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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 have been examined and are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
An initialed and dated copy of Applicant’s IDS form 1449 submitted 02/06/2024, 05/28/2024, 02/26/2026, 03/09/2026 is attached to the instant office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2023/0254097 A1 to Zhou et al. (hereinafter “Zhou”)
Regarding Claim 1, Zhou teaches A method, comprising:
receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a command from a network, wherein the command indicates a plurality of serving transmission configuration indications (TCIs); ([0061], discloses The base station may further use a medium access control (MAC) layer control element (MAC-CE)(i.e. command) to activate a portion of the TCI states in the table (e.g., up to 8 TCI states)(i.e. indicating a plurality of serving TCIs) for use on a downlink channel (e.g., a PDSCH and/or another downlink channel). [0065], discloses the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, an activation of TCI states from the table in a MAC-CE)
receiving, by the UE, a downlink control information (DCI) from a network, wherein the DCI schedules a downlink reception or an uplink transmission and includes a serving TCI indicator; ([0061], discloses The base station may schedule transmissions on the downlink channel using control information (e.g., DCI and/or another type of control information), and the control information may indicate one of those activated TCI states (i.e. a serving TCI indicator) for the UE to use to receive data, scheduled by the control information, on the downlink channel(i.e. downlink reception))
applying, by the UE, at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI. ([0067], discloses in one example, first S TCI states may be determined as the first few activated TCI states, and the first few activated TCI states may be mapped sequentially to TCI codepoints indicated by the TCI field in DCI. For example, when the DCI is configured to have a TCI field of size 1 bit, and the activated TCI states have corresponding TCI state indices of 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, and 43, the first S TCI states that are mapped to the TCI codepoints of the TCI field in DCI may include those with corresponding indices of 4 and 5. Accordingly, if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘0’, the TCI state 4 is indicated, and if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘1’, the TCI state 5 is indicated.(i.e. applying at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI)
Regarding Claim 2, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1,
wherein the serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI, the serving TCI indicator is one-bit, and ([0067], discloses For example, when the DCI is configured to have a TCI field of size 1 bit (i.e. serving TCI indicator is one-bit), and the activated TCI states have corresponding TCI state indices of 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, and 43 (i.e. serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI))
the step of applying the at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI further comprises: applying, by the UE, the first serving TCI to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to a value of the serving TCI indicator; or applying, by the UE, the second serving TCI to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to the other value of the serving TCI indicator. ([0067], discloses in one example, first S TCI states may be determined as the first few activated TCI states, and the first few activated TCI states may be mapped sequentially to TCI codepoints indicated by the TCI field in DCI. For example, when the DCI is configured to have a TCI field of size 1 bit, and the activated TCI states have corresponding TCI state indices of 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, and 43, the first S TCI states that are mapped to the TCI codepoints of the TCI field in DCI may include those with corresponding indices of 4 and 5. Accordingly, if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘0’, the TCI state 4 is indicated (i.e. applying the first serving TCI to the downlink reception according to a value of the serving TCI), and if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘1’, the TCI state 5 is indicated (i.e. applying the second serving TCI to the downlink reception according to the other value of the serving TCI))
Regarding Claim 3, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI, the serving TCI indicator is one-bit, and ([0067], discloses For example, when the DCI is configured to have a TCI field of size 1 bit (i.e. serving TCI indicator is one-bit), and the activated TCI states have corresponding TCI state indices of 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, and 43 (i.e. serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI))
the step of applying the at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI further comprises: applying, by the UE, the first serving TCI or the second serving TCI to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to a value of the serving TCI indicator; ([0067], discloses in one example, first S TCI states may be determined as the first few activated TCI states, and the first few activated TCI states may be mapped sequentially to TCI codepoints indicated by the TCI field in DCI. For example, when the DCI is configured to have a TCI field of size 1 bit, and the activated TCI states have corresponding TCI state indices of 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, and 43, the first S TCI states that are mapped to the TCI codepoints of the TCI field in DCI may include those with corresponding indices of 4 and 5. Accordingly, if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘0’, the TCI state 4 is indicated (i.e. applying the first serving TCI to the downlink reception according to a value of the serving TCI), and if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘1’, the TCI state 5 is indicated (i.e. applying the second serving TCI to the downlink reception according to a value of the serving TCI))
Regarding Claim 4, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1,
wherein the serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI, the serving TCI indicator is two-bit, and ([0067], discloses In another example, the activated TCI states may have corresponding indices of 0, 8, 12, 13, 33, 40, 101, and 107 (i.e. serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI) such that the first S TCI states may include those with corresponding indices of the first four activated TCI states 0, 8, 12, and 13 or of the last four activated TCI states 33, 40, 101, and 107 (e.g., when the DCI includes a TCI field of size 2 bits for indicating a TCI state to use(i.e. serving TCI indicator is two-bit)))
the step of applying the at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI further comprises: applying, by the UE, the first serving TCI to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to a first value of the serving TCI indicator; applying, by the UE, the second serving TCI to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to a second value of the serving TCI indicator; (i.e. first value of serving TCI indicator), 01 (i.e. second value of serving TCI indicator), 10, and 11 are associated with activated TCI states 0 (i.e. first serving TCI), 8 (i.e. second serving TCI), 12, and 13, as described in the 2-bit TCI embodiment of [0067])
Regarding Claim 5, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI, the serving TCI indicator is two-bit, ([0067], discloses In another example, the activated TCI states may have corresponding indices of 0, 8, 12, 13, 33, 40, 101, and 107 (i.e. serving TCIs include a first serving TCI and a second serving TCI) such that the first S TCI states may include those with corresponding indices of the first four activated TCI states 0, 8, 12, and 13 or of the last four activated TCI states 33, 40, 101, and 107 (e.g., when the DCI includes a TCI field of size 2 bits for indicating a TCI state to use(i.e. serving TCI indicator is two-bit))) and
the step of applying the at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI further comprises: applying, by the UE, the first serving TCI to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to a first value of the serving TCI indicator; applying, by the UE, the second serving TCI to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to a second value of the serving TCI indicator; ([0066]-[0067], discloses an indicator (e.g., the ‘Transmission Configuration Indication’ field, as defined in 3GPP specifications) included in the DCI may be associated with a quantity of codepoints (e.g., represented by S). The quantity of codepoints may be smaller than the quantity of activated TCI states such that the base station 110 (and the UE 120) may select from the first S TCI states out of the activated TCI states. In some aspects, the first S TCI states may be based on corresponding indices associated with the activated TCI state. [0067], further discloses For example, when the DCI is configured to have a TCI field of size 1 bit, and the activated TCI states have corresponding TCI state indices of 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, and 43, the first S TCI states that are mapped to the TCI codepoints of the TCI field in DCI may include those with corresponding indices of 4 and 5. Accordingly, if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘0’, the TCI state 4 is indicated, and if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘1’, the TCI state 5 is indicated. Examiner notes that the same logic can be applied for a 2-bit TCI in which 00 (i.e. first value of serving TCI indicator), 01 (i.e. second value of serving TCI indicator), 10, and 11 are associated with activated TCI states 0 (i.e. first serving TCI), 8 (i.e. second serving TCI), 12, and 13, as described in the 2-bit TCI embodiment of [0067])
Regarding Claim 6, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, by the UE, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration, wherein the UE determines whether the serving TCI indicator is present in the DCI according to the RRC configuration. ([0074], discloses In some aspects, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, an indication that the indicator (e.g., the ‘Transmission Configuration Indication’ field, as defined in 3GPP specifications) in the DCI will include one bit or two bits. For example, the base station 110 may transmit a tci-PresentDCI-1-2 data structure (i.e. RRC configuration indicating whether the serving TCI indicator is present in the DCI) and/or another similar data structure in an RRC message, such as a message including a ControlResourceSet message and/or another similar message, as defined in 3GPP specifications. Accordingly, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may apply TCI states based on DCI format 1_2 as described above in response to the indication that the DCI will include one bit or two bits)
Regarding Claim 7, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the serving TCI indicator is enabled in the DCI when a control resource set (CORESET) corresponding to the DCI is associated with at least two of the serving TCIs. ([0074], discloses In some aspects, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, an indication that the indicator (e.g., the ‘Transmission Configuration Indication’ field, as defined in 3GPP specifications) in the DCI will include one bit or two bits. For example, the base station 110 may transmit a tci-PresentDCI-1-2 data structure (i.e. indicating whether the serving TCI indicator is enabled in the DCI) and/or another similar data structure in an RRC message, such as a message including a ControlResourceSet message (i.e. CORESET) and/or another similar message, as defined in 3GPP specifications. Accordingly, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may apply TCI states based on DCI format 1_2 as described above in response to the indication that the DCI will include one bit or two bits (i.e. associated with at least two of the serving TCIs))
Regarding Claim 8, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1, wherein a number of bits of the serving TCI indicator corresponds to a number of the serving TCIs. ([0069], discloses As shown in connection with reference number 410, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, the DCI. As shown in connection with reference number 415, the UE 120 may apply a TCI state according to the control information. In some aspects, as described above, the DCI may indicate the TCI state to use from the first S TCI states (i.e. number of serving TCIs). [0070], discloses if the TCI field of DCI format 1_2 has m bits (having S codepoints) (i.e. number of bits of the serving indicator corresponds to a number of serving TCIs)), the TCI codepoints of the TCI field in DCI format 1_2 may sequentially indicate the first or last 2.sup.m activated TCI states in the TCI States activation/deactivation MAC CE for UE-specific PDSCH)
Regarding Claim 9, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the command is carried by ([0061], discloses The base station may further use a medium access control (MAC) layer control element (MAC-CE)(i.e. command) to activate a portion of the TCI states in the table (e.g., up to 8 TCI states)(i.e. indicating a plurality of serving TCIs) for use on a downlink channel (e.g., a PDSCH and/or another downlink channel). [0065], discloses the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, an activation of TCI states from the table in a MAC-CE)
Regarding Claim 10, Zhou teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the command includes a TCI field that indicates the plurality of serving TCIs, and the TCI field is different from the serving TCI indicator. ([0061], discloses The base station may further use a medium access control (MAC) layer control element (MAC-CE)(i.e. command) to activate a portion of the TCI states in the table (e.g., up to 8 TCI states) (i.e. TCI field indicating a plurality of serving TCIs) for use on a downlink channel (e.g., a PDSCH and/or another downlink channel). The base station may schedule transmissions on the downlink channel using control information (e.g., DCI and/or another type of control information), and the control information may indicate one of those activated TCI states (i.e. serving TCI indicator, different) for the UE to use to receive data, scheduled by the control information, on the downlink channel)
Regarding Claim 11, Zhou teaches A user equipment (UE) comprising: (Figure 7 and [0110], illustrates UE 700)
a transceiver that: (Figure 7 and [0110], discloses transmission and reception component 702/704)
receives a command from a network, wherein the command indicates a plurality of serving transmission configuration indication (TCIs); ([0061], discloses The base station may further use a medium access control (MAC) layer control element (MAC-CE)(i.e. command) to activate a portion of the TCI states in the table (e.g., up to 8 TCI states)(i.e. indicating a plurality of serving TCIs) for use on a downlink channel (e.g., a PDSCH and/or another downlink channel). [0065], discloses the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, an activation of TCI states from the table in a MAC-CE)
receives a downlink control information (DCI) from a network, wherein the DCI schedules a downlink reception or an uplink transmission and includes a serving TCI indicator; ([0061], discloses The base station may schedule transmissions on the downlink channel using control information (e.g., DCI and/or another type of control information), and the control information may indicate one of those activated TCI states (i.e. a serving TCI indicator) for the UE to use to receive data, scheduled by the control information, on the downlink channel(i.e. downlink reception))
a transmission configuration indication (TCI) handling circuit that: (Figure 7 and [0110], discloses TCI component 708 and determination component 710)
applies at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception or the uplink transmission according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI. ([0067], discloses in one example, first S TCI states may be determined as the first few activated TCI states, and the first few activated TCI states may be mapped sequentially to TCI codepoints indicated by the TCI field in DCI. For example, when the DCI is configured to have a TCI field of size 1 bit, and the activated TCI states have corresponding TCI state indices of 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20, and 43, the first S TCI states that are mapped to the TCI codepoints of the TCI field in DCI may include those with corresponding indices of 4 and 5. Accordingly, if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘0’, the TCI state 4 is indicated, and if the TCI codepoint of the TCI field in DCI has a value of ‘1’, the TCI state 5 is indicated.(i.e. applying at least one of the serving TCIs to the downlink reception according to the serving TCI indicator in the DCI)
Claims 12-20 are rejected for having the same limitations as claims 2-10, respectively, except the claims are in UE apparatus format.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENKEY VAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7160. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.
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, Chirag Shah can be reached at (571)272-3144. 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.
/JENKEY VAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
Prosecution Insights