CTNF 18/717,504 CTNF 94988 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 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/07/2024, the submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 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 AIA Claim (s) 29, 30, 37, 38, 41, 42, and 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1) and or (a)(2 ) as being anticipated by WO-2019099535-A1 to Lee . Regarding claim 29 Lee teaches…a User Equipment (UE) in a communication network (Fig. 1, Abs), comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising a computer program code (P. 256); wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to (P.44 discloses…Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. ), with the at least one processor, cause the UE to: receive, from a network node (P. 44 further discloses…configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit), information that is indicative of (P.3 discloses…A system, method, and device for ensuring a number of Phase Tracking Reference Signal(s) (PT-RSs) are the same for multiple slots. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may receive control information including a number of scheduled resource blocks (RBs) then determine a PT-RS density based on the number of scheduled RBs. ): (i) a head sequence of modulation symbols to be appended to a head end of a single-carrier waveform symbol, and (ii) a tail sequence of modulation symbols to be appended to a tail end of the single-carrier waveform symbol (P.120 discloses the location of the sequence as discloses…The location of the chunks of a DFT input may be determined based on the scheduled RB, chunk size (V) 312, and/or the number of chunks (X) 310. For example, two values of V, Vi and V.sub.2, may be used and the location of the chunks may be determined based on the V value as follows: when V=Vi, the samples in DFT domain may be divided in X intervals, and the chunks may be located in the Head (first V samples), Middle (middle V samples), or Tail (last V samples) in each interval; and when V=V2, the samples in DFT domain are divided in X intervals, where in the first interval the chunk is placed in the Head (first V samples), in the last interval the chunk is placed in the Tail (last V samples)); based on a sequence length of at least one of the head sequence of modulation symbols and the tail sequence of modulation symbols, determine a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS) configuration that is indicative of how at least one PTRS symbol (P.113 discloses… When PT-RS is present in a scheduled bandwidth for PDSCH or PUSCH, a subset of symbols (e.g., CP-OFDM symbols or DFT-s-OFDM symbols) may include PT-RS. The presence of PT-RS in a symbol may be determined based on one or more of the following: the MCS level (or modulation order) of the scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH; presence of DM-RS in the symbol (e.g., if a symbol includes DM-RS, PT-RS may not be transmitted in the symbol); and/or PT-RS density determined based on one or more scheduling parameters ) is to be mapped within the single-carrier waveform symbol (Fig. 3, P.119 discloses… A PT-RS pattern (e.g., chunk-based pre-DFT PT-RS pattern) may be determined based on a number of chunks (X) 310, chunk size (V) 312, and the location of chunks. The X PT-RS chunks 310, such as PT-RS chunk #1 311 may be inserted prior to the DFT block 304. The PT-RS chunks and data would proceed along the same process as described above for forming a waveform. A chunk is comprised of tones, and for each chunk, and its size may be V PT-RS tones. For each chunk, there may be V PT-RS tones before the DFT input; in the example of FIG. 3 the chunk size may be V = 3 as shown with three long dotted arrows for each PT-RS chunk; this is also shown in the resulting waveform in a DFT-S-OFDM symbol 313 where the PT-RS chunk # 1 31 1 is in the first three shaded blocks and PT-RS chunk # X is at the end ); and perform communications with the network node using the PTRS configuration (P.3 discloses… The WTRU may determine a RB offset value for the WTRU based on a WTRU-ID modulo the maximum RB offset value, where the maximum value for the RB offset value may be based on at least one of the number of the scheduled RBs and the PT-RS density. The WTRU may then transmit or receive a signal with PT- RS based on the RB offset value ). Regarding claim 30 Lee teaches…the UE of claim 29, Lee teaches…wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the UE to receive the information via a dedicated signalling (P.117 discloses… PT-RS frequency density may be determined based on the number of RBs scheduled as shown in Table 2 below. NRB may be the number of RB scheduled. PT-RSthRBO, PT- RSthRBI , PT-RSthRB2, PT-RSthRB3, and PT-RSthRB4 may be the thresholds to determine frequency density of PT-RS and it may be configured via RRC signaling or indicated in an associated DCI. A default configuration may be used (e.g., 2.sup.nd RB) if there is no configuration or indication). Regarding claim 37 Lee teaches…the UE of claim 29, wherein the sequence lengths of the head sequence of modulation symbols and the tail sequence of modulation symbols are equal (Fig. 3, P. 119 discloses head and tail being V-3 chunks, A PT-RS pattern (e.g., chunk-based pre-DFT PT-RS pattern) may be determined based on a number of chunks (X) 310, chunk size (V) 312, and the location of chunks. The X PT-RS chunks 310, such as PT-RS chunk #1 311 may be inserted prior to the DFT block 304. The PT-RS chunks and data would proceed along the same process as described above for forming a waveform. A chunk is comprised of tones, and for each chunk, and its size may be V PT-RS tones. For each chunk, there may be V PT-RS tones before the DFT input; in the example of FIG. 3 the chunk size may be V = 3 as shown with three long dotted arrows for each PT-RS chunk; this is also shown in the resulting waveform in a DFT-S-OFDM symbol 313 where the PT-RS chunk # 1 31 1 is in the first three shaded blocks and PT-RS chunk # X is at the end ). Regarding claim 38 Lee teaches…the UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the UE to determine the PTRS configuration additionally based on at least one of: a number of physical resource blocks dedicated to a communication channel established between the UE and the network node; a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) used by the UE for the communications; a symbol length used in the communication channel; and a subcarrier spacing applied for the communication channel (Fig. 2, P.109 discloses… The PT-RS may be transmitted within a scheduled bandwidth for PDSCH or PUSCH. The transmission of PT-RS in the scheduled bandwidth for PDSCH or PUSCH may be turned on/off by a node, such as a gNB, via higher layer signaling. If the transmission of a PT-RS in the scheduled bandwidth is turned on, the presence of the PT-RS and/or density of the PT-RS (e.g., time and/or frequency) in a scheduled bandwidth for PDSCH or PUSCH may be determined based on one or more of the following: scheduled number of resource blocks (RBs) (e.g., a.k.a. scheduled bandwidth and/or physical resource blocks (PRBs)); modulation coding scheme (MCS) level indicated for the scheduled PDSCH and/or PUSCH; numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing, slot length, etc.); WTRU capability (e.g., support PT-RS or not); demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) density which may be used for demodulation; number of layers scheduled (e.g., transmission rank of PDSCH or PUSCH); and/or presence of UCI in the PUSCH and its associated UCI type (e.g., HARQ-ACK or CSI). Regarding claim 41 Lee teaches…a network node in a communication network(Fig. 1, Abs, A system, method, and device for ensuring a number of Phase Tracking Reference Signal(s) (PT-RSs), comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising a computer program code (P.256 ); wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to (P.44 discloses…Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. ), with the at least one processor, cause the network node to: transmit, to a User Equipment (UE), information that is indicative of(P. 44 further discloses…configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit) (P.3 discloses…A system, method, and device for ensuring a number of Phase Tracking Reference Signal(s) (PT-RSs) are the same for multiple slots. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may receive control information including a number of scheduled resource blocks (RBs) then determine a PT-RS density based on the number of scheduled RBs. ): (i) a head sequence of modulation symbols to be appended to a head end of a single-carrier waveform symbol, and (ii) a tail sequence of modulation symbols to be appended to a tail end of the single-carrier waveform symbol(P.120 discloses the location of the sequence as discloses…The location of the chunks of a DFT input may be determined based on the scheduled RB, chunk size (V) 312, and/or the number of chunks (X) 310. For example, two values of V, Vi and V.sub.2, may be used and the location of the chunks may be determined based on the V value as follows: when V=Vi, the samples in DFT domain may be divided in X intervals, and the chunks may be located in the Head (first V samples), Middle (middle V samples), or Tail (last V samples) in each interval; and when V=V2, the samples in DFT domain are divided in X intervals, where in the first interval the chunk is placed in the Head (first V samples), in the last interval the chunk is placed in the Tail (last V samples), wherein the information causes the UE to determine a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS) configuration based on a sequence length of at least one of the head sequence of modulation symbols and the tail sequence of modulation symbols, the PTRS configuration being indicative of how at least one PTRS symbol (P.113 discloses… When PT-RS is present in a scheduled bandwidth for PDSCH or PUSCH, a subset of symbols (e.g., CP-OFDM symbols or DFT-s-OFDM symbols) may include PT-RS. The presence of PT-RS in a symbol may be determined based on one or more of the following: the MCS level (or modulation order) of the scheduled PDSCH or PUSCH; presence of DM-RS in the symbol (e.g., if a symbol includes DM-RS, PT-RS may not be transmitted in the symbol); and/or PT-RS density determined based on one or more scheduling parameters )is to be mapped within the single-carrier waveform symbol (Fig. 3, P.119 discloses… A PT-RS pattern (e.g., chunk-based pre-DFT PT-RS pattern) may be determined based on a number of chunks (X) 310, chunk size (V) 312, and the location of chunks. The X PT-RS chunks 310, such as PT-RS chunk #1 311 may be inserted prior to the DFT block 304. The PT-RS chunks and data would proceed along the same process as described above for forming a waveform. A chunk is comprised of tones, and for each chunk, and its size may be V PT-RS tones. For each chunk, there may be V PT-RS tones before the DFT input; in the example of FIG. 3 the chunk size may be V = 3 as shown with three long dotted arrows for each PT-RS chunk; this is also shown in the resulting waveform in a DFT-S-OFDM symbol 313 where the PT-RS chunk # 1 31 1 is in the first three shaded blocks and PT-RS chunk # X is at the end ); and perform communications with the UE using the PTRS configuration (P.3 discloses… The WTRU may determine a RB offset value for the WTRU based on a WTRU-ID modulo the maximum RB offset value, where the maximum value for the RB offset value may be based on at least one of the number of the scheduled RBs and the PT-RS density. The WTRU may then transmit or receive a signal with PT- RS based on the RB offset value ). Regarding claim 42 Lee teaches…the network node of claim 41, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network node to transmit the information via a dedicated signalling (P.117 discloses… PT-RS frequency density may be determined based on the number of RBs scheduled as shown in Table 2 below. NRB may be the number of RB scheduled. PT-RSthRBO, PT- RSthRBI , PT-RSthRB2, PT-RSthRB3, and PT-RSthRB4 may be the thresholds to determine frequency density of PT-RS and it may be configured via RRC signaling or indicated in an associated DCI. A default configuration may be used (e.g., 2.sup.nd RB) if there is no configuration or indication) . 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. 07-103 AIA The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. 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 (s) 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO-2019099535-A1 to Lee in view of US-20230069330-A1 to Ma et al., from hereon Ma . Regarding claim 39 Lee teaches..the UE of claim 29, but does not teach…wherein the single-carrier waveform symbol comprises at least one Known Tail (KT) Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) (KT-DFT-s-OFDM) symbol or at least one Single-Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization (SC-FDE) symbol. Ma teaches… wherein the single-carrier waveform symbol comprises at least one Known Tail (KT) Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) (KT-DFT-s-OFDM) symbol or at least one Single-Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization (SC-FDE) symbol (Abs). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lee by incorporating the teachings of Ma because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration of the waveform being a SC-FDE waveform that can be transmitted and received by the network devices (Ma, P. 37). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO-2019099535-A1 to Lee in view of US-20210359816-A1 to Wang et al., from hereon Wang . Regarding claim 40 Lee teaches the UE of claim 29, Lee teaches…wherein the at least one memory further comprises: a PTRS database comprising a plurality of database entries, each of the plurality of database entries being indicative of: (i) a PTRS configuration, and (ii) at least one of a head sequence of modulation symbols and a tail sequence of modulation symbols by which the PTRS configuration is determined (P.113 ); but does not teach…and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the UE to determine the PTRS configuration by selecting the PTRS configuration corresponding to the information from the PTRS database. Wang teaches… and wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the UE to determine the PTRS configuration by selecting the PTRS configuration corresponding to the information from the PTRS database (Fig. 7, P. 94 discloses… methodologies of mapping PT-RS onto resource elements discussed herein. The instructions 750 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 710 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), the memory/storage devices 720, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 750 may be transferred to the hardware resources 700 from any combination of the peripheral devices 704 or the databases 706 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lee by incorporating the teachings of Wang because the method and device allow for various modes of mapping a phase-tracking reference signal to resource elements that can be various media including database entities (Wang, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 31 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the main reason for objection of the claims under discussion is the inclusion of “mapping start point of the at least one PTRS symbol within the single-carrier waveform symbol; and a mapping length of the at least one PTRS symbol within the single-carrier waveform symbol, the mapping length being calculated from the mapping start point” and “wherein the PTRS configuration is indicative of: a mapping start point of the at least one PTRS symbol within the single-carrier waveform symbol; a mapping length of the at least one PTRS symbol within the single-carrier waveform symbol, the mapping length being calculated from the mapping start point” as the prior art of record in stand-alone form nor in combination read into the discloses claims as supported by the specification. Furthermore, the nearest prior art such as US-20210058207-A1 to Lee, US-20200244503-A1 to Bala, US-20190020522-A1 to Sun, and US-12549303-B2 Hua disclose the concepts of phase tracking reference signals and the usage of single-carrier waveform but are silent on the calculation of a mapping start point mapping length being calculated from the mapping starting point” . Claims 32-36 and 44-47 are allowed as they depend from an allowed claim . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO form PTO-892: US-20210058207-A1 to Lee, US-20200244503-A1 to Bala, US-20190020522-A1 to Sun, and US-12549303-B2 Hua . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LOUIS SAMARA whose telephone number is (408)918-7582. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6-3 PT. 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, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-3795. 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. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /L.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2476 /AYAZ R SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 2 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 4 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 5 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 6 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 7 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 8 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 9 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 10 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 11 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 12 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 13 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 14 Art Unit: 2476 Application/Control Number: 18/717,504 Page 15 Art Unit: 2476
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