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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 7/28/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The RCE and amendment filed 7/28/2025 has been entered
Claims 1-20 are rejected.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Abotabl (US 2024/0088948) in view of Li (US 2026/0012238).
Regarding Claim 1, Abotabl teaches a method of a User Equipment (UE), comprising (Abotabl, paragraph 115, the UE may receive an indication of the transition and a number of CSI-RS ports that are active after the transition):
receiving an indication of an adaptation associated with Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), wherein (Abotabl, Paragraph 115, the network node may perform dynamic antenna adaptation, thereby changing the number of CSI-RS ports associated with the network node and may transmit the information indicating the number of CSI-RS ports based at least in part on the dynamic antenna adaptation. In some aspects, the UE may receive an indication of the transition and a number of CSI-RS ports that are active after the transition):
the adaptation is associated with switching from a first number of ports to a second number of ports (Abotabl, Paragraph 115, the network node may perform dynamic antenna adaptation, thereby changing the number of CSI-RS ports associated with the network node and may transmit the information indicating the number of CSI-RS ports based at least in part on the dynamic antenna adaptation. In some aspects, the UE may receive an indication of the transition and a number of CSI-RS ports that are active after the transition); and
the UE is configured with a plurality of CSI-RS resources for deriving a Channel State Information (CSI) report (Abotabl, Paragraph 80, in CSI reporting the UE provides CSI reports to the network based at least in part on measurements of the CSI-RS, Paragraph 81, A CSI-RS is configured with and can be transmitted using a number of CSI-RS ports, “CSI-RS port” refers to an antenna port used for CSI-RS transmission or reception, a CSI-RS port is interpreted as being a CSI-RS resource);
Abotabl does not explicitly teach the below limitation:
determining not to transmit the CSI report in response to (i) not receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the second number of ports and (ii) receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the first number of ports.
However Li teaches the below limitation:
determining not to transmit the CSI report in response to (i) not receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the second number of ports and (ii) receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the first number of ports (Li, paragraph 68, if the port number of the active CSI-RS Resource or the active CSI report is greater than the adapted port number, the UE may deactivate the active CSI-RS resource or the active CSI-RS report, paragraph 109, in the case that all time instances of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report precedes a time when the port adaptation is applied and the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, dropping the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Abotabl by adding not transmitting a CSI-RS report if the CSI-RS resource is associated with the old port mapping instead of the new port mapping . Because Abotabl and Li teach CSI-RS, and specifically Li teaches not transmitting a CSI-RS report if the CSI-RS resource is associated with the old port mapping instead of the new port mapping for the benefit of the analogous art of port adaptation indication (Li, abstract).
Regarding Claim 2, Abotabl and Li further teach comprising:
in response to receiving one or more first CSI-RSs that are associated with the second number of ports, at least one of (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, a network node may increase or decrease the number of CSI-RS ports used for CSI-RS transmission):
deriving a second CSI report based on the one or more first CSI-RSs (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied); or
transmitting the second CSI report (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied).
Regarding Claim 3, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the UE determines to transmit a second CSI report in response to a CSI-RS determined by the UE being associated with the second number of ports (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied).
Regarding Claim 4, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the first number of ports is larger than the second number of ports (Abotabl, Paragraph 114, the first number of CSI-RS ports is larger than the second number of CSI-RS ports).
Regarding Claim 5, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the first number of ports is smaller than the second number of ports (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, a network node may increase or decrease the number of CSI-RS ports used for CSI-RS transmission).
Regarding Claim 6, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the plurality of CSI-RS resources are associated with channel measurement (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, A CSI-RS is configured with and can be transmitted using a number of CSI-RS ports, CSI-RS ports are interpreted as being CSI-RS resources, “CSI-RS port” refers to an antenna port used for CSI-RS transmission or reception, Paragraph 80, in CSI reporting the UE provides CSI reports to the network based at least in part on measurements of the CSI-RS).
Regarding Claim 7, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the first number of ports is associated with a first sub-configuration (Li, paragraph 75, the maximum of 32 ports can be grouped into a plurality of port groups, paragraph 76, the port groups are defined based on configurable port numbers).
Regarding Claim 8, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the second number of ports is associated with a second sub-configuration (Li, paragraph 75, the maximum of 32 ports can be grouped into a plurality of port groups, paragraph 76, the port groups are defined based on configurable port numbers).
Regarding Claim 9, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the UE receives the indication from a base station (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, a network node may increase or decrease the number of CSI-RS ports used for CSI-RS transmission, Paragraph 35, A network node 110 may include a base station).
Regarding Claim 10, Abotabl teaches a method of a base station, comprising (Abotabl, Paragraph 115, the network node may perform dynamic antenna adaptation, thereby changing the number of CSI-RS ports associated with the network node):
transmitting, to a User Equipment (UE), an indication of an adaptation associated with Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), wherein the adaptation is associated with switching from a first number of ports to a second number of ports (Abotabl, Paragraph 115, the network node may perform dynamic antenna adaptation, thereby changing the number of CSI-RS ports associated with the network node and may transmit the information indicating the number of CSI-RS ports based at least in part on the dynamic antenna adaptation. In some aspects, the UE may receive an indication of the transition and a number of CSI-RS ports that are active after the transition);
configuring the UE with a plurality of CSI-RS resources for deriving a Channel State Information (CSI) report (Abotabl, Paragraph 80, in CSI reporting the UE provides CSI reports to the network based at least in part on measurements of the CSI-RS, Paragraph 81, A CSI-RS is configured with and can be transmitted using a number of CSI-RS ports, “CSI-RS port” refers to an antenna port used for CSI-RS transmission or reception, a CSI-RS port is interpreted as being a CSI-RS resource); and
Abotabl does not explicitly teach the below limitation:
determining not to at least one of monitor for or receive the CSI report in response to (i) a CSI-RS determined by the UE not being associated with the second number of ports, and (ii) the CSI-RS determined by the UE being associated with the first number of ports.
However Li teaches the below limitation:
determining not to at least one of monitor for or receive the CSI report in response to (i) a CSI-RS determined by the UE not being associated with the second number of ports, and (ii) the CSI-RS determined by the UE being associated with the first number of ports (Li, paragraph 68, if the port number of the active CSI-RS Resource or the active CSI report is greater than the adapted port number, the UE may deactivate the active CSI-RS resource or the active CSI-RS report, paragraph 109, in the case that all time instances of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report precedes a time when the port adaptation is applied and the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, dropping the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Abotabl by adding not transmitting a CSI-RS report if the CSI-RS resource is associated with the old port mapping instead of the new port mapping . Because Abotabl and Li teach CSI-RS, and specifically Li teaches not transmitting a CSI-RS report if the CSI-RS resource is associated with the old port mapping instead of the new port mapping for the benefit of the analogous art of port adaptation indication (Li, abstract).
Regarding Claim 11, Abotabl and Li further teach comprising:
based on a determination that the UE received one or more first CSI-RSs that are associated with the second number of ports, at least one of (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, a network node may increase or decrease the number of CSI-RS ports used for CSI-RS transmission):
monitoring for a second CSI report (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied); or
receiving the second CSI report (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied).
Regarding Claim 12, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the base station determines to at least one of monitor for or receive a second CSI report based on a CSI-RS determined by the UE being associated with the second number of ports (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied).
Regarding Claim 13, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the first number of ports is larger than the second number of ports (Abotabl, Paragraph 114, the first number of CSI-RS ports is larger than the second number of CSI-RS ports).
Regarding Claim 14, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the first number of ports is smaller than the second number of ports (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, a network node may increase or decrease the number of CSI-RS ports used for CSI-RS transmission).
Regarding Claim 15, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the plurality of CSI-RS resources are associated with channel measurement (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, A CSI-RS is configured with and can be transmitted using a number of CSI-RS ports, “CSI-RS port” refers to an antenna port used for CSI-RS transmission or reception, a CSI-RS port is interpreted as being a CSI-RS resource, Paragraph 80, in CSI reporting the UE provides CSI reports to the network based at least in part on measurements of the CSI-RS).
Regarding Claim 16, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the first number of ports is associated with a first sub-configuration (Li, paragraph 75, the maximum of 32 ports can be grouped into a plurality of port groups, paragraph 76, the port groups are defined based on configurable port numbers).
Regarding Claim 17, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the second number of ports is associated with a second sub-configuration (Li, paragraph 75, the maximum of 32 ports can be grouped into a plurality of port groups, paragraph 76, the port groups are defined based on configurable port numbers).
Regarding Claim 18, Abotabl teaches a User Equipment (UE) comprising (Abotabl, paragraph 115, the UE may receive an indication of the transition and a number of CSI-RS ports that are active after the transition):
a control circuit (Abotabl, paragraph 206, An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-25, paragraph 42, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled);
a processor installed in the control circuit (Abotabl, paragraph 206, An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-25, paragraph 42, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled); and
a memory installed in the control circuit and operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code stored in the memory to perform operations, the operations comprising (Abotabl, paragraph 206, An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-25, paragraph 42, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled):
receiving an indication of an adaptation associated with Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), wherein (Abotabl, Paragraph 115, the network node may perform dynamic antenna adaptation, thereby changing the number of CSI-RS ports associated with the network node and may transmit the information indicating the number of CSI-RS ports based at least in part on the dynamic antenna adaptation):
the adaptation is associated with switching from a first number of ports to a second number of ports (Abotabl, Paragraph 115, the network node may perform dynamic antenna adaptation, thereby changing the number of CSI-RS ports associated with the network node and may transmit the information indicating the number of CSI-RS ports based at least in part on the dynamic antenna adaptation. In some aspects, the UE may receive an indication of the transition and a number of CSI-RS ports that are active after the transition); and
the UE is configured with a plurality of CSI-RS resources for deriving a CSI report (Abotabl, Paragraph 80, in CSI reporting the UE provides CSI reports to the network based at least in part on measurements of the CSI-RS, Paragraph 81, A CSI-RS is configured with and can be transmitted using a number of CSI-RS ports, “CSI-RS port” refers to an antenna port used for CSI-RS transmission or reception, a CSI-RS port is interpreted as being a CSI-RS resource);
Abotabl does not explicitly teach the below limitation:
determining not to transmit the CSI report in response to (i) not receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the second number of ports and (ii) receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the first number of ports.
However Li teaches the below limitation:
determining not to transmit the CSI report in response to (i) not receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the second number of ports and (ii) receiving a CSI-RS that is associated with the first number of ports (Li, paragraph 68, if the port number of the active CSI-RS Resource or the active CSI report is greater than the adapted port number, the UE may deactivate the active CSI-RS resource or the active CSI-RS report, paragraph 109, in the case that all time instances of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report precedes a time when the port adaptation is applied and the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, dropping the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Abotabl by adding not transmitting a CSI-RS report if the CSI-RS resource is associated with the old port mapping instead of the new port mapping . Because Abotabl and Li teach CSI-RS, and specifically Li teaches not transmitting a CSI-RS report if the CSI-RS resource is associated with the old port mapping instead of the new port mapping for the benefit of the analogous art of port adaptation indication (Li, abstract).
Regarding Claim 19, Abotabl and Li further teach the operations comprising:
in response to receiving one or more first CSI-RSs that are associated with the second number of ports, at least one of (Abotabl, Paragraph 81, a network node may increase or decrease the number of CSI-RS ports used for CSI-RS transmission):
deriving a second CSI report based on the one or more first CSI-RSs (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied); or
transmitting the second CSI report (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied).
Regarding Claim 20, Abotabl and Li further teach wherein:
the UE determines to transmit a second CSI report in response to a CSI-RS determined by the UE being associated with the second number of ports (Li, paragraph 109, in the case that the antenna element and port mapping of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report is changed after the port adaptation is applied, generating the CSI report to be transmitted after the port adaptation is applied based on a time instance of the CSI-RS resource associated with the CSI report that occurs after the time when the port adaptation is applied).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but are respectfully not moot as new grounds of rejection are used. Please see updated rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAD N DEFAUW whose telephone number is (571)272-6905. The examiner can normally be reached on the first Wednesday and Thursday of the bi-week (9 am – 5 pm) or the second Monday and Tuesday of the bi-week (9 am – 5 pm).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Park (US 2022/0029682)
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Jiang can be reached on (571) 270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/T.N.D/ Examiner, Art Unit 2412
/CHARLES C JIANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2412