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
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 17-18, and 29-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by SUN, XIAO-DONG et al. (Patent No: CN 110650485 A), hereinafter, SUN.
Regarding Claim 1, SUN teaches,
An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured to, at least in part with the memory: -Page2, Paragraph 7 (recites, “a terminal device, computer program, the terminal device comprising a processor, a memory, and stored on the memory and operable on the processor, the computer program when executed by the processor, implement according to the first aspect of the SRS for antenna switching transmission mode indicating the steps of the method.”)
identify at least one suitable configuration for sounding reference signal (SRS) antenna switching; -Page 7, Paragraph 9 (recites, “in step S110, sent by the terminal equipment to the network equipment may further comprises a terminal device desired antenna switching transmission mode used for the SRS, Thus, the terminal device can be directly configured terminal device is the terminal device desired for SRS of antenna switching transmission mode used after receiving the saving request information;
transmit, to a base station, an indication of the at least one suitable configuration for the SRS antenna switching; -Page 7, Paragraph 9 (recites, “in step S110, sent by the terminal equipment to the network equipment may further comprises a terminal device desired antenna switching transmission mode used for the SRS, Thus, the terminal device can be directly configured terminal device is the terminal device desired for SRS of antenna switching transmission mode used after receiving the saving request information.
and receive, from the base station, an indication of an active configuration for the SRS antenna switching based at least in part on the at least one suitable configuration. Page 5, Paragraph 6 (recites, “S120: receiving the SRS configuration information, antenna switching transmission mode of the SRS configuration information indicating the terminal device for SRS and SRS resource to the SRS for antenna switching transmission mode set corresponding to the configuration information.” S120 is response from the base station received by the terminal (UE) corresponding to the request from UE in step S110 with desired antenna switching transmission mode and is partially based on the request for desired (suitable) antenna switching transmission mode.)
Limitations of Claim 1 can also be addressed by Nilsson et al. (Patent No: US 2024/0080161 A1) which is used later for some other claims.
Regarding Claim 2, SUN teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
SUN further teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: receive, from the base station, an indication of one or more SRS resources associated with the active configuration for the SRS antenna switching. -Page 5, Paragraph 6-7; (recites, “S120: receiving the SRS configuration information, antenna switching transmission mode of the SRS configuration information indicating the terminal device for SRS and SRS resource to the SRS for antenna switching transmission mode set corresponding to the configuration information.
SRS configuration information generally includes the antenna switching transmission mode information for the SRS with a network device is the terminal device configuration and SRS resource for the SRS to the configuration of antenna switching transmission mode corresponding to the set configuration information; the SRS resource configuration information set comprising a set of SRS resources on the SRS resources and SRS resources in the set, the antenna switching transmission mode therefore, the terminal equipment after receiving the SRS configuration information for the SRS based on the configuration of sending the corresponding SRS resource.”)
Claim 17 is very similar to Claim 1 except Claim 17 is viewed from base station side while Claim 1 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 1 above which is rejected. Claim 17 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
Claim 18 is very similar to Claim 2 except Claim 18 is viewed from base station side while Claim 2 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 2 above which is rejected. Claim 18 is rejected under the same rational as claim 2.
Claim 29 is the method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim 1. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards claim 1 above which is rejected. Claim 29 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 1.
Claim 30 is the method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim 17. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards claim 17 above which is rejected. Claim 30 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 17.
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.
Claims 3-6, 8-11, 13-16, 19-22, and 24-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUN in view of Nilsson et al. (Patent No: US 2024/0080161 A1), hereinafter, Nilsson.
Regarding Claim 3, SUN teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
SUN does not explicitly teach,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration for the SRS antenna switching is transmitted via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE).
However, in an analogous invention, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration for the SRS antenna switching is transmitted via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE). -Paragraph [0001, 0043] ([0001] recites, “Certain embodiments relate, in general, to wireless communications, and, more particularly, to indicating a subset of transmitter (TX)/receiver (RX) antennas for sounding reference signal (SRS) antenna switching via Medium Access Control-control element (MAC-CE).” [0043] recites, “The SRS configuration information indicates a configuration associated with one or more SRS resources. At least a portion of the SRS configuration information is received in one or more MAC-CE messages.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “indication of the at least one suitable configuration for the SRS antenna switching is transmitted via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE).” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 4, SUN and Nilsson teach the limitations of Claim 3.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly teach,
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: receive, from the base station, one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching, the at least one suitable configuration for the SRS antenna switching being a subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching.
However, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: receive, from the base station, one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching, -Fig. 28, Paragraph [0033, 0039-0040, 0235] ([0235] recites, “The method of FIG. 28 begins at step 2802 with receiving SRS configuration information from a network node. The SRS configuration information indicates a configuration associated with one or more SRS resources…. Additional examples of SRS configuration information include the information related to SRS and/or ASC (Antenna switch configuration) configuration…”[0033] recites, “each entry of the table in FIG. 7 (or similar tables) is referred to as an antenna switching configuration (ASC). Each ASC is associated with one or several possible SRS configurations (where each SRS configuration typically includes a number of SRS resource sets, a number of SRS resources per SRS resource set, a number of SRS ports per SRS resource, etc.)”).
the at least one suitable configuration for the SRS antenna switching being a subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching. -Paragraph [0039-0040] ([0039] recites, “the selected ASC implies transmitting SRS from a subset of all antennas, certain embodiments include in signaling (e.g., by MAC CE) from the gNB an indication of which subset of antennas shall be used by the UE.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “receive, from the base station, one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching, the at least one suitable configuration for the SRS antenna switching being a subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching.” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 5, SUN and Nilsson teach the limitations of Claim 4.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly teach,
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: transmit a UE capability indicating one or more SRS antenna switching configurations supported by the UE, wherein the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching are based on the UE capability.
However, in an analogous invention, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: transmit a UE capability indicating one or more SRS antenna switching configurations supported by the UE, -Paragraph [0033, 0040] ([0033, 0044] recites, “Hence, if a UE signals the UE capability t1r1-t1r2, it means that the UE supports to be configured both with the ASC t1r1 and the ASC t1r2…. Note that whether an SRS resource/SRS port is allowed to be activated/de-activated might depend on the UE capability signaling (i.e. which antenna switching configuration(s) (ASC)) the UE supports, and what the specification allows for each supported antenna switching configuration.”)
wherein the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching are based on the UE capability -Paragraph [0132] ([0132] recites, “Certain embodiments introduce an extension of the gNB to UE signaling (e.g. MAC-CE signaling) that allows for (semi-static) switch between ASCs, in case the UE has reported capability that is supports multiple ASCs (note that the flexible SRS configuration described in this disclosure might not have to follow the supported ASCs that the UE has reported in UE capability signaling). In addition, in case the selected ASC implies transmitting SRS from a subset of all antennas, in certain embodiments, the signaling (e.g. by MAC CE) from gNB includes an indication of which subset of antennas shall be used by the UE.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “transmit a UE capability indicating one or more SRS antenna switching configurations supported by the UE, wherein the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching are based on the UE capability” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 6, SUN and Nilsson teach the limitations of Claim 5.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly teach,
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the UE capability indicates one SRS antenna switching configuration supported by the UE, and the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching are fallback or subset configurations of the one SRS antenna switching configuration.
However, in an analogous invention Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the UE capability indicates one SRS antenna switching configuration supported by the UE, and the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching are fallback or subset configurations of the one SRS antenna switching configuration. -Paragraph [0033, 0040, 0132] ([0033] recites, “Throughout this disclosure, each entry of the table in FIG. 7 (or similar tables) is referred to as an antenna switching configuration (ASC). Each ASC is associated with one or several possible SRS configurations (where each SRS configuration typically includes a number of SRS resource sets, a number of SRS resources per SRS resource set, a number of SRS ports per SRS resource, etc.). Hence, if a UE signals the UE capability t1r1-t1r2, it means that the UE supports to be configured both with the ASC t1r1 and the ASC t1r2.” [0132] recites, “..In addition, in case the selected ASC implies transmitting SRS from a subset of all antennas, in certain embodiments, the signaling (e.g. by MAC CE) from gNB includes an indication of which subset of antennas shall be used by the UE.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “UE capability indicates one SRS antenna switching configuration supported by the UE, and the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching are fallback or subset configurations of the one SRS antenna switching configuration.” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 8, SUN and Nilsson combination teach the limitations of Claim 4.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the MAC-CE includes a set of identifiers (IDs) representing the at least one suitable configuration identified from the one or more pre- configurations for the SRS antenna switching.
However, in an analogous invention Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the MAC-CE includes a set of identifiers (IDs) representing the at least one suitable configuration identified from the one or more pre- configurations for the SRS antenna switching. -Fig. 9, Paragraph [0148] ([0148] recites, “SRS Resource set ID: Contains the higher layer parameter srs-ResourceSetId as specified in 3GPP TS 38.331. The length of the SRS resource Set ID field is 4 bits since 16 SRS resource sets can be configured per BWP”) Any configuration can be sent over MAC-CE and it is easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that MAC-CE can include set of identifiers (IDs) representing the at least one suitable configuration identified from the one or more pre- configurations for the SRS antenna switching.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “MAC-CE includes a set of identifiers (IDs) representing the at least one suitable configuration identified from the one or more pre- configurations for the SRS antenna switching.” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 9, SUN and Nilsson combination teach the limitations of Claim 3.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the MAC-CE includes one or more sets of bits, each set of bits including at least one bit representing a first number of transmit (Tx) antennae and at least one bit representing a second number of receive (Rx) antennae.
However, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the MAC-CE includes one or more sets of bits, each set of bits including at least one bit representing a first number of transmit (Tx) antennae and at least one bit representing a second number of receive (Rx) antennae. -Paragraph [0151-0152] (Claim 9 is not a new feature rather a configuration which can be set by design choice. [0151-0152] recites, “each SRS resource is configured with N=1, 2 or 4 SRS ports. In this embodiment a MAC-CE message is used to update the number of SRS ports for one or multiple SRS resources.
In one alternate of this embodiment each SRS resource is configured with a list of candidate number of SRS ports, as schematically illustrated with the yellow part in FIG. 14 (highlighting the line that begins “CandidateListOFNumberOfSrsPorts-r17”). For example, a new field CandidateListOfNumberOfSrsPorts-r17 can be configured with N candidate SRS ports, e.g., [1 SRS port, 2 SRS ports, 3 SRS ports, 4 SRS ports] for a four-port SRS resource with capability 1tr4-2tr4.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “MAC-CE includes one or more sets of bits, each set of bits including at least one bit representing a first number of transmit (Tx) antennae and at least one bit representing a second number of receive (Rx) antennae” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 10, SUN teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) message.
However, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) message. -Paragraph [0058] ([0058] recites, “In certain embodiments, at least a portion of the SRS configuration information is received in RRC signaling. For example, in certain embodiments, the RRC signaling initializes the SRS configuration information and the one or more MAC CE messages update the SRS configuration information.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) message” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 11, SUN teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: compare the at least one suitable configuration with a previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the at least one suitable configuration being different from the previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching.
However, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: compare the at least one suitable configuration with a previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the at least one suitable configuration being different from the previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching. -Paragraph [0385] ([0385]recites, “For example, the RRC signaling may be received in order to initialize the SRS configuration information, and the one or more MAC CE messages may be received sometime after initializing the SRS configuration information in order to update the SRS configuration information. In certain embodiments, updating the SRS configuration information facilitates activating/deactivating different SRS resources based on wireless device capabilities, radio conditions, network conditions, wireless device performance, and/or other suitable factors. In this manner, MAC-CE messages may enable fast and overhead-efficient adaptation of a configuration associated with one or more SRS resources.” As explained above, SRS antenna switching configuration (ASC) which is associated with SRS configuration [0033] can be updated (different from previous configuration) and can be indicated through MAC-CE messages.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “compare the at least one suitable configuration with a previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the at least one suitable configuration being different from the previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Claim 13 is very similar to Claim 11. Update of suitable configuration (including activation/deactivation of different SRS resources) can be done based of SRS previous/current configuration. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 11 above which is rejected. Claim 13 is rejected under the same rational as claim 11.
Regarding Claim 14, SUN teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: receive one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching; and receive an instruction to reconfigure, activate, or deactivate at least a portion of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching, wherein the at least one suitable configuration is identified as a subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching and the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the received instruction.
However, in an analogous invention, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: receive one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching; -Fig. 28, Paragraph [0235] ([0235] recites, “The method of FIG. 28 begins at step 2802 with receiving SRS configuration information from a network node. The SRS configuration information indicates a configuration associated with one or more SRS resources…. Additional examples of SRS configuration information include the information related to SRS and/or ASC configuration (Antenna Switching Configuration).”)
and receive an instruction to reconfigure, activate, or deactivate at least a portion of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching, -Paragraph [0236-0237] ([0236-0237] recites, “Embodiment 1 (MAC-CE is used to activate/deactivate one or multiple SRS resource(s)) Embodiment 2 (MAC-CE is used to activate/deactivate one or multiple SRS resource(s) for a given SRS resource set)
wherein the at least one suitable configuration is identified as a subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching and the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the received instruction. -Fig. 28, Paragraph [0241] ([0241] recites, “Embodiment 6 (MAC-CE is used to change the number of SRS ports for one or multiple SRS resources and when the number of SRS ports are reduced, the MAC-CE can indicate which SRS ports that should remain (and in that way implicitly indicate which UE antennas to be sounded)).The method proceeds to step 2804 with configuring the one or more SRS resources based at least in part on the SRS configuration information. Once the SRS resources have been configured, the wireless device may perform sounding according to the configuration.”
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “receive one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching; and receive an instruction to reconfigure, activate, or deactivate at least a portion of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching, wherein the at least one suitable configuration is identified as a subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching and the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the received instruction” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 15, SUN and Nilsson combination teach the limitations of claim 14.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instruction to reconfigure, activate, or deactivate at least a portion of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching is received via RRC signaling or a MAC-CE.
However, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instruction to reconfigure, activate, or deactivate at least a portion of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching is received via RRC signaling or a MAC-CE. -Paragraph [0236-0237] ([0236] recites, “Embodiment 1 (MAC-CE is used to activate/deactivate one or multiple SRS resource(s))”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “the instruction to reconfigure, activate, or deactivate at least a portion of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching is received via RRC signaling or a MAC-CE” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Regarding Claim 16, SUN teaches the limitations of claim 1.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: receive, from the base station, a request to transmit the at least one suitable configuration, wherein the at least one suitable configuration is identified and the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the request to transmit the at least one suitable configuration.
However, Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: receive, from the base station, a request to transmit the at least one suitable configuration, -Paragraph [0185] ([0185] recites, “a WD (wireless device) may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network.” Although not explicitly mentioned, however, it is easily conceivable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that in response to the UE capability request from the base station, UE transmits capability information including suitable ASC configuration as described below.)
wherein the at least one suitable configuration is identified and the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the request to transmit the at least one suitable configuration. -Paragraph [0033] ([0033] recites, “Throughout this disclosure, each entry of the table in FIG. 7 (or similar tables) is referred to as an antenna switching configuration (ASC). Each ASC is associated with one or several possible SRS configurations (where each SRS configuration typically includes a number of SRS resource sets, a number of SRS resources per SRS resource set, a number of SRS ports per SRS resource, etc.). Hence, if a UE signals the UE capability t1r1-t1r2, it means that the UE supports to be configured both with the ASC t1r1 and the ASC t1r2.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “receive, from the base station, a request to transmit the at least one suitable configuration, wherein the at least one suitable configuration is identified and the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted based on the request to transmit the at least one suitable configuration” of Nilsson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the SRS coverage [0014].
Claim 19 is very similar to Claim 3 except Claim 19 is viewed from base station side while Claim 3 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 3 above which is rejected. Claim 19 is rejected under the same rational as claim 3.
Claim 20 is very similar to Claim 4 except Claim 20 is viewed from base station side while Claim 4 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 4 above which is rejected. Claim 20 is rejected under the same rational as claim 4.
Claim 21 is very similar to Claim 5 except Claim 21 is viewed from base station side while Claim 5 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 5 above which is rejected. Claim 21 is rejected under the same rational as claim 5.
Claim 22 is very similar to Claim 6. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 6 above which is rejected. Claim 22 is rejected under the same rational as claim 6.
Claim 24 is very similar to Claim 8. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 8 above which is rejected. Claim 24 is rejected under the same rational as claim 8.
Claim 25 is very similar to Claim 9. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 9 above which is rejected. Claim 25 is rejected under the same rational as claim 9.
Claim 26 is very similar to Claim 10 except Claim 26 is viewed from base station side while Claim 5 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 10 above which is rejected. Claim 26 is rejected under the same rational as claim 10.
Claim 27 is very similar to Claim 14 except Claim 27 is viewed from base station side while Claim 14 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 14 above which is rejected. Claim 27 is rejected under the same rational as claim 14.
Claim 28 is very similar to Claim 16 except Claim 27 is viewed from base station side while Claim 14 is viewed from user equipment (UE) side. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 14 above which is rejected. Claim 27 is rejected under the same rational as claim 16.
Claims 7, 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUN
in view of Nilsson and further in view of Hasegawa et al. (US 2023/0291523 A1), hereinafter, Hasegawa.
Regarding Claim 7, SUN and Nilsson combination teach the limitations of Claim 4.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the MAC-CE includes a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap representing the at least one suitable configuration as the subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching.
However, in an analogous invention Nilsson teaches,
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the MAC-CE includes a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap representing the at least one suitable configuration as the subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching. -Paragraph [0193] ([0193] recites, “….A configuration may be indicated, for example, using a bitmap pattern. A WTRU may receive an indication (e.g., a bitmap pattern), for example, in DCI, a MAC-CE, or a by higher layer signaling (e.g., such as via RRC signaling)….”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “the MAC-CE includes a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap representing the at least one suitable configuration as the subset of the one or more pre-configurations for the SRS antenna switching.” of Hasegawa. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the channel estimation quality [0175].
Claim 23 is very similar to Claim 7. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 7 above which is rejected. Claim 23 is rejected under the same rational as claim 7.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUN
in view of Nilsson and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2020/0204323 A1), hereinafter, Kim.
Regarding Claim 12, SUN and Nilsson combination teach the limitations of Claim 11.
Although implicit, SUN does not explicitly mention,
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: determine that a timer associated with the previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching expired, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted further based on determining that the timer expired.
However, in an analogous invention, Kim teaches,
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor, at least in part with the memory, is further configured to: determine that a timer associated with the previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching expired, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted further based on determining that the timer expired. -Fig. 2A, Paragraph [0012] ( This claim is not a feature and it is easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that timer is kept to check an event and after the expiry of the timer the task can be re-initiated or move to a different one. [0012] recites, “ After RRC processing delay 204, the UE 102 may initiate a countdown timer and transition its second array antenna 110 from a low-power state to an active state. The UE 102 may also receive DCI 208 indicating SRS antenna switching. In these embodiments illustrated in FIG. 2A, if the DCI 208 is not received while the countdown timer is active (during timer window 207), the UE 102 may transition the second array antenna 110 to a low-power state upon expiration of the countdown timer..” It is easily conceivable that upon expiry of the timer, suitable configuration as taught by SUN (Claim 1) can be further transmitted.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “For SRS Of Antenna Switching Transmission Mode Indication Method, Terminal Device And Network Device” proposed by SUN to include the concept of “determine that a timer associated with the previously identified configuration for the SRS antenna switching expired, wherein the indication of the at least one suitable configuration is transmitted further based on determining that the timer expired.” Of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to save power [Abstract].
Conclusion
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/AHMED SAIFUDDIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475