DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This office action is in response to Applicant’s preliminary amendment filed on 06/10/2024.
Claims 1-18 are currently pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the elements show in Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3 do not have descriptive test.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 1-18 are 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.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites “a channel gain estimation process” in line 4 and then “a channel gain estimation process” in line 5, and it is not clear whether these are the same two estimation processes or a first and a second estimation process.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites the limitation "the process" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites the limitation "the process" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites the limitation "the channel estimate process" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites the limitation "the transmitted bits" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites the limitation "the modulated symbols" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites the limitation "the modulated symbols" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 1, Claim 1 recites the limitation "the modulated symbols" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claims 2-18, none of the depending claims resolve the indefinite issues in parent claim 1.
With respect to claim 3, Claim 3 recites the limitation "the transmission point". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 4, Claim 4 recites the limitation "the modulated symbols". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 5, Claim 5 recites the limitation "the transmission point". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claim 12, Claim 5 recites the limitation "the received symbols". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
With respect to claims 13, 14, and 17, Claims 13, 14, and 17 recites the abbreviation “TP” and do not indicate the meaning of the “TP”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian T O'Connor whose telephone number is (571)270-1081. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri Flex 10am-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, Gary Mui can be reached at 571-270-1420. 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.
/BRIAN T O CONNOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465 August 19, 2026
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