CTNF 18/716,293 CTNF 90519 DETAILED ACTION 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 AIA The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04 June 2024 was filed after the mailing date of the patent application on 04 June 2024 . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings, received on 04 June 2024, are acceptable for examination. Specification 06-31 AIA The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim 35 is objected to because of the following informalities: Said claims recite “if the value of the metric is below a threshold” and “if the value of the metric is above the threshold”, which are contingent limitations. Examiner reminds Applicant that "[the] broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met", See MPEP 2111.04 and See Ex Parte Schulhauser, Appeal No. 2015-007421 (Jan. 31, 2016). Here, the contingent limitations, (i.e. “if the value of the metric is below a threshold” and “if the value of the metric is above the threshold”) are not conditions that are required to occur, therefore the entire limitation corresponding to each contingent limitation is not required to occur. Given that the limitation is not required to occur, said limitation does not possess patentable weight. Examiner has, in the interest of compact prosecution, treated the limitation. Examiner respectfully suggests amending “if the value of the metric is below a threshold” and “if the value of the metric is above the threshold” to “in response to the value of the metric being below a threshold” and “in response to the value of the metric being above the threshold” respectively . Appropriate correction is required. 07-29-01 AIA Claim 36 is objected to because of the following informalities: Said claims recite “if the value of the metric is between a lower threshold and an upper threshold” and “if the value of the metric is below the lower threshold or above the upper threshold”, which are contingent limitations. Examiner reminds Applicant that "[the] broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met", See MPEP 2111.04 and See Ex Parte Schulhauser, Appeal No. 2015-007421 (Jan. 31, 2016). Here, the contingent limitations, (i.e. “if the value of the metric is between a lower threshold and an upper threshold” and “if the value of the metric is below the lower threshold or above the upper threshold”) are not conditions that are required to occur, therefore the entire limitation corresponding to each contingent limitation is not required to occur. Given that the limitation is not required to occur, said limitation does not possess patentable weight. Examiner has, in the interest of compact prosecution, treated the limitation. Examiner respectfully suggests amending “if the value of the metric is between a lower threshold and an upper threshold” and “if the value of the metric is below the lower threshold or above the upper threshold” to “in response to the value of the metric being between a lower threshold and an upper threshold” and “in response to the value of the metric being below the lower threshold or above the upper threshold” respectively . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim s 30-31, 35, 38-39, 42, 44, and 47-49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tang et al. (US 20220052747 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Tang”) . Regarding Claim 30, Claim 30 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 47. Regarding Claim 31, Tang discloses a method of claim 30. Tang further discloses wherein the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS more often for values of the metric below a threshold as compared to for values of the metric above the threshold ( ¶191-192 & Fig. 9 (962-> 964), Tang discloses that the determination indicates to increase a number of sounding reference signal (SRS) resources in response to determining that the real time mobility is high ). Regarding Claim 35, Tang discloses the method of claim 30. Tang further discloses wherein, if the value of the metric is below a threshold, the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS aperiodically ( ¶204-206, Tang discloses that the determination indicates to dynamically determine a large periodicity or a number of occurrences aperiodically in response to low mobility ) and, if the value of the metric is above the threshold, the indicated recommendation recommends that the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically ( ¶204-206, Tang discloses that the determination indicates to dynamically determine a small periodicity in response to high mobility ). Regarding Claim 38, Tang discloses the method of claim 30. Tang further discloses wherein the metric is the speed of the wireless communication device ( ¶35, Tang discloses that the metric to determine mobility is speed ). Regarding Claim 39, Tang discloses the method of claim 30. Tang further [the method], further comprising: receiving, from the network node, signaling that configures or triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS taking into account the indicated recommendation ( ¶193 & Fig. 9 (962-> 964 OR 966->940), Tang discloses receiving, by the UE, an SRS resource configuration where the SRS resource configuration takes into account the real time mobility of the UE ); and transmitting the SRS from the wireless communication device according to the received signaling ( ¶193 & Fig. 9 (950), Tang discloses transmitting, by the UE, the SRS according to the SRS resource configuration ). Regarding Claim 42, Claim 42 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 48. Regarding Claim 44, Tang discloses the method of claim 42. Tang further discloses [the method], further comprising receiving the SRS from the wireless communication device ( ¶193 & Fig. 9 (950), Tang discloses receiving, from the UE, the SRS according to the SRS resource configuration ). Regarding Claim 47, Tang discloses a wireless communication device configured for use in a wireless communication network, the wireless communication device comprising: communication circuitry ( ¶112-133 & Fig. 5, Tang discloses a user equipment (UE) comprising a radio front end module 515 ); and processing circuitry ( ¶112-133 & Fig. 5, Tang discloses the UE further comprising application circuitry 505 ) configured to: obtain a value of a metric that indicates a speed at which the wireless communication device moves ( ¶191-192 & Fig. 9 (962), Tang discloses determining, by a user equipment (UE), a real time mobility of the UE where the real time mobility of the UE indicates a speed relative to next generation node (gNB) and/or an environment of the UE ); determine, based on the value of the metric, an indication ( ¶191-192 & Fig. 9 (962-> 964 OR 966), Tang discloses determining, based on the real time mobility of the UE, to either reduce or increase a number of sounding reference signal (SRS) resources ) that indicates a recommendation of how often the wireless communication device is to send the SRS ( ¶191-192 & Fig. 9 (962-> 964 OR 966), Tang discloses that the determination indicates to reduce or increase a number of sounding reference signal (SRS) resources ) and/or of whether the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically or aperiodically ( ¶204-206, Tang discloses that the determination indicates to dynamically determine a periodicity or a number of occurrences aperiodically ); and transmit the indication to a network node in the wireless communication network ( ¶193 & Fig. 9 (962-> 964 OR 966->940), Tang discloses transmitting, by the UE, an SRS resource request message to the network ). Regarding Claim 48, Tang discloses a network node configured for use in a wireless communication network, the network node comprising: communication circuitry ( ¶99-111 & Fig. 4, Tang discloses a base station (BS) comprising a radio front end module 415 ); and processing circuitry ( ¶99-111 & Fig. 4, Tang discloses the BS further comprising application circuitry 405 ) configured to: receive, from a wireless communication device, an indication ( ¶193 & Fig. 9 (940), Tang discloses receiving, from a user equipment (UE), an SRS resource request message to the network ) that indicates a recommendation of how often the wireless communication device is to send the SRS ( ¶191-192 & ¶204-206, Tang discloses that the determination indicates to reduce or increase a number of sounding reference signal (SRS) resources ) and/or of whether the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically or aperiodically ( ¶204-206, Tang discloses that the determination indicates to dynamically determine a periodicity or a number of occurrences aperiodically ); determine, taking into account the indicated recommendation, how often the wireless communication device is to send the SRS and/or whether the wireless communication device is to send the SRS periodically or aperiodically ( ¶189-190 & Fig. 9 (950) & ¶204, Tang discloses determining, by the network in response to the SRS resource request message, the SRS resource configuration where the SRS resource configuration at least indicates the number of SRS resources and/or whether the SRS is aperiodic or periodic ); and transmit, to the wireless communication device, signaling that configures or triggers the wireless communication device to send the SRS as determined ( ¶193 & Fig. 9 (962-> 964 OR 966->940), Tang discloses transmitting, to the UE, an SRS resource configuration where the SRS resource configuration takes into account the real time mobility of the UE ). Regarding Claim 49, Claim 49 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 47 and Claim 48 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 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, 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 37 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang in view of Kumar et al. (US 20220166566 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Kumar”) . Regarding Claim 37, Tang discloses the method of claim 30. However, Tang does not disclose wherein the metric is a Doppler metric equal to f.sub.c*v/c, where v is the speed of the wireless communication device, f, is an uplink carrier frequency of the wireless communication device, and C is the speed of light in free space. Kumar, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the metric is a Doppler metric equal to f.sub.c*v/c ( ¶62, Kumar discloses a formula for Doppler frequency shift equal to v*fc/c ), where v is the speed of the wireless communication device ( ¶62, Kumar discloses that v is the user speed ), f, is an uplink carrier frequency of the wireless communication device ( ¶62, Kumar discloses that f c is carrier frequency for uplink signals ), and C is the speed of light in free space ( ¶62, Kumar discloses that c is the speed of light ). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tang by requiring that the metric is a Doppler metric equal to f.sub.c*v/c, where v is the speed of the wireless communication device, f, is an uplink carrier frequency of the wireless communication device, and C is the speed of light in free space as taught by Kumar because demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration is improved by dynamically configuring DMRS configurations based on Doppler shift estimate ( Kumar, ¶5 & ¶24 ) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 45-46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang in view of Wang et al. (US 20250324423 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Wang”) . Regarding Claim 45, Tang discloses the method of claim 44. However, Tang does not disclose [the method] further comprising: performing channel estimation for the wireless communication device based on the SRS received from the wireless communication device; and transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device, and/or receiving an uplink data transmission from the wireless communication device, based on the performed channel estimation. Wang, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches [the method] further comprising: performing channel estimation for the wireless communication device based on the SRS received from the wireless communication device ( ¶112 & Fig. 5 (502->504), Wang discloses performing channel estimation based on one or more sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted over a first number of antenna ports of the UE ); and transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device, and/or receiving an uplink data transmission from the wireless communication device, based on the performed channel estimation ( ¶112 & Fig. 5 (508), Wang discloses transmitting, to the UE, a downlink data transmission based upon the channel estimation ). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tang by performing channel estimation for the wireless communication device based on the SRS received from the wireless communication device and transmitting a downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device, and/or receiving an uplink data transmission from the wireless communication device, based on the performed channel estimation as taught by Wang because flexible SRS switching capability reporting improves the power used by the UE ( Wang, ¶62-64 ). Regarding Claim 46, Tang in view of Wang discloses the method of claim 45. Wang, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, further teaches wherein the downlink data transmission is performed according to time division duplexing (TDD) operation ( ¶35, Wang discloses transmitting, to the UE, a downlink data transmission using time division duplex (TDD) design ) and/or wherein transmitting the downlink data transmission to the wireless communication device based on the performed channel estimation comprises precoding the downlink data channel transmission based on the performed channel estimation ( Examiner notes that the use of “or” and “and/or” has a broadest reasonable interpretation of any element in the list that follows or any of those elements taken together. See Ex Parte Gross, Appeal 2011-004811, Application No. 11/565,411. Thus, Examiner has not treated all limitations separated by “and/or” and “or” ). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tang in view of Wang by requiring that the downlink data transmission is performed according to time division duplexing (TDD) operation as taught by Wang because flexible SRS switching capability reporting improves the power used by the UE ( Wang, ¶62-64 ) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 32-34, 36, 40-41, and 43 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. Internet Communications Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only : (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC NOWLIN whose telephone number is (313)446-6544. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12:00PM-10:00PM. 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, Michael Thier can be reached at (571) 272-2832. 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. /ERIC NOWLIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 2 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 3 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 4 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 5 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 6 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 7 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 8 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 9 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 10 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 11 Art Unit: 2474 Application/Control Number: 18/716,293 Page 12 Art Unit: 2474
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