CTNF 18/812,939 CTNF 86739 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. This office action is in response to the Applicant’s communication filed on 08/22/2024. Claims 1 – 20 are pending in this application. Specification 06-31 AIA The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors ( and it does contain numerous errors ). Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Claim Objections Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim states “a displacement of the at least one antenna panel with relative to the other antenna panel”; Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim states “wherein communicating the information for the mechanical adjustment associated comprises”; the italicized words in the above claims appear to be unnecessary for clarity of the claims. 07-29-01 AIA Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim contains period in the middle of the claim (at the end of the third line, while the claim itself has seven lines). Each claim begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. Periods may not be used elsewhere in the claims except for abbreviations . See Fressola v. Manbeck, 36 USPQ2d 1211 (D.D.C. 1995) . Appropriate correction is required. 07-30-03-h AIA Claim Interpretation 07-30-03 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f): (f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. 07-30-05 The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked. As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: (A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function; (B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and (C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function. Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) (claims 17 – 20) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. 07-34-01 Claims 14 and 17 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 20 contains period in the middle of the claim (at the end of the third line, while the claim itself has seven lines). Therefore, it is not clear whether lines 4 – 7 are intended to be part of the claim or not. For further examination, these lines are treated as not part of claim 20. 07-34-05 Claim 14 recites the limitation "the other antenna panel". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 17 – 19 each recites the limitation "the UE" multiple times. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in each of the claims. Claims 18 – 20 are also rejected as being dependent from the rejected base claim. 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1 – 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20240014550 ( Zhang ) in view of US 20180376275 ( Jiang ) and further in view of information well known in the art as may be evidenced by US 20250350991 ( Niu ) . Regarding claims 1, 9 and 17 , Zhang teaches “A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication (Par. 0173: the process flow 600 illustrates communications between a first wireless device 605 and a second wireless device 610, which may represent examples of corresponding devices as described with reference to FIGS. 1-5. The first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may each represent an example of a UE ) , comprising: a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors (these components are implicit for a user equipment such as mobile phone) , the processing system configured to cause the UE to: communicate, in accordance with an alignment of one or more antenna panels of the UE, information for a mechanical adjustment of at least one antenna panel (paragraph 0175: The first wireless device 605 may be equipped with a first antenna panel including a set of one or more antenna elements deployed in a circular shape, a rectangular shape, or some other shape around a central antenna element of the antenna panel, as described with reference to FIGS. 1-5. Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605. At 620, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate a panel rotation procedure configuration based on the panel rotation capability.) …” “…the information for the mechanical adjustment…” “…associated with performing the mechanical adjustment (paragraph 0178: At 625, the second wireless device 610 may transmit a reference signal. The second wireless device 610 may transmit the reference signal based on the panel rotation procedure configuration. The panel rotation procedure configuration may include scheduling information associated with the reference signal.) ; perform, in accordance with the information, the mechanical adjustment of the at least one antenna panel (paragraph 0179: At 630, the first wireless device 605 may adjust an angular rotation of the first antenna panel of the first wireless device 605 based on measurements of the reference signal at the first set of two or more antenna elements. The first wireless device 605 may adjust the angular rotation of the first antenna panel) ; and communicate using the at least one antenna panel in accordance with performing the mechanical adjustment (paragraphs 0181 – 0182: At 645, the first wireless device 605 may transmit, to the second wireless device 610, a message indicating alignment feedback information for the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel. The second wireless device 610 may transmit one or more feedback messages including alignment feedback information to the first wireless device 605. The first wireless device 605, the second wireless device 610, or both may determine whether to transmit one or more additional reference signals for the other device to use for further adjustments of the antenna panels based on the alignment feedback information.) .” In Zhang, each of the wireless devices appears to have a single antenna panel, therefore, Zhang does not teach that there is “a set of antenna panels of the UE” and that the adjustment of at least one antenna panel is “relative to another antenna panel of the set of antenna panels of the UE.” In similar art, Jiang also teaches an electronic device having control circuitry which may control a mechanical positioner to mechanically adjust an orientation of the phased antenna array to steer the millimeter wave signals towards the location of the external device (see abstract). Paragraph 0041: To optimize millimeter wave communications, device 10 may include mechanical adjustment components 42 (positioner 42). Mechanical adjustment components 42 may include one or more mechanically moveable (adjustable) structures that are controlled to mechanically adjust the position of antennas 40 with respect to device 10 and/or the external device (e.g., to maintain line of sight with the external device). Paragraph 0042: antennas 40 are arranged in a phased antenna array. In this scenario, mechanical positioner 42 may mechanically adjust the position of some of the antennas in the array (e.g., particular rows or columns of antennas or any other set of antennas) or may mechanically adjust the position of the entire array at a given time. FIG 3 and 4 and paragraph 0046 clearly show plurality of antenna panels 50 on the surface of the device. Thus, Jiang clearly teaches “a set of antenna panels of the UE”. Further, paragraph 0067: positioner components 42 may adjust the orientation of any desired subset of the antennas 40 within array 60 (e.g., positioner 42 may mechanically adjust an individual antenna 40 in array 60, an entire row or column of antennas 40 in array 60, or any other desired subset of the antennas in array 60). Positioner 42 may mechanically adjust each antenna 40 individually. Thus, by teaching that only an individual antenna out of set of antennas may be adjusted, Jiang clearly teaches adjustment of at least one antenna panel “relative to another antenna panel of the set of antenna panels of the UE.” Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application to utilize the capability of mechanically adjusting only a subset of antennas or even individual antenna disclosed by Jiang, in the system of Zhang. Doing so would have expanded the flexibility of antenna adjustment by allowing adjustment of individual antennas in addition to adjustment of the entire panel. Additionally or alternatively, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application to utilize the process of antenna adjustment including the message flow disclosed by Zhang, in the system of Jiang with predictable results, the results being simply adding the message flow between the devices including exchange of capabilities of whether the devices support mechanical antenna adjustment since, according to the Supreme Court, “[t]he combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results.” KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007). Lastly, while teaching in paragraph 0178 that the panel rotation procedure configuration may include scheduling information associated with the reference signal, Zhang does not teach that the information includes “indicating a start time and a duration” for the adjustment. However, determining and “indicating a start time and a duration” for an antenna adjustment is well known in the art, as may be evidenced, for example, by Niu (see FIG 3 with corresponding description in paragraphs 0123 – 0152. Particularly, paragraphs 0124 – 0127: In S201, the first node determines time configuration information related to the antenna port adjustment information. The time configuration information includes at least one of: a duration, or an index of the duration; a start time, or an index of the start time. Paragraph 0132: In S202, the first node sends the time configuration information related to the antenna port adjustment information to the second node.) Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application to utilize well known in the art determination and indication of a start time and a duration of any antenna adjustment, in the system of Zhang to yield predictable results, since, according to the Supreme Court, “[t]he combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results.” KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007). Doing so would have also allowed the other wireless device to know when the adjustment is to start and how long it will last. Regarding claim 2 , Zhang teaches “measure one or more performance metrics associated with communications between the UE and a network node (FIG 6 and paragraph 0173: second wireless device 610 may represent an example of a base station, a network entity. Paragraph 0134: The panel rotations may be based on the measurement of relative phases at one or more pairs of transmit and receive antenna elements 315 (“one or more performance metrics”).) , wherein communicating the information for the mechanical adjustment is associated with at least one of the one or more performance metrics satisfying a condition (Paragraph 0159: the first device may compare a first phase measurement (“one or more performance metrics”) to a phase tolerance threshold. The devices may determine to use the phase measurements for adjusting the angular rotation of an antenna panel based on the phase measurements satisfying the phase tolerance threshold (“at least one of the one or more performance metrics satisfying a condition”). Paragraph 0179: at 630, the first wireless device 605 may adjust an angular rotation of the first antenna panel of the first wireless device 605 based on measurements of the reference signal at the first set of two or more antenna elements. The first wireless device 605 may adjust the angular rotation of the first antenna panel based on one or more phase measurements. However, the reference signal is transmitted subsequent to transmission of messages 615 and 620 in FIG 6, which represent “communicating the information for the mechanical adjustment”. Therefore, since the precondition for antenna adjustment is that the phase measurements meeting the phase tolerance threshold, this communication of messages 615 and 620 “is associated with at least one of the one or more performance metrics satisfying a condition”) .” Regarding claim 3 , Zhang teaches “wherein the one or more performance metrics include one or more of: an alignment metric (Paragraph 0159: the first device may compare a first phase measurement (representing “an alignment metric”) to a phase tolerance threshold. The devices may determine to use the phase measurements for adjusting the angular rotation of an antenna panel based on the phase measurements satisfying the phase tolerance threshold) , a throughput metric, a robustness metric, an outage probability, a bit error rate, a cross talk metric, or a signal leakage metric (Since the claim is written in the alternative form (“one or more of A, B, C, D, E, F, or G”), it is sufficient to meet at least one of the limitations “A” or “B” or “C” or “D” or “E” or “F” or “G” in the claim to meet the limitations of the whole claim. In this case the limitation “A” is met . ) .” Regarding claim 4 , Zhang teaches “wherein, to cause the UE to communicate the information for the mechanical adjustment, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to: receive, from a network node, the information for the mechanical adjustment (paragraph 0177: the second wireless device 610 (“a network node”) may transmit a configuration message to the first wireless device 605 that indicates the panel rotation procedure configuration. Paragraph 0178: the panel rotation procedure configuration may include scheduling information associated with the reference signal.) , wherein the mechanical adjustment includes a first mechanical displacement of the at least one antenna panel (paragraphs 0049, 0102 – 0103, 0108 and elsewhere: mechanical rotation of the antenna panel) .” Regarding claim 5 , Zhang teaches or fairly suggests “wherein, to cause the UE to perform the mechanical adjustment, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to: perform a different mechanical adjustment of the at least one antenna panel, wherein the different mechanical adjustment includes a second mechanical displacement different from the first mechanical displacement (after performing initial mechanical adjustment 630 in FIG 6, paragraph 0182: the first wireless device 605 may determine whether to transmit one or more additional reference signals for the other device to use for further adjustments of the antenna panels based on the alignment feedback information (“perform a different mechanical adjustment of the at least one antenna panel, wherein the different mechanical adjustment includes a second mechanical displacement different from the first mechanical displacement”).) ; and transmit, to the network node, an indication of the second mechanical displacement (although not explicitly disclosed by Zhang, in FIG 6 and paragraph 0181, upon completion of the first mechanical displacement 630, at 645, the first wireless device 605 may transmit, to the second wireless device 610 (“the network node”), a message indicating alignment feedback information for the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel. The alignment feedback information may include an indication that a difference between a first phase measurement at a first antenna element of the first set of two or more antenna elements of the first antenna panel and a second phase measurement at a second antenna element of the first set of two or more antenna elements of the first antenna panel satisfies a threshold. Since paragraph 0182 teaches that an additional mechanical adjustment may be performed in the future, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application, upon completion of the additional mechanical adjustment at a future time, and similar to transmission of the feedback message 645 after the first mechanical adjustment, to also transmit, to the second wireless device 610, an additional message indicating alignment feedback information for the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel. Doing so would have allowed the wireless device 610 to know of whether the additional mechanical adjustment was successful.) .” Regarding claim 6 , Zhang teaches “wherein, to cause the UE to receive the information for the mechanical adjustment, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to: receive the information for the mechanical adjustment via at least one of a downlink control channel, a downlink control message, or downlink signaling (paragraph 0177: the second wireless device 610 (“a network node”) may transmit a configuration message to the first wireless device 605 that indicates the panel rotation procedure configuration. Paragraph 0112: The panel rotation procedure configuration 230 may be transmitted via a control message, such as an RRC message, a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), downlink control information (DCI), or some other type of control message or control signaling.) .” Regarding claim 7 , Zhang teaches “to cause the UE to communicate the information for the mechanical adjustment, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to: transmit, to a network node (FIG 6 and paragraph 0173: second wireless device 610 may represent an example of a base station, a network entity.) , the information for the mechanical adjustment (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605 .) .” Regarding claim 8 , Zhang teaches “wherein, to cause the UE to transmit the information, the processing system is configured to cause the UE to: transmit the information via at least one of an uplink control channel, an uplink control message, or uplink signaling (paragraph 0103: The first and second wireless devices may communicate signaling, such as one or more capability messages, that indicates that each of the first and second wireless devices support a panel rotation capability. When the first wireless device is user equipment and the second wireless device is a base station, message 615 in FIG 6 transmitted from the first wireless device 605 to the second wireless device 610 would be done through “uplink signaling”. Paragraph 0112: the devices may exchange signaling to indicate a panel rotation capability. The UE 115-a may transmit a first capability message 225 to the network entity 105-a. The panel rotation procedure configuration 230 may be transmitted via a control message, such as an RRC message, a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), uplink control information (UCI) , , or some other type of control message or control signaling .) .” Regarding claim 10 , Zhang teaches “transmitting a capability message that indicates at least one of a UE capability for performing the mechanical adjustment (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605.) or a UE capability for measuring one or more performance metrics associated with communications between the UE and a network node (Since the claim is written in the alternative form (“at least one of A or B”), it is sufficient to meet at least one of the limitations “A” or “B” in the claim to meet the limitations of the whole claim. In this case the limitation “A” is met . ) .” Regarding claim 11 , Zhang teaches “wherein the UE capability for performing the mechanical adjustment includes one or more of: a mechanical adjustment capability (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605. This represents “a mechanical adjustment capability”) , a rotational displacement capability (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605. This represents “a rotational displacement capability”) , a translational displacement capability, an angular displacement capability (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605. Rotating also represents “an angular displacement capability”) , a duration for performing the mechanical adjustment, a duration for transitioning from performing the mechanical adjustment to communicating in accordance with performing the mechanical adjustment (Since the claim is written in the alternative form (“one or more of A, B, C, D, E, or F”), it is sufficient to meet at least one of the limitations “A” or “B” or “C” or “D” or “E” or “F” in the claim to meet the limitations of the whole claim. In this case the limitations “A”, “B” and “D” are met . ) .” Regarding claim 12 , Zhang teaches “refraining from communicating for the duration associated with performing the mechanical adjustment (as may be seen in FIG 6, there is no transmission of any messages shown during the operations 630 and 640 associated with mechanical adjusting of the antennas ) .” Regarding claim 13 , Zhang teaches “wherein the information for the mechanical adjustment comprises at least one of: an angular distance, a translational distance, a rotational distance, a key performance indicator, or other physical properties (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605. Capability to rotate antenna panel represents “the information for the mechanical adjustment comprises” “other physical properties”. With respect to the rest of the conditions, since the claim is written in the alternative form (“at least one of A, B, C, D, or E”), it is sufficient to meet at least one of the limitations “A” or “B” or “C” or “D” or “E” in the claim to meet the limitations of the whole claim. In this case the limitation “E” is met.) .” Regarding claim 14 , Zhang alone or in combination with Jiang teaches “wherein the mechanical adjustment includes: a displacement of the at least one antenna panel with respect to an initial position of the at least one antenna panel (in Zhang, rotation of the antenna panel represents “a displacement” “with respect to an initial position”, as shown in FIG 4A-B) , or a displacement of the at least one antenna panel with relative to the other antenna panel (Jiang, paragraph 0042: antennas 40 are arranged in a phased antenna array. In this scenario, mechanical positioner 42 may mechanically adjust the position of some of the antennas in the array (e.g., particular rows or columns of antennas or any other set of antennas). Further, paragraph 0067: positioner components 42 may adjust the orientation of any desired subset of the antennas 40 within array 60 (e.g., positioner 42 may mechanically adjust an individual antenna 40 in array 60, an entire row or column of antennas 40 in array 60, or any other desired subset of the antennas in array 60). Positioner 42 may mechanically adjust each antenna 40 individually. Thus, by teaching that only an individual antenna out of set of antennas may be adjusted, Jiang clearly teaches adjustment “of the at least one antenna panel with relative to the other antenna panel”) . Regarding claim 15 , Zhang in combination with Jiang teaches or fairly suggests “wherein communicating the information for the mechanical adjustment associated comprises: communicating information for a first mechanical adjustment of a first antenna panel of the set of antenna panels; and communicating information for a second mechanical adjustment of a second antenna panel of the set of antenna panels (indeed, turning to the Applicant’s own disclosure, paragraph 0119 explicitly states that “In some aspects, the first mechanical adjustment and the second mechanical adjustment are a same mechanical adjustment .” Therefore, this limitation is automatically met when both mechanical adjustments of the same first and second antenna panels are the same, which is not forbidden by the claim language. Alternatively, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that this limitation would also be met for two adjustment operations as shown in Zhang’s FIG 6 but spread in time (when the initial adjustment operation for the wireless device 605 is performed at one time point, and another adjustment operation is performed at another, later time point with the same or different wireless device 610 for the same or different antenna panel (indeed, multiple antenna panels could be present in the device, as disclosed by Jiang).) .” Regarding claim 16 , Zhang in combination with Jiang teaches or fairly suggests “wherein communicating the information for the first mechanical adjustment of the first antenna panel of the set of antenna panels comprises: receiving, from a first network node (FIG 6 and paragraph 0173: second wireless device 610 may represent an example of a base station, a network entity.) , information for the first mechanical adjustment in accordance with a first one or more performance metrics associated with communications between the UE and the first network node satisfying a first condition (paragraph 0177: the second wireless device 610 (“a network node”) may transmit a configuration message to the first wireless device 605 that indicates the panel rotation procedure configuration. Paragraph 0178: the panel rotation procedure configuration may include scheduling information associated with the reference signal (an example of “information for the first mechanical adjustment”). Paragraph 0159: the first device may compare a first phase measurement (“a first one or more performance metrics”) to a phase tolerance threshold. The devices may determine to use the phase measurements for adjusting the angular rotation of an antenna panel based on the phase measurements satisfying the phase tolerance threshold (“a first one or more performance metrics associated with communications between the UE and the first network node satisfying a first condition”). Paragraph 0179: at 630, the first wireless device 605 may adjust an angular rotation of the first antenna panel of the first wireless device 605 based on measurements of the reference signal at the first set of two or more antenna elements. The first wireless device 605 may adjust the angular rotation of the first antenna panel based on one or more phase measurements from the measurements of the reference signal.) ; and wherein communicating the information for the second mechanical adjustment associated with the second antenna panel of the UE comprises: receiving, from a second network node, information for the second mechanical adjustment in accordance with a second one or more performance metrics associated with communications between the UE and the second network node satisfying at least one of the first condition or a second condition (this limitation simply repeats the previous limitation but with respect to “a second network node”. It is either implicit or it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application that when the wireless device 605 at some other later time starts communicating with a different (“second”) network device, to use exactly same procedure and the same criteria as disclosed by Zhang with respect to the first network device.) .” Regarding claim 18 , Zhang teaches “wherein the information for the mechanical adjustment includes one or more of: an indication of a physical property of the UE (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605. Capability to rotate antenna panel represents “an indication of a physical property of the UE”.) , an indication of an adjustment of the physical property of the UE (Paragraphs 0176 – 0177: At 615, the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 may communicate signaling that indicates that each of the first wireless device 605 and the second wireless device 610 has a panel rotation capability. To communicate the signaling, the first wireless device 605 may transmit a capability message to the second wireless device 610 that indicates that the first wireless device 605 supports the panel rotation capability, which may be associated with a capability to adjust an angular rotation of an antenna panel at the first wireless device 605. Capability to rotate antenna panel represents “an indication of an adjustment of the physical property of the UE”.) , one or more key performance indicators for initiating an additional mechanical adjustment, or one or more key performance indicators that triggered the mechanical adjustment (With respect to the rest of the conditions, since the claim is written in the alternative form (“one or more of A, B, C, or D”), it is sufficient to meet at least one of the limitations “A” or “B” or “C” or “D” in the claim to meet the limitations of the whole claim. In this case the limitations “A” and “B” are met.) .” Regarding claim 19 , Zhang in combination with Jiang teaches “wherein the UE comprises a first antenna panel, of the set of antenna panels, associated with communications via a first frequency range and a second antenna panel, of the set of antenna panels, associated with communications via a second frequency range (Jiang, paragraph 0034: Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link antenna.) .” 07-22-aia AIA Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20240014550 ( Zhang ) in view of US 20180376275 ( Jiang ) and information well known in the art as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of US 20120329407 ( Rousu ) . Regarding claim 20 , Zhang in combination with Jiang does not teach “wherein the information for the mechanical adjustment is associated with cross-frequency leakage of the communications via the first frequency range and the communications via the second frequency range.” As explained in the rejection of claim 19 above, Jiang teaches “communications via the first frequency range and the communications via the second frequency range (Jiang, paragraph 0034: Different types of antennas may be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example, one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antenna and another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wireless link antenna.) .” On the other side, Rousu in paragraph 0033 teaches that neighboring antennas in an antenna arrangement may not be independent of each other due to coupling that is present between the antennas. This may result in adjacent channel leakage (“cross-frequency leakage”). The coupling decreases as the separation between antenna elements is made larger. Therefore, since Jiang teaches utilizing different antennas for communication in different frequency bands, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application that the arrangement of the antennas communicating in different frequency bands disclosed by Jiang may result in adjacent channel leakage between the closely spaced antennas which may be overcome by increasing separation between antennas in the device of combined Zhang and Jiang’s disclosures, as disclosed by Rousu. Since the individual antennas in the device of combined Zhang and Jiang’s disclosures are individually movable with respect to each other, as disclosed by Jiang (see explanation in the rejection of claim 1 above), it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application that, upon detection of such adjacent channel leakage disclosed by Rousu, to implement physical adjustment of antenna panels by increasing the separation between the affected antennas. Since the process of mechanical antenna adjustment is disclosed by Zhang and includes communication of “information for a mechanical adjustment”, when the device of combined Zhang, Jiang and Rousu’s disclosures is to implement physical adjustment of antenna panels by increasing the separation between the affected antennas, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the application to utilize the process disclosed by Zhang, which includes transmission of various information to assist the device in mechanical adjustment. Doing so would have allowed to achieve the best possible antenna alignment with the counterpart communicating devices (by, for example, utilizing such alternative metrics as disclosed by Jiang in paragraph 0076 – 0077) while at the same time increasing separation between interfering antennas to overcome adjacent channel leakage. With respect to the limitation “one or more key performance indicators for initiating an additional mechanical adjustment, or one or more key performance indicators that triggered the mechanical adjustment,” this is not treated on the merit because of ambiguity as explained in the rejection of same claim under 35 USC 112(b) above. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GENNADIY TSVEY whose telephone number is (571)270-3198. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5:30. 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, Wesley Kim can be reached at 571-272-7867. 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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. /GENNADIY TSVEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 2 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 3 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 4 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 5 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 6 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 7 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 8 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 9 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 10 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 11 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 12 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 13 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 14 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 15 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 16 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 17 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 18 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 19 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 20 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 21 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 22 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 23 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 24 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 25 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/812,939 Page 26 Art Unit: 2648
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