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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-13 and 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hao (US 20230163911).
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim(s) 1/8/15, Hao teaches A user equipment (UE) ([Fig.9], UE) comprising:
a transceiver ([Fig.9], transceiver 908) configured to receive information ([0053], “The BS may provide the CSI reporting configuration to the UE.” And [0055], “CSI report configuration may be associated with CSI-RS resources for channel measurement.”) about a channel state information (CSI) report ([0055], “The CSI-RS resources provide the UE with the configuration of CSI-RS ports, or CSI-RS port groups.”), the information including a list of N IDs ([0097 and Fig.5], “the CSI-RS ports can be portioned into groups (e.g., M groups).” And [0124], “the BS determines the grouping of CSI-RS ports by grouping the CSI-RS ports in the first portion into a first plurality of groups.” In other words, the BS may separate 16 CSI-RS ports into 4 groups, each group may be identified using a “group index.”), each ID being associated with a group of ports ([0124], “The BS may configure the UE with a number of CSI-RS port groups for the UE,” each group may be identified using a “group index.” Group 0 includes ports 0-3, group 1 includes ports 4-7, group 2 includes ports 8-11 and group 3 includes ports 12-15.), where N > 1 ([0097 and Fig.5], “the CSI-RS ports can be portioned into groups (e.g., M groups).”); and
a processor ([Fig.9], processor 904) operably coupled to the transceiver, the processor, based on the information, configured to:
identify n groups of ports ([0118], “the UE ... indicating one or more CSI-RS port group index.” And [0124], “The CSI report may include one or more CSI-RS port group index.”), where 1 < n < N and each of the n groups of ports is associated with an ID from the list of N IDs ([0098 and Fig.5], “groups 0, 1, and 3” may be selected for reporting. So, three out of four groups of ports are selected.), and
determine CSI for each of the n groups of ports ([0060], “the UE may measure the channel associated with CSI for the triggered CSI-RS resources.”),
wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit the CSI report including the CSI for each of the n group of ports ([0124], “The CSI report may include one or more CSI-RS port group index.” And [0098 and Fig.5], “groups 0, 1, and 3” may be selected for reporting.).
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claim(s) 2/9/16, Hao teaches wherein a group of ports comprises CSI reference signal (CSI-RS) ports ([0124], “the BS determines the grouping of CSI-RS ports by grouping the CSI-RS ports in the first portion into a first plurality of groups.”).
Regarding claim(s) 3/10/17, Hao teaches wherein a group of ports is associated with a non-zero power CSI reference signal (NZP CSI-RS) resource ([0055], “The CSI-RS resources can be zero power (ZP) or non-zero power (NZP) resources.”).
Regarding claim(s) 4/11/18, Hao teaches wherein a group of ports is associated with a non-zero power CSI reference signal (NZP CSI-RS) resource set comprising one or multiple NZP CSI-RS resources ([0055], “wherein a group of ports is associated with a non-zero power CSI reference signal (NZP CSI-RS) resource set comprising one or multiple NZP CSI-RS resources.”).
Regarding claim(s) 5/12/19, Hao teaches the transceiver is further configured to receive a trigger via downlink control information (DCI) ([0056], “the BS may signal the UE a CSI report trigger indicating for the UE to send a CSI report for one or more CSI-RS resources ... The CSI report trigger ... may be provided via downlink control information (DCI).”), and
the processor is further configured to identity the n groups of ports ([0055], “The CSI-RS resources provide the UE with the configuration of CSI-RS ports, or CSI-RS port groups.”) based on the trigger ([0056], “The UE may report the CSI feedback based on the CSI report configuration and the CSI report trigger.”).
Regarding claim(s) 6/13, Hao teaches wherein a number of ports in each of the n groups of ports is the same ([Fig.5], 4 ports are in each group.).
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.
Claim(s) 7, 14 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hao in view of Davydov (US 20210144038).
Regarding claim(s) 7/14/20, Davydov teaches wherein a number of ports ([0049], “a first group of DM-RS antenna ports may comprise DM-RS antenna ports 10-71, while a second group of DM-RS antenna ports may comprise DM-RS antenna ports {4-12}.”) in one of the n groups of ports ([0049], ports 10-71) is different from a number of ports in another of the n groups of ports ([0049], ports 4-12).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Hao to specify different number of ports as taught by Davyov. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to “reduce a number of bits used to indicate the various DM-RS antenna port indices to the UE.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHIREN QIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5444. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9-6 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached on 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ZHIREN QIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2411