DETAILED ACTION
This action is a response to an application filed on 5/24/24 in which claims 1-30 are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 12-14, 17-25, 29 and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Farmanbar et al. (Pub. No.: 2020/0100201), herein Farmanbar and Laddu et al. Pub. No.: 2022/0322310, herein Laddu.
As to claim 1, Farmanbar teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
Memory (Farmanbar Fig. 9A memory); and
at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to (Farmanbar Fig. 9A processing unit):
receive, from a network entity, a first timing advance (TA) associated with a first transmission reception point (TRP) associated with the network entity in first downlink control information (DCI) (Farmanbar Fig 2 receive by a UE TAG configuration from a network, comprising a first TAG ID and claim 2 the first signal is transmitted to a first base station (associated with a first TRP) and [0024] TAG ID is indicated by DCI))
receive, from the network entity, a second TA associated with a second TRP associated with the network entity (Farmanbar Fig. 2 receive by a UE second TAG ID and claim 2 the second signal is transmitted to a second base station (associated with a second TRP))
the first TA and the second TA being associated with different sets of uplink (UL) channels based on an association configuration (Farmanbar [0004] The method also includes transmitting, by the UE, a first signal over a component carrier in accordance with a timing advance associated with the first TAG ID and a second signal over the component carrier in accordance with a timing advance associated with the second TAG ID); and
communicate with the network entity based on the first TA and the second TA (Farmanbar claim 2 The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal is transmitted to a first base station and the second signal is transmitted to a second base station)
Farmanbar does not teach
in second DCI
However Laddu does teach
In second DCI (Laddu Fig. 2 (DCI-2)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar and Laddu, because Farmanbar teaches us [0041] Therefore, according to an example embodiment, techniques are provided that may allow a UE to determine when it is configured for (and thus when it should perform or operate according to) inter-cell multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, e.g., even without explicit higher layer configuration for such multi-TRP operation (e.g., even in the absence of configuring CORESETPoolIndex values for different CORESETs, that would typically configure UE for multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation).
As to claim 13, Farmanbar teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
Memory (Farmanbar Fig. 9A memory); and
at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to (Farmanbar Fig. 9A processing unit):
receive, from a network entity, a first timing advance (TA) associated with a first transmission reception point (TRP) associated with the network entity in first downlink control information (DCI) (Farmanbar Fig 2 receive by a UE TAG configuration from a network, comprising a first TAG ID and claim 2 the first signal is transmitted to a first base station (associated with a first TRP) and [0024] TAG ID is indicated by DCI))
receive, from the network entity, a second TA associated with a second TRP associated with the network entity (Farmanbar Fig. 2 receive by a UE second TAG ID and claim 2 the second signal is transmitted to a second base station (associated with a second TRP))
the first TA and the second TA being associated with a single component carrier (CC) (Farmanbar [0020] determine a first timing advance associated with the first TAG ID for a first signal and a second timing advance associated with the second TAG ID for a second signal, the first signal and the second signal being transmitted from the UE over the same component carrier, and transmit the first timing advance and the second timing advance to the UE) and
communicate with the network entity based on the first TA and the single CC or based on the second TA and the single CC (Farmanbar [0044] Each TAG ID represents a TAG and is mapped to at least one signal to be transmitted by the UE. After receiving the TAG configuration, the UE may transmit multiple signals to the network over the same component carrier in accordance with timing advances associated with corresponding TAG IDs mapped to the respective signals)
Farmanbar does not teach
in second DCI
Howver Laddu does teach
In second DCI (Laddu Fig. 2 (DCI-2)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar and Laddu for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
As to claim 19, Farmanbar teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:
Memory (Farmanbar Fig. 9B memory); and
at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to (Farmanbar Fig. 9B processor):
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a first timing advance (TA) associated with a first transmission reception point (TRP) associated with the network entity in first downlink control information (DCI) (Farmanbar Fig 2 receive by a UE TAG configuration from a network, comprising a first TAG ID and claim 2 the first signal is transmitted to a first base station (associated with a first TRP) and [0024] TAG ID is indicated by DCI))
transmit, to the UE, a second TA associated with a second TRP associated with the network entity (Farmanbar Fig. 2 receive by a UE second TAG ID and claim 2 the second signal is transmitted to a second base station (associated with a second TRP))
the first TA and the second TA being associated with different sets of uplink (UL) channels based on an association configuration (Farmanbar [0004] The method also includes transmitting, by the UE, a first signal over a component carrier in accordance with a timing advance associated with the first TAG ID and a second signal over the component carrier in accordance with a timing advance associated with the second TAG ID); and
communicate with the UE based on the first TA and the second TA (Farmanbar claim 2 The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal is transmitted to a first base station and the second signal is transmitted to a second base station)
Farmanbar does not teach
in second DCI
However Laddu does teach
In second DCI (Laddu Fig. 2 (DCI-2)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar and Laddu for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
As to claim 29, Farmanbar teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:
Memory (Farmanbar Fig. 9B memory);
and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to (Farmanbar Fig. 9B processor); :
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a first timing advance (TA) associated with a first transmission reception point (TRP) associated with the network entity in first downlink control information (DCI) (Farmanbar Fig 2 receive by a UE TAG configuration from a network, comprising a first TAG ID and claim 2 the first signal is transmitted to a first base station (associated with a first TRP) and [0024] TAG ID is indicated by DCI))
transmit, to the UE, a second TA associated with a second TRP associated with the network entity (Farmanbar Fig. 2 receive by a UE second TAG ID and claim 2 the second signal is transmitted to a second base station (associated with a second TRP))
the first TA and the second TA being associated with a single component carrier (CC) (Farmanbar [0020] determine a first timing advance associated with the first TAG ID for a first signal and a second timing advance associated with the second TAG ID for a second signal, the first signal and the second signal being transmitted from the UE over the same component carrier, and transmit the first timing advance and the second timing advance to the UE) and
communicate with the UE based on the first TA and the single CC or based on the second TA and the single CC (Farmanbar [0044] Each TAG ID represents a TAG and is mapped to at least one signal to be transmitted by the UE. After receiving the TAG configuration, the UE may transmit multiple signals to the network over the same component carrier in accordance with timing advances associated with corresponding TAG IDs mapped to the respective signals)
Farmanbar does not teach
in second DCI
Howver Laddu does teach
In second DCI (Laddu Fig. 2 (DCI-2)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar and Laddu for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
As to claim 2, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, from the network entity, the association configuration (Farmanbar [0060] When a UE receives a TAG configuration including TAG IDs mapped to TCI states, the UE may treat mapping between TAG IDs and TCI states as an optional configuration. For example, the UE may receive a SCellConfiginformation element which includes a TAG ID mapped to a serving cell (e.g., as illustrated in Tables 1A and 1B). If the UE does not receive TAG IDs mapped to TCI states, the UE may apply the TAG configuration included in the SCellConfiginformation element. If the UE receive TAG IDs mapped to TCI states, the UE may start using these mappings, and ignore the TAG configuration included in the SCellConfiginformation element.
[0061] In one embodiment, during a time slot, the UE may receive a PDCCH located in a control resource set (CORESET), and a TCI state may have been assigned to the UE to decode the PDCCH. When the UE has an uplink transmission to be communicated in this time slot, the UE may select a TAG ID mapped to the TCI state, and apply a timing advance associated with the TAG ID to the uplink transmission)
Claim 21 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 2.
As to claim 3, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the association configuration is based on an association between a timing advance group (TAG) and a control resource set (CORESET) pool index (Farmanbar claim 8 first TAG ID is included in a control resource set (CORESET) associated with the first signal (pool index))
Claim 22 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 3.
As to claim 4, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the association configuration is received via scheduling DCI for a dynamic grant (DG) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (Farmanbar [0053] In some embodiments, each TAG ID in a TAG configuration is mapped to a corresponding path loss reference signal. Prior to an uplink transmission (e.g., an uplink transmission on either a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)), the UE may select a path loss reference signal for the uplink transmission)
Claim 23 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 4.
As to claim 5, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the scheduling DCI is associated with the CORESET pool index (Farmanbar [0061] In one embodiment, during a time slot, the UE may receive a PDCCH located in a control resource set (CORESET), and a TCI state may have been assigned to the UE to decode the PDCCH. When the UE has an uplink transmission to be communicated in this time slot, the UE may select a TAG ID mapped to the TCI state, and apply a timing advance associated with the TAG ID to the uplink transmission)
Claim 24 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 5.
As to claim 6, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the association configuration is received via activating signaling, the activating signaling being DCI or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE) for a semi-persistent sounding reference signal (SP-SRS), a configured grant (CG) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for semi-persistent channel state information (SP-CSI), or a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (Farmanbar [0062] In another embodiment, an uplink transmission is scheduled by downlink control information (DCI) (e.g., DCI format 0-1) carried in a PDCCH. The DCI may include a 3-bit field indicating a TCI state. The UE may select a TAG ID mapped to the TCI state, and apply a timing advance associated with the TAG ID to the uplink transmission)
Claim 25 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 6.
As to claim 12, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one processor (Farmanbar Fig. 9A transceiver coupled to processing unit)
Claims 18 and 20 are rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 12.
As to claim 14, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to communicate with the network entity based on the first TA without being based on the second TA when a first bandwidth part (BWP) in the single CC is related to the first TRP without being related to the second TRP (Laddu [0085] Operation 522 may include determining a timing advance (TA) per TRP and [0101] user device for a downlink bandwidth part (DL BWP) and Farmanbar [0014] The method also includes determining, by the first base station, a first timing advance associated with the first TAG ID for a first signal and a second timing advance associated with the second TAG ID for a second signal, the first signal and the second signal being transmitted from the UE over the same component carrier, and transmitting, by the first base station, the first timing advance and the second timing advance to the UE)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar and Laddu for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
Claim 30 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 14.
As to claim 17, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to communicate with the network entity based on an indication of the first TA or the second TA (Farmanbar claim 1 and transmitting, by the UE, a first signal over a component carrier in accordance with a timing advance associated with the first TAG ID and a second signal over the component carrier in accordance with a timing advance associated with the second TAG ID)
Claim(s) 7, 8, 26 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Farmanbar, Laddu and Takeda et al. WO 2019/130523 A1, herein Takeda.
As to claim 7, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the association configuration is received via a higher layer configuration, the higher layer configuration being radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE) for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (Farmanbar [0011] Optionally, in some embodiments of any of the preceding aspects, a TCI state mapped to the first TAG ID is included in a control resource set (CORESET) associated with the first signal and [0014] transmitting, by a first base station of a network, an RRC message to a UE, the RRC message comprising a first TAG ID and a second TAG ID different than the first TAG ID)
Farmanbar nor Laddu teach
for persistent channel state information (P- CSI) or persistent scheduling sounding reference signal (P-SRS).
However Takeda does teach
for persistent channel state information (P- CSI) or persistent scheduling sounding reference signal (P-SRS) (Takeda [0077] in P-CSI, the UE may set a PUCCH resource by RRC signaling)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar, Laddu and Takeda, because Takeda [0073] teaches us Beam related information may be information on a desired beam for the UE. For example, beam related information may be an identifier (Reference Signal Identifier: RS ID) corresponding to a desired beam, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ). And at least one of Beam related information may be identified implicitly from the configuration resource of the BFR request PUCCH. That is, the corresponding BFR request PUCCH resource is set for each candidate beam, and the UE transmits the BFR request PUCCH on the resource corresponding to the beam desired for itself. By having the resource settings for which the BFR request PUCCH includes beam related information or derives the beam related information, the NW can perform beam reconstruction properly.
Claim 26 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 7.
As to claim 8, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the association configuration is based on an association between a timing advance group (TAG) and a closed loop index associated with the different sets of UL channels or associated reference signals (RS) (Farmanbar [0053] In some embodiments, each TAG ID in a TAG configuration is mapped to a corresponding path loss reference signal)
Claim 27 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 8.
Claim(s) 9 and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Farmanbar, Laddu and Liu et al. (Pub. No.: 2023/0239823), herein Liu.
As to claim 9, the combination of Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 8,
Farmanbar nor Laddu teach
wherein the association configuration is further based on an association between one or more close loop indexes (CLI) and the first TA or the second TA
However Liu does teach
wherein the association configuration is further based on an association between one or more close loop indexes (CLI) and the first TA or the second TA (Liu [0174] Two separate set of power control parameters, each set associated with one TRP and including TRP-specific open-loop parameters, closed-loop parameters, TPC command field, closed-loop indexes and closed-loop, and pathloss RS; [0175] Two separate sets of SRI/TPMI parameters; [0176] Two separate TRP-specific TA offsets)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar, Laddu and Liu, because Liu teaches us this is for [0173] M-TRP PUSCH enhancement.
Claim 28 is rejected for the same reason stated in claim 9
Claim(s) 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Farmanbar, Laddu and Khoshnevisan et al. CN 119138044 A, herein Khoshnevsan.
As to claim 15, Farmanbar and Laddu teach the apparatus of claim 13,
Farmanbar and Laddu do not teach
wherein the at least one processor is configured to communicate with the network entity based on a default TA of the first TA or the second TA
However Khoshnevisan
Does teach
wherein the at least one processor is configured to communicate with the network entity based on a default TA of the first TA or the second TA (Khoshnevisan [0155] The fixed (e.g., default) TA of the two Tas)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar and Laddu with Khoshnevisan, because Khoshnevisan teaches us [0155] the fixed TA may be the TA associated with the TAG.
As to claim 16, the combination of Farmanbar, Laddu and Khoshnevisan teach the apparatus of claim 15, wherein the default TA is associated with a lower timing advance group (TAG) identifier (ID) (Khoshnevisan [0155] In the framework 1 in which two TAG are used, the fixed TAG may be a TAG-ID for the first configuration of the CC (in the order of the RRC configuration, the first) or may be a TAG with a lower TAG-ID.)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Farmanbar and Laddu with Khoshnevisan, for the same reasons stated in claim 15.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 11 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
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AYANAH S. GEORGE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2467
/AYANAH S GEORGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
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