DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to the Applicant’s claim amendment filed on 04/20/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 04/20/2026, with respect to claim rejections under 35 USC 103 have been considered but are moot in view of a new ground of rejection.
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 21-24, 27, 29, 32, 33 and 35-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 2016/0050006 A1) in view of Lakkis (US 2009/0232245 A1) and Kim (US 2019/0342809 A1).
Consider claims 21 and 36:
Ko discloses a method (see Fig. 10 and paragraphs 0160-0061, where Ko describes a method for a wireless communication system that includes a transmitter and a receiver, the method uses a precoding codebook which includes a prescribed number of precoding matrixes; see paragraph 0417, where Ko describes that the transmitter may be a base station and the receiver may be a user equipment (UE) in one embodiment), comprising:
generating, by a first network device, first information, wherein the first information indicates a weighting coefficient matrix corresponding to at least one codebook (see paragraph 0419, where Ko describes that the user equipment generates a preferred index which indicates a precoding weight matrix defined by a codebook), and
wherein a first beamforming matrix is determined based on the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix corresponding to the at least one codebook (see paragraph 0366, where Ko describes that the precoding weight matrix is used for beamforming, thus the precoding weight matrix is a beamforming matrix); and
sending, by the first network device, the first information to a second network device (see paragraph 0419, where Ko describes that the user equipment reports the preferred index to the base station), wherein:
the first network device is a control device, and the second network device is a radio frequency device (see paragraph 0417, where Ko describes that the first network device may be a user equipment and the second network device may be a base station in a radio frequency communication system; see Fig. 4 and paragraph 0062, where Ko describes that the user equipment transmits an uplink subframe to the base station, the uplink subframe includes a control region to carry uplink control information); or
the first network device is a radio frequency device, and the second network device is a control device (see paragraph 0417, where Ko describes that the first network device may be a user equipment and the second network device may be a base station in a radio frequency communication system; see Fig. 3 and paragraph 0057, where Ko describes that the base station transmits a downlink subframe to the user equipment, the downlink subframe includes a control region to carry downlink control information).
Ko does not explicitly disclose: (1), the first information indicates at least one codebook, and (2), the first information is sent, by the first network device to the second network device, through a fronthaul interface.
Regarding (1), Lakkis teaches: a first information indicates at least one codebook (see paragraph 0127, where Lakkis describes a beamforming communication in which a first wireless device transmits codebook identification to a second wireless device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: the first information indicates at least one codebook, as taught by Lakkis to modify the method of Ko in order to efficiently achieve beamforming optimality criterions, as discussed by Lakkis (see paragraph 0008).
Regarding (2), Kim teaches: a first information is sent, by a first network device to a second network device, through a fronthaul interface (see Fig. 1 and the Abstract, where Kim describes a wireless network in which a network function configuration information is sent by a distribution unit (DU) 120 to a central unit (CU) 100 by using a fronthaul interface).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: the first information is sent, by the first network device to the second network device, through a fronthaul interface, as taught by Kim to modify the method of Ko in order to maintain inter-compatibility using a standardized fronthaul interface, as discussed by Kim (see paragraph 0012).
Consider claims 22 and 37:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the invention according to claims 21 and 36 above. Ko discloses: the first information indicates a column vector or a row vector comprised in the at least one codebook (see paragraph 0419, where Ko describes that the user equipment generates a preferred index which corresponds to a weight vector defined by a codebook).
Consider claims 23 and 38:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the invention according to claims 21 and 36 above. Ko discloses: the at least one codebook is a first codebook (see paragraph 0164, where Ko describes a first codebook defined in Table 4).
Consider claims 24 and 39:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the invention according to claims 21 and 36 above. Ko discloses: the at least one codebook comprises a first codebook and a second codebook (see paragraph 0164, where Ko describes a first codebook defined in Table 4 and a second codebook defined in Table 5).
Consider claim 27:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 21 above. Ko discloses: determining, by the first network device based on a second beamforming matrix and at least one codebook set, the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix (see paragraph 0352, where Ko describes a method of configuring a codebook set which includes a codebook for horizontal beamforming and a codebook for vertical beamforming; see paragraph 0351, where Ko describes that the codebook for horizontal beamforming includes horizontal precoding weight matrixes, and the codebook for vertical beamforming includes vertical precoding weight matrixes), wherein the second beamforming matrix is determined based on: a beamforming matrix determined based on a sounding reference signal (SRS) measurement channel, a beamforming matrix determined based on a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) measurement channel, a beamforming matrix determined based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) measurement channel, or a static beamforming matrix (see paragraph 0006, where Ko describes that the vertical beamforming weight matrix is configured according to channel-state measured based on CSI-RS).
Consider claim 29:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 21 above. Ko discloses: determining, by the first network device based on a first channel matrix and at least one codebook set, the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix (see paragraph 0352, where Ko describes a method of configuring a codebook set which includes a codebook for horizontal beamforming and a codebook for vertical beamforming; see paragraph 0006, where Ko describes that the horizontal beamforming and the vertical beamforming are determined based on channel station information; see paragraph 0138, where Ko describes that the channel state information may include a precoding matrix index; see paragraph 0351, where Ko describes that the codebook for horizontal beamforming includes horizontal precoding weight matrixes, and the codebook for vertical beamforming includes vertical precoding weight matrixes), wherein the first channel matrix is determined based on: a channel matrix determined based on an SRS measurement channel, a channel matrix determined based on a CSI-RS measurement channel, or a channel matrix determined based on a DMRS measurement channel (see paragraph 0006, where Ko describes that a channel state information is measured based on CSI-RS; see paragraph 0138, where Ko describes that the channel state information may include a precoding matrix index).
Consider claim 32:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 21 above. Ko discloses: the first network device is a control device, and the second network device is a radio frequency device (see paragraph 0417, where Ko describes that the first network device may be a user equipment and the second network device may be a base station in a radio frequency communication system; see Fig. 4 and paragraph 0062, where Ko describes that the user equipment transmits an uplink subframe to the base station, the uplink subframe includes a control region to carry uplink control information).
Consider claim 33:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 21 above. Ko discloses: the first network device is a radio frequency device, and the second network device is a control device (see paragraph 0417, where Ko describes that the first network device may be a user equipment and the second network device may be a base station in a radio frequency communication system; see Fig. 3 and paragraph 0057, where Ko describes that the base station transmits a downlink subframe to the user equipment, the downlink subframe includes a control region to carry downlink control information).
Consider claim 35:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 21 above. Ko discloses: performing, by the first network device, beamforming on a signal using the first beamforming matrix (see paragraph 0006, where Ko describes that the beamforming weight vector is applied to a plurality of reference signals).
Claims 25 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 2016/0050006 A1) in view of Lakkis (US 2009/0232245 A1) and Kim (US 2019/0342809 A1), as applied to claims 21 and 36 above, and further in view of Zhu et al. (US 9,042,322 B2).
Consider claims 25 and 40:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the invention according to claims 21 and 36 above. Ko discloses: the weighting coefficient matrix corresponds to the first codebook (see paragraph 0419, where Ko describes that the precoding weight matrix is defined by the codebook).
Ko does not specifically disclose: the first beamforming matrix comprises a first-stage matrix and a second-stage matrix, the at least one codebook comprises a first codebook and a third codebook, the first-stage matrix is determined based on the first codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix, and the second-stage matrix is determined based on the third codebook.
Zhu teaches: a first beamforming matrix comprises a first-stage matrix and a second-stage matrix (see col. 12, lines 15-34, where Zhu describes a beamforming matrix which includes a first beamforming matrix component and a second beamforming matrix component), the at least one codebook comprises a first codebook and a third codebook (see col. 12, lines 15-34, where Zhu describes a codebook that is indicated by a first codebook index and a second codebook index), the first-stage matrix is determined based on the first codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix (see col. 12, lines 15-34, where Zhu describes that the first beamforming matrix component is determined based on the first codebook index; see col. 3, lines 36-38, where Zhu describes that the beamforming matrix determines beamforming weights, that is, the beamforming matrix is a weight matrix), and the second-stage matrix is determined based on the third codebook (see col. 12, lines 15-34, where Zhu describes that the second beamforming matrix component is determined based on the second codebook index).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: the first beamforming matrix comprises a first-stage matrix and a second-stage matrix, the at least one codebook comprises a first codebook and a third codebook, the first-stage matrix is determined based on the first codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix, and the second-stage matrix is determined based on the third codebook, as taught by Zhu to modify the method of Ko in order to have more bandwidth for data traffic, as discussed by Zhu (see col. 1, lines 35-42).
Claim 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 2016/0050006 A1) in view of Lakkis (US 2009/0232245 A1) and Kim (US 2019/0342809 A1), as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of Krishnamurthy et al. (US 2014/0177745 A1).
Consider claim 26:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 21 above. Ko does not specifically disclose: the first beamforming matrix comprises a first-stage matrix and a second-stage matrix, the at least one codebook comprises a first codebook, a second codebook, and a third codebook, the weighting coefficient matrix corresponds to the first codebook and the second codebook, the first-stage matrix is determined based on the first codebook, the second codebook, and the weighting coefficient matrix, and the second-stage matrix is determined based on the third codebook.
Krishnamurthy teaches: a first beamforming matrix comprises a first-stage matrix and a second-stage matrix (see paragraph 0096, where Krishnamurthy describes that a precoding matrix is represented by a first component matrix W1 and a third component matrix W3; see paragraph 0062, where Krishnamurthy describes that precoding matrix is used in beamforming), the at least one codebook comprises a first codebook, a second codebook, and a third codebook (see paragraph 0104, where Krishnamurthy describes a first codebook index (i1), a second codebook index (i2) and a third codebook index (i3)), the weighting coefficient matrix corresponds to the first codebook and the second codebook (see paragraph 0104, where Krishnamurthy describes that the precoding matrix corresponds to the first codebook index (i1) and the second codebook index (i2); see paragraph 0038, where Krishnamurthy describes that the precoding matrix applies weights to signals), the first-stage matrix is determined based on the first codebook, the second codebook (see paragraph 0104, where Krishnamurthy describes that the first component matrix W1 is represented by the first codebook index (i1) and the second codebook index (i2)), and the weighting coefficient matrix (see paragraph 0038, where Krishnamurthy describes that a precoding matrix applies weights to signals), and the second-stage matrix is determined based on the third codebook (see paragraph 0104, where Krishnamurthy describes that the third component matrix W3 is represented by the third codebook index (i3)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: the first beamforming matrix comprises a first-stage matrix and a second-stage matrix, the at least one codebook comprises a first codebook, a second codebook, and a third codebook, the weighting coefficient matrix corresponds to the first codebook and the second codebook, the first-stage matrix is determined based on the first codebook, the second codebook, and the weighting coefficient matrix, and the second-stage matrix is determined based on the third codebook, as taught by Krishnamurthy to modify the method of Ko in order to perform precoding for large antenna arrays, as discussed by Krishnamurthy (see paragraph 0018).
Claim 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 2016/0050006 A1) in view of Lakkis (US 2009/0232245 A1) and Kim (US 2019/0342809 A1), as applied to claim 27 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2017/0141826 A1).
Consider claim 28:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 27 above. Ko does not specifically disclose: projecting, by the first network device, the second beamforming matrix to the at least one codebook set, to obtain the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix that maximize a channel capacity or maximize a channel throughput.
Kim teaches: projecting, by a first network device, a second beamforming matrix to at least one codebook set, to obtain at least one codebook and weighting coefficient matrix that maximize a channel capacity or maximize a channel throughput (see paragraph 0100, where Kim describes a user equipment which selects a precoding matrix which maximizes channel capacity, from a codebook).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: projecting, by the first network device, the second beamforming matrix to the at least one codebook set, to obtain the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix that maximize a channel capacity or maximize a channel throughput, as taught by Kim to modify the method of Ko in order to provide a biggest channel gain, as discussed by Kim (see paragraph 0102).
Claim 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 2016/0050006 A1) in view of Lakkis (US 2009/0232245 A1) and Kim (US 2019/0342809 A1), as applied to claim 29 above, and further in view of Robinson (US 2021/0091830 A1).
Consider claim 30:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 29 above. Ko does not specifically disclose: projecting, by the first network device, the first channel matrix to the at least one codebook set, to obtain the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix that maximize a channel capacity or maximize a channel throughput.
Robinson teaches: projecting, by a first network device, a first channel matrix to at least one codebook set, to obtain at least one codebook and a weighting coefficient matrix that maximize a channel capacity or maximize a channel throughput (see paragraph 0018, where Robinson describes that from channel matrix H, a user can determine a matrix in a codebook, this determined matrix maximizes capacity).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: projecting, by the first network device, the first channel matrix to the at least one codebook set, to obtain the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix that maximize a channel capacity or maximize a channel throughput, as taught by Robinson to modify the method of Ko in order to have an efficiency benefit, as discussed by Robinson (see paragraph 0019).
Claim 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 2016/0050006 A1) in view of Lakkis (US 2009/0232245 A1) and Kim (US 2019/0342809 A1), as applied to claim 27 above, and further in view of Ramireddy et al. (US 2021/0167825 A1).
Consider claim 31:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 27 above. Ko does not specifically disclose: the at least one codebook set comprises: a spatial domain codebook, a frequency domain codebook, or an analog domain codebook.
Ramireddy teaches: a codebook set comprises: a spatial domain codebook, a frequency domain codebook, or an analog domain codebook (see paragraph 0024, where Ramireddy describes a frequency-domain codebook matrix in a beamforming communication).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: the at least one codebook set comprises: a spatial domain codebook, a frequency domain codebook, or an analog domain codebook, as taught by Ramireddy to modify the method of Ko in order to reduce feedback overhead in precoding, as discussed by Ramireddy (see paragraph 0021).
Claim 34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 2016/0050006 A1) in view of Lakkis (US 2009/0232245 A1) and Kim (US 2019/0342809 A1), as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of Chien et al. (US 2011/0218001 A1).
Consider claim 34:
Ko in view of Lakkis and Kim discloses the method according to claim 21 above. Ko does not specifically disclose: sending, by the first network device to a third network device, information indicating the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix corresponding to the at least one codebook, wherein the third network device and the second network device belong to different cells.
Chien teaches: sending, by a first network device to a third network device, information indicating at least one codebook and weighting coefficient matrix corresponding to at least one codebook, wherein the third network device and a second network device belong to different cells (see paragraph 0010, where Chien describes that a transceiver shares a Preferred Matrix Index (PMI) information with a second cell and a third cell; see paragraph 0004, where Chien describes that the Preferred Matrix Index is from a codebook).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include: sending, by the first network device to a third network device, information indicating the at least one codebook and the weighting coefficient matrix corresponding to the at least one codebook, wherein the third network device and the second network device belong to different cells, as taught by Chien to modify the method of Ko in order to improve communication quality, as discussed by Chien (see paragraph 0006).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIHONG YU whose telephone number is (571)270-5147. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 am-6:00 pm EST Monday-Friday.
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/LIHONG YU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631
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