CTNF 18/769,922 CTNF 101496 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 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/02/2026 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 § 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 s 1, 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Henttonen et al. (US-8494467-B2, published: 2013-07-23) hereinafter Henttonen in view of Johnson et al. (US 7102430 B2, published: 2006-09-05) hereinafter Johnson . For examination purposes, claims 1-10 referring to an apparatus, claims 11-17 referring to a method and claims 16-20 referring to a computer readable medium are henceforth grouped together for claims mirroring the same limitations or which disclose analogous art to the invention as claimed. Regarding claims 1, 11 and 18, Henttonen discloses, an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE (Henttonen, fig. 4, par. 43; the apparatus 400 may include a processor 402 or a plurality of processors, a memory 404 coupled to the processor 402, and a suitable transceiver 406 (having a transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX)) coupled to the processor 402, coupled to an antenna unit 408.) to: derive an automatic gain control (AGC) initialization configuration based at least in part on a prior measurement metric (Henttonen, fig. 1, par. 14; The embodiment allows efficient AGC operation in the presence of eICIC restrictions, or in the presence of multiple configurations of measurement restrictions) ; and configure an AGC feedback loop using the AGC initialization configuration (Henttonen, fig. 1, par. 16; The AGC tracking loops make use of these measurement restriction patterns and muted subframes when performing AGC measurements) . Henttonen does not explicitly disclose the AGC configuration based on a prior measurement, however, Johnson discloses a method for efficient power control and predistortion in a transmitter, which uses a database for gain thresholds for each transmission type (Johnson, fig. 4, par. 16; the AGC database 38 contains a different set of fine gain and attenuator settings for each transmission type. The real-time processor 26, therefore, retrieves the settings from the AGC database 38 based on the current power step setting of the amplifier 10) . Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to combine Henttonen’s teachings for automatic gain control configuration with Johnson’s methods for power control and predistortion on a transmitter to enhance gain correction in wireless transceivers . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 2-10, 12-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Henttonen et al. (US-8494467-B2, published: 2013-07-23) hereinafter Henttonen in view of Johnson et al. (US 7102430 B2, published: 2006-09-05) hereinafter Johnson and further in view of Ryan et al. (US 7151759 B1, published: 2006-12-19) hereinafter Ryan . Regarding claim 2 , the combination of Henttonen and Johnson teach, the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the prior measurement metric comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement metric, or a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement metric (Johnson, par. 18; a background processor for receiving output power signals from the power detector) . The combination of Henttonen and Johnson does not explicitly teach the power level measured consisting of RSRP or RSSI. However, Ryan discloses a system for automatic gain control using a log detector that provides a signal strength measure over a wide dynamic range (Ryan, par. 56; The logarithmic detector allows received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurements to be made) . Therefore a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to combine Henttonen’s teachings for automatic gain control configuration with Johnson’s methods for power control and predistortion on a transmitter and Ryan’s automatic gain control using a log detector that provides a signal strength measure over a wide dynamic range to enhance power detection on the system (Examiner notes, both RSSI and RSRP were known power detection/measurement techniques at the time of file of the claimed invention, therefore a person of ordinary skill in the art prompted to measure power levels would be motived to apply the known technique for this endeavor) . Regarding claims 3, 12 and 19 , the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus, method and non-transitory computer readable medium of claims 1, 11 and 18, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to derive the AGC initialization configuration, are configured to cause the UE to: analyze a database that includes multiple prior measurement metrics (Johnson, par. 12; the method comprises the steps of retrieving a set of gain and attenuator settings from an automatic gain control (AGC) database that contains a different set of gain and attenuator settings for each transmission type) . Regarding claims 4, 13 and 20 , the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus, method and non-transitory computer readable medium of claims 3, 12 and 19, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE (Henttonen, fig. 3, pars. 18-19; the user equipment 310 starts trying to measure the neighbor cell(s) according to the pattern, and can find the pico cell 304 earlier than otherwise due to the lower interference level during protected subframes) to analyze the database, are configured to cause the UE to: analyze the database based on using a current operating configuration (Johnson, par. 12; the method comprises the steps of retrieving a set of gain and attenuator settings from an automatic gain control (AGC) database that contains a different set of gain and attenuator settings for each transmission type) . Regarding claims 5 and 14 , the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus and method of claims 3 and 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: select, as the AGC initialization configuration, a default AGC initialization configuration (Ryan, par. 66; The AGC module is responsible for: Setting the radio receiver's gains to default values suitable for detecting packets having a broad range of signal strengths ), see also par. 18 based at least in part on failing to validate the multiple prior measurement metrics (Johnson, par. 12; the method comprises the steps of retrieving a set of gain and attenuator settings from an automatic gain control (AGC) database that contains a different set of gain and attenuator settings for each transmission type), see also pars. 29-31 Regarding claims 6 and 15 , the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus and method of claims 3 and 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: generate, prior to deriving the AGC initialization configuration, the multiple prior measurement metrics based at least in part on a radio link management procedure; and populate the database with the multiple prior measurement metrics (Henttonen, fig.1, par. 16; the measurement restriction patterns tell the user equipment when various measurements can be executed, for example, measurement relating to serving cell Radio Link Monitoring (RLM)/Radio Resource Management (RRM) … The AGC tracking loops make use of these measurement restriction patterns and muted subframes when performing AGC measurements) examiner notes, see also par. 56 and Johnson pars. 12-15 . Regarding claim 7 , the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to derive the AGC initialization configuration, are configured to cause the UE to: derive the AGC initialization configuration based at least in part on an AGC reinitialization procedure (Ryan, fig. 9, par. 21; a method to detect such a situation, abort the current packet and restart the AGC process on this stronger packet) . Regarding claims 8 and 16 , the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus and method of claims 1 and 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: determine that the prior measurement metric for a target cell is unavailable (Ryan, par. 111, false alarms make the receiver unavailable for genuine packets, so in one embodiment, the thresholds are set so that the percentage of time responding to a false alarm is usually below 0.5%.) ; and generate a current measurement metric for the target cell, wherein, to derive the AGC initialization configuration, the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to derive the AGC initialization configuration based at least in part on the current measurement metric (Johnson, fig. 4, par. 17; the power amplifier 10 changes over time, requiring that both the databases 20 and 38 be updated to maintain the desired predistortion and gain control of the amplifier) Examiner notes, see fig. 4 steps 62-70 . PNG media_image1.png 812 512 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claims 9 and 17 , the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus and method of claims 1 and 11, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to derive the AGC initialization configuration, are configured to cause the UE to: scale the prior measurement metric (Ryan, fig. 4, par. 145; the representation takes the 16 radio receiver gains in dB, scales them by 1/.DELTA. to convert them into RSSI levels, then subtracts the minimum value off all values (so that at least one entry is 00000)) Examiner notes, see also par.125, 152 and Johnson par. 19 . Regarding claims 10, the combination of Henttonen, Johnson and Ryan further teach the apparatus and method of claims 1, wherein the AGC initialization configuration comprises a low noise amplifier (LNA) (Johnson, fig. 4, par. 20; includes a low-noise amplifier (LNA)) , gain setting (GS) (Johnson, par. 18; the AGC system includes variable default gain setting) that is based at least in part on a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) metric and wherein the prior measurement metric comprises a reference signal received power (RSRP) metric (Johnson, par. 18; The gain can be set for any radio, or adjusted for temperature, process variation etc, so as to always get a desirable RSSI signal according to some criterion) . It is noted that any citations to specific pages, columns, lines or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to a person of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123 Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Liao et al. (US-20200280936-A1), Radio Network Node And Method Therein For Deciding AGC Mode For A Received Signal In A Wireless Communications Network, 2020. Son et al (US-20190207738-A1), Method Of In-Band Full-Duplex Transmission And Reception, And Apparatus For The Same, 2019. Hart et al. (US-8159932-B1), Initial Timing Estimation In A Wireless Network Receiver, 2012. Cheung et al. (US-20090221252-A1), Low complexity AGC for MB-OFDM, 2009. Adams et al. (US-7212798-B1), Adaptive AGC in a Wireless Network Receiver, 2007. Hughes et al. (US-20030153289-A1), Digitized Automatic Gain Control System And Methods For A Controlled Gain Receiver, 2003. Stoter et al. (US-20030026363-A1), Adaptive Automatic Gain Control, 2003. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES whose telephone number is (571)272-5792. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Thursday 0600 - 1600. 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, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. 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. 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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. /MRCM/Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 2 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 3 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 4 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 5 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 6 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 7 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 8 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/769,922 Page 9 Art Unit: 2649
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