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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(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, 9-12, 17, and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li (CN109196815A).
Regarding claim 1, Li teaches A beam switching method, executed by a base station, and comprising:
sending, in a case of communicating with a terminal through a first beam ([0091] for a user equipment in a connected state, there is a communication connection between the user equipment and the base station) and needing to switch to a second beam ([0109] By determining the second intensity information of the measured object recorded on multiple alternative beams, the measured object corresponding to the largest second intensity information can be identified. Then, the user equipment receives the signal with the greatest intensity on the alternative beam corresponding to that measured object), first indication information to the terminal ([0091] for a user equipment in a connected state, there is a communication connection between the user equipment and the base station. Therefore, the base station can send a first indication information to the user equipment in a targeted manner) for indicating the terminal to assess a channel ([0091] The measurement object carried by the first indication information can be the identifier of the channel state information reference signal) corresponding to the second beam ([0038] determine the target beam corresponding to the measurement object based on a pre-stored correspondence between the measurement object and the beam, [0093] One measurement object can correspond to one beam);
receiving an assessment result, reported by the terminal, for the channel corresponding to the second beam ([0098] the user equipment can transmit the intensity information measured once as channel occupancy information to the base station); and
determining, according to the assessment result, whether to switch to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal ([0100] the base station in determining the channel status of the channel corresponding to the beam, and helps the base station to rationally schedule the channels on the beam for the user equipment, thereby avoiding the direction corresponding to the beam with greater interference).
Regarding claim 2, Li teaches The beam switching method according to claim 1, wherein a way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises at least one of:
measuring layer 1-received signal strength indication (L1-RSSI) of the channel corresponding to the second beam ([0095] the strength information may be RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), or RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator).); or
performing clear channel assessment (CCA) or enhance clear channel assessment (eCCA) on the channel corresponding to the second beam.
Regarding claim 9, Li teaches The beam switching method according to claim 1 , wherein the first indication information ([0091] The measurement object carried by the first indication information can be the identifier of the channel state information reference signal) is further used for indicating that a beam corresponding to a to-be-assessed channel is the second beam ([0038] determine the target beam corresponding to the measurement object based on a pre-stored correspondence between the measurement object and the beam, [0093] One measurement object can correspond to one beam), and/or the method further comprises:
sending second indication information to the terminal for indicating that the beam corresponding to the to-be-assessed channel is the second beam
Regarding claim 10, Li teaches An assessing and reporting method, executed by a terminal, and comprising:
receiving, in a case of communicating with a base station through a first beam ([0091] for a user equipment in a connected state, there is a communication connection between the user equipment and the base station), first indication information sent by the base station ([0091] for a user equipment in a connected state, there is a communication connection between the user equipment and the base station. Therefore, the base station can send a first indication information to the user equipment in a targeted manner), the first indication information being used for indicating the terminal to assess a channel ([0091] The measurement object carried by the first indication information can be the identifier of the channel state information reference signal) corresponding to the second beam ([0038] determine the target beam corresponding to the measurement object based on a pre-stored correspondence between the measurement object and the beam, [0093] One measurement object can correspond to one beam), wherein the second beam is a beam that the base station expects to switch to ([0109] By determining the second intensity information of the measured object recorded on multiple alternative beams, the measured object corresponding to the largest second intensity information can be identified. Then, the user equipment receives the signal with the greatest intensity on the alternative beam corresponding to that measured object);
assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam (0125] the user equipment measures the first strength information of the received signal on the target beam corresponding to the measurement object,) and
reporting an assessment result, obtained by assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam, to the base station ([0098] the user equipment can transmit the intensity information measured once as channel occupancy information to the base station).
Regarding claim 11, Li teaches The assessing and reporting method according to claim 10, wherein reporting the assessment result, obtained by assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam, to the base station comprises:
reporting the assessment result, through the first beam ([0091] for a user equipment in a connected state, there is a communication connection between the user equipment and the base station, to the base station ([0098] the user equipment can transmit the intensity information measured once as channel occupancy information to the base station);.
Regarding claim 12, Li teaches The assessing and reporting method according to claim 10, wherein a way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises at least one of:
measuring layer 1-received signal strength indication (L1-RSSI) of the channel corresponding to the second beam ([0095] the strength information may be RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), or RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator).); or
performing clear channel assessment (CCA) or enhance clear channel assessment (eCCA) on the channel corresponding to the second beam.
Regarding claim 17, Li teaches The assessing and reporting method according to claim 10, further comprising at least one of:
determining, according to the first indication information, that a beam corresponding to a to-be-assessed channel is the second beam ([0038] determine the target beam corresponding to the measurement object based on a pre-stored correspondence between the measurement object and the beam, [0093] One measurement object can correspond to one beam; and/or
determining, according to second indication information sent by the base station, that the beam corresponding to the to-be-assessed channel is the second beam.
Regarding claim 20, Li teaches A communication device ([0009] the base station), comprising:
one or more processors (Note: inherent in a base station) ; and
a memory, configured to store a computer program (Note: inherent in a base station);
wherein the computer program, when collectively executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to:
send, in a case of communicating with a terminal through a first beam ([0091] for a user equipment in a connected state, there is a communication connection between the user equipment and the base station) and needing to switch to a second beam ([0109] By determining the second intensity information of the measured object recorded on multiple alternative beams, the measured object corresponding to the largest second intensity information can be identified. Then, the user equipment receives the signal with the greatest intensity on the alternative beam corresponding to that measured object), first indication information to the terminal ([0091] for a user equipment in a connected state, there is a communication connection between the user equipment and the base station. Therefore, the base station can send a first indication information to the user equipment in a targeted manner) for indicating the terminal to assess a channel ([0091] The measurement object carried by the first indication information can be the identifier of the channel state information reference signal) corresponding to the second beam ([0038] determine the target beam corresponding to the measurement object based on a pre-stored correspondence between the measurement object and the beam, [0093] One measurement object can correspond to one beam);
receive an assessment result, reported by the terminal, for the channel corresponding to the second beam ([0098] the user equipment can transmit the intensity information measured once as channel occupancy information to the base station); and
determine, according to the assessment result, whether to switch to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal ([0100] the base station in determining the channel status of the channel corresponding to the beam, and helps the base station to rationally schedule the channels on the beam for the user equipment, thereby avoiding the direction corresponding to the beam with greater interference).
Regarding claim 21, Li teaches A communication device ([0061] an electronic device is provided), comprising:
one or more processors ([0062] processor); and
a memory, configured to store a computer program ([0063] Memory used to store processor-executable instructions);
wherein, the computer program, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to collectively perform the assessing and reporting method ([0065] a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method described) according to claim 10.
Regarding claim 22, Li teaches A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, configured to store a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to collectively perform , the beam switching method ([0065] a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method described ) according to claim 1.
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 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Noh et al. (US 20220224476 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Li teaches The beam switching method according to claim 2, wherein the way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises measuring the L1-RSSI of the channel corresponding to the second beam ([0095] the strength information may be RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), or RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator).), and the method further comprises:
sending a preset aperiodic trigger state dedicated to L1-RSSI measurement to the terminal ([0033] a second indication information is sent to the user equipment, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the measurement timing so that the user equipment measures the first strength information of the received signal on the target beam corresponding to the measurement object at the measurement timing), wherein the preset aperiodic trigger state is associated with at least one zero power-channel state information-reference signal (ZP-CSI-RS) ([0096] if RSSI is selected, it can be performed when the base station is not transmitting signals. The received signals are mainly interference signals within the angle corresponding to the target beam);
Li does not teach
wherein sending the first indication information to the terminal comprises:
sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal, the DCI carrying the preset aperiodic trigger state for triggering the terminal to measure the L1-RSSI of the channel corresponding to the second beam on a resource corresponding to the ZP-CSI- RS.
In a similar endeavor, Noh et al. teach
wherein sending the first indication information to the terminal comprises:
sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal, the DCI carrying the preset aperiodic trigger state for triggering the terminal to measure the L1-RSSI of the channel corresponding to the second beam (Noh [02013] the base station may indicate an aperiodic CSI report to the terminal through higher-layer signaling or DCI using DCI format 0_1. The base station may configure a parameter for an aperiodic CSI report of the terminal) on a resource corresponding to the ZP-CSI- RS (Noh [0223] When the base station indicates to the terminal to transmit a certain CSI report in the uplink slot n′ through higher layer signaling or DCI, the terminal may report the CSI by performing channel measurement or interference measurement with respect to a CSI-RS resource, a CSI-IM resource).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Li by incorporating Noh et al. DCI to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have indicated the resource to be measured.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Li and Noh et al. teaches The beam switching method according to claim 3, wherein the DCI comprises uplink scheduling DCI (Noh [0213] Time-domain resource allocation of a PUCCH or a PUSCH including a CSI report of the terminal may be indicated through a slot interval with a PDCCH indicated through the DCI); and
the uplink scheduling DCI is further used for indicating the terminal to report the assessment result through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the uplink scheduling DCI (Noh [0213] Time-domain resource allocation of a PUCCH or a PUSCH including a CSI report of the terminal may be indicated through a slot interval with a PDCCH indicated through the DCI).
The motivation of doing so would have indicated the resource for transmitting the measurement result.
Regarding claim 13, Li teaches The assessing and reporting method according to claim 12, wherein the way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises measuring the L1-RSSI of the channel corresponding to the second beam ([0095] the strength information may be RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), or RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator).),, and the method further comprises:
receiving a preset aperiodic trigger state dedicated to L1-RSSI measurement and sent by the base station ([0033] a second indication information is sent to the user equipment, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the measurement timing so that the user equipment measures the first strength information of the received signal on the target beam corresponding to the measurement object at the measurement timing), wherein the preset aperiodic trigger state is associated with at least one zero power-channel state information-reference signal (ZP-CSI-RS) ZP-CSI-RS) ([0096] if RSSI is selected, it can be performed when the base station is not transmitting signals. The received signals are mainly interference signals within the angle corresponding to the target beam); and
Li does not teach
receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by the base station;
wherein assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises: measuring, in a case of determining that the DCI carries the preset aperiodic trigger state, the L1-RSSI of the channel corresponding to the second beam on a resource corresponding to the ZP-CSI-RS.
In a similar endeavor, Noh et al. teach
receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by the base station ((Noh [02013] the base station may indicate an aperiodic CSI report to the terminal through higher-layer signaling or DCI);
wherein assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises: measuring, in a case of determining that the DCI carries the preset aperiodic trigger state, the L1-RSSI of the channel corresponding to the second beam (Noh [02013] the base station may indicate an aperiodic CSI report to the terminal through higher-layer signaling or DCI using DCI format 0_1. The base station may configure a parameter for an aperiodic CSI report of the terminal) on a resource corresponding to the ZP-CSI- RS (Noh [0223] When the base station indicates to the terminal to transmit a certain CSI report in the uplink slot n′ through higher layer signaling or DCI, the terminal may report the CSI by performing channel measurement or interference measurement with respect to a CSI-RS resource, a CSI-IM resource).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Li by incorporating Noh et al. DCI to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have indicated the resource to be measured.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Li and Noh et al. teaches The assessing and reporting method according to claim 13, wherein the DCI comprises uplink scheduling DCI (Noh [0213] Time-domain resource allocation of a PUCCH or a PUSCH including a CSI report of the terminal may be indicated through a slot interval with a PDCCH indicated through the DCI), and reporting the assessment result, obtained by assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam, to the base station comprises:
reporting the assessment result on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the uplink scheduling DCI (Noh [0213] Time-domain resource allocation of a PUCCH or a PUSCH including a CSI report of the terminal may be indicated through a slot interval with a PDCCH indicated through the DCI).
The motivation of doing so would have indicated the resource for transmitting the measurement result.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Noh et al. (US 20220224476 A1), and in further view of FALAHATI et al. (US 20210259014 A1)
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Li and Noh et al. teaches The beam switching method according to claim 3, but does not teach
wherein determining, according to the assessment result, whether to switch to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal comprises:
determining that the channel corresponding to the second beam is occupied and communicating with the terminal by continuing using the first beam, in a case of the L1- RSSI being greater than a first threshold; and
determining that the channel corresponding to the second beam is clear and switching to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal, in a case of the L1-RSSI being smaller than a second threshold.
In a similar endeavor, FALAHATI et al. teach
wherein determining, according to the assessment result, whether to switch to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal comprises:
determining that the channel corresponding to the second beam is occupied and communicating with the terminal by continuing using the first beam, in a case of the L1- RSSI being greater than a first threshold (FALAHATI [0028] if it reaches or is higher than the threshold, it may be considered occupied... If a LBT procedure was unsuccessful, a device may be required to backoff (e.g., not trying to access for a backoff time interval, which may be predefined or random) ; and
determining that the channel corresponding to the second beam is clear and switching to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal, in a case of the L1-RSSI being smaller than a second threshold (FALAHATI [0028] if the measured power or energy over the CCA duration is lower than an occupancy threshold, the access target may be considered unoccupied... A positive LBT and/or CCA procedure may allow access to the access target for transmission,).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified the combination of Li and Noh et al by incorporating FALAHATI et al. threshold for CCA for Li second beam channel to arrive at the invention
The motivation of doing so would have determined whether the second beam channel is occupied
Claim 6 and 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of FALAHATI et al. (US 20210259014 A1)
Regarding claim 6, Li teaches The beam switching method according to claim 2, but does not teach
wherein the way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises performing the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam;
wherein sending the first indication information to the terminal comprises:
sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal, the DCI carrying a dedicated identifier for indicating the terminal to perform the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam.
In a similar endeavor, FALAHATI et al. teach
wherein the way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises performing the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam (FALAHATI [0005] performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure (or LBT procedure) in an idle interval of a first fixed frame period);
wherein sending the first indication information to the terminal (FALAHATI [0031] The receiver can be informed about the reference signaling by the transmitter), comprises:
sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal, the DCI carrying a dedicated identifier for indicating the terminal to perform the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam (FALAHATI [0031] The receiver can be informed about the reference signaling by the transmitter, e.g. being configured and/or signaling with control signaling, in particular physical layer signaling and/or higher layer signaling (e.g., DCI and/or RRC signaling)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Li by incorporating FALAHATI CCA for assessing the second beam channel of Li to arrive at the invention .
The motivation of doing so would have determined the status of the channel.
Regarding claim 15, Li teaches The assessing and reporting method according to claim 12, but does not teach
wherein the way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises performing the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam, and the method further comprises:
receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by the base station;
wherein assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises:
performing, in a case of determining that the DCI carries a dedicated identifier, the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam.
In a similar endeavor, FALAHATI et al. teach
wherein the way of assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises performing the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam (FALAHATI [0005] performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure (or LBT procedure) in an idle interval of a first fixed frame period);, and the method further comprises:
receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by the base station (FALAHATI [0031] The receiver can be informed about the reference signaling by the transmitter, e.g. being configured and/or signaling with control signaling, in particular physical layer signaling and/or higher layer signaling (e.g., DCI and/or RRC signaling)). ;
wherein assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam comprises:
performing, in a case of determining that the DCI carries a dedicated identifier, the CCA or the eCCA on the channel corresponding to the second beam (FALAHATI [0031] The receiver can be informed about the reference signaling by the transmitter, e.g. being configured and/or signaling with control signaling, in particular physical layer signaling and/or higher layer signaling (e.g., DCI and/or RRC signaling)). .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Li by incorporating FALAHATI CCA for assessing the second beam channel of Li to arrive at the invention .
The motivation of doing so would have determined the status of the channel.
Regarding claim 8 the combination of Li and FALAHATI et al. teaches The beam switching method according to claim 6, wherein determining, according to the assessment result, whether to switch to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal comprises:
communicating, in a case that a result of the CCA or the eCCA is the channel corresponding to the second beam being occupied (FALAHATI [0028] if it reaches or is higher than the threshold, it may be considered occupied.) , with the terminal by continuing using the first beam (FALAHATI [0028] If a LBT procedure was unsuccessful, a device may be required to backoff (e.g., not trying to access for a backoff time interval, which may be predefined or random); and
switching, in a case that the result of the CCA or the eCCA is the channel corresponding to the second beam being clear, to the second beam to communicate, through the second beam, with the terminal. (FALAHATI [0028] if the measured power or energy over the CCA duration is lower than an occupancy threshold, the access target may be considered unoccupied... A positive LBT and/or CCA procedure may allow access to the access target for transmission).
The motivation of doing so would have determined whether the second beam channel is occupied
Claim 7 and 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of FALAHATI et al. (US 20210259014 A1) and in further view of Noh et al.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Li and FALAHATI et al. teaches The beam switching method according to claim 6, but does not teach
wherein the DCI comprises at least one of uplink scheduling DCI or downlink scheduling DCI;
the uplink scheduling DCI is further used for indicating the terminal to report the assessment result through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the uplink scheduling DCI; and
the downlink scheduling DCI is further used for indicating the terminal to report the assessment result through a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) corresponding to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), wherein the HARQ corresponding to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the downlink scheduling DCI.
In a similar endeavor, Noh et al. teach
wherein the DCI comprises at least one of uplink scheduling DCI or downlink scheduling DCI;
the uplink scheduling DCI is further used for indicating the terminal to report the assessment result through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the uplink scheduling DCI (Noh [0213] Time-domain resource allocation of a PUCCH or a PUSCH including a CSI report of the terminal may be indicated through a slot interval with a PDCCH indicated through the DCI) ; and
the downlink scheduling DCI is further used for indicating the terminal to report the assessment result through a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (Noh [0213] Time-domain resource allocation of a PUCCH or a PUSCH including a CSI report of the terminal may be indicated through a slot interval with a PDCCH indicated through the DCI) corresponding to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) (Noh Table 4 showing bits assigned for HARQ), wherein the HARQ corresponding to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the downlink scheduling DCI (Noh [0103] DCI format 0_1 may be used as a non-fallback DCI for scheduling ) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified the combination of Li and FALAHATI et al. by incorporating Noh DCI scheduling to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have indicated the resource for transmitting the measurement results.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Li and FALAHATI et al. teaches The assessing and reporting method according to claim 15, but does not teach
wherein the DCI comprises at least one of uplink scheduling DCI or downlink scheduling DCI, and wherein reporting the assessment result, obtained by assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam, to the base station comprises at least one of:
reporting the assessment result on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the uplink scheduling DCI; or
reporting the assessment result on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) corresponding to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), wherein the HARQ corresponding to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the downlink scheduling DCI.
In a similar endeavor, Noh et al. teach
wherein the DCI comprises at least one of uplink scheduling DCI or downlink scheduling DCI, and wherein reporting the assessment result, obtained by assessing the channel corresponding to the second beam, to the base station comprises at least one of:
reporting the assessment result on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the uplink scheduling DCI (Noh [0213] Time-domain resource allocation of a PUCCH or a PUSCH including a CSI report of the terminal may be indicated through a slot interval with a PDCCH indicated through the DCI).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified the combination of Li and FALAHATI et al. by incorporating Noh DCI scheduling to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have indicated the resource for transmitting the measurement results.
Conclusion
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/SAID M ELNOUBI/Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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