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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 23, 27, 30 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.
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.
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 nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, 12, 17, 20, 23, 27, 28, 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan et al. (US 20240298288 A1), hereinafter Duan in view of Haghighat et al. (US 20240388326 A1), hereinafter Haghighat.
Regarding claim 27, Duan teaches,
A reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), comprising:
a memory; (Figure 3, label 311)
at least one transceiver; and (Figure 3, label 315)
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: (Figure 4, label 310 - processor)
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission request message to a base station serving a user equipment (UE), the SRS transmission request message including one or more SRS transmission properties to be used by the base station to configure the UE to transmit SRS; (Figure 18, label 1824, paragraph 0250 – The SRS for positioning unit submits a request. The request contain specific PRS resource parameters. The request is submitted via the RIS (label 1801). Paragraph 0241 – “The PRS request unit 690 can transmit an on-demand request for specific properties for UL-PRS (SRS for positioning) and/or DL-PRS.”)
receive, via the at least one transceiver, a response message from the base station, the response message indicating one or more SRS configurations the UE is configured to use to transmit SRS, the one or more SRS configurations based on the one or more SRS transmission properties; and (Figure 18, label 1834, paragraph 0251 – The RIS receives from a base station a response and transmission schedules. Paragraph 0242 – Additional examples of the transmission properties in response).
Duan fails to teach,
measure a plurality of SRS transmissions from the UE with a plurality of receive beams to determine a best receive beam of the plurality of receive beams for receiving uplink transmissions from the UE, wherein the plurality of SRS transmissions is based on at least one SRS configuration of the one or more SRS configurations.
Haghighat teaches,
measure a plurality of SRS transmissions from the UE with a plurality of receive beams to determine a best receive beam of the plurality of receive beams for receiving uplink transmissions from the UE, wherein the plurality of SRS transmissions is based on at least one SRS configuration of the one or more SRS configurations. (paragraph 0121 – The WTRU (substitute for UE) measures multiples beam pairs to determine the best pair for the reception and transmission based on signal quality. The WTRU transmits at least one SRS transmission and has at least one resource. The WTRU can transmit the SRS to help the gNB (base station) decide on the best pair.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan to incorporate the best beam teachings of Haghighat. The purpose of doing so is to determine the best beam pair based on the signal quality parameter (paragraph 0146).
Claim 1 is a method of claim 27 and is thus rejected.
Regarding claim 30, Duan teaches,
A base station, comprising:
a memory; (Figure 7, label 730)
at least one transceiver; and (Figure 7. Label 720)
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: (Figure 7, label 710)
receive, via the at least one transceiver, a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission request message from a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the SRS transmission request message including one or more SRS transmission properties to be used by the base station to configure a user equipment (UE) to transmit SRS; (Figure 18, label 1824, paragraph 0250 – The SRS for positioning unit submits a request. The request contain specific PRS resource parameters. The request is submitted via the RIS (label 1801). Paragraph 0241 – “The PRS request unit 690 can transmit an on-demand request for specific properties for UL-PRS (SRS for positioning) and/or DL-PRS.”)
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a response message to the RIS, the response message indicating the one or more SRS configurations the UE is configured to use to transmit SRS. (Figure 18, label 1834, paragraph 0251 – The RIS receives from a base station a response and transmission schedules. Paragraph 0242 – Additional examples of the transmission properties in response).
Duan fails to teach,
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, one or more SRS configurations to the UE, wherein the one or more SRS configurations are based on the one or more SRS transmission properties, and wherein the UE is configured to use at least one SRS configuration of the one or more SRS configurations to transmit SRS; and
Haghighat teaches,
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, one or more SRS configurations to the UE, wherein the one or more SRS configurations are based on the one or more SRS transmission properties, and wherein the UE is configured to use at least one SRS configuration of the one or more SRS configurations to transmit SRS; and (figure 14, label 1402, 1404 paragraph 0212 – The WTRU (UE) receives multiple RS via the RIS which originate from the base station. The UE uses the control information and scheduling from the RS transmissions for configuration of transmissions. The SRS configurations are based on the in part the channel state information RS.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan to incorporate the SRS configurations teachings of Haghighat. The purpose of doing so is to for scheduling of transmissions using quasi co-location parameters (paragraphs 0217, 0219)
Claim 23 is rejected as a method of claim 30.
Regarding claim 28, Duan fails to teach,
The RIS of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
reflect downlink transmissions from the base station to the UE in a direction of the best receive beam.
Haghighat teaches,
The RIS of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
reflect downlink transmissions from the base station to the UE in a direction of the best receive beam. (paragraph 0121 – The WTRU (substitute for UE) measures multiples beam pairs to determine the best pair for the reception and transmission based on signal quality. The WTRU transmits at least one SRS transmission and has at least one resource. The WTRU can transmit the SRS to help the gNB (base station) decide on the best pair.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan to incorporate the best beam teachings of Haghighat. The purpose of doing so is to determine the best beam pair based on the signal quality parameter (paragraph 0146).
Claim 2 is a method of claim 28 and is thus rejected.
Regarding claim 17, Duan fails to teach,
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting an acknowledgment of the response message to the base station.
Haghighat teaches,
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting an acknowledgment of the response message to the base station. (figure 12, label 1210, paragraph 0189 – The WTRU (UE) reports the channel state information (CSI) back to the base station after receiving the SRS information as an acknowledgement. Paragraph 200 – The first or second RS may be an SRS signal.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan to incorporate the response message teachings of Haghighat. The purpose of doing so is to include information to include the reflection parameters for application to the reflected channel or RIS (paragraphs 0190-0192).
Regarding claim 20, Duan teaches,
receiving a request for the one or more SRS transmission properties from the base station, wherein the SRS transmission request message is transmitted in response to the request.
(Figure 18, label 1824, paragraph 0250 – The SRS for positioning unit submits a request. The request contain specific PRS resource parameters. The request is submitted via the RIS (label 1801). Paragraph 0241 – “The PRS request unit 690 can transmit an on-demand request for specific properties for UL-PRS (SRS for positioning) and/or DL-PRS.”)
Regarding claim 12, Duan teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the response message further includes a start time, a timestamp, or a start trigger indicating when the UE is expected to transmit the plurality of SRS transmissions. (Figure 18, label 1834, Paragraph 0251 – The response includes scheduling information with a length of symbol durations to be used for the UE).
The use of “or” in the claim language indicates only one of the above requirements is necessary (italicized).
Claims 9, 10, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan in view of Haghighat further in view of Lee et al. (US 20230097583 A1) hereinafter Lee.
Regarding claim 9, Haghighat and Duan fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein the SRS transmission request message further includes a location of the RIS, an orientation of the RIS, or both.
Lee teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the SRS transmission request message further includes a location of the RIS, an orientation of the RIS, or both. (paragraph 0372 – The angle information is determined between the IRS and UE based on the SRS. The angle information is thought to be the orientation).
The use of “or both” in the claim language indicates only one of the above requirements is necessary (italicized).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the RIS orientation teachings of Lee. The purpose of doing so is to generate a static angle information between the BS-IRS and semi-static angle information between he IRS-UE that will have a longer coherent time compared to a path gain information implementation (paragraph 0128).
Regarding claim 10, Haghighat and Duan fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein the SRS transmission request message further includes a codebook configuration, precoders, angle directions, or any combination thereof that the RIS recommends or supports.
Lee teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the SRS transmission request message further includes a codebook configuration, precoders, angle directions, or any combination thereof that the RIS recommends or supports. (paragraph 0372 – The angle information is determined between the IRS and UE based on the SRS. The angle information is thought to be the orientation).
The use of “or, any combination thereof” in the claim language indicates only one of the above requirements is necessary (italicized).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the RIS orientation teachings of Lee. The purpose of doing so is to generate a static angle information between the BS-IRS and semi-static angle information between he IRS-UE that will have a longer coherent time compared to a path gain information implementation (paragraph 0128).
Regarding claim 16, Haghighat and Duan fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein the response message further includes an angle direction or a sequence of angle directions to be used for reception of the plurality of SRS transmissions.
Lee teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the response message further includes an angle direction or a sequence of angle directions to be used for reception of the plurality of SRS transmissions. (paragraph 0217, figure 18, label 1815 – The base station receives the corresponding angle information between the IRS and UE based on the SRS signal)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the angle directions teachings of Lee. The purpose of doing so is to generate a static angle information between the BS-IRS and semi-static angle information between the IRS-UE that will have a longer coherent time compared to a path gain information implementation (paragraph 0128).
Claims 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 25, 26, 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan in view of Haghighat further in view of Choi et al. (US 20230421322 A1) hereinafter Choi.
Regarding claim 13, Haghighat and Duan fail to teach,
The method of claim 10, wherein, based on the SRS transmission request message including the codebook configuration, each SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions is associated with a beamforming matrix index.
Choi teaches,
The method of claim 10, wherein, based on the SRS transmission request message including the codebook configuration, each SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions is associated with a beamforming matrix index. (paragraph 0278 – The SRS transmission is codebook based. Paragraph 0316 – The transmission beam can be indicated by a combination of a SRS resource indicator and transmission precoder matrix indicator.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the codebook configuration and beamforming matrix teachings of Choi. The purpose of adding the codebook configuration is to able to deal with colliding symbols in priority (paragraph 0278). The purpose of adding the beamforming matrix teachings is to use the same transmission beam for performing uplink prior to and after the guard period (paragraph 0316).
Regarding claim 4, Haghighat and Duan fail to teach,
The method of claim 3, wherein the gap between the SRS symbols or the gap between the SRS resources is a minimum number of symbols.
Choi teaches,
The method of claim 3, wherein the gap between the SRS symbols or the gap between the SRS resources is a minimum number of symbols. (paragraph 0330 – a guard period of a number of symbols is used in between SRS symbols during the reception of the SRS resources. Paragraph 0333 – The guard period is a minimum number of symbols if depending on the subcarrier spacing).
The use of “or both” in the claim language indicates only one of the above requirements is necessary (italicized).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the teachings of gap between SRS resources of Choi. The purpose of doing so is to allow for the dropping of a guard period in event of a priority rule where the guard period and SRS resource overlaps (paragraph 0331).
Claim 25 is rejected as being addressed in claim 4.
Claim 26 is rejected as being addressed in claim 4.
Regarding claim 5, Haghighat and Duan fail to teach,
The method of claim 3, wherein the gap between the SRS symbols or the gap between the SRS resources is based on the SCS.
Choi teaches,
The method of claim 3, wherein the gap between the SRS symbols or the gap between the SRS resources is based on the SCS. (paragraph 0333 – The guard period may consider the subcarrier spacing in determining its length).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the teachings of Choi. The purpose of doing so is for use in antenna switching (paragraph 0332).
Regarding claim 14, Haghighat and Duan fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein the response message further includes a sequence of precoders to be used for different SRS resource identifiers of the plurality of SRS transmissions, different symbols of the same SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions, or different instances of the same SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions.
Choi teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the response message further includes a sequence of precoders to be used for different SRS resource identifiers of the plurality of SRS transmissions, different symbols of the same SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions, or different instances of the same SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions. (paragraphs 0280-0286– The use of different symbols (N, Y, K) and the potential for their combinations for multiple SRS resources with priority established between the different SRS resources.)
The use of “or” in the claim language indicates only one of the above requirements is necessary (italicized).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the different symbols of an SRS resource teachings of Choi. The purpose of doing so is to allow dropping of SRS resources in lower-priority groupings (paragraph 0284).
Regarding claim 29, Haghighat and Duan may not explicitly teach,
The RIS of claim 27, wherein the one or more SRS transmission properties include a periodicity of the one or more SRS configurations, a number of symbols of the one or more SRS configurations, a number of SRS resources of the one or more SRS configurations, a bandwidth of the one or more SRS configurations, a band index of the one or more SRS configurations, a component carrier index of the one or more SRS configurations, a number of SRS transmissions of the one or more SRS configurations, a gap between the SRS resources of the one or more SRS configurations, a gap between SRS symbols of the SRS resources of the one or more SRS configurations, a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the one or more SRS configurations, or any combination thereof.
Choi teaches,
The RIS of claim 27, wherein the one or more SRS transmission properties include a periodicity of the one or more SRS configurations, a number of symbols of the one or more SRS configurations, a number of SRS resources of the one or more SRS configurations, a bandwidth of the one or more SRS configurations, a band index of the one or more SRS configurations, a component carrier index of the one or more SRS configurations, a number of SRS transmissions of the one or more SRS configurations, a gap between the SRS resources of the one or more SRS configurations, a gap between SRS symbols of the SRS resources of the one or more SRS configurations, a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the one or more SRS configurations, or any combination thereof. (paragraph 0330 – a guard period of a number of symbols is used in between SRS symbols during the reception of the SRS resources. Paragraph 0333 – The guard period is a minimum number of symbols if depending on the subcarrier spacing).
The phrase “or any combination thereof” in the claim language indicates only one of the above requirements is necessary (italicized).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haghighat and Duan to incorporate the SRS transmission properties teachings of Choi. The purpose of doing so is to allow for the dropping of a guard period in event of a priority rule where the guard period and SRS resource overlaps (paragraph 0331).
Claim 3 is a method of claim 29 and is thus rejected.
Claims 6, 7, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan in view of Haghighat further in view of Lee et al. (US 20190159138 A1) hereinafter Lee(2).
Regarding claim 6, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more SRS transmission properties include multiple values for at least one SRS transmission property of the one or more SRS transmission properties.
Lee(2) teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more SRS transmission properties include multiple values for at least one SRS transmission property of the one or more SRS transmission properties. (paragraphs 0112, 0113 – The subcarrier spacing property across multiple transmissions is an SRS transmission property).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the SRS transmission properties teachings of Lee(2). The purpose of doing so is to incorporate priority level using a SRS transmission property (paragraph 0112).
Regarding claim 7, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 6, wherein the multiple values for the at least one SRS transmission property are ordered in decreasing priority.
Lee(2) teaches,
The method of claim 6, wherein the multiple values for the at least one SRS transmission property are ordered in decreasing priority. (paragraphs 0112, 0113 – The order of subcarrier transmissions is based on the transmission power transmission level and priority and arranged in decreasing priority).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the priority teachings of Lee(2). The purpose of doing so is to determine which of the transmission need to dropped for maintaining ultra-reliable low latency communications data (paragraph 0112).
Regarding claim 8, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one SRS transmission property is a SCS of the one or more SRS configurations.
Lee(2) teaches,
The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one SRS transmission property is a SCS of the one or more SRS configurations. (paragraph 0112 – The subcarrier spacing is an SRS transmission property.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the teachings of Lee(2). The purpose of doing so is to determine the overlapping nature of consecutive transmissions for purposes or priority for how wide the subcarrier spacing is (paragraph 0112).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan in view of Haghighat further in view of Lee further in view of Moon et al. (US 20240429994 A1), hereinafter Moon.
Regarding claim 11, Duan, Haghighat and, Lee fail to teach
The method of claim 10, wherein, based on the SRS transmission request message including the codebook configuration, each SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions is associated with a beamforming matrix index.
Moon teaches,
The method of claim 10, wherein, based on the SRS transmission request message including the codebook configuration, each SRS resource of the plurality of SRS transmissions is associated with a beamforming matrix index. (paragraph 0129 – “For example, the above-described operation may be used for a purpose of repeatedly receiving SRS(s) when updating the transmission beam of the terminal. In an exemplary embodiment, Ku may be 4. The beamforming operation may be indicated by the base station to the relay node. For example, an access link reception beam applied to each time period (e.g., symbol(s)) in which a plurality of SRSs are transmitted through the access link may be indicated by the base station to the relay node).” paragraph 0130 – The access link may be based on a codebook configuration.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan, Haghighat and, Lee to incorporate the teachings of Moon. The purpose of doing so is to update the reception beam of the base station and transmission beam of the terminal (paragraph 0129).
Claim 18, 19, 21, 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan in view of Haghighat further in view of Moon.
Regarding claim 18, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting an error message to the base station in response to the response message, the error message indicating that the RIS is not capable of measuring the plurality of SRS transmissions or is not capable of measuring in any of requested angle direction.
Moon teaches,
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting an error message to the base station in response to the response message, the error message indicating that the RIS is not capable of measuring the plurality of SRS transmissions or is not capable of measuring in any of requested angle direction. (paragraph 0141 – The relay node which is a substitute for a RIS pauses transmission of signaling information due to a beam failure. Paragraph 0138 – The relay node performs a beam failure recovery procedure to notify the base station of a beam change request and waits for a response from the base station for a beam change.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the error message teachings of Moon. The purpose of doing so is to provide a method of reconfiguring transmission in the event of a beam failure (paragraph 0141).
Regarding claim 19, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 18, wherein:
the error message includes an error reason, and
the error reason is one or more of Not-Enough-Gap-Between-SRS, Cannot- Measure-This-Band, or Cannot-Measure-This-Angle-Direction.
Moon teaches,
The method of claim 18, wherein:
the error message includes an error reason, and (paragraph 0138 – The relay node sends a beam failure recovery procedure to the base station indicating a beam failure has occurred.)
the error reason is one or more of Not-Enough-Gap-Between-SRS, Cannot- Measure-This-Band, or Cannot-Measure-This-Angle-Direction. (paragraph 0141 – The reason of cannot-measure-this-band encompasses a beam failure where transmission is no longer possible with the current setup and beam configuration from the perspective of the relay node.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the error message teachings of Moon. The purpose of doing so is to provide an identification of the problem (beam failure) so that corrective steps can be taken by the base station (paragraph 0141).
Regarding claim 21, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein:
the plurality of SRS transmissions is a plurality of SRS resources or SRS symbols, and
multiple SRS resources or SRS symbols of the plurality of SRS resources or SRS symbols are measured with the same receive beam of the plurality of receive beams.
Moon teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein:
the plurality of SRS transmissions is a plurality of SRS resources or SRS symbols, and (paragraph 0128 - Repetitions of the same SRS resources multiple times accounting for multiple SRS resources)
multiple SRS resources or SRS symbols of the plurality of SRS resources or SRS symbols are measured with the same receive beam of the plurality of receive beams. (paragraph 0129 - Repetitions of the SRS are sent through the same beam)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the SRS respirces and same beam teachings of Moon. The purpose of doing so is to determine an optimal backhaul beam (paragraph 0131).
Regarding claim 22, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one SRS configuration includes a number of the multiple SRS resources or SRS symbols.
Moon teaches,
The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one SRS configuration includes a number of the multiple SRS resources or SRS symbols. (paragraph 0128 – The number of repetitions of the multiple SRS resources to be sent using the same beam is identified as Ku resources).
The use of “or” in the claim language indicates only one of the above requirements is necessary (italicized).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the SRS configurations teachings of Moon. The purpose of doing so is to determine an optimal backhaul beam (paragraph 0131).
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan in view of Haghighat further in view of Echigo et al. (US 20240340826 A1), hereinafter, Echigo.
Regarding claim 24, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 23, further comprising:
measuring a plurality of SRS transmissions from the UE with the same antenna port to determine an SRS index corresponding to each receive beam of a plurality of receive beams at the RIS.
Echigo teaches,
measuring a plurality of SRS transmissions from the UE with the same antenna port to determine an SRS index corresponding to each receive beam of a plurality of receive beams at the RIS. (paragraph 0156 – The TA value is configured for each field, and the TA value is using the same antenna port as the SRS port of the SRS resources.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the same antenna port and SRS index teachings of Echigo. The purpose of doing so is to allow for an appropriate TA to be configured for an uplink value through one of multiple paths (paragraph 0186).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Duan in view of Haghighat further in view of Jang et al. (US 20240405814 A1), hereinafter, Jang.
Regarding claim 15, Duan and Haghighat fail to teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein the response message further includes precoders and a number of repetitions for using each precoder.
Jang teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the response message further includes precoders and a number of repetitions for using each precoder. (paragraph 0327 - the PUSCH repetitive transmissions is sent using a single precoder up to a certain number of transmissions. If the value is exceeded additional precoders are used. paragraphs 0363, 0364 - the precoding method can be applied to each SRS resource)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Duan and Haghighat to incorporate the precoders and number of repetitions for each precoder teachings of Jang. The purpose of doing so is to limit additional higher level signaling unless necessary as determined by the number of PUSCH repetitive transmissions being higher than a threshold value. (paragraph 0319, 0320).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
(US 20210242988 A1) Kwak et al – Discussion of using a precoder for repeated transmission of a reference signal (paragraph 0340).
(US 20230042138 A1), Shin et al. – discussion of a sidelink wireless communication system and error handling (paragraph 0102).
(US 20230275644 A1), Yao et al. – discussion of beam forwarding using an RIS, phase patterns (paragraphs 200-220).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RDuan Crigler whose telephone number is (571)272-9376. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas A. Jensen can be reached at (571) 270-5443. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN CRIGLER/Examiner, Art Unit 2472 /NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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