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 .
Status of the Application
This Office action is in response to the amendment and remarks filed June 10, 2026. Claims 1, 9, 10, 14, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29 and 30 have been amended; no claims have been added or cancelled. Claims 1-30 are pending and are examined herein. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. The new grounds of rejection set forth below were necessitated by Applicant’s amendment, and finality is therefore proper. See MPEP 706.07(a).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/28/2026 was filed after the mailing date of the non-final office action on 03/25/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed June 10, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to Applicant’s argument that “the Office Action has not shown that Chen teaches or suggests the aforementioned feature recited in amended independent claim 1” (Remarks, page 13, paragraph 3), the argument is persuasive as to Chen and is moot as to the rejection now made. Chen is no longer relied upon for the per panel character of the capability signaling. That subject matter is reached by Zhou, which is newly applied and which is quoted in the rejection below.
In regard to Applicant’s argument that “xTyR notation indicates the UE’s aggregate antenna-switching configuration and makes no mention of indicating SRS port quantities on a per-panel basis” (Remarks, page 13, paragraph 4), the argument is persuasive. The xTyR notation of TS 38.306 states an aggregate antenna switching capability and does not resolve the supported port quantity panel by panel. The rejection of claims 3 and 20 over TS 38.306 is withdrawn, and TS 38.306 is not relied upon in this action.
As to Applicant’s argument that “each depend from one of amended independent claims 1, 25, and 29 and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons” (Remarks, page 14, paragraph 2), the argument is not persuasive because it does not identify any limitation of those dependent claims as separately patentable, and the independent claims from which they depend stand rejected as set forth below.
Turning to Applicant’s argument that “The Office Action has not shown that 3GPP, Zhang, and Yuan teach or suggest the aforementioned features of amended independent claim 1” (Remarks, page 14, paragraph 1), the argument is not persuasive as to the rejection now made. Zhang is relied upon only for the acknowledgement and timing limitations of claims 10, 11 and 16, and is not relied upon for the per panel capability limitation. Yuan is no longer applied, for the reasons stated below. One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on a combination of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413 (CCPA 1981).
The following new grounds of rejection were necessitated by Applicant’s amendment filed June 10, 2026. The amendment added to each of independent claims 1, 25, 29 and 30 the requirement that the capability signaling indicate “a respective quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by each respective antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels at the UE,” in place of “a quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by an antenna panel.” That per panel requirement is the subject matter previously recited only in dependent claims 3 and 20, now folded into every independent claim. No reference applied in the prior rejection of record was cited for it. Zhou is therefore newly applied to reach it, and because the limitation was added to every independent claim, every pending claim newly acquires Zhou. Haghighat is also newly applied to claim 3 for the panel selection limitation, and TS 38.321 is newly applied to claims 15, 17 and 18 in place of Yuan. Chen, TS 38.214 and Zhang are relied upon for the same teachings and at the same passages as in the prior rejection of record, except that the characterization of Chen and TS 38.306 as reaching the per panel port quantity is not carried forward.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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 1-2, 4-9, 12-14 and 19-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (WO 2020/248158 A1) in view of TS 38.214 (3GPP TS 38.214 V15.2.0, July 2018) and further in view of Zhou (US 2020/0267536 A1).
Regarding claim 1, (Currently Amended) Chen discloses: A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting, to the network entity and based at least in part on the control signaling, a measurement report indicating a quantity of sounding reference signal ports; and, because Chen teaches the user equipment determining a rank indicator from measurements of downlink channel state information reference signals and reporting rank information that corresponds to the number of sounding reference signal ports it will use: (Chen, para [0057] “the UE 120 may determine an actual number of SRS ports based at least in part on the maximum number of SRS ports”; Chen, para [0057] “The UE 120 may determine the RI value based at least in part on measuring one or more downlink CSI-RSs”)
Furthermore, Chen discloses: transmitting a sounding reference signal to the network entity in accordance with the sounding reference signal configuration and the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports, because Chen teaches the user equipment transmitting the sounding reference signal on the determined number of ports using the resources configured for the sounding reference signal resource set: (Chen, para [0058] “the UE 120 may transmit one or more SRSs using the actual number of SRS ports”; Chen, para [0058] “using one or more time domain resources configured for the SRS resource set”)
Although Chen teaches a sounding reference signal configuration that indicates a maximum number of sounding reference signal ports and whether the user equipment may determine a different actual number: (Chen, paras [0057], [0086]), Chen does not explicitly disclose a configuration comprising plural sounding reference signal sets or plural sounding reference signal resource lists associated with respective quantities of supported sounding reference signal ports.
However, Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses receiving, from the network entity in response to the capability signaling, control signaling indicating a sounding reference signal configuration comprising a plurality of sounding reference signal sets, a plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists, or both, wherein the plurality of sounding reference signal sets or the plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists are associated with respective quantities of supported sounding reference signal ports; because TS 38.214 teaches configuring the user equipment with up to two sounding reference signal resource sets whose resources carry one port or two ports according to the antenna switching capability the user equipment has indicated (TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2, “the UE may be configured with one of the following configurations depending on the indicated UE capability”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen’s adaptive sounding reference signal port procedure with the antenna switching framework of TS 38.214, so that the configured sounding reference signal sets are organized according to the respective supported port quantities. Doing so would have predictably let the user equipment operate with explicitly configured resource sets keyed to different port quantities while retaining Chen’s adaptive determination of the actual port count, improving channel state information acquisition and interoperability.
With respect to claim 1, even though Chen in view of TS 38.214 teaches a user equipment capability report bearing on sounding reference signal port switching and a resulting port dependent configuration: (Chen, para [0060]; TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2), Chen in view of TS 38.214 does not explicitly disclose capability signaling that states the supported sounding reference signal port quantity separately for each antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels at the user equipment.
Nevertheless, Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou discloses transmitting, to a network entity, capability signaling indicating a respective quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by each respective antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels at the UE; because Zhou teaches the user equipment reporting, as part of its panel specific capability, the number of ports of a sounding reference signal resource that it supports for each beam or panel (Zhou, para [0093], “the UE may indicate a maximum number of reference signal resource ports per resource / beam , where the reference signal resource includes an SRS resource”).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Chen in view of TS 38.214 with Zhou so that the capability report on which the network bases the sounding reference signal configuration states the supported port quantity for each antenna panel. Chen already uses the reported capability to fix the maximum number of sounding reference signal ports and the other parameters of the configuration, and Zhou teaches that a user equipment with several panels reports its parameters panel by panel. Reporting the port quantity per panel rather than as a single aggregate is the use of a known technique to improve a similar device in the same way, and would have predictably let the network configure resource sets matched to the panel actually used instead of to the weakest panel. See KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Regarding claim 2, which depends on claim 1, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the sounding reference signal comprises: transmitting the sounding reference signal in accordance with a sounding reference signal set of the plurality of sounding reference signal sets corresponding to the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports, or transmitting the sounding reference signal in accordance with a sounding reference signal resource list of the plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists corresponding to the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports., as TS 38.214 further discloses that each configured set carries resources of the port count matching the indicated capability (TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2, “each SRS resource in a given set consisting of two SRS ports”).
Regarding claim 4, which depends on claim 1, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sounding reference signal sets comprises a first sounding reference signal set associated with a first quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports and a second sounding reference signal set associated with a second quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports, the method further comprising: transmitting, via the measurement report, an indication of the first quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports, wherein the sounding reference signal is transmitted in accordance with the first sounding reference signal set., as TS 38.214 further discloses two sounding reference signal resource sets whose resources carry a single port in one configuration and two ports in another (TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2, “each SRS resource in a given set consisting of a single SRS port”; TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2, “each SRS resource in a given set consisting of two SRS ports”).
Regarding claim 5, which depends on claim 4, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 4, wherein the first sounding reference signal set is associated with a first set of parameters and the second sounding reference signal set is associated with a second set of parameters that is the same or different from the first set of parameters, wherein the first set of parameters, the second set of parameters, or both, comprise a unified transmission configuration indicator state, a power control parameter, a periodicity, a corresponding channel state information reference signal, an aperiodic trigger, an offset, or any combination thereof., as TS 38.214 further discloses the per set parameters that govern power control, the aperiodic trigger and the slot offset for each such set (TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2, “the same values of the higher layer parameters alpha, p0, pathlossReferenceRS, and srs- PowerControlAdjustmentStates in SRS-ResourceSet”).
Regarding claim 6, which depends on claim 1, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists comprises a first sounding reference signal resource list associated with a first quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports and a second sounding reference signal resource list associated with a second quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports, the method further comprising: transmitting, via the measurement report, an indication of the first quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports, wherein the sounding reference signal is transmitted in accordance with the first sounding reference signal resource list., as TS 38.214 further discloses sets whose listed resources differ in the number of ports each resource carries (TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2, “up to two SRS resource sets each with one SRS resource, where the number of SRS ports for each resource is equal to 1, 2, or 4”).
Regarding claim 7, which depends on claim 6, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 6, wherein the first sounding reference signal resource list is associated with a first set of parameters and the second sounding reference signal resource list is associated with a second set of parameters different from the first set of parameters, wherein the first set of parameters, the second set of parameters, or both, comprise a unified transmission configuration indicator state, a power control parameter, a periodicity, a corresponding channel state information reference signal, an aperiodic trigger, an offset, or any combination thereof., as TS 38.214 further discloses that the slot level offset is a per set parameter of the sounding reference signal resource set (TS 38.214, pg. 82, §6.2.1, “a slot level offset is defined by the higher layer parameter slotOffset”).
Regarding claim 8, which depends on claim 1, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration is associated with a first bandwidth part, a first component carrier, or both, the method further comprising: receiving, via the control signaling, additional control signaling, or both, an indication of a second sounding reference signal configuration associated with a second bandwidth part, a second component carrier, or both, wherein the second sounding reference signal configuration comprises a second plurality of sounding reference signal sets, a second plurality of sounding reference signal resources lists, or both, wherein the second plurality of sounding reference signal sets and the second plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists are associated with respective quantities of supported sounding reference signal ports., as TS 38.214 further discloses that a sounding reference signal configuration is tied to the uplink bandwidth part that is active when it is activated, and contemplates sounding reference signals configured on a different component carrier or bandwidth part (TS 38.214, pg. 83, §6.2.1, “the semi-persistent SRS configuration is considered to be active in the UL BWP which is active when SRS resource configuration is activated”; TS 38.214, pg. 83, §6.2.1, “SRS configured on the same or different component carrier and/or bandwidth part as the target SRS”).
Regarding claim 9, which depends on claim 1, (Currently Amended) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the sounding reference signal comprises transmitting the sounding reference signal in accordance with a first sounding reference signal set, a first sounding reference signal resource list, or both, the method further comprising: receiving, from the network entity and based at least in part on the sounding reference signal configuration, additional control signaling comprising an indication of a second sounding reference signal set, a second sounding reference signal resource list, or both; and transmitting, to the network entity based at least in part on the additional control signaling, a second sounding reference signal in accordance with the second sounding reference signal set, the second sounding reference signal resource list, or both., as TS 38.214 further discloses that two such sets are configured and that a state of the downlink control information field selects which of them is used (TS 38.214, pg. 82, §6.2.1, “For aperiodic SRS at least one state of the DCI field is used to select at least one out of the configured SRS resource set”).
Regarding claim 12, which depends on claim 9, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 9, wherein the indication of the second sounding reference signal set, the second sounding reference signal resource list, or both, is indicated via one or more bit fields within the additional control signaling, wherein the one or more bit fields comprise a sounding reference signal resource identifier field, a transmit precoder metrics indicator field, or both., as TS 38.214 further discloses that the downlink control information carries both a sounding reference signal resource indicator field and a precoding information field from which the precoder is taken (TS 38.214, pg. 70, §6.1.1.1, “given by DCI fields of SRS resource indicator and Precoding information and number of layers”).
Regarding claim 13, which depends on claim 9, (Original) Chen discloses The method of claim 9, wherein the indication of the second sounding reference signal set, the second sounding reference signal resource list, or both, is indicated via a UE capability identifier, a sounding reference signal set identifier, a sounding reference signal resource list identifier, or any combination thereof., as Chen further discloses that the user equipment identifies its port switching capability by a named capability parameter in the capability report (Chen, para [0060] “the UE 120 may indicate the capability using a supportedSRS-TxPortSwitch parameter in a UE capability report”).
Regarding claim 14, which depends on claim 9, (Currently Amended) Chen discloses The method of claim 9, further comprising: performing one or more measurements on a downlink reference signal received from the network entity; and transmitting, to the network entity, a second measurement report based at least in part on the one or more measurements, the second measurement report indicating a second quantity of sounding reference signal ports, wherein the additional control signaling is received based at least in part on the second measurement report., as Chen further discloses measuring the downlink channel state information reference signals and reporting the resulting rank, which fixes the port count the user equipment will use (Chen, para [0057] “The UE 120 may determine the RI value based at least in part on measuring one or more downlink CSI-RSs”).
Regarding claim 19, which depends on claim 9, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 9, wherein the additional control signaling comprises a downlink control information message associated with a request for sounding reference signals, and wherein the indication of the second sounding reference signal set, the second sounding reference signal resource list, or both, is indicated via a sounding reference signal request field., as TS 38.214 further discloses that a dedicated request field in the downlink control information triggers the aperiodic sounding reference signal resources (TS 38.214, pg. 70, §6.1.1.1, “If aperiodic SRS is configured for a UE, the SRS request field in DCI triggers the transmission of”).
Regarding claim 20, which depends on claim 1, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna panels at the UE comprise a first antenna panel and a second antenna panel, the method further comprising: transmitting, via the capability signaling, an indication of a first quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by the first antenna panel and a second quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by the second antenna panel., as Zhou further discloses that the user equipment reports the number of panels together with the parameters supported for each of them (Zhou, para [0091], “the UE may provide an indication of one or more of a number of panels , a number of beams per panel , a number of spatial layers per beam / panel”).
Regarding claim 21, which depends on claim 1, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, via the control signaling, an indication of one or more periodicities associated with the sounding reference signal configuration, wherein transmitting the sounding reference signal comprises transmitting a plurality of sounding reference signals in accordance with a periodicity from the one or more periodicities., as TS 38.214 further discloses that a slot level periodicity is configured for the sounding reference signal resource by a dedicated higher layer parameter (TS 38.214, pg. 82, §6.2.1, “Slot level periodicity and slot level offset as defined by the higher layer parameters periodicityAndOffset-p or periodicityAndOffset-sp”).
Regarding claim 22, which depends on claim 1, (Currently Amended) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration is associated with codebook-based communications between the UE and the network entity, non-codebook-based communications between the UE and the network entity, or both., as TS 38.214 further discloses that both codebook based and non codebook based uplink transmission are supported and are selected by a configured parameter (TS 38.214, pg. 70, §6.1.1, “Two transmission schemes are supported for PUSCH: codebook based transmission and non-codebook based transmission”).
Regarding claim 23, which depends on claim 1, (Currently Amended) Chen discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a downlink reference signal from the network entity; and performing one or more measurements on the downlink reference signal, wherein transmitting the measurement report is based at least in part on the one or more measurements., as Chen further discloses that the reported rank is derived from measurements the user equipment performs on the downlink channel state information reference signals (Chen, para [0057] “The UE 120 may determine the RI value based at least in part on measuring one or more downlink CSI-RSs”).
Regarding claim 24, which depends on claim 1, (Currently Amended) Chen in view of TS 38.214 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the control signaling comprises a radio resource control message,, as TS 38.214 further discloses that the sounding reference signal resource sets are established by higher layer parameters (TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2, “When the UE is configured with the higher layer parameter usage in SRS-ResourceSet set as ‘antennaSwitching'”).
Chen discloses and wherein the measurement report comprises a channel state information report associated with a channel between the UE and the network entity., as Chen further discloses that what the user equipment reports is the rank information it derives from measurements of the downlink channel state information reference signals (Chen, para [0057] “The UE 120 may determine the RI value based at least in part on measuring one or more downlink CSI-RSs”).
Regarding claim 25, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: A method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), capability signaling indicating a respective quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by each respective antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels at the UE; transmitting, to the UE in response to the capability signaling, control signaling indicating a sounding reference signal configuration comprising a plurality of sounding reference signal sets, a plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists, or both, wherein the plurality of sounding reference signal sets or the plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists are associated with respective quantities of supported sounding reference signal ports; receiving, from the UE and based at least in part on the control signaling, a measurement report indicating a quantity of sounding reference signal ports; and receiving a sounding reference signal from the UE in accordance with the sounding reference signal configuration and the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports. Claim 25 is analogous to claim 1 and therefore Claim 25 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 26, which depends on claim 25, (Original) the claim recites: The method of claim 25, wherein receiving the sounding reference signal comprises: receiving the sounding reference signal in accordance with a sounding reference signal set of the plurality of sounding reference signal sets corresponding to the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports, or receiving the sounding reference signal in accordance with a sounding reference signal resource list of the plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists corresponding to the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports. Claim 26 is analogous to claim 2 and therefore Claim 26 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 27, which depends on claim 25, (Original) the claim recites: The method of claim 25, wherein the plurality of sounding reference signal sets comprises a first sounding reference signal set associated with a first quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports and a second sounding reference signal set associated with a second quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports, the method further comprising: receiving, via the measurement report, an indication of the first quantity of supported sounding reference signal ports, wherein the sounding reference signal is received in accordance with the first sounding reference signal set. Claim 27 is analogous to claim 4 and therefore Claim 27 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 28, which depends on claim 27, (Original) the claim recites: The method of claim 27, wherein the first sounding reference signal set is associated with a first set of parameters and the second sounding reference signal set is associated with a second set of parameters that is the same or different from the first set of parameters, wherein the first set of parameters, the second set of parameters, or both, comprise a unified transmission configuration indicator state, a power control parameter, a periodicity, a corresponding channel state information reference signal, an aperiodic trigger, an offset, or any combination thereof. Claim 28 is analogous to claim 5 and therefore Claim 28 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 29, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor; and instructions stored in the at least one memory and executable by the at least one processor to cause the UE to: transmit, to a network entity, capability signaling indicating a respective quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by each respective antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels at the UE; receive, from the network entity in response to the capability signaling, control signaling indicating a sounding reference signal configuration comprising a plurality of sounding reference signal sets, a plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists, or both, wherein the plurality of sounding reference signal sets or the plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists are associated with respective quantities of supported sounding reference signal ports; transmit, to the network entity and based at least in part on the control signaling, a measurement report indicating a quantity of sounding reference signal ports; and transmit a sounding reference signal to the network entity in accordance with the sounding reference signal configuration and the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports. Claim 29 is analogous to claim 1 and therefore Claim 29 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 30, (Currently Amended) the claim recites: An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor; and instructions stored in the at least one memory and executable by the at least one processor to cause the network entity to: receive, from a user equipment (UE), capability signaling indicating a respective quantity of sounding reference signal ports supported by each respective antenna panel of a plurality of antenna panels at the UE; transmit, to the UE in response to the capability signaling, control signaling indicating a sounding reference signal configuration comprising a plurality of sounding reference signal sets, a plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists, or both, wherein the plurality of sounding reference signal sets or the plurality of sounding reference signal resource lists are associated with respective quantities of supported sounding reference signal ports; receive, from the UE and based at least in part on the control signaling, a measurement report indicating a quantity of sounding reference signal ports; and receive a sounding reference signal from the UE in accordance with the sounding reference signal configuration and the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports. Claim 30 is analogous to claim 25 and therefore Claim 30 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (WO 2020/248158 A1) in view of TS 38.214 (3GPP TS 38.214 V15.2.0, July 2018) and further in view of Zhou (US 2020/0267536 A1) and further in view of Haghighat (WO 2021/030605 A1).
Regarding claim 3, which depends on claim 1, (Original) in spite of the fact that Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou teaches a per panel report of the supported sounding reference signal port quantity and a port dependent sounding reference signal configuration: (Chen, para [0058]; TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2; Zhou, para [0093]), Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou does not explicitly disclose selecting one of the antenna panels on the basis of the indicated port quantity and transmitting the sounding reference signal by way of the selected panel.
Conversely, Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou and further in view of Haghighat discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising: selecting an antenna panel from the plurality of antenna panels at the UE based at least in part on the indicated quantity of sounding reference signal ports, wherein the sounding reference signal is transmitted via the selected antenna panel. because Haghighat teaches a user equipment that holds sounding reference signal resources for each of its activated panels and, on selecting a panel, transmits the sounding reference signal on the resources of that panel (Haghighat, para [0098], “The WTRU may be configured with SRS resources for each of its activated panels 510”).
For these reasons, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou with Haghighat so that the panel whose reported port quantity matches the configured set is the panel on which the sounding reference signal is sent. Doing so would have predictably ensured that the sounding transmission exercises the panel the network has configured for, which is the point of reporting the capability per panel at all.
Claims 15, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (WO 2020/248158 A1) in view of TS 38.214 (3GPP TS 38.214 V15.2.0, July 2018) and further in view of Zhou (US 2020/0267536 A1) and further in view of TS 38.321 (3GPP TS 38.321 V15.11.0, January 2021).
Regarding claim 15, which depends on claim 9, (Original) in spite of the fact that Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou teaches additional control signaling that selects the sounding reference signal resource set to be used and the transmission configuration indicator states carried on the downlink control information: (Chen, para [0058]; TS 38.214, pg. 24, §5.1.5; Zhou, para [0091]), Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou does not explicitly disclose a medium access control control element as the carrier of that signaling.
Nevertheless, Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou and further in view of TS 38.321 discloses The method of claim 9, wherein the additional control signaling comprises a downlink control information message, a medium access control-control element message, a radio resource control reconfiguration message, or any combination thereof. because TS 38.321 teaches a medium access control control element that carries the identifier of the sounding reference signal resource set to be activated or deactivated (TS 38.321, pg. 67, §6.1.3.17, “SP SRS Resource Set ID: This field indicates the SP SRS Resource Set ID identified by SRS-ResourceSetId as specified in TS 38.331 [5], which is to be activated or deactivated”).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou with TS 38.321 so that the signaling which selects the sounding reference signal resource set is the medium access control control element that specification defines for exactly that purpose. Chen leaves the carrier of the selection unspecified, and TS 38.321 supplies the standardized message that activates a named sounding reference signal resource set, which would have predictably given a faster switch than radio resource control reconfiguration while remaining interoperable.
Regarding claim 17, which depends on claim 9, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou and further in view of TS 38.321 discloses The method of claim 9, wherein the additional control signaling comprises a medium access control-control element message, and wherein the indication of the second sounding reference signal set, the second sounding reference signal resource list, or both, is indicated via an activation of a transmission configuration indicator., as TS 38.321 further discloses that the same medium access control control element which activates the identified sounding reference signal resource set also carries, for each resource of that set, the reference used to derive the spatial relation for that resource (TS 38.321, pg. 67, §6.1.3.17, “Resource IDi: This field contains an identifier of the resource used for spatial relationship derivation for SRS resource i”).
Regarding claim 18, which depends on claim 9, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou and further in view of TS 38.321 teaches selecting the sounding reference signal resource set by an activation command, and separately teaches carrying transmission configuration indicator states on the codepoints of a downlink control information field for the downlink shared channel: (Chen, para [0058]; TS 38.214, pg. 24, §5.1.5; Zhou, para [0091]; TS 38.321, pg. 67, §6.1.3.17). The method of claim 9, wherein the additional control signaling comprises a downlink control information message, and wherein the indication of the second sounding reference signal set, the second sounding reference signal resource list, or both, is indicated via an indication of a transmission configuration indicator codepoint, a transmission configuration indicator field, or both.
Nevertheless, the claim held obvious as a design choice. Claim 9 requires only that the second sounding reference signal set be indicated by additional control signaling, and claim 15 recites the three carriers available for that signaling, namely radio resource control, the medium access control element and the downlink control information. TS 38.321 teaches the medium access control element carrying the identifier of the sounding reference signal resource set to be activated together with the per resource spatial relation, and TS 38.214 teaches that the downlink control information already bears transmission configuration indicator codepoints onto which an activation command maps the states. Thus, conveying the same selection on the downlink control information codepoint rather than on the medium access control element is a choice among a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, and yields no more than the expected result of a faster switch at the cost of a shorter command. See KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 421 (2007).
Claims 10-11 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (WO 2020/248158 A1) in view of TS 38.214 (3GPP TS 38.214 V15.2.0, July 2018) and further in view of Zhou (US 2020/0267536 A1) and further in view of Zhang (US 2019/0174466 A1).
Regarding claim 10, which depends on claim 9, (Currently Amended) in spite of the fact that Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou teaches additional control signaling that selects the sounding reference signal set to be used: (Chen, para [0058]; TS 38.214, pg. 85, §6.2.1.2; Zhou, para [0091]), Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou does not explicitly disclose acknowledging that signaling and conditioning the second sounding reference signal on the acknowledgement.
Nevertheless, Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou and further in view of Zhang discloses: The method of claim 9, further comprising: transmitting an acknowledgement message to the network entity in response to the additional control signaling, wherein the second sounding reference signal is transmitted based at least in part on the acknowledgement message. because Zhang teaches that the sounding reference signal behaviour for the activated resource set takes effect only after the acknowledgement of the message carrying the activation command has been sent (Zhang, para [0081], “when the HARQ - ACK corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the selection command is transmitted in slot n , the correspond ing actions and the UE assumptions on SRS transmission corresponding to the configured SRS resource set are applied”).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou with Zhang so that the switch to the second sounding reference signal set is applied only once the user equipment has acknowledged the command. Doing so would have predictably kept the network and the user equipment in agreement about which set is in force and avoided sounding on a set the network has not confirmed.
Regarding claim 11, which depends on claim 10, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou and further in view of Zhang discloses The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the second sounding reference signal comprises: transmitting the second sounding reference signal after an expiration of a time interval, wherein the time interval is initiated based at least in part on transmitting the acknowledgement message., as Zhang further discloses that the actions are applied starting from a slot counted forward from the slot in which the acknowledgement was sent (Zhang, para [0081], “the corresponding actions and the UE assumptions on SRS transmission corresponding to the configured SRS resource set are applied starting from slot”).
Regarding claim 16, which depends on claim 9, (Original) Chen in view of TS 38.214 and further in view of Zhou and further in view of Zhang discloses The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving, via the additional control signaling, an indication of a deactivation of the first sounding reference signal set, the first sounding reference signal resource list, or both, wherein transmitting the second sounding reference signal is based at least in part on receiving the indication of the deactivation., as Zhang further discloses a deactivation command for an activated sounding reference signal resource set after which sounding on that set ceases (Zhang, para [0083], “When the UE 101 receives a deactivation command for an activated SRS resource set”).
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.
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/CHONGSUH PARK/Examiner, Art Unit 2478
/KODZOVI ACOLATSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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