CTNF 18/707,711 CTNF 83242 DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-20 are pending. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement 06-52 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/15/2024 and 09/16/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. 07-34-01 Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. As to claim 12, the limitation “receive via the transceiver, a first SRS and a second SRS according to the first temporary capability reduction and the AS SRS instructions from the UE ” renders the claims indefinite. The scope of the claimed subject matter cannot be determined by one having ordinary skill in the art. As per claim 12, the limitation “transmit via the transceiver, AS SRS instructions based on the capability report to the UE“ which is AS SRS instruction is transmitted by the base station after receiving capability report from UE but above limitation states that AS SRS instruction is transmitted by UE . Therefore, claimed limitation is unclear and renders indefinite. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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 of this title, 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-5, 8-11, 13-16 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gopal et al. (US 20210329508, Gopal hereinafter, cited on IDS dated 09/16/2025) in view of Gorokhov et al. (US 20220216966, Gorokhov et al. hereinafter) . As to claim 1: Gopal discloses a user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver ( see at least paragraph [0139] and Fig. 9, transceiver ); and a processor ( see at least paragraph [0139] and Fig. 9, processor ) coupled to the transceiver, configured to: transmit via the transceiver, a capability report for antenna switching (AS) Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), wherein the capability report is associated with a plurality of receive antenna of the UE ( see at least paragraphs [0065], [0154] and Fig. 11, at 1105, the UE may report a first SRS antenna-switching capability (e.g., maximum antenna-switching capability) to a base station. capability report is associated with multiple antenna. A UE may have multiple receive antennas. The SRS antenna-switching allows a UE to select one or more receive antennas to transmit the SRS (see paragraph [0065]). ); transmit via the transceiver, a first SRS according to the first temporary capability reduction and the SRS instructions ( see at least paragraph [0155] and Fig. 11, at 1110, the UE may transmit an SRS via a second SRS antenna-switching capability (i.e. reduced SRS antenna switching capability) when the first network connection has priority over the second network connection, where the second SRS antenna-switching capability is reduced with respect to the first SRS antenna-switching capability. ). Gopal does not explicitly disclose receive via the transceiver, SRS instructions based on the capability report; and transmit via the transceiver, a first temporary capability reduction for a duration. However Gorokhov discloses receive via the transceiver, SRS instructions based on the capability report ( see at least paragraph [0067] and Fig. 4, the BS 110 may transmit a first SRS configuration (interpreted as SRS instruction) to the UE 120 based on the SRS switching capability .); transmit via the transceiver, a first temporary capability reduction for a duration ( see at least paragraph [0071], the UE 120 may transmit one or more SRSs using a second SRS configuration (interpreted as temporary capability reduction) based at least in part on determining that the first SRS configuration exceeds the antenna capability (for a duration) of the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration based at least in part on the first SRS configuration exceeding the antenna capability of the UE 120. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration based at least in part on the antenna capability 410 of the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration such that an impact of the difference between the first SRS configuration and the antenna capability is reduced or minimized, such that a number of dropped SRS transmissions of the first SRS configuration is reduced or minimized, or the like. ). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement second SRS configuration, as taught by Gorokhov, into the invention of Gopal in order to improve quality of sounding information determined using SRS, which improves reliability and throughput of the network (see Gorokhov, paragraph [0063]). As to claim 2: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein to maintain phase continuity, the processor is configured to: calibrate one or more SRS ports participating in the AS SRS to transmit with substantially a same transmit power ( see at least Figs. 3-4E SRS antenna ). As to claim 3: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: determine that a second SRS overlaps an other transmission in a time domain ( see at least paragraph [0101], the UE will determine whether to operate the NR SRS antenna-switching at a maximum capability or a reduced capability when the SRS Tx from the NR uplink SF 506 overlaps with an LTE TX from an uplink SF 508. ); determine that the other transmission has an absolute priority over the second SRS and transmit via the transceiver, the other transmission but not the second SRS ( see at least paragraph [0156], the UE may transmit at least one additional SRS via the first SRS antenna-switching capability when the second network connection has priority over the first network connection .). As to claim 4: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: determine that a second SRS overlaps an other transmission in a time domain ( see at least paragraph [0101], the UE will determine whether to operate the NR SRS antenna-switching at a maximum capability or a reduced capability when the SRS Tx from the NR uplink SF 506 overlaps with an LTE TX from an uplink SF 508. ); determine that the other transmission does not have an absolute priority over the second SRS and transmit via the transceiver, the second SRS ( see at least paragraph [0155] and Fig. 11, at 1110, the UE may transmit an SRS via a second SRS antenna-switching capability (i.e. reduced SRS antenna switching capability) when the first network connection has priority over the second network connection, where the second SRS antenna-switching capability is reduced with respect to the first SRS antenna-switching capability. ). As to claim 5: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 4. Gopal further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: scale a transmit power corresponding to the other transmission to satisfy a radio frequency requirement; and transmit via the transceiver, the other transmission ( see at least paragraph [0155] and Fig. 11, at 1110, the UE may transmit an SRS via a second SRS antenna-switching capability (i.e. reduced SRS antenna switching capability) when the first network connection has priority over the second network connection, where the second SRS antenna-switching capability is reduced with respect to the first SRS antenna-switching capability. ). As to claim 8: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: detect a list of slot offsets in an aperiodic SRS-ResourceSet; and determine slots for a slot offset based on available slots ( see at least paragraph [0070] and Fig. 5, list of slot offsets in Fi. 5 ). As to claim 9: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein the capability report includes a bitmap, wherein a bit of the bitmap corresponds to an SRS transmit port switching capability ( see at least paragraphs [0065], [0154] and Fig. 11, at 1105, the UE may report a first SRS antenna-switching capability (e.g., maximum antenna-switching capability) to a base station. capability report is associated with multiple antenna. A UE may have multiple receive antennas. The SRS antenna-switching allows a UE to select one or more receive antennas to transmit the SRS (see paragraph [0065]). ). As to claim 10: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein the first temporary capability reduction is carried via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control (MAC)-control element (CE) signaling, or layer 1 signaling ( see at least paragraph [0070], the SRS may be configured for periodic transmission (e.g., semi-static transmission). The periodic transmission may be configured via RRC signaling. A periodicity for an SRS configuration may include: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, or 2560 slots. Alternatively, the SRS may be configured for aperiodic transmission (e.g., dynamic transmission) via a grant (e.g., DCI Format 1_1 and DCI Format 0_1). Still further, the SRS may be semi-persistently activated/deactivated via a MAC control element (MAC-CE) .). As to claim 11: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the UE of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein the first temporary capability reduction corresponds to a first predefined time window, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit via the transceiver, a second temporary capability reduction outside of the first predefined time window ( see at least paragraphs [0081]-[0086], degrading a number of antennas used for NR SRS-switching may impact NR downlink performance due to an inability to sound on all possible NR Rx antenna ports. For example, if the UE's NR SRS capability is 1T4R, degrading to 1T2R may reduce the NR downlink throughput because the base station may only receive sounding information on two antennas instead of four. That is, although the UE is capable of transmitting the SRS from one of four antennas, the UE may only transmit the SRS on one of two antennas. Signaling a downgrade of the UE's SRS UE-capability specifies the UE to declare a radio link failure and perform an attach/detach procedure to provide updated radio capabilities. Additionally, the NR SRS antenna-switching capability may be reduced to less than a maximum capability when LTE is prioritized. For example, a 1T4R capability may be reduced to 1T3R or 1T2R. ). As to claim 13: Gopal discloses a method of operating a user equipment (UE): transmitting a capability report for antenna switching (AS) Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), wherein the capability report is associated with a plurality of receive antenna of the UE ( see at least paragraphs [0065], [0154] and Fig. 11, at 1105, the UE may report a first SRS antenna-switching capability (e.g., maximum antenna-switching capability) to a base station. capability report is associated with multiple antenna. A UE may have multiple receive antennas. The SRS antenna-switching allows a UE to select one or more receive antennas to transmit the SRS (see paragraph [0065]). ); transmitting a first SRS according to the first temporary capability reduction and the SRS instructions ( see at least paragraph [0155] and Fig. 11, at 1110, the UE may transmit an SRS via a second SRS antenna-switching capability (i.e. reduced SRS antenna switching capability) when the first network connection has priority over the second network connection, where the second SRS antenna-switching capability is reduced with respect to the first SRS antenna-switching capability. ). Gopal does not explicitly disclose receiving SRS instructions based on the capability report; and transmitting a first temporary capability reduction for a duration. However Gorokhov discloses receiving SRS instructions based on the capability report ( see at least paragraph [0067] and Fig. 4, the BS 110 may transmit a first SRS configuration (interpreted as SRS instruction) to the UE 120 based on the SRS switching capability .); and transmitting a first temporary capability reduction for a duration ( see at least paragraph [0071], the UE 120 may transmit one or more SRSs using a second SRS configuration (interpreted as temporary capability reduction) based at least in part on determining that the first SRS configuration exceeds the antenna capability (for a duration) of the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration based at least in part on the first SRS configuration exceeding the antenna capability of the UE 120. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration based at least in part on the antenna capability 410 of the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration such that an impact of the difference between the first SRS configuration and the antenna capability is reduced or minimized, such that a number of dropped SRS transmissions of the first SRS configuration is reduced or minimized, or the like. ). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement second SRS configuration, as taught by Gorokhov, into the invention of Gopal in order to improve quality of sounding information determined using SRS, which improves reliability and throughput of the network (see Gorokhov, paragraph [0063]). As to claim 14: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the method of claim 13. Gopal further discloses further comprising maintaining phase continuity by calibrating one or more SRS ports participating in the AS SRS to transmit with substantially a same transmit power ( see at least Figs. 3-4E SRS antenna ). As to claim 15: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the method of claim 13. Gopal further discloses further comprising: determining that a second SRS overlaps an other transmission in a time domain ( see at least paragraph [0101], the UE will determine whether to operate the NR SRS antenna-switching at a maximum capability or a reduced capability when the SRS Tx from the NR uplink SF 506 overlaps with an LTE TX from an uplink SF 508. ); determining that the other transmission has an absolute priority over the second SRS and transmitting the other transmission but not the second SRS ( see at least paragraph [0156], the UE may transmit at least one additional SRS via the first SRS antenna-switching capability when the second network connection has priority over the first network connection .). As to claim 16: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the method of claim 13. Gopal further discloses further comprising: determining that a second SRS overlaps an other transmission in a time domain ( see at least paragraph [0101], the UE will determine whether to operate the NR SRS antenna-switching at a maximum capability or a reduced capability when the SRS Tx from the NR uplink SF 506 overlaps with an LTE TX from an uplink SF 508. ); determining that the other transmission does not have an absolute priority over the second AS SRS and transmitting the second SRS and the other transmission, wherein a transmit power corresponding to the other transmission is scaled to satisfy a radio frequency requirement ( see at least paragraph [0155] and Fig. 11, at 1110, the UE may transmit an SRS via a second SRS antenna-switching capability (i.e. reduced SRS antenna switching capability) when the first network connection has priority over the second network connection, where the second SRS antenna-switching capability is reduced with respect to the first SRS antenna-switching capability. ). As to claim 19: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the method of claim 13. Gopal further discloses further comprising: detecting a list of slot offsets in an aperiodic SRS-ResourceSet; and determining slots for a slot offset based on available slots ( see at least paragraph [0070] and Fig. 5, list of slot offsets in Fi. 5 ). As to claim 20: Gopal and Gorokhov disclose the method of claim 1. Gopal further discloses wherein the capability report includes a bitmap, wherein a bit of the bitmap corresponds to an SRS transmit port switching capability ( see at least paragraphs [0065], [0154] and Fig. 11, at 1105, the UE may report a first SRS antenna-switching capability (e.g., maximum antenna-switching capability) to a base station. capability report is associated with multiple antenna. A UE may have multiple receive antennas. The SRS antenna-switching allows a UE to select one or more receive antennas to transmit the SRS (see paragraph [0065]). ) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gopal et al. (US 20210329508, Gopal hereinafter, cited on IDS dated 09/16/2025) in view of Gorokhov et al. (US 20220216966, Gorokhov et al. hereinafter) and further in view of Namgoong et al. (US 20170288759, Namgoong hereinafter) . As to claim 12: Gopal discloses a base station (BS), comprising: a transceiver ( see at least paragraph [0059] and Fig. 2, antennas 234-1 through 234-t ); and a processor ( see at least paragraph [0059] and Fig. 2, a processor ) coupled to the transceiver, configured to: receive via the transceiver, a capability report for antenna switching (AS) Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), wherein the capability report is associated with a plurality of receive antenna of a user equipment (UE) ( see at least paragraphs [0065], [0154] and Fig. 11, at 1105, the UE may report a first SRS antenna-switching capability (e.g., maximum antenna-switching capability) to a base station. capability report is associated with multiple antenna. A UE may have multiple receive antennas. The SRS antenna-switching allows a UE to select one or more receive antennas to transmit the SRS (see paragraph [0065]). ); receive via the transceiver, a first SRS and a second SRS according to the first temporary capability reduction and the AS SRS instructions from the UE ( see at least paragraph [0055] and Fig. 11, the UE 115 may transmit SRSs (interpreted a first and a second) with a reduced SRS antenna-switching capability when an LTE network connection is prioritized over an NR network connections and based on SRS antenna switching capability from UE (interpreted AS SRS instruction from the UE). ); Gopal does not explicitly disclose transmit via the transceiver, AS SRS instructions based on the capability report to the UE; receive via the transceiver, a first temporary capability reduction for a duration from the UE; measure an uplink propagation channel of the UE based on the first SRS and the second SRS; and estimate a downlink propagation channel of the UE based on the first and the second SRS. However Gorokhov discloses transmit via the transceiver, AS SRS instructions based on the capability report to the UE ( see at least paragraph [0067] and Fig. 4, the BS 110 may transmit a first SRS configuration (interpreted as SRS instruction) to the UE 120 based on the SRS switching capability .); receive via the transceiver, a first temporary capability reduction for a duration from the UE ( see at least paragraph [0071], the UE 120 may transmit one or more SRSs using a second SRS configuration (interpreted as temporary capability reduction) based at least in part on determining that the first SRS configuration exceeds the antenna capability (for a duration) of the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration based at least in part on the first SRS configuration exceeding the antenna capability of the UE 120. In some aspects, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration based at least in part on the antenna capability 410 of the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may determine the second SRS configuration such that an impact of the difference between the first SRS configuration and the antenna capability is reduced or minimized, such that a number of dropped SRS transmissions of the first SRS configuration is reduced or minimized, or the like. ). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement second SRS configuration, as taught by Gorokhov, into the invention of Gopal in order to improve quality of sounding information determined using SRS, which improves reliability and throughput of the network (see Gorokhov, paragraph [0063]). Gopal and Gorokhov d not explicitly disclose measure an uplink propagation channel of the UE based on the first SRS and the second SRS; and estimate a downlink propagation channel of the UE based on the first and the second SRS. However Namgoong discloses measure an uplink propagation channel of the UE based on the first SRS and the second SRS and estimate a downlink propagation channel of the UE based on the first and the second SRS ( see at least paragraph [0095], the base station may estimate the downlink propagation channel based on the base station's estimation of the uplink propagation channel wherein the base station may measure the propagation channel based on the SRS received from the UE. ). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement estimation of downlink propagation, as taught by Namgoong, into the invention of Gopal and Gorokhov in order to improve spectral efficiency (see Namgoong, paragraph [0004]) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 6-7 and 17-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Xiao et al. (US 20230403118) discloses Techniques For Indicating Sounding Reference Signal Resources. Ibrahim et al. (US 20250125928) discloses Spatial SRS Sounding Adaptation In LOS MIMO. Abdelghaffar et al. (US 20220353032) discloses Dynamic Modification Of Sounding Procedure Configuration. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KABIR U JAHANGIR whose telephone number is (571)272-0796. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am to 6:30pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricky Ngo can be reached at (571)272-3139. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /K. J./ Examiner, Art Unit 2464 /RICKY Q NGO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 2 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 3 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 4 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 5 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 6 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 7 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 8 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 9 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 10 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 11 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 12 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 13 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 14 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 15 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 16 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/707,711 Page 17 Art Unit: 2464
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