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
The following is a final office action in response to applicant’s amendment filed on date for response of the office action mailed on date. Claims 23, 38 and 39 have been amended. Claims 23-40 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Claims 23-40 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 23-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claims 30-49 of U.S. Patent No. 18/716,293. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the following reasons:
Instant Application
Application No. 18/716,293
Claim 23: A method performed by a network node configured for use in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: obtaining a value of a metric that indicates a speed at which a wireless communication device moves; determining, based on the value of the metric, how often the wireless communication device is to send a sounding reference signal (SRS), wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the
metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold;
transmitting, to the wireless communication device, signaling that configures or triggers
the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined….
Claim 26: The method of claim 23, wherein the threshold is an upper threshold, wherein a
lower threshold is lower than the upper threshold, and wherein, according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric
above the upper threshold.
Claim 27: The method of claim 26, wherein, according to said determining, the wireless
communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric below the lower threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the upper threshold.
Claim 28: The method of claim 26, wherein, according to said determining, the wireless
communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric below the lower threshold.
Claim 30: The method of claim 23, wherein, according to said determining, the wireless
communication device is to send the SRS aperiodically for at least one value of the metric below the threshold and is to send the SRS periodically for at least one value of the metric above the threshold.
Claim 32: The method of claim 23, wherein the metric is a Doppler metric equal to v*fc/c, where v is the speed of the wireless communication device, fc is an uplink carrier frequency of the wireless communication device, and C is the speed of light in free space.
Claim 39: A network node configured for use in a wireless communication network, the
network node comprising: communication circuitry; and processing circuitry configured to: obtain a value of a metric that indicates a speed at which a wireless communication device moves; determine, based on the value of the metric, how often the wireless communication device is to send a sounding reference signal (SRS), wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold; transmit, to the wireless communication device, signaling that configures or triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined…
Claim 30: A method performed by a wireless communication device configured for use in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: obtaining a value of a metric that indicates a speed at which the wireless communication device moves; determining, based on the value of the metric, an indication that indicates a recommendation of how often the wireless communication device is to send a sounding reference signal (SRS) and/or of whether the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically or aperiodically; and transmitting the indication to a network node in the wireless communication network.
Claim 32: The method of claim 31, wherein the threshold is an upper threshold, wherein a lower threshold is lower than the upper threshold, and wherein the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the upper threshold.
Claim 33: The method of claim 32, wherein the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric below the lower threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the upper threshold.
Claim 34: The method of claim 32, wherein the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric below the lower threshold.
Claim 35: The method of claim 30, wherein, if the value of the metric is below a threshold, the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS aperiodically and, if the value of the metric is above the threshold, the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically.
Claim 37: The method of claim 30, wherein the metric is a Doppler metric equal to v*fc/c, where v is the speed of the wireless communication device, fc is an uplink carrier frequency of the wireless communication device, and C is the speed of light in free space.
Claim 42: A method performed by a network node configured for use in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: receiving, from a wireless communication device, an indication that indicates a recommendation of how often the wireless communication device is to send the SRS and/or of whether the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically or aperiodically; determining, taking into account the indicated recommendation, how often the wireless communication device is to send the SRS and/or whether the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically or aperiodically; and transmitting, to the wireless communication device, signaling that configures or triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as determined.
This is a provisional non-statutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
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.
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 factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claims 23-25 and 33-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. (US 2022/0052747 A1), Tang hereinafter, and further in view of Zhang et al. “Achieving Channel Reciprocity in Multi-Carrier System: SRS Carrier-based Switching,” 2018 IEEE Globecom Workshops, pp. 1-6, 2018), Zhang hereinafter.
Re. Claim 23, Tang teaches a method performed by a network node configured for use in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: (Fig. 9);
obtaining a value of a metric that indicates a speed at which a wireless communication device moves; (¶0191 - In some embodiments, operation 960 can include step 962 to determine a real time condition of the UE, such as a mobility of the UE. In some embodiments, when the UE is stationary relative to gNB and/or an environment of the UE is relatively stable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as low. When the UE has a large speed relative to gNB and/or the environment of the UE is relatively unstable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as high);
determining, based on the value of the metric, how often the wireless communication device is to send a sounding reference signal (SRS), (¶0193 - During the circulation of the method 900, the UE can dynamically and periodically determine the real time condition of the UE. A period of the circulation of operations 940-960 can be a predetermined fixed value, or can be dynamically adjusted based on the a time change rate of the condition of the UE);
transmitting, to the wireless communication device, signaling that configures or triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined; (¶0189 - After receiving the SRS resource configuration from the NW at operation 940, the method 900 can proceed to operation 950, in which the UE can generate and transmit SRS to the NW based on the SRS resource configuration. ¶0190 - In some embodiments, after or during generating and transmitting the SRS at operation 950, the method 900 can proceed to operation 960, in which the UE can further dynamically adjust the number of SRS resources based on a real time SRS needs of the UE);
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold; deciding whether to perform precoding of a downlink data channel transmission based on codebook-based feedback from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is above the threshold or based on an estimate of an uplink channel over which the SRS is received from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is below the threshold; precoding the downlink data channel transmission according to said deciding; and transmitting the precoded downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold; (Fig. 5-6 & Page 5, Column 2 - Moreover, the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity. Simulation results (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6) reveal that performance gain exists in regardless of how fast UE moves when the speed is lower than 30km/h. Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario. It is clear that the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay. Page 6, Column 1 - SRSSwitching is able to resist frequency-selective fading but susceptible to fast time-varying channel, and it is delay-limited when user speed is low yet turns into speed limited as UE speed increases. Examiner interprets Zhang teaches above a sufficiently high-speed threshold, the benefit of SRS switching saturates/becomes speed-limited);
deciding whether to perform precoding of a downlink data channel transmission based on codebook-based feedback from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is above the threshold (Page 3, Column 1, B. Proposed SRS Switching Algorithm – a) UE Feedback: From a system-level perspective, since relatively exhaustive channel information can be acquired by SRS, BS shall know accurate CSI for precoding … UE CSI feedback consists of wideband CQI and, instead of periodic PMI (Precoding Matrix Indication [9]) … Page 4, Table I: Simulation Settings – Please see Precoding Parameter – Codebook - Codebook based precoding, PMI range: 1˜16. Page 5, Table II: Comparison of cell average throughput – Wideband PMI versus Switched SRS. Page 5, Column 2 – IV. Performance Evaluation and Analysis - Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario … simulation results indicate that SRS Switching is delay-limited when UE speed is low and speed-limited when UE moves quickly … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay);
or based on an estimate of an uplink channel over which the SRS is received from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is below the threshold; (Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - Upon receiving SRS, BS can estimate the UL channel by interpolation method to support uplink channel dependent scheduling and link adaptation. Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter. Page 5, Column 2 – IV. Performance Evaluation and Analysis - the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity … the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still. Consequently, SRS Switching is supposed to be applied to low-speed scenarios or indoor users as a result of being sensitive to fast time-varying channels);
precoding the downlink data channel transmission according to said deciding; (Abstract - enables SRS transmitted on non-SRS carriers to provide base station reciprocity-aided channel information; therefore it accomplishes better precoding selection for beamforming …Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter. Page 3, Column 1, B. Proposed SRS Switching Algorithm – we propose an enhanced SRS transmission scheme on UL less CCs in multi-carrier system as our switching algorithm, realizing reciprocity-aided precoding selection and higher precision beamforming);
and transmitting the precoded downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device (Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter … where multiple component carriers (CC) are aggregated and jointly used for transmission to/from a terminal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 24, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach the signaling configures the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined, wherein the signaling comprises an indication of how often the wireless communication device is to send the SRS.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches the signaling configures the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined, wherein the signaling comprises an indication of how often the wireless communication device is to send the SRS (Fig. 5-6 & Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - In Rel-8, SRS is semi-statically configured by higher layer signaling and occurs from a terminal at regular time intervals, from as often as once every 2ms to once every 160ms).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 25, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach the signaling triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined, wherein the signaling comprises SRS triggering messages that are transmitted as often as the wireless communication device is to send the SRS, wherein each SRS message triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches the signaling triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined, wherein the signaling comprises SRS triggering messages that are transmitted as often as the wireless communication device is to send the SRS, wherein each SRS message triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS (Fig. 5-6 & Page 2, Column 2, B. Aperiodic SRS - In contrast to original periodic SRS (P-SRS), aperiodic SRS (A-SRS), is one-shot transmission … Only when receiving detection of a positive SRS request shall a UE configured for A-SRS commence SRS transmission in the first available subframe satisfying the transmitting condition. Page 2, Column 2, C. Trigger of SRS - … an indicator in uplink resource grant on DL control channel can be used to trigger a single A-SRS transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 33, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Tang further teaches the metric is the speed of the wireless communication device (Fig. 9 & ¶0191 - In some embodiments, operation 960 can include step 962 to determine a real time condition of the UE, such as a mobility of the UE. In some embodiments, when the UE is stationary relative to gNB and/or an environment of the UE is relatively stable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as low. When the UE has a large speed relative to gNB and/or the environment of the UE is relatively unstable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as high).
Re. Claim 34, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach further comprising receiving the SRS from the wireless communication device as often as the wireless communication device is configured or triggered to send the SRS.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches further comprising receiving the SRS from the wireless communication device as often as the wireless communication device is configured or triggered to send the SRS (Fig. 5-6 & Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - In Rel-8, SRS is semi-statically configured by higher layer signaling and occurs from a terminal at regular time intervals, from as often as once every 2ms to once every 160ms. Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - Upon receiving SRS, BS can estimate the UL channel by interpolation method to support uplink channel dependent scheduling and link adaptation. Page 2, Column 2, B. Aperiodic SRS - In contrast to original periodic SRS (P-SRS), aperiodic SRS (A-SRS), is one-shot transmission … Only when receiving detection of a positive SRS request shall a UE configured for A-SRS commence SRS transmission in the first available subframe satisfying the transmitting condition. Page 2, Column 2, C. Trigger of SRS - … an indicator in uplink resource grant on DL control channel can be used to trigger a single A-SRS transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 35, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 34.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach performing channel estimation for the wireless communication device based on the SRS received from the wireless communication device; and transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device, and/or receiving an uplink data transmission from the wireless communication device, based on the performed channel estimation.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches performing channel estimation for the wireless communication device based on the SRS received from the wireless communication device; (Fig. 5-6 & Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - Upon receiving SRS, BS can estimate the UL channel by interpolation method to support uplink channel dependent scheduling and link adaptation);
and transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device, (Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter … where multiple component carriers (CC) are aggregated and jointly used for transmission to/from a terminal); and/or receiving an uplink data transmission from the wireless communication device, based on the performed channel estimation.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 36, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 35.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach said transmitting and/or receiving comprises transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device based on the performed channel estimation, wherein the downlink data transmission is performed according to time division duplexing (TDD) operation.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches said transmitting and/or receiving comprises transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device based on the performed channel estimation, wherein the downlink data transmission is performed according to time division duplexing (TDD) operation (Fig. 5-6 & Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - To this end, the way of exploiting channel reciprocity in Time Division Duplex (TDD) transmission mode, i.e. acquiring DL channel state information (CSI) via uplink (UL) reference signal, has appeared as an attractive solution … In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter … Please also see Page 4, Table I – Duplex Operation – TDD).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 37, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 35.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach said transmitting or receiving comprises transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device based on the performed channel estimation, wherein transmitting the downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device based on the performed channel estimation comprises precoding the downlink data channel transmission based on the performed channel estimation.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches said transmitting or receiving comprises transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device based on the performed channel estimation, (Fig. 5-6 & Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - Upon receiving SRS, BS can estimate the UL channel by interpolation method to support uplink channel dependent scheduling and link adaptation
wherein transmitting the downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device based on the performed channel estimation comprises precoding the downlink data channel transmission based on the performed channel estimation (Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter … where multiple component carriers (CC) are aggregated and jointly used for transmission to/from a terminal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 38, Tang teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium on which is stored instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a network node in a wireless communication network, causes the network node to: (Fig. 8 & ¶0179);
obtain a value of a metric that indicates a speed at which a wireless communication device moves; (Fig. 9 & ¶0191 - In some embodiments, operation 960 can include step 962 to determine a real time condition of the UE, such as a mobility of the UE. In some embodiments, when the UE is stationary relative to gNB and/or an environment of the UE is relatively stable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as low. When the UE has a large speed relative to gNB and/or the environment of the UE is relatively unstable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as high);
determine, based on the value of the metric, how often the wireless communication device is to send a sounding reference signal (SRS), (¶0193 - During the circulation of the method 900, the UE can dynamically and periodically determine the real time condition of the UE. A period of the circulation of operations 940-960 can be a predetermined fixed value, or can be dynamically adjusted based on the a time change rate of the condition of the UE);
transmit, to the wireless communication device, signaling that configures or triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined; (¶0189 - After receiving the SRS resource configuration from the NW at operation 940, the method 900 can proceed to operation 950, in which the UE can generate and transmit SRS to the NW based on the SRS resource configuration. ¶0190 - In some embodiments, after or during generating and transmitting the SRS at operation 950, the method 900 can proceed to operation 960, in which the UE can further dynamically adjust the number of SRS resources based on a real time SRS needs of the UE);
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold; decide whether to perform precoding of a downlink data channel transmission based on codebook-based feedback from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is above the threshold or based on an estimate of an uplink channel over which the SRS is received from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is below the threshold; precode the downlink data channel transmission according to said deciding; and transmit the precoded downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold; (Fig. 5-6 & Page 5, Column 2 - Moreover, the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity. Simulation results (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6) reveal that performance gain exists in regardless of how fast UE moves when the speed is lower than 30km/h. Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario. It is clear that the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay. Page 6, Column 1 - SRSSwitching is able to resist frequency-selective fading but susceptible to fast time-varying channel, and it is delay-limited when user speed is low yet turns into speed limited as UE speed increases. Examiner interprets Zhang teaches above a sufficiently high-speed threshold, the benefit of SRS switching saturates/becomes speed-limited);
decide whether to perform precoding of a downlink data channel transmission based on codebook-based feedback from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is above the threshold (Page 3, Column 1, B. Proposed SRS Switching Algorithm – a) UE Feedback: From a system-level perspective, since relatively exhaustive channel information can be acquired by SRS, BS shall know accurate CSI for precoding … UE CSI feedback consists of wideband CQI and, instead of periodic PMI (Precoding Matrix Indication [9]) … Page 4, Table I: Simulation Settings – Please see Precoding Parameter – Codebook - Codebook based precoding, PMI range: 1˜16. Page 5, Table II: Comparison of cell average throughput – Wideband PMI versus Switched SRS. Page 5, Column 2 – IV. Performance Evaluation and Analysis - Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario … simulation results indicate that SRS Switching is delay-limited when UE speed is low and speed-limited when UE moves quickly … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay);
or based on an estimate of an uplink channel over which the SRS is received from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is below the threshold; (Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - Upon receiving SRS, BS can estimate the UL channel by interpolation method to support uplink channel dependent scheduling and link adaptation. Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter. Page 5, Column 2 – IV. Performance Evaluation and Analysis - the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity … the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still. Consequently, SRS Switching is supposed to be applied to low-speed scenarios or indoor users as a result of being sensitive to fast time-varying channels);
precode the downlink data channel transmission according to said deciding; (Abstract - enables SRS transmitted on non-SRS carriers to provide base station reciprocity-aided channel information; therefore it accomplishes better precoding selection for beamforming …Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter. Page 3, Column 1, B. Proposed SRS Switching Algorithm – we propose an enhanced SRS transmission scheme on UL less CCs in multi-carrier system as our switching algorithm, realizing reciprocity-aided precoding selection and higher precision beamforming);
and transmit the precoded downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device (Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter … where multiple component carriers (CC) are aggregated and jointly used for transmission to/from a terminal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Re. Claim 39, Tang teaches a network node configured for use in a wireless communication network, the network node comprising: communication circuitry; and processing circuitry configured to: (Fig. 4);
obtain a value of a metric that indicates a speed at which a wireless communication device moves; (Fig. 9 & ¶0191 - In some embodiments, operation 960 can include step 962 to determine a real time condition of the UE, such as a mobility of the UE. In some embodiments, when the UE is stationary relative to gNB and/or an environment of the UE is relatively stable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as low. When the UE has a large speed relative to gNB and/or the environment of the UE is relatively unstable, the mobility of the UE can be determined as high);
determine, based on the value of the metric, how often the wireless communication device is to send a sounding reference signal (SRS), (¶0193 - During the circulation of the method 900, the UE can dynamically and periodically determine the real time condition of the UE. A period of the circulation of operations 940-960 can be a predetermined fixed value, or can be dynamically adjusted based on the a time change rate of the condition of the UE);
transmit, to the wireless communication device, signaling that configures or triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as often as determined; (¶0189 - After receiving the SRS resource configuration from the NW at operation 940, the method 900 can proceed to operation 950, in which the UE can generate and transmit SRS to the NW based on the SRS resource configuration. ¶0190 - In some embodiments, after or during generating and transmitting the SRS at operation 950, the method 900 can proceed to operation 960, in which the UE can further dynamically adjust the number of SRS resources based on a real time SRS needs of the UE);
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold; decide whether to perform precoding of a downlink data channel transmission based on codebook-based feedback from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is above the threshold or based on an estimate of an uplink channel over which the SRS is received from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is below the threshold, precode the downlink data channel transmission according to said deciding; and transmit the precoded downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches wherein the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for at least one value of the metric below a threshold as compared to for at least one value above the threshold; (Fig. 5-6 & Page 5, Column 2 - Moreover, the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity. Simulation results (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6) reveal that performance gain exists in regardless of how fast UE moves when the speed is lower than 30km/h. Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario. It is clear that the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay. Page 6, Column 1 - SRSSwitching is able to resist frequency-selective fading but susceptible to fast time-varying channel, and it is delay-limited when user speed is low yet turns into speed limited as UE speed increases. Examiner interprets Zhang teaches above a sufficiently high-speed threshold, the benefit of SRS switching saturates/becomes speed-limited);
decide whether to perform precoding of a downlink data channel transmission based on codebook-based feedback from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is above the threshold (Page 3, Column 1, B. Proposed SRS Switching Algorithm – a) UE Feedback: From a system-level perspective, since relatively exhaustive channel information can be acquired by SRS, BS shall know accurate CSI for precoding … UE CSI feedback consists of wideband CQI and, instead of periodic PMI (Precoding Matrix Indication [9]) … Page 4, Table I: Simulation Settings – Please see Precoding Parameter – Codebook - Codebook based precoding, PMI range: 1˜16. Page 5, Table II: Comparison of cell average throughput – Wideband PMI versus Switched SRS. Page 5, Column 2 – IV. Performance Evaluation and Analysis - Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario … simulation results indicate that SRS Switching is delay-limited when UE speed is low and speed-limited when UE moves quickly … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay);
or based on an estimate of an uplink channel over which the SRS is received from the wireless communication device when the value of the metric is below the threshold, (Page 2, Column 1, A. Legacy SRS Model - Upon receiving SRS, BS can estimate the UL channel by interpolation method to support uplink channel dependent scheduling and link adaptation. Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter. Page 5, Column 2 – IV. Performance Evaluation and Analysis - the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity … the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still. Consequently, SRS Switching is supposed to be applied to low-speed scenarios or indoor users as a result of being sensitive to fast time-varying channels);
precode the downlink data channel transmission according to said deciding; (Abstract - enables SRS transmitted on non-SRS carriers to provide base station reciprocity-aided channel information; therefore it accomplishes better precoding selection for beamforming …Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter. Page 3, Column 1, B. Proposed SRS Switching Algorithm – we propose an enhanced SRS transmission scheme on UL less CCs in multi-carrier system as our switching algorithm, realizing reciprocity-aided precoding selection and higher precision beamforming);
and transmit the precoded downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device (Page 1, Column 2, I. Introduction - In this case, proper precoding, on the basis of SRS-measured CSI and channel reciprocity, can be acquired at the DL transmitter … where multiple component carriers (CC) are aggregated and jointly used for transmission to/from a terminal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Claims 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang and Zhang, as applied to Claims 23-25 and 33-39 above, and further in view of Dalia-Georgiana Herculea, Majed Haddad, Veronique Capdevielle, Chung Shue Chen. Network-Based UE Mobility Estimation in Mobile Networks. S3 ’15 Proceedings of the 2015 Workshop on Wireless of the Students, by the Students, & for the Students, Sep 2015, Paris, France. pp. 1-3, ⟨10.1145/2801694.2801704⟩. ⟨hal-01414195⟩, Herculea hereinafter.
Re. Claim 26, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach the threshold is an upper threshold, wherein a lower threshold is lower than the upper threshold, and wherein, according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the upper threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches and wherein, according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the upper threshold (Fig. 5 & Page 5, Column 2 - Moreover, the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity. Simulation results (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6) reveal that performance gain exists in regardless of how fast UE moves when the speed is lower than 30km/h. Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario. It is clear that the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay. Page 6, Column 1 - SRSSwitching is able to resist frequency-selective fading but susceptible to fast time-varying channel, and it is delay-limited when user speed is low yet turns into speed limited as UE speed increases. Examiner interprets Zhang teaches above a sufficiently high-speed threshold, the benefit of SRS switching saturates/becomes speed-limited).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Yet, Tang and Zhang do not explicitly teach the threshold is an upper threshold, wherein a lower threshold is lower than the upper threshold,
However, in the analogous art, Herculea explicitly teaches the threshold is an upper threshold, wherein a lower threshold is lower than the upper threshold, (Page 4, ¶1 - For 4G (3GPP-LTE) cellular networks, we consider three classes of UE mobility: low mobility class for speeds below 40 Kmph, medium mobility class for speeds between 40 and 90 Kmph, and high mobility class for speeds above 90 Kmph. The estimated speed will be compared to the above thresholds and then classified accordingly);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Herculea to the teachings of Tang and Zhang. The motivation would be because the paper proposes a new method by defining a novel metric that is a function of the auto-correlation of the SRS measurements. This metric depends on the ratio of the UE speed to the decorrelation distance. Given this dependency, we can estimate the UE mobility by lookup in a reference data basis providing a one-to-one mapping between the metric and the UE speed, for a given decorrelation distance (Page 1, ¶5).
Re. Claim 27, Tang and Zhang and Herculea teach Claim 26.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric below the lower threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the upper threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric below the lower threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the upper threshold (Fig. 5 & Page 5, Column 2 - Moreover, the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity. Simulation results (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6) reveal that performance gain exists in regardless of how fast UE moves when the speed is lower than 30km/h. Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario. It is clear that the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant in regardless of feedback delay. Page 6, Column 1 - SRSSwitching is able to resist frequency-selective fading but susceptible to fast time-varying channel, and it is delay-limited when user speed is low yet turns into speed limited as UE speed increases. Examiner interprets Zhang teaches that slow users get the strongest SRS benefits, while high-speed users become saturated/speed-limited).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teachings of Tang and Herculea. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang and Zhang and Herculea, as applied to Claims 26-27 above, and further in view of Brent et al. (US 2018/0026765 A1), Brent hereinafter.
Re. Claim 28, Tang and Zhang and Herculea teach Claim 26.
Yet, Tang and Zhang and Herculea do not explicitly teach according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric below the lower threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Brent explicitly teaches according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric between the lower threshold and the upper threshold as compared to for values of the metric below the lower threshold (Fig. 1-3 & ¶0039 - Estimates of UE speed of motion in the BS PHY can be used to adjust SRS periodicity per user. LTE SRS transmissions can be scheduled with user-specific periodicity. The rate of updating channel estimates for each user for optimal beamforming performance depends on the coherence time for that user, which correlates with UE speed. The faster the speed, the shorter is the coherence time. Faster UEs would be scheduled more often than slower UEs for optimal system throughput. ¶0051 - UE speed estimation can be used to adjust the frequency of aperiodic SRS transmission, to update CSI for faster moving users more often that slower moving users in the same cell. Examiner interprets Brent teaches adjusting the frequency of aperiodic SRS transmission based on UE speed so that CSI is updated for faster-moving users more often than for slower-moving users).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Brent to the teachings of Tang and Zhang and Herculea. The motivation would be because the invention relates to pilot/reference signals used in OFDMA wireless communications for channel estimation and more particularly to the sounding reference signal (SRS) used in LTE uplink and enhanced methods for use in Massive MIMO systems (¶0002, Brent).
Claim 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang and Zhang, as applied to Claims 23-25 and 33-39 above, and further in view of Ekpenyong et al. (US 2014/0036859 A1), Ekpenyong hereinafter.
Re. Claim 29, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Yet, Tang and Zhang do not explicitly teach according to said determining, for at least one value of the metric below the threshold, the wireless communication device is to periodically send the SRS with a period that is shorter than a period with which the wireless communication device is to periodically send the SRS for at least one value of the metric above the threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Ekpenyong explicitly teaches according to said determining, for at least one value of the metric below the threshold, the wireless communication device is to periodically send the SRS with a period that is shorter than a period with which the wireless communication device is to periodically send the SRS for at least one value of the metric above the threshold (¶0003 - Thus faster UE needs to have more frequent sounding in order to maintain the fresh CQI at the base station (eNB). For example a UE with a Doppler of 200 Hz experiences a different propagation channel every fifth sub-frame because the sub-frame rate is 1000 Hz. In such case for channel adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) to be performed, UE 109 must sound nearly every sub-frame or every other sub-frame. The objective of maintaining a fresh CQI at eNB 101 may be impossible for very fast UEs having a Doppler of 200 Hz or more because the channel can change substantially between sub-frames. Slower UEs naturally ought to sound less frequently. As UE 109 speed increases, the sounding period should reduce up to a point. Very fast UEs should abandon the goal of maintaining a fresh CQI and sound less frequently. ¶0016 - Base station 101 configures UE 109 for periodic uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission. Please also see Table 1 in ¶0017).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Ekpenyong to the teachings of Tang and Zhang. The motivation would be because the channel quality indicator (CQI) estimate obtained from sounding can be expired or stale because of the inevitable time delay between channel sounding and the follow-up scheduled transmission. This is more pronounced for faster user equipment (UE) (¶0003, Ekpenyong).
Claims 30 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang and Zhang, as applied to Claims 23-25 and 33-39 above, and further in view of Liu et al. (US 2017/0302419 A1), Liu hereinafter.
Re. Claims 30 and 40, Tang and Zhang teach Claims 23 and 39.
Yet, Tang and Zhang do not explicitly teach according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS aperiodically for at least one value of the metric below the threshold and is to send the SRS periodically for at least one value of the metric above the threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Liu explicitly teaches according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS aperiodically for at least one value of the metric below the threshold and is to send the SRS periodically for at least one value of the metric above the threshold (Fig. 4-6 & ¶0086 - FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment communications sequence 600 for communicating a DCI message to specify or indicate a transmission parameter (e.g., power control parameter) for a SRS transmission, or trigger an aperiodic SRS symbol transmission. ¶0265 - One way out is to focus on relatively-long-periodicity SRS for SRS switching (e.g., 20 ms or longer), especially if the switching gap is long. For more short-term sounding, the network can rely on aperiodic SRS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Liu to the teachings of Tang and Zhang. The motivation would be because embodiments of this disclosure provide various techniques for facilitating SRS switching (Abstract, Liu).
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang and Zhang, as applied to Claims 23-25 and 33-39 above, and further in view of Reial et al. (US 2018/0338289), Reial hereinafter.
Re. Claim 31, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Yet, Tang does not explicitly teach according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS for at least one value of the metric below the threshold and is not to send the SRS for at least one value of the metric above the threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly teaches according to said determining, the wireless communication device is to send the SRS for at least one value of the metric below the threshold (Fig. 5 & Page 2, Column 2, III. SRS Carrier-Based Switching - For the purpose of transmitting SRS on UL-less CCs, UE is expected to switch radio frequency (RF) chain (hardware for signals reception) to UL-less CC and suspend the UL transmission on the original CC. Page 5, Column 2 - Moreover, the performance enhancement pivots on the UE movement velocity. Simulation results (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6) reveal that performance gain exists in regardless of how fast UE moves when the speed is lower than 30km/h. Doppler spread caused by the movement, however, impairs the performance benefits, especially in UMa scenario. It is clear that the positive effect of SRS Switching reaches its maximum when users are slow-moving or almost still. Consequently, SRS Switching is supposed to be applied to low-speed scenarios or indoor users as a result of being sensitive to fast time-varying channels … Presumably, there is a speed threshold beyond which performance gain brought by SRS Switching become nearly constant …).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhang to the teaching of Tang. The motivation would be because the paper considers channel estimation will become more important in 5G and beyond, e.g. NR mmWave band where beamforming is a critical issue (Page 6, Conclusion, Column 1, Zhang).
Yet, Tang and Zhang do not explicitly teach and is not to send the SRS for at least one value of the metric above the threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Reial explicitly teaches and is not to send the SRS for at least one value of the metric above the threshold (¶0025 - The solution presented herein improves the energy efficiency of the UE 100 by enabling selective deactivation of at least some transmission chains associated with the antenna port(s) that are not transmitting signals, e.g., SRSs and/or other wireless signals. ¶0028 - The transmission chain(s) 122 associated with antenna elements 110 in the deactivation subset may be deactivated for reference signal transmission, e.g., SRS transmission, as well as data transmissions during the SRS off period … Data and/or reference signals may thus be transmitted by the antenna ports 110 that are not in the deactivation subset. ¶0029 - The rate of channel change may be estimated, for example, from a Doppler estimate).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Reial to the teachings of Tang and Zhang. The motivation would be because a selective SRS transmission approach improves SRS power allocation and reduces interference and there remains a need for solutions that improve the battery efficiency of wireless devices (¶0004, Reial).
Claim 32 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang and Zhang, as applied to Claims 23-25 and 33-39 above, and further in view of Ji et al. (US 2023/0344569), Ji hereinafter.
Re. Claim 32, Tang and Zhang teach Claim 23.
Yet, Tang and Zhang do not explicitly teach the metric is a Doppler metric equal to
v
⋅
f
c
c
where v is the speed of the wireless communication device,
f
C
is an uplink carrier frequency of the wireless communication device, and c is the speed of light in free space.
However, in the analogous art, Ji explicitly teaches the metric is a Doppler metric equal to
v
⋅
f
c
c
where v is the speed of the wireless communication device,
f
C
is an uplink carrier frequency of the wireless communication device, and c is the speed of light in free space (Fig. 21 & ¶0338 -(¶00012) -
f
D
n
t
=
f
C
v
n
t
C
,
n
=
1
,
…
,
N
.
¶0339 - In Equation 3,
f
C
is the carrier frequency,
v
n
t
is the relative speed of the UE with respect to the nth RU, and c is the speed of light. ¶0351 - A carrier frequency used by the UE during transmission of the uplink resource may be expressed as feu. TRP #1 and TRP #2 receive the SRS, and when each TRP knows the uplink carrier frequency of the UE, the Doppler shifts f.sub.d,1 and f.sub.d,2 between each TRP-UE channel can be known from the SRS, respectively).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Ji to the teachings of Tang and Zhang. The motivation would be because the invention relates to a method and an apparatus for transmitting or receiving a signal for a high-speed mobile terminal in a wireless communication system (¶0001, Ji).
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 ALYSSA WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7673. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5pm.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, Ayman Abaza can be reached on (571) 270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALYSSA WILLIAMS/Examiner, Art Unit 2465B
/AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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