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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 7 objected to because of the following informalities: “and” missing between the last two limitations “transmitting, …filters”; “receiving, …filters”. Appropriate correction is required.
The numbering of claims is not in accordance with 37 CFR 1.126 which requires the original numbering of the claims to be preserved throughout the prosecution. When claims are canceled, the remaining claims must not be renumbered. When new claims are presented, they must be numbered consecutively beginning with the number next following the highest numbered claims previously presented (whether entered or not).
Misnumbered first claim 7 been renumbered as claim 6.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (US 2020/0314860, hereinafter “Zhou”) in view of Grossmann et al. (US 2022/0271890, hereinafter “Grossmann”).
For claims 1 and 7, Zhou discloses A method performed by a Base Station (BS) for Uplink (UL) transmission management in a wireless communication system (FIG. 27 is an example of transmission beam determination of PUSCH transmission; see Zhou par. 0414 and Fig. 27), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC) configuration signaling comprising a plurality of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource groups (a base station (e.g., gNB in FIG. 27) may transmit to a wireless device (e.g., UE in FIG. 27) one or more RRC messages comprising configuration parameters of PUCCH resource groups (e.g., 1st PUCCH group and 2nd PUCCH group in FIG. 27) and spatial relation information configurations. In an example, each PUCCH resource group may be associated with a panel of a plurality of panels; see Zhou par. 0414), at least one of the plurality of PUCCH resource groups comprising a plurality of spatial domain transmission filters (in each PUCCH resource group of the PUCCH resource groups, a PUCCH resource with a lowest PUCCH resource index may be referred to as a default PUCCH resource in the each PUCCH resource group. In an example, the spatial relation information configurations may comprise a plurality of spatial relation information configurations for spatial setting of PUCCH transmission. In an example, the plurality of spatial relation information configurations may be grouped in a plurality of spatial relation information configurations groups, each spatial relation information configuration group being associated with a PUCCH resource group, or a panel; see Zhou par. 0415) and a plurality of pathloss reference Reference Signal (RS) resources, each of the plurality of spatial domain transmission filters associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of pathloss reference Reference Signal (RS) resources (Each spatial relation information configuration group may comprise a list of spatial relation information configurations. Each spatial relation information configuration may be identified by a spatial relation information configuration index (or ID). Parameters of each spatial relation information configuration may comprise a serving cell ID; a reference resource signal index; a PUCCH pathloss reference RS indicator; a PO value for PUCCH transmission; and/or a close loop power control identifier. The reference resource signal index may comprise: an SSB index, a CSI-RS index or an SRS index of an uplink BWP. In an example, a spatial relation information configuration of PUCCH may indicate spatial setting of the PUCCH transmission. The spatial relation information configuration of PUCCH may indicate power control parameters; see Zhou par. 0415);
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a Medium Access Control (MAC)-Control Element (CE) activation signaling for activating one of the plurality of spatial domain transmission filters (the base station may transmit to the wireless device one or more MAC CEs activating a first spatial relation information configuration ( e.g., 1st SRI in FIG. 27) for a first PUCCH resource (e.g., 1st PUCCH in FIG. 27) in a first PUCCH resource group ( e.g., 1st PUCCH group in FIG. 27) and a second spatial relation information configuration (e.g., 2nd SRI in FIG. 27) for a first PUCCH resource (e.g., 1st PUCCH in FIG. 27) in a second PUCCH resource group (e.g., 2nd PUCCH group in FIG. 27)… The wireless device, based on a spatial relation information configuration (e.g., activated by one or more MAC CEs) of the PUCCH resource, may determine a spatial domain transmission filter for the transmission of the UCL; see Zhou par. 0416-0417);
receiving, from a user equipment (UE) a PUCCH based on the activated one of the plurality of spatial domain transmission filters (if a reference signal resource index of a spatial relation information configuration activated on the PUCCH resource comprises an SSB index, the wireless device may transmit the UCI on the PUCCH resource with a same spatial domain transmission filter used for reception of an SSB identified by the SSB index; see Zhou par. 0417; after or in response to determining a PUCCH resource group based on a PUCCH resource group ID; a CORESET; a current active panel; and/or one or more parameters of the DCI, the wireless device may transmit uplink TB via a PUSCH with a same spatial domain transmission filter used for transmission on a PUCCH with a lowest PUCCH resource index in the PUCCH resource group; see Zhou par. 0419 and Fig. 27).
Zhou does not explicitly disclose pathloss reference Reference Signal (RS) resources. Grossmann discloses pathloss reference Reference Signal (RS) resources (the UE is configured to receive, from the gNB or any other network entity, a higher layer configuration of a pathloss reference RS IE containing at least the following parameters: an ID unique for the pathloss reference RS and the ID of a DL RS, e.g., a CSI-RS resource or an SSB. The UE may use the IDs of the configured pathloss reference RS IEs in the IEs used to configure the power control settings for PUCCH and, either SRS or PUSCH or both; see Grossmann par. 0173-0174). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Grossmann's arrangement in Zhou's invention to provide an overhaul of the UL beam configuration and indication framework and the UL power settings framework to reduce control information overhead and latency of UL beam and power settings indication at the UE (see Grossmann par. 0078).
Specifically for claim 7, Zhou discloses A Base Station (BS) for Uplink (UL) transmission management in a wireless communication system, the BS comprising:
a transceiver;
one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon; and
at least one processor coupled to the transceiver and the one or more computer-readable media, and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to (The base station 1, 120A, may comprise at least one communication interface 320A (e.g. a wireless modem, an antenna, a wired modem, and/or the like), at least one processor 321A, and at least one set of program code instructions 323A stored in non-transitory memory 322A and executable by the at least one processor 321A; see Zhou par. 0212 and Fig. 3):
For claims 2 and 8, Zhou discloses The method of claim 1, wherein each PUCCH resource group corresponds to a different UE panel (a PUCCH resource group may be identified by a group ID. The group ID may indicate a panel of a plurality of panels. A PUCCH resource group may comprise a plurality of PUCCH resources. A PUCCH resource of the plurality of PUCCH resources may be identified by a PUCCH resource index (or ID); see Zhou par. 0415).
For claims 3 and 9, Zhou discloses The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of PUCCH resource groups is associated with a different CORESET group (The plurality of coresets are grouped into a plurality of coreset groups, each of the plurality of coreset groups being identified with a coreset pool index. Each of the plurality of PUCCH resource groups is associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of coreset groups. The wireless device selects the PUCCH resource group from the plurality of PUCCH resource groups based on the PUCCH resource group being associated with a corresponding coreset group, of the plurality of coreset groups, comprising the coreset.; see Zhou par. 0439, 0418).
For claims 4 and 10, Zhou discloses The method of claim 3, wherein each CORESET group is associated with a different TRP (a TRP of multiple TRPs of the base station may be identified by at least one of: a TRP identifier (ID), a cell index, or a reference signal index. In an example, a TRP ID of a TRP may comprise a control resource set group (or pool) index (e.g., CORESETPoolIndex) of a control resource set group from which a DCI is transmitted from the base station on a control resource set; see Zhou par. 0407, 0413).
For claims 5 and 11, Zhou does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 3, wherein each CORESET group includes all configured CORESETs in the active BWP of a serving cell or a component carrier (CC). Grossmann discloses The method of claim 3, wherein each CORESET group includes all configured CORESETs in the active BWP of a serving cell or a component carrier (CC) (.When the UE receives the MAC-CE message, the UE uses the RS configured in the indicated pathloss reference RS configuration to derive the pathloss factor for the calculation of the transmit power for an UL transmission of the group of PUCCH resource(s) associated with the indicated CORESET ID/CO RESET group ID/PUCCH resource group ID via higher layer configuration or to any PUCCH resource(s) indicated via the PUCCH resource indicator field by PDCCH(s) transmitted on the indicated CORES ET or on the CORESET(s) belonging to the indicated CORESET group. The MAC-CE messages described may contain a serving cell ID to indicate the serving cell the MAC-CE message applies to. The messages may also be used to update the pathloss reference RS of PUCCH/SRS resources only in a specific UL-BWP. In certain cases, the UE may require that it update the pathloss reference RSs for PUCCH/SRS only within the active BWP or a BWP it might switch to and not for all the PUCCH/SRS in the whole cell. The inclusion of the UL-BWP provides the option to update the pathloss reference RS for only a subset of the PUCCH resources in the cell. In accordance with an embodiment, the MAC-CE message received by the UE from a gNB or any other network entity to update the pathloss reference RS for a PUSCH, or one or more or a group of PUCCH/SRS resources, may contain an UL BWP ID and a serving cell ID. If the UE receives the MAC-CE message with an UL-BWP ID, the UE uses the RS configured in the indicated pathloss reference RS configuration to derive the pathloss factor for the calculation of the transmit power for an UL transmission of the said PUSCH or PUCCH/SRS resources in the indicated UL BWP of the indicated serving cell; see Grossmann par. 0186-0188). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Grossmann's arrangement in Zhou's invention to provide an overhaul of the UL beam configuration and indication framework and the UL power settings framework to reduce control information overhead and latency of UL beam and power settings indication at the UE (see Grossmann par. 0078).
For claims 6 (renumbered from claim 7) and 12, Zhou does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, wherein each PUCCH resource in a PUCCH group is of one of periodic(P), semi-persistent (SP), and aperiodic (AP) type, such that Channel State Information (CSI) reporting uses one of a P type PUCCH resource and a SP type PUCCH resource, and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ)-Acknowledgement (ACK) feedback transmission uses a AP type PUCCH resource. Grossmann discloses The method of claim 1, wherein each PUCCH resource in a PUCCH group is of one of periodic(P), semi-persistent (SP), and aperiodic (AP) type, such that Channel State Information (CSI) reporting uses one of a P type PUCCH resource and a SP type PUCCH resource, and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ)-Acknowledgement (ACK) feedback transmission uses a AP type PUCCH resource (The PUCCH resources that may carry the various types of the uplink control information (UCI)-Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK)/negative acknowledgements (NACK) for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions, scheduling requests (SR) and DL channel state information (CSI) feedback-are configured and indicated as follows [2, 3, 6]: The PUCCH resource that carries the HARQ ACK/NACK for a PDSCH, is indicated by a 3-bit PUCCH resource indicator field in the PDCCH that schedules the PDSCH. The mapping from the PUCCH resource indicator field contained in the PDCCH to a PUCCH resource in the four PUCCH resource sets is configured by the gNB via RRC as described in [3]. The scheduling requests (SR) are configured via RRC in the 'SchedulingRequestConfig' IE and other associated IEs, and each scheduling request configuration includes the IDs of PUCCH resource( s) that carry the SRs. The transmission settings of the SRs (periodicity, offset, etc.) are configured at the RRC level. The CSI report configurations received via RRC at the UE includes the IDs of the PUCCH resources(s) that carry the semi-persistent and/or periodic CSI reports in the UL. The transmission settings of the same are provided in the CSI report configurations. The activation/deactivation of the semi-persistent CSI reports is handled via MAC-CE messages. The configuration of the CSI reports via RRC is enough for the transmission of periodic CSI reports. The beam direction and power control settings of the PUCCH resources are configured together in a 'PUCCH SpatialRelationinfo' IE, as shown in FIG. 3; see Grossmann par. 0027-0031). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Grossmann's arrangement in Zhou's invention to provide an overhaul of the UL beam configuration and indication framework and the UL power settings framework to reduce control information overhead and latency of UL beam and power settings indication at the UE (see Grossmann par. 0078).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
-Takahashi et al. (US 2022/0330230);
-Zhou et al. (US 2022/0167279);
-Mondal et al. (US 2022/0150926).
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/CHAE S LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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