim 9, WANG discloses:
A base station (BS) (Fig. 1A, RAN; Fig. 2 – 200; [0056] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments. such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), a new generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA)… in accordance with some aspects and to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.) comprising:
a processor (Fig. 2 – 202 processor); and
a transceiver (Fig. 2 – 220 network interface device; [0062] The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network using a transmission medium 226 via the network interface device 220 utilizing any one of a number of wireless local area network (WLAN) transfer protocols (hence the BS comprises a transceiver)) operably coupled to the processor (Fig. 2 – 202 processor), the transceiver configured ([0234] user equipment (UE)… configure the UE to: receive, from a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), a codebook for eight port uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, the codebook containing a plurality of Transmit Precoder Matrix Indicators (TPMIs) that includes, a non-coherent TPMI, a partial coherent TPMI, and a full coherent TPMI; receive, from the gNB, downlink channel information (DCI) scheduling a PUSCH, the DCI indicating one of the TPMIs; and transmit, to the gNB, the PUSCH on eight ports of the UE based on the DCI; and wherein the memory is configured to store the codebook) to:
transmit a configuration including a value corresponding to an uplink (UL) codebook for eight antenna ports ([0102] In Rel-18, in order to support PUSCH transmission with 8-ports, the DCI may be enhanced to indicate the UE with 8-port precoder; [0103] In an embodiment, in the DCI format scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2), one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”, wherein the TPMI is 8-port TPMI; [0103] one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”, wherein the TPMI is 8-port TPMI. Correspondingly, the field of “Precoding information and number of layers” should be extended to more bits to support 8-port TPMI [0173] In an embodiment, for codebook-based transmission with up to 8 ports… for uplink transmission with N (N<=8) ports, port group may be defined with the number of port group is M. For example, for PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, the 8 antenna ports are split into two port groups. The 1.sup.st port group includes port #0 to port #3, and the 2.sup.nd port group includes port #4 to port #7) with Ng= 8 antenna ports groups ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port));
transmit a transmit precoding matrix indicator (TPMI) index indicating a precoding matrix from the UL codebook ([0112] In the DCI scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2)… After receiving the DCI, the UE may construct the 8-port precoding matrix); and
receive a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) using the precoding matrix, wherein the precoding matrix is given ([0234]; [0112]; [0173] for codebook-based transmission with up to 8 ports… for uplink transmission with N (N<=8) ports, port group may be defined with the number of port group is M. For example, for PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, the 8 antenna ports are split into two port groups; [0207] in codebook-based PUSCH transmission, a UE different coherence including maintaining… transmit chains/antenna ports over time) by:
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((TABLE 10 Rank-1 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 10); TABLE 17 Rank-8 precoding matrix with 8-ports Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 17 )); [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table, W.sub.1,4Tx,R(X1) is a 4-port non-coherent TPMI with Rank X1, and W.sub.2,4Tx,R(X2) is a 4-port non-coherent TPMI with Rank X2, as shown in Table; [0195] Or when the 8-port non-coherent TPMI is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table plus [0 0].sup.T);
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(annotated Table 10 and Table 17)
where v is a number of layers (e.g., rank) of the precoding matrix (Table 10; Table 17; [0206] the precoders with 8-ports for Rank-1 to Rank-8 are shown below),
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is a set of antenna ports ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port)),
a column i of W, denoted
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has an element 1 at row corresponding to port
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on which layer i is to be transmitted, and element 0 at other rows, where
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,
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,
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(e.g., annotated Table 10 and Table 17), and
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([0188] In another embodiment, if V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) in Equation (8) may select one matrix as shown in Table 9 (i.e., the candidate values for V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) include the Rank-1 precoder with 2-ports plus [0 0].sup.T), then Equation (8) may be used to generate 8-port precoding matrix for all the Ranks, i.e., Rank X∈{1, 2, 3, 4 . . . 8}),
wherein the TPMI index is mapped to an index i (annotated Table 10 and Table 17; e.g., TPMI index similar to Table 1; [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table; [0103] In an embodiment, in the DCI format scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2), one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”… the field of “Precoding information and number of layers” should be extended to more bits to support 8-port TPMI),
wherein the index I =
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if a layer is to be transmitted on port p and
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(Annotated Table 10; [0079] Mode 2: some PAs can deliver full power. For example, the UE has PA architecture of [23 23 20 20] dBm; the UE should report TPMI(s) to the gNB, which can enable full power transmission, for example, [1 0 0 0] and [0 1 0 0]; for the TPMIs supporting full power, the power scaling factor is fixed to 1; [0234] Example 1... to configure the UE to: receive, from a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), a codebook for eight port uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, the codebook containing a plurality of Transmit Precoder Matrix Indicators (TPMIs) that includes, a non-coherent TPMI, a partial coherent TPMI, and a full coherent TPMI; receive, from the gNB, downlink channel information (DCI) scheduling a PUSCH, the DCI indicating one of the TPMIs; and transmit, to the gNB, the PUSCH on eight ports of the UE based on the DCI), and
wherein association of the TPMI index ((annotated Table 10 and Table 17; e.g., TPMI index similar to Table 1; [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table) to layer v ([0206] the precoders with 8-ports for Rank-1 to Rank-8 are shown below).
WANG does not disclose the association of the TPMI index to layer v according to:
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.
However, GPP CATT discloses an association of a TPMI index to layer ([Page 1-2] For the non-coherent codebook of 4TX for CP-OFDM waveform in Rel-15, the total number of precoding matrices in non-coherent codebook is 12, with all of port selection precoding matrices for rank=1/2/4 included, and one precoding matrix for rank =3 included. For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows:
Rank 1: C_8^1=8;
Rank 2: C_8^2=28;
Rank 3: C_8^3=56;
Rank 4: C_8^4=70;
Rank 5: C_8^5=56;
Rank 6: C_8^6=28;
Rank 7: C_8^7=8;
Rank 8: C_8^8=1; If all of the precoding matrices are included, the number of precoding matrices and the bit widths for TPMI field when maxRank=1,2,⋯,8 are shown in Table 1. It can be seen that 8 bits are needed when maxRank >= 4 for 8TX. Compared with 4TX, the bit widths for TPMI field are doubled. Table 1: Number of precoding matrices and bit widths of TPMI field for non-coherent codebook for UL 8TX (hereinafter 3GPP Table 1)).
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It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the association of the TPMI index and layer v of WANG to include the association of the TPMI index to layer v as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the possible port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claim 17, WANG discloses:
A method performed by a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1A, UE; Fig. 2 – 200; [0056] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments. Such… an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects and to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein; Abstract - An apparatus and system of providing uplink transmission with eight ports are described.), the method comprising ([0234] user equipment (UE)… configure the UE to: receive, from a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), a codebook for eight port uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, the codebook containing a plurality of Transmit Precoder Matrix Indicators (TPMIs) that includes, a non-coherent TPMI, a partial coherent TPMI, and a full coherent TPMI; receive, from the gNB, downlink channel information (DCI) scheduling a PUSCH, the DCI indicating one of the TPMIs; and transmit, to the gNB, the PUSCH on eight ports of the UE based on the DCI; and wherein the memory is configured to store the codebook):
Receiving a configuration including a value corresponding to an uplink (UL) codebook for eight antenna ports ([0102] In Rel-18, in order to support PUSCH transmission with 8-ports, the DCI may be enhanced to indicate the UE with 8-port precoder; [0103] In an embodiment, in the DCI format scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2), one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”, wherein the TPMI is 8-port TPMI; [0103] one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”, wherein the TPMI is 8-port TPMI. Correspondingly, the field of “Precoding information and number of layers” should be extended to more bits to support 8-port TPMI [0173] In an embodiment, for codebook-based transmission with up to 8 ports… for uplink transmission with N (N<=8) ports, port group may be defined with the number of port group is M. For example, for PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, the 8 antenna ports are split into two port groups. The 1.sup.st port group includes port #0 to port #3, and the 2.sup.nd port group includes port #4 to port #7) with Ng= 8 antenna ports groups ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port));
receiving a transmit precoding matrix indicator (TPMI) index indicating a precoding matrix from the UL codebook ([0112] In the DCI scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2)… After receiving the DCI, the UE may construct the 8-port precoding matrix); and
transmitting a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) using the precoding matrix, wherein the precoding matrix is given ([0234]; [0112]; [0173] for codebook-based transmission with up to 8 ports… for uplink transmission with N (N<=8) ports, port group may be defined with the number of port group is M. For example, for PUSCH transmission with 8 ports, the 8 antenna ports are split into two port groups; [0207] in codebook-based PUSCH transmission, a UE different coherence including maintaining… transmit chains/antenna ports over time) by:
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((TABLE 10 Rank-1 precoding matrix with 8-ports - Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 10); TABLE 17 Rank-8 precoding matrix with 8-ports Non coherent (hereinafter, Table 17 )); [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table, W.sub.1,4Tx,R(X1) is a 4-port non-coherent TPMI with Rank X1, and W.sub.2,4Tx,R(X2) is a 4-port non-coherent TPMI with Rank X2, as shown in Table; [0195] Or when the 8-port non-coherent TPMI is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table plus [0 0].sup.T);
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(annotated Table 10 and Table 17)
where v is a number of layers (e.g., rank) of the precoding matrix (Table 10; Table 17; [0206] the precoders with 8-ports for Rank-1 to Rank-8 are shown below),
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is a set of antenna ports ([0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port)),
a column i of W, denoted
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has an element 1 at row corresponding to port
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on which layer i is to be transmitted, and element 0 at other rows, where
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,
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,
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(e.g., annotated Table 10 and Table 17), and
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([0188] In another embodiment, if V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) in Equation (8) may select one matrix as shown in Table 9 (i.e., the candidate values for V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) include the Rank-1 precoder with 2-ports plus [0 0].sup.T), then Equation (8) may be used to generate 8-port precoding matrix for all the Ranks, i.e., Rank X∈{1, 2, 3, 4 . . . 8}),
wherein the TPMI index is mapped to an index i (annotated Table 10 and Table 17; e.g., TPMI index similar to Table 1; [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table; [0103] In an embodiment, in the DCI format scheduling PUSCH (e.g., DCI format 0_1/0_2), one TPMI is indicated via the field of “Precoding information and number of layers”… the field of “Precoding information and number of layers” should be extended to more bits to support 8-port TPMI),
wherein the index I =
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if a layer is to be transmitted on port p and
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(Annotated Table 10; [0079] Mode 2: some PAs can deliver full power. For example, the UE has PA architecture of [23 23 20 20] dBm; the UE should report TPMI(s) to the gNB, which can enable full power transmission, for example, [1 0 0 0] and [0 1 0 0]; for the TPMIs supporting full power, the power scaling factor is fixed to 1; [0234] Example 1... to configure the UE to: receive, from a 5th generation NodeB (gNB), a codebook for eight port uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, the codebook containing a plurality of Transmit Precoder Matrix Indicators (TPMIs) that includes, a non-coherent TPMI, a partial coherent TPMI, and a full coherent TPMI; receive, from the gNB, downlink channel information (DCI) scheduling a PUSCH, the DCI indicating one of the TPMIs; and transmit, to the gNB, the PUSCH on eight ports of the UE based on the DCI), and
wherein association of the TPMI index ((annotated Table 10 and Table 17; e.g., TPMI index similar to Table 1; [0194] For 8-port non-coherent TPMI, when it is generated by Equation (8)/(10), V.sub.1,2Tx,R(1) and V.sub.2,2Tx,R(1) are 2-port non-coherent precoder with Rank-1 as shown in Table) to layer v ([0206] the precoders with 8-ports for Rank-1 to Rank-8 are shown below).
WANG does not disclose the association of the TPMI index to layer v according to:
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.
However, GPP CATT discloses an association of a TPMI index to layer ([Page 1-2] For the non-coherent codebook of 4TX for CP-OFDM waveform in Rel-15, the total number of precoding matrices in non-coherent codebook is 12, with all of port selection precoding matrices for rank=1/2/4 included, and one precoding matrix for rank =3 included. For UL 8TX in Rel-18, if all of port selection precoding matrices are included in the non-coherent codebook, the number of precoding matrices for each rank would be as follows:
Rank 1: C_8^1=8;
Rank 2: C_8^2=28;
Rank 3: C_8^3=56;
Rank 4: C_8^4=70;
Rank 5: C_8^5=56;
Rank 6: C_8^6=28;
Rank 7: C_8^7=8;
Rank 8: C_8^8=1; If all of the precoding matrices are included, the number of precoding matrices and the bit widths for TPMI field when maxRank=1,2,⋯,8 are shown in Table 1. It can be seen that 8 bits are needed when maxRank >= 4 for 8TX. Compared with 4TX, the bit widths for TPMI field are doubled. Table 1: Number of precoding matrices and bit widths of TPMI field for non-coherent codebook for UL 8TX (hereinafter 3GPP Table 1)).
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It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the association of the TPMI index and layer v of WANG to include the association of the TPMI index to layer v as taught by 3GPP CATT in order to include all the possible port selection precoding matrices for each rank, which would allow for better beamforming gains, and thus improve uplink spectral efficiency (WANG - [0100] In order to improve uplink spectral efficiency, more than 4 layers (e.g., up to 8) uplink transmission are to be supported in NR Rel-18).
Regarding claim 21, WANG further discloses:
wherein the transceiver is further configured (Fig. 2; [0062]; [0234];) to transmit UE capability information indicating support for the UL codebook for eight antenna ports ([0102] In Rel-18, in order to support PUSCH transmission with 8-ports, the DCI may be enhanced to indicate the UE with 8-port precoder; [0079] the UE should report TPMI(s) to the gNB, which can enable full power transmission, for example, [1 0 0 0] and [0 1 0 0]; for the TPMIs supporting full power, the power scaling factor is fixed to 1; [0212] Assuming the maximum number of antenna ports supported by the UE is P.sub.Max, e.g., P.sub.Max=8, then the UE may report coherence capability for 8 ports, (6 ports, which may not be reported if 6 port is not supported), 4 ports, and 2 ports) with Ng= 8 antenna port groups ([0103]; [0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port); [0213] When the gNB configures a codebook subset, the same or different codebook subsets may be configured to the UE for difference numbers of ports depending on the UE capability. One or multiple codebook subsets may be configured to the UE simultaneously. When multiple codebook subsets are configured, the codebook subsets may be the same or different for different numbers of ports).
Regarding claim 22, WANG further discloses:
wherein the transceiver is further configured (Fig.2; [0062]; [0234];) to receive user equipment capability information indicating support for the UL codebook for eight antenna ports ([0102] In Rel-18, in order to support PUSCH transmission with 8-ports, the DCI may be enhanced to indicate the UE with 8-port precoder; [0079] the UE should report TPMI(s) to the gNB, which can enable full power transmission, for example, [1 0 0 0] and [0 1 0 0]; for the TPMIs supporting full power, the power scaling factor is fixed to 1; [0212] Assuming the maximum number of antenna ports supported by the UE is P.sub.Max, e.g., P.sub.Max=8, then the UE may report coherence capability for 8 ports, (6 ports, which may not be reported if 6 port is not supported), 4 ports, and 2 ports) with Ng= 8 antenna port groups ([0103]; [0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port); [0213] When the gNB configures a codebook subset, the same or different codebook subsets may be configured to the UE for difference numbers of ports depending on the UE capability. One or multiple codebook subsets may be configured to the UE simultaneously. When multiple codebook subsets are configured, the codebook subsets may be the same or different for different numbers of ports).
Regarding claim 23, WANG further discloses:
transmitting UE capability information indicating support for the UL codebook for eight antenna ([0102] In Rel-18, in order to support PUSCH transmission with 8-ports, the DCI may be enhanced to indicate the UE with 8-port precoder; [0079] the UE should report TPMI(s) to the gNB, which can enable full power transmission, for example, [1 0 0 0] and [0 1 0 0]; for the TPMIs supporting full power, the power scaling factor is fixed to 1; [0212] Assuming the maximum number of antenna ports supported by the UE is P.sub.Max, e.g., P.sub.Max=8, then the UE may report coherence capability for 8 ports, (6 ports, which may not be reported if 6 port is not supported), 4 ports, and 2 ports) with Ng= 8 antenna port groups ([0103]; [0105] The concept of port group may be introduced for uplink transmission. For UEs with 8 Tx, the PUSCH ports may be split into multiple groups (N groups, each group has M ports, and N*M=8), e.g., two groups. The first port group corresponds to port #0 to port #3, and the second port group corresponds to port #4 to port #7 (e.g., N = 8 groups with M = 1 port); [0213] When the gNB configures a codebook subset, the same or different codebook subsets may be configured to the UE for difference numbers of ports depending on the UE capability. One or multiple codebook subsets may be configured to the UE simultaneously. When multiple codebook subsets are configured, the codebook subsets may be the same or different for different numbers of ports).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THERESA NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2386. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9AM - 5PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MOO JEONG can be reached at (571)272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THERESA NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2418 /Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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