DETAILED ACTION
This communication is response to the application filed 06/27/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending and presented for examination.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/27/2024 and 12/17/2025 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
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 –
(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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13-15, 17, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2022/0190883 to Kaya et al. (hereafter Kaya).
Regarding claim 1, Kaya discloses a information interaction method for beam management (see Kaya, Fig 4), wherein the method is applicable to a terminal, and the method comprises:
providing beam information of a first beam set to a first base station (see Kaya, Fig 4, step 410; ¶ 0072: At 410, step 1 may include data collection. For example, after initial deployment, a BS may use CSI-RS feedback (e.g., measurement reports) during training phase to gather data. Thus, a source of this data may include measurement reports (and/or a list of beams actually used by a BS for a UE) for estimating the quality of different beams for a UE/user(s). When BSs are first deployed, they may be operated in a training mode where beam refinement procedures are implemented with extensive CSI-reporting configuration. During this time each UE may be requested to report a substantial number of measurement reports for estimating the quality e.g., based on a RSRP or other signal measurement) of different beams as the UE obtains service or is connected to the BS/gNB), wherein the beam information of the first beam set is configured for the first base station to determine beam information of an output beam set based on a beam management model (see Kaya, ¶ 0073: This step may include training the beam sequence model (e.g., neural network) at the BS/TRP with (or based on) data gathered from or with respect to multiple UEs, e.g., to allow the beam sequence model to provide or output a predicted future beam sequence for one or more UEs).
Regarding claim 2, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, wherein the output beam set comprises at least one of: a second beam set acquired by restoring the beam information of the first beam set based on the beam management model; or a third beam set acquired by beam selection based on the beam management model (see Kaya, ¶ 0046: a BS may determine a predicted future sequence of beams for a UE based on the beam sequence model and a past beam sequence for the UE. For example, the beam sequence model (e.g., implemented as a neural network) may output a predicted future sequence of beams for the UE, based on an input that includes a past beam sequence for the UE; ¶ 0073: the training can make use of the beam indices of the previously used beams (or make use of the measurement reports indicating the best beam(s) for the UE) at every 10 ms interval for a period of a few seconds to predict the future beam indices likely to be used (or that should be used to improve performance) by the user/UE in the next few hundred ms, for example; ¶ 0074: a past beam sequence for a UE may be input to the beam sequence model, e.g., to determine a predicted future beam sequence for the UE (e.g., predict a best k refined beams, and/or predict the TRP/BS, to best serve the UE/user over a next several hundred ms)).
Regarding claim 4, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, wherein the beam information of the first beam set and the beam information of the output beam set each comprises at least one of an identifier of the beam, quality of the beam, a frequency band of the beam, or base station information of the beam (see Kaya, ¶ 0038: by reporting (e.g., in a measurement report) a RSRP (or other signal parameter) and a beam identifier or resource identifier for one or more of the resources, this may identify both the measured RSRP (or other signal parameter) and the associated beam to the BS (e.g., for the best or strongest 2 beams, or strongest 4 beams, as an example); ¶ 0056: a beam measurement report, received by the BS from the UE, indicating one or more beams measured by the UE with respect to the BS that have a highest signal measurement; or a beam or a set of beams, determined by the BS based on a set of reference signals received from the UE, that has a highest signal measurement, for one or more beam sampling intervals; ¶ 0072: a source of this data may include measurement reports (and/or a list of beams actually used by a BS for a UE) for estimating the quality of different beams for a UE/user(s); ¶ 0073: the training can make use of the beam indices of the previously used beams (or make use of the measurement reports indicating the best beam(s) for the UE) at every 10 ms interval for a period of a few seconds to predict the future beam indices likely to be used (or that should be used to improve performance) by the user/UE in the next few hundred ms, for example).
Regarding claim 6, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, wherein providing the beam information of the first beam set to the first base station comprises: transmitting the beam information of the first beam set to the first base station (see Kaya, ¶ 0038: by reporting (e.g., in a measurement report) a RSRP (or other signal parameter) and a beam identifier or resource identifier for one or more of the resources, this may identify both the measured RSRP (or other signal parameter) and the associated beam to the BS (e.g., for the best or strongest 2 beams, or strongest 4 beams, as an example); ¶ 0056: a beam measurement report, received by the BS from the UE, indicating one or more beams measured by the UE with respect to the BS that have a highest signal measurement; or a beam or a set of beams, determined by the BS based on a set of reference signals received from the UE, that has a highest signal measurement, for one or more beam sampling intervals).
Regarding claim 10, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, wherein providing the beam information of the first beam set to the first base station comprises: transmitting the beam information of the first beam set to a plurality of base stations in an interaction relationship with the terminal, and the first beam set is configured for the plurality of base stations to determine the beam information of the output beam set corresponding to each base station (see Kaya, ¶ 0072).
Regarding claim 11, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving beam information of a reference signal set provided by at least one base station in an interaction relationship with the terminal; and determining the first beam set based on the beam information of the reference signal set (see Kaya, ¶ 0072 and ¶ 0075).
Regarding claim 13, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose further comprising: receiving measurement configuration information pre-configured by at least one base station in an interaction relationship with the terminal, or receiving reporting configuration information pre-configured by at least one base station in an interaction relationship with the terminal (see Kaya, ¶ 0039: the BS may send a measurement report configuration, or simply report configuration (which may be provided by BS to the UE as control information) indicating or updating one or more parameters or aspects of the beam measurement report to be provided by the UE to the BS. For example, the report configuration may indicate or update various parameters, such as a set of resources (e.g., a set of CSI-RS resources, or a set of SSB resources) to be measured, a number of resources/beams to be reported (e.g., configuring the UE to report a RSRP for best (strongest) two beams/resources, or the best 4 beams/resources), a frequency or timing of the measurement reports, and other parameters).
Regarding claim 14, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 13, wherein the measurement configuration information is pre-configured by at least one of broadcasting, downlink control information (DCI), a medium access control element (MAC CE), a radio resource control (RRC) message, a downlink data channel, a downlink control channel, a downlink artificial intelligence-type data transmission channel, a downlink multicast channel, or an uplink broadcast channel; or the measurement configuration information and the reporting configuration information each comprises at least one of identification information of a beam, a reference signal corresponding to a beam, measurement configuration corresponding to beam measurement, quality information to be measured of a beam, frequency band information of a beam, base station information of a beam, or a manner of reporting the first beam set (see Kaya, ¶ 0039: the BS may send a measurement report configuration, or simply report configuration (which may be provided by BS to the UE as control information) indicating or updating one or more parameters or aspects of the beam measurement report to be provided by the UE to the BS. For example, the report configuration may indicate or update various parameters, such as a set of resources (e.g., a set of CSI-RS resources, or a set of SSB resources) to be measured, a number of resources/beams to be reported (e.g., configuring the UE to report a RSRP for best (strongest) two beams/resources, or the best 4 beams/resources), a frequency or timing of the measurement reports, and other parameters; ¶ 0044: conveying of these resources (e.g., via sending report configuration or other control information) may consume or use significant UE-specific resources (e.g., such as radio resource control (RRC) and/or and media access control (MAC) signaling resources, or other resources). Based on the received report configuration from the BS (indicating CSI-RS resources or a number of CSI-resources to be monitored and/or reported), the UE monitors the specific resources and sends measurement reports to the BS).
Regarding claim 15, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal transmits the first beam set over at least one of an uplink data channel, an uplink control channel, an uplink artificial intelligence-type data transmission channel, an uplink multicast channel, or an uplink broadcast channel (see Kaya, ¶ 0101: a receive beam used by the base station for uplink reception from the user equipment; ¶ 0134: wherein the predicted future beam sequence indicates a predicted sequence of receive beams over time for use by the base station to perform uplink reception from the user equipment).
Regarding claim 17, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Although phrased as an apparatus claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1.
Regarding claim 18, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 2. Although phrased as an apparatus claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 2.
Regarding claim 20, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 3, 5, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaya in view of US Pub. 2020/0045684 to FUTAKI (hereafter Futaki).
Regarding claim 3, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, wherein the first beam set, the second beam set, and the third beam set each comprise at least one of: different beams belonging to a same base station; different beams belonging to different base stations; different beams belonging to a same frequency; or different beams belonging to different frequencies (see Kaya, ¶ 0056: a beam measurement report, received by the BS from the UE, indicating one or more beams measured by the UE with respect to the BS that have a highest signal measurement; or a beam or a set of beams, determined by the BS based on a set of reference signals received from the UE, that has a highest signal measurement, for one or more beam sampling intervals; ¶ 0075: selecting a beam based on predicted future beam sequence for the UE (e.g., pro-actively switch a beam used by the BS to a beam listed in the predicted future beam sequence) …. pro-actively initiate cell switch or UE handover to a cell or TRP/BS if the next beam to be used (e.g., indicated in the future predicted beam sequence) is provided by a different cell or different TRP/BS). By switching a beam used by the BS to a beam listed in the predicted future beam sequence, Kaya implicitly discloses different beams belonging to a same base station.
However, Futaki explicitly discloses wherein the first beam set, the second beam set, and the third beam set each comprise at least one of: different beams belonging to a same base station; different beams belonging to different base stations; different beams belonging to a same frequency; or different beams belonging to different frequencies (see Futaki, ¶ 0053: the NR NB 1 uses a plurality of TRPs 101A and 101B. Each TRP forms one or more transmission beams 10. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the UE 2 moves from a transmission beam 10A formed by the TRP 101A to a transmission beam 10B formed by the TRP 101B. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the beam configuration information may include configurations regarding one or more transmission beams 10 formed by each TRP 101 managed by the NR NB 1; ¶ 0054: he NR NB 1 provides a plurality of carriers (i.e., carriers #1, #2, and #3) using a plurality of TRPs 101. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the coverages of the three carriers #1, #2, and #3 are hierarchically formed in substantially the same geographical area. The UE 2 supports aggregation of these carriers. The carriers provided by the NR NB 1 may belong to different frequency bands and may use different numerologies (e.g., subcarrier spacing, symbol length, Transmission Time Interval (TTI), and subframe duration). In the example shown in FIG. 4, the TRP 101A operates the carrier #1 (i.e., cell #1) in the 5 GHz band and forms a plurality of transmission beams 10A in the carrier #1. The TRP 101B operates the carrier #2 (i.e., cell #2) in the 5 GHz band and forms a plurality of transmission beams 10B in the carrier #2. Meanwhile, the TRP 101C operates the carrier #3 (i.e., cell #3) in the 30 GHz band and forms a plurality of transmission beams 10C in the carrier #3).
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 the above teaching as taught by Futaki and incorporate it into the system of Kaya to provide improved procedure for UE mobility between beams (see Futaki, ¶ 0024).
Regarding claim 5, Kaya in view of Futaki discloses the information interaction method according to claim 3, wherein there is at least one of: the output beam set belongs to the first base station in a case that the first beam set belongs to a plurality of base stations; the output beam set belongs to a plurality of base stations in a case that the first beam set belongs to the plurality of base stations; the output beam set belongs to the first base station in a case that the first beam set belongs to the first base station; or the output beam set belongs to the plurality of base stations in a case that the first beam set belongs to the first base station (see Kaya, 0056; ¶ 0073; ¶ 0074).
Regarding claim 19, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 3. Although phrased as an apparatus claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 3.
Claim(s) 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaya in view of US 2019/0116605 to LUO et al. (hereafter Luo).
Regarding claim 7, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, but fails to explicitly disclose wherein providing the beam information of the first beam set to the first base station comprises: transmitting beam information of a first beam subset to a plurality of base stations in an interaction relationship with the terminal, wherein the plurality of base stations, other than the first base station, are configured to forward the beam information of the first beam subset to the first base station, and the first beam subset is a subset of the first beam set.
However, Luo discloses wherein providing the beam information of the first beam set to the first base station comprises: transmitting beam information of a first beam subset to a plurality of base stations in an interaction relationship with the terminal, wherein the plurality of base stations, other than the first base station, are configured to forward the beam information of the first beam subset to the first base station, and the first beam subset is a subset of the first beam set (see Luo, ¶ 0049: the relay wireless node may receive a beam measurement report from a scheduled entity that includes BRSRPs of at least a subset of reference beams (e.g., a set of candidate beams) transmitted from a scheduling entity to the scheduled entity, and then forward that beam measurement report to the scheduling entity for selection of one or more serving downlink beams for communication between the scheduling entity and the scheduled entity. As another example, a relay wireless node may receive a plurality of beam measurement reports from a particular scheduled entity, where each beam measurement report provides beam information related to communication between the particular scheduled entity and one of a plurality of transmitting wireless nodes. In this example, the relay wireless node may then forward the plurality of beam measurement reports to a scheduling entity for selection of respective serving downlink beams for communication between the transmitting wireless nodes and the particular scheduled entity. As yet another example, a scheduling entity may receive beam measurement reports from multiple relay wireless nodes, where one or more of the relay wireless nodes may be a transmitting wireless node in wireless communication with a scheduled entity that generated one of the beam measurement reports. In this example, the scheduling entity may jointly select respective serving downlink beams for communication between the transmitting wireless nodes and the scheduled entities utilizing all of the forwarded beam measurement reports).
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 the above teaching as taught by Luo and incorporate it into the system of Kaya for enhancing beamforming management (see Luo, ¶ 0005).
Regarding claim 8, Kaya in view of Luo discloses the information interaction method according to claim 7, Kaya does not explicitly disclose wherein transmitting the beam information of the first beam subset to the plurality of base stations in an interaction relationship with the terminal comprises: transmitting the beam information of the first beam subset corresponding to each of the plurality of base stations to the base station.
However, Luo discloses wherein transmitting the beam information of the first beam subset to the plurality of base stations in an interaction relationship with the multicast terminal comprises: transmitting the beam information of the first beam subset corresponding to each of the plurality of base stations to the base station (see Luo, ¶ 0047: the scheduled entity may constantly measure the one or more beam reference signals to identify the set of one or more candidate beams on which the scheduled entity can receive information from the scheduling entity. The scheduled entity may also transmit a beam measurement report indicating the set of one or more candidate beams to the scheduling entity to enable the scheduling entity to select one or more of the candidate beams as serving downlink beams to transmit control information and/or user data traffic, including access backhaul traffic, to the scheduled entity).
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 the above teaching as taught by Luo and incorporate it into the system of Kaya for enhancing beamforming management (see Luo, ¶ 0005).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaya in view of Luo and further in view of US 2020/0314828 to SCHUBERT et al. (hereafter Schubert).
Regarding claim 9, Kaya in view of Luo discloses the information interaction method according to claim 7, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the beam information of the first beam set is transmitted among the plurality of base stations over at least one of an inter-base station interface, an inter-base station artificial intelligence-type data transmission channel, an inter-base station multicast channel, or a broadcast channel.
However, Schubert discloses wherein the beam information of the first beam set is transmitted among the plurality of base stations over at least one of an inter-base station interface, an inter-base station artificial intelligence-type data transmission channel, an inter-base station multicast channel, or a broadcast channel (see Schubert, Fig 4, steps 30 and 31; ¶ 0047: in a first step 30 a base station provides a unique sidelink reference signal, or unique beam indices, to each beamformed signal of each UE of a cluster of connected vehicle user equipment devices (V-UEs). In the case of a cluster established among multiple base stations, information regarding the unique reference signals or beam indices is exchanged on the inter-base station interface to jointly select the unique beam index, shown at 31).
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 the above teaching as taught by Schubert and incorporate it into the system of Kaya in order to reduce interference between beamformed signals (see Schubert, ¶ 0008).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaya in view of US 2020/0045684 to FUTAKI (hereafter Futaki).
Regarding claim 12, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose further comprising: acquiring one group of beam sets configured by at least one base station in an interaction relationship with the terminal; and determining the first beam set based on the group of beam sets; wherein determining the first beam set based on the group of beam sets comprises one of: taking the group of beam sets as the first beam set; taking a subset of the group of beam sets as the first beam set; or taking a beam set satisfying a requirement in the group of beam sets as the first beam set.
Futaki discloses acquiring one group of beam sets configured by at least one base station in an interaction relationship with the terminal; and determining the first beam set based on the group of beam sets; wherein determining the first beam set based on the group of beam sets comprises one of: taking the group of beam sets as the first beam set; taking a subset of the group of beam sets as the first beam set; or taking a beam set satisfying a requirement in the group of beam sets as the first beam set (see Futaki, ¶ 0077: the NR NB 1 selects a serving beam. In Step 601, the NR NB 1 transmits a beam configuration to the UE 2. In Step 602, the NR NB 1 and the UE 2 perform initial beam selection. In the initial beam selection, the NR NB 1 may assign an initial serving beam for the UE 2 in a manner similar to the below-described beam (re)selection. Alternatively, the UE 2 may select an initial serving beam).
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 the above teaching as taught by Futaki and incorporate it into the system of Kaya for improvement in UE mobility between beams (see Futaki, ¶ 0024).
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaya in view of US 2021/0337420 to Lo et al. (hereafter Lo).
Regarding claim 16, Kaya discloses the information interaction method according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the beam management model is an artificial intelligence(AI)-based beam management model or an AI-based beam management algorithm.
However, Lo discloses wherein the beam management model is an artificial intelligence(AI)-based beam management model or an AI-based beam management algorithm (see Lo, ¶ 0292: perform data collection and train an AI/ML model for efficient beam management; ¶ 0293: The goal of the ML model is to improve the beam management procedure, i.e., make beam management efficient by reducing latency required, increase connection to idle beams, always connect to best beam, reduce frequency of beam failures so that the UE always meets the specified QoS metric (such as throughput) requirements).
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 the above teaching as taught by Lo and incorporate it into the system of Kaya to improve the beam management procedure, i.e., make beam management efficient by reducing latency required, increase connection to idle beams, always connect to best beam, reduce frequency of beam failures so that the UE always meets the specified QoS metric (such as throughput) requirements (see Lo, ¶ 0293).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 11,962,389 to Bhamri et al. disclose artificial intelligence beam management. The UE 104 communicates the beam information 124 to the base station 102 and wireless communication is established between the base station 102 and the UE 104 utilizing one or more beams 126 identified in the beam information.
US 2022/0174685 to LEE et al. discloses performing beam management by the UE via reporting a beam failure or partial beam failure related to one or more cells among a plurality of cells configured to the UE, and a UE and a base station which support the method. According to an embodiment applicable to the present disclosure, a UE can report a beam failure or partial beam failure on one or more cells to a base station, and the base station can quickly recognize the beam failure or partial beam failure on the one or more cells in response thereto.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RASHEED GIDADO whose telephone number is (571)270-7645. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8AM-5PM EST.
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.
/RASHEED GIDADO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
Prosecution Insights