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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendments to the claims filed 08/21/2026 have been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1, have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 1-8, 11-16 and 18-22are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zou et al. (US-20240163813-A1, filed: 2019-11-18) hereinafter Zou in view of Li et al. (WO-2024162958-A1, filed: 2023-01-31) hereinafter Li.
For examination purposes, apparatus, non-transitory mediums and method claims sharing the same limitations or which disclose analogous art to the invention as claimed will be grouped together and rejected under the same grounds.
Regarding claims 1, 11 and 18, Zou discloses an apparatus (Zou, fig. 3, par. 83; apparatus 310), method (Zou, fig. 4) and non-transitory medium (Zou, fig. 5, par. 128; the computer program may be stored in a memory (MEM) 530) see also par. 22 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 to: scale a prior measurement metric based at least in part on a quantity of in-band tones to derive an automatic gain control (AGC) initialization configuration (Zou, fig. 1, par. 107; the approach comprises a first step of capturing RF samples the initial symbol(s) in an SSB based on a previous AGC gain setting and performing RF power measurements on the captured signal (compare with steps 110 and 120 of FIG. 1)); and configure an AGC feedback loop using the AGC initialization configuration (Zou, fig. 1, par. 107; a second step of performing AGC based on the captured RF samples and applying these updated AGC parameters to the RF receiver (compare with step 130 of FIG. 1)) see also steps 140-170).
Zou does not explicitly disclose the prior measurements are scaled at least in part on a quantity of in-band tones. However in analogous art, Li discloses a system to estimate power for automatic gain control by projecting a reference signal tone power per reference signal resource element to a bandwidth part to obtain to obtain projected in-band power (Li, abstract; When executed by the processor, the computer-executable instructions may cause the processor to project reference signal (RS) tone power per reference signal -resource element (RS-RE) to a bandwidth part (BWP) to obtain projected in-band (IB) power. Automatic gain control (AGC) may be performed based on the projected IB power) see also fig. 8, par. 84.
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Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zou’s teachings for configuring AGC based on previously taken samples and validation with Li’s teachings for scaling RS power to determine a projected in-band power to enhance automatic gain control accuracy.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Zou and Li 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 (Zou, par. 116; In the fifth step, the UE performs additional tasks (e.g., detection and/or measurements) on SSB symbols that have been captured with the adjusted AGC settings in the third step. The additional tasks may include one or more of SSS detection (i.e., cell ID detection), link quality measurements on SSS (e.g., measurements of reference signal received power, RSRP, reference signal received quality, RSRQ, SINR, etc.), and detection of PBCH DMRS or PBCH (e.g., for the purposes of extracting master information block, MIB, content)).
Regarding claims 3, 12 and 19, the combination of Zou and Li teach the apparatus, method and non-transitory medium according to claims 1, 11 and 18; wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to: analyze a database that includes multiple prior measurement metrics to locate the prior measurement metric (Zou, par. 109; In the second step, the UE runs an AGC algorithm and finds the corresponding AGC gain according to the measured RF power value. The updated AGC gain is then applied to the RF receiver (e.g., by updating LNA gain). The AGC algorithm may be according to any suitable AGC approach. One example AGC algorithm uses a look-up table comprising a mapping from RF power value to AGC gain value. Such a look-up table may be generated based on UE production tests or UE field tests, and may be stored in the UE) see also step 120-150.
Regarding claims 4, 13 and 20 , the combination of Zou and Li teach the apparatus, method and non-transitory medium according to claims 3, 12 and 19; wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to analyze the database, are configured to cause the UE to: analyze the database based on using a current operating configuration (Zou, par. 109; In the second step, the UE runs an AGC algorithm and finds the corresponding AGC gain according to the measured RF power value. The updated AGC gain is then applied to the RF receiver (e.g., by updating LNA gain). The AGC algorithm may be according to any suitable AGC approach. One example AGC algorithm uses a look-up table comprising a mapping from RF power value to AGC gain value. Such a look-up table may be generated based on UE production tests or UE field tests, and may be stored in the UE) see also step 120-150.
Regarding claims 5 and 14, the combination of Zou and Li teach the apparatus, and method according to 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 based at least in part on failing to validate the multiple prior measurement metrics (Zou, fig. 1, par. 63; As illustrated by optional step 110, an initial AGC setting may be used for receiving the first set of samples of the signal block, before the applicable AGC setting has been determined. Typically, the initial AGC setting is a non-validated (i.e., potentially, or likely, invalid) AGC setting, which cannot be trusted to be applicable for reception of the signal block) see also steps 170-180.
Regarding claims 6 and 15, the combination of Zou and Li teach the apparatus, and method according to 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 (Zou, par. 116; In the fifth step, the UE performs additional tasks (e.g., detection and/or measurements) on SSB symbols that have been captured with the adjusted AGC settings in the third step. The additional tasks may include one or more of SSS detection (i.e., cell ID detection), link quality measurements on SSS (e.g., measurements of reference signal received power, RSRP, reference signal received quality, RSRQ, SINR, etc.), and detection of PBCH DMRS or PBCH (e.g., for the purposes of extracting master information block, MIB, content)); and populate the database with the multiple prior measurement metrics (Zou, par. 109; In the second step, the UE runs an AGC algorithm and finds the corresponding AGC gain according to the measured RF power value. The updated AGC gain is then applied to the RF receiver (e.g., by updating LNA gain). The AGC algorithm may be according to any suitable AGC approach. One example AGC algorithm uses a look-up table comprising a mapping from RF power value to AGC gain value. Such a look-up table may be generated based on UE production tests or UE field tests, and may be stored in the UE) see also step 120-150.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Zou and Li 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 (Zou, par. 62; In some embodiments, step 140 may comprise determining an updated (e.g., refined) applicable AGC setting based on a first part of the second set of samples of the signal block, and receiving a second part of the second set of samples of the signal block using the updated applicable AGC setting.) Examiner notes, according to the specification of the instant application, reinitialization was interpreted as updating the gain setting value, see par. 87.
Regarding claims 8 and 16, the combination of Zou and Li teach the apparatus, and method according to 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 (Zou, pars. 68-69; 0068] In some embodiments, the method 100 further comprises determining a signal quality metric associated with the applicable AGC setting, as illustrated by optional step 160. An example of a signal quality metric is a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) for the second set of samples of the signal block when received using the determined applicable AGC setting. [0069] The signal quality metric may be used for determining whether to continue application of the method 100 for one or more subsequent signal blocks, e.g., by determining whether the signal quality metric fulfills one or more application conditions. This is exemplified by optional step 170, wherein it is determined whether the signal quality metric fulfills application condition(s). Fulfillment of the application condition(s) may for example be defined as the signal quality metric falling on a first side of an application threshold (e.g., SINR being larger than a first SINR threshold value) ); 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 (Zou, par. 125; The gain control characteristics thus acquired may be used to compensate the AGC setting found during the fast AGC tuning. This may be achieved by determining a desired gain change based on fast AGC tuning measurements, and using the current AGC setting, the desired gain change, and the gain control characteristics to find the applicable AGC setting) see also, steps 170-180.
Regarding claims 21 and 22, the combination of Zou and Li teach the apparatus, and method according to claims 1 and 11, wherein the quantity of in-band tones is for a future received signal (Li, par. 83; As described above, the other approaches update the inner and outer loops based on the previous power measurements. As a result, the power variations caused by the dynamic RB allocation will still impact the AGC gains. By contrast, the present disclosure can update the inner and outer loops based on the projected power, derived from the real power measurements and the current RB allocation within the BWP. Consequently, even with partially-allocated RB, the IB and WB power with the assumption of the full-band resource allocation may be used for the AGC gain estimation. That is, the impact of the dynamic RB allocation may be reduced, and thus a robust AGC gain estimation can be provided).
Claims 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zou et al. (US-20240163813-A1, filed: 2019-11-18) hereinafter Zou in view of Li et al. (WO-2024162958-A1, filed: 2023-01-31) hereinafter Li and further in view of Ryan et al. (US 7151759 B1, published: 2006-12-19) hereinafter Ryan.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Zou and Li teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the AGC initialization configuration comprises a low noise amplifier (LNA) gain setting (GS) (Zou, par. 109; In the second step, the UE runs an AGC algorithm and finds the corresponding AGC gain according to the measured RF power value. The updated AGC gain is then applied to the RF receiver (e.g., by updating LNA gain)) 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 (Zou, par. 116; In the fifth step, the UE performs additional tasks (e.g., detection and/or measurements) on SSB symbols that have been captured with the adjusted AGC settings in the third step. The additional tasks may include one or more of SSS detection (i.e., cell ID detection), link quality measurements on SSS (e.g., measurements of reference signal received power, RSRP, reference signal received quality, RSRQ, SINR, etc.), and detection of PBCH DMRS or PBCH (e.g., for the purposes of extracting master information block, MIB, content)).
The combination of Zou and Li is silent on a gain setting that is based at least in part on a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), however in analogous art, 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) see also col. 22 lns. 21-40.
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zou’s teachings for configuring AGC based on previously taken samples and validation with Li’s teachings for scaling RS power with Ryans teachings for 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.
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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Other Relevant References Not Relied Upon
Shahar et al. (US-20160381647-A1), PREEMPTIVE AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL (AGC) FOR INTERFERENCE MITIGATION, 2016. Described herein are technologies related to an implementation of interference mitigation in a receiver of a portable device. A preemptive-automatic gain control (AGC) system mitigates a collocated or external interfering signal in a receiver of a portable device. The receiver of the portable device receives and processes a data packet of a first radio frequency (RF) signal that includes a Bluetooth (BT) signal, a Wi-Fi signal, a near field communications (NFC), 3G, 4G, or the like. During the processing of the data packet, a collocated or an external second RF signal is detected and received by the receiver. The second RF signal includes an interfering Bluetooth (BT) uplink transmission, a near field communications (NFC) transmission signal, a Wi-Fi transmission signal, 3G or 4G uplink transmission, an LTE signal, or the like.
Alriksson et al. (US-20140056395-A1), TECHNIQUE FOR AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL, 2014. A method of performing Automatic Gain Control, AGC, in a receiver of a device is provided. The device is served on a serving carrier of a multi-carrier communication network. Measurement gaps are scheduled on the serving carrier for inter-carrier measurements on a non-serving carrier. The method comprises the step of determining a first time interval, in which a predefined signal portion is transmitted on the non-serving carrier; the step of estimating, for the first time interval, received signal power on the non-serving carrier; the step of computing a receiver gain based on the estimate signal power; the step of performing, over a second time interval, an inter-carrier measurement on the non-serving carrier; and the step of applying the receiver gain to the receiver after the second time interval.
Petrovic et al. (US-9094843-B1), Method And Apparatus For Adjusting A Gain Of A Receiver In A Wireless Device, 2015. A system including a first power measuring module, a gain control module, and a signal processing module. The first power measuring module is configured to generate a first power measurement of a signal received by a receiver of a wireless device based on a plurality of reference signals received in the signal by the receiver of the wireless device. Each of the plurality of reference signals is transmitted at a predetermined power. The first power measurement is generated in frequency domain. The first power measurement is generated during a first frame of the signal received by the receiver of the wireless device. The gain control module is configured to adjust a gain of the receiver of the wireless device based on the first power measurement. The signal processing module is configured to process a second frame in the signal subsequent to the first frame at the adjusted gain.
Ji et al. (US-20130309988-A1), APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR ADJUSTING ADAPTIVE CONTROL LOOP BEHAVIOR BASED ON MEASURED ARTIFACTS, 2013. Methods and apparatus for adjusting adaptive control loop behavior based on, for example measured artifacts of the radio environment. In one embodiment, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) user equipment (UE) adjusts one or more Automatic Gain Control (AGC) loops based on a measured Doppler spread of received signals. Specifically, one or more AGC parameters (e.g., set-point, loop gain, etc.) are selected based on a measured Doppler spread. The one or more AGC parameters are configured to optimize both the AGC headroom (e.g., dynamic range) and the signal to quantization plus noise ratio (SQNR) of the receiver under dynamic wireless fading channels for the detected Doppler.
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.
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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.
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/MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES/ Examiner, Art Unit 2649
/YUWEN PAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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