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 .
Status of the claims
Claims 2, 3, and 5 – 21 were pending in the application.
With amendment filed on December 08, 2025, Applicant have:
Amended claims 2, 5, 6, 8, and 18 – 21.
Added new claim 22.
Claims 2, 3, 5 – 22 are pending in the application.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 – 22 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 4, 6, 11, 2 – 4, 7 – 9, 12 – 17, 22, 27, and 2 respectively of U.S. Patent No. 12,052,073. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 – 22 of the instant application merely broadens the scope of the claims 1, 4, 6, 11, 2 – 4, 7 – 9, 12 – 17, 22, 27, and 2 of the patent by eliminating the elements and their functions of claims 1, 4, 6, 11, 2 – 4, 7 – 9, 12 – 17, 22, 27, and 2 of the patent. Therefore, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to realize that the both invention to provide an apparatus for wireless communications, the apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a network entity via a number of sensing streams based on a maximum number of sensing streams, a waveform comprising communications resources and sensing resources, wherein the maximum number of sensing streams is based on a rank of waveform and a number of layers scheduled for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications; and process at least the communications resources of the waveform. Furthermore, because omission element(s) in the claim would make the claim in the instant application broader, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention that the claim in the instant application is merely an obvious variation of the claim in the patent/copending application. It is well settled that omission of an element and it function is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements perform the same function as before. In re Karlson, 163 USPQ 184 (CCPA 1963). Also note Ex parte Rainu, 168 USPQ 184 (CCPA 1969). In light of the foregoing discussion, the broad claim of the instant application is rejected as obvious double patenting over the narrower copending/patent claim.
Instant Application
Patent: 12,052,073
Claim 2: An apparatus for wireless communications, the apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a network entity via a number of sensing streams based on a maximum number of sensing streams, a waveform comprising communications resources and sensing resources, wherein the maximum number of sensing streams is based on a rank of waveform and a number of layers scheduled for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications; and process at least the communications resources of the waveform
Claim 1: An apparatus for wireless communications, the apparatus comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a network entity via a number of sensing streams based on a maximum of N.sub.t−J sensing streams, a waveform comprising communications resources and sensing resources, the waveform having a rank N.sub.t, wherein J is a number of layers scheduled for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications and is less than N.sub.t; and process at least the communications resources of the waveform.
Claim 3: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the number of layers scheduled for the MIMO communications is less than the rank.
Claim 2: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the matrix S.sub.A is rank N.sub.t−J
Claim 5: The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first waveform and the second waveform are orthogonal to each other.
Claim 6: The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first waveform W.sub.CS.sub.C and the second waveform W.sub.AS.sub.A are orthogonal to each other.
Claim 6: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the waveform is scheduled within a plurality of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) symbols.
Claim 11: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the waveform is scheduled within a plurality of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) symbols
Claim 8: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the waveform is defined using a first matrix and a second matrix, wherein the first matrix represents the communications resources and the second matrix represents the sensing resources
Claim 2: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the waveform is defined using a matrix S.sub.C and a matrix S.sub.A, wherein the matrix S.sub.C represents the communications resources and the matrix S.sub.A represents the sensing resources.
Claim 9: The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first matrix has a rank equal to the number of layers scheduled for the MIMO communications.
Claim 3: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the matrix S.sub.C is rank J.
Claim 10: The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second matrix is equal to a rank of the waveform minus the number of layers scheduled for the MIMO communications.
Claim 4: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the matrix S.sub.A is rank N.sub.t−J.
Claim 11: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the communications resources are reused for sensing one or more network devices based on at least two of the one or more network devices being spatially correlated.
Claim 7: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communications resources are reused for sensing one or more network devices based on at least two of the one or more network devices being spatially correlated.
Claim 12: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the MIMO communications are multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) communications.
Claim 8: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the MIMO communications are multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) communications.
Claim 13: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the communications resources comprise communications data, and wherein the sensing resources comprise no data.
Claim 9: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communications resources comprise communications data, and wherein the sensing resources comprise no data.
Claim 14: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the network entity is a base station.
Claim 12: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network entity is a base station.
Claim 15: The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the base station is one of a next generation node B (gNB) or an evolved node B (eNB).
Claim 13: The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the base station is one of a next generation node B (gNB) or an evolved node B (eNB).
Claim 16: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the network entity is at least one of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC of a base station.
Claim 14: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network entity is at least one of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (MC), or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) MC of a base station.
Claim 17: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatus includes a user equipment (UE).
Claim 15: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes a user equipment (UE).
Claim 18: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the waveform is scheduled by the network entity or a radar server.
Claim 16: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the waveform is scheduled by the network entity or a radar server.
Claim 19: A method for wireless communications, the method comprising: receiving, from a network entity via a number of sensing streams based on a maximum number of sensing streams, a waveform comprising communications resources and sensing resources, wherein the number of sensing streams is not orthogonal to a number of communication streams associated with the communications resources, wherein the maximum number of sensing streams is based on a rank of the waveform and a number of layers scheduled for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications; and processing at least the communications resources of the waveform.
Claim 17: A method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, at the UE from a network entity via a number of sensing streams based on a maximum of N.sub.t−J sensing streams, a waveform comprising communications resources and sensing resources, the waveform having a rank N.sub.t, wherein J is a number of layers scheduled for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications and is less than N.sub.t; and processing at least the communications resources of the waveform.
Claim 20: The method of claim 19, wherein the waveform comprises a first waveform associated with the communications resources and a second waveform associated with the sensing resources, and wherein the first waveform and the second waveform are not orthogonal to each other.
Claim 21: . The method of claim 18, wherein the waveform comprises a first waveform W.sub.CS.sub.C associated with the communications resources and a second waveform W.sub.AS.sub.A associated with the sensing resources, wherein W.sub.C and W.sub.A are matrices.
Claim 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first waveform W.sub.CS.sub.C and the second waveform W.sub.AS.sub.A are orthogonal to each other.
Claim 21: The method of claim 19, wherein the waveform is scheduled within a plurality of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) symbols.
Claim 27: The method of claim 17, wherein the waveform is scheduled within a plurality of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) symbols.
Claim 22: The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the waveform comprises a first waveform associated with the communications resources and a second waveform associated with the sensing resources.
Claim 5: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the waveform is defined using a matrix S.sub.C and a matrix S.sub.A, wherein the matrix S.sub.C represents the communications resources and the matrix S.sub.A represents the sensing resources.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 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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JAISON . JOSEPH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2633
/JAISON JOSEPH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633