Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/815,593

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHOD AND DEVICE THEREOF

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 26, 2024
Priority
Aug 30, 2023 — CN 202311111620.8
Examiner
AL SAMAHI, SANAA SHAKER ABED
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Lenovo (United States) Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
60%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 60% of resolved cases
60%
Career Allowance Rate
6 granted / 10 resolved
At TC average
Strong +58% interview lift
Without
With
+58.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
50
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
67.3%
+27.3% vs TC avg
§102
23.3%
-16.7% vs TC avg
§112
8.4%
-31.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 10 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement 2. No IDS has been provided nor considered at the time of this Office Action. Specification Objection 3. The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The following title is suggested: “IDENTIFYING TARGET TRANSMISSION DEVICE THROUGH CHANNEL ESTIMATION USING UPLINK SIGNAL QUALITY PARAMETERS”. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 4-7, 10-13, 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zheng et al. (CN 113709813 A), as field on Sep. 03, 2021 and published on Nov. 26, 2021, refer to citation of “U” in the PTO-892 of the clarified PE2E translation of CN 113709813 A . As to claims 1, 4-6 see similar rejections to claims 7, 10-12, respectively. The apparatus teaches the method. Regarding claim 7, Zheng teaches an electronic device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing one or more instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to (Paras. 12-14 Page 5 states “an electronic device, comprising: a memory for storing the computer program; a processor, for executing the computer program stored in the memory, and the computer program is executed, realizing the method for NR small base station baseband combining” that implies the UE/system NR BS has memory and processor to perform the required steps of the method, see also Fig. 4, claim 10 and Paras. 6-10 Page 10): obtain an uplink signal (Para. 10 Page 5 states “a user terminal UE module, for receiving and transmitting data.” That implies the UE can transmit uplink signal and received downlink signal. Para. 17 Page 3 and Para. 1 Page 4 describe how the system/NR BS receives uplink signal by m RRUs as also illustrated in Fig. 4 and Paras. 9-10 Page 7); obtain a first transmission parameter and a second transmission parameter of the uplink signal based on the uplink signal and transmission data carried in the uplink signal, the first transmission parameter representing a demodulation attribute of the uplink signal transmission data and the second transmission parameter representing a quality attribute of the uplink signal transmission data (Step 3, Para. 2 Page 4, Para. 11 Page 7 and Step 3.1 states “Step 3.1: after receiving the frequency domain data, the BBU extracts the DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal) data, which is part of the uplink signal full frame, on the corresponding symbols of the K UEs in all frequency domain data“ which illustrates after receiving the uplink signal, the system can extracts the demodulation attribute, as a first transmission parameter based on the data in the uplink signal, see also Para. 10 Page 8. Abstract states “selecting different frequency domain data combinations to calculate the fine channel quality estimation” and Para. 11 Page 3 states “performing channel estimation for the multi-path frequency domain data of different UE at BBU side;” see also Step 3 Pages 4 and 7 which describe performing channel estimation, noise power or SINR as a second parameter (quality attribute) using the data (frequency domain data from multiple RRUs) from the received uplink signal); determine a target transmission device based on the second transmission parameter (After proceeding Step 3, the BBU then determine the best combination from the candidates (target transmission devices) based on quality metrics, such as noise power/variance as described in Steps 2-4 Page 4, see also Paras. 1-4 Page 5.); select a first transmission sub-parameter associated with the target transmission device in the first transmission parameter, and select a second transmission sub-parameter associated with the target transmission device in the second transmission parameter (After initial test based on SINR and noise power, the system determines the set of the candidate transmission devices , such as specific RRUs an d antenna, whose test meets the threshold, as described in lase Para. Page 5 and Para. 11-13 Page 10 . Step 3.3 states “Step 3.3: calculating MMIB according to the equivalent SINR to obtain the MI result MI1, MI2 ... MIL, selecting the maximum MI corresponding to K UE and the corresponding frequency domain data to combine to obtain the final frequency domain data base band combining result for PUSCH receiving processing” That implies the selection a subset of H from the whole matrix H of the channel parameter and a subset of σ from the whole matrix of noise power parameter that maximizing the S/N ratio ), the first transmission sub-parameter and the second transmission sub-parameter being associated with an uplink signal of the target transmission device (Step 3.1: The matrix Hmnk is considered the channel parameter and noise power/noise variance parameter σ2mnk, as described in Para. 6 Page 7, where those parameters calculated for each RRU, antenna and UE combination based on the actual uplink signal received, as described in the last Para. Page 9 and Para. 1 Page 10); and determine a third transmission parameter of the uplink signal based on the first transmission sub-parameter and the second transmission sub-parameter (Para. 12 Page 4, last Para. Page 9, and Para. 2 Page 10 depict how to calculate MMSE, as a third parameter, (Minimum Mean Square Error) channel estimation to obtain the corresponding channel estimation Hmnk and noise power σ2mnk , where W is the MMSE matrix, as stated in Para. 2 Page 10 and claim 7, that is a process of equalization and detection, as stated in abstract. That confirms the MMSE computed according to the first and second sub-parameters that extracted from H and σ2 matrices). Regarding claim 10, Zheng teaches the electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to, when determining the target transmission device includes: Zheng further teaches determine all wireless units transmitting the uplink signal based on the second transmission parameter (Para. 9 Page 2, states “SINR: Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, signal-to-dry ratio, refers to the ratio of the sum of the signal and interference and noise in the system.” See also Para. 8 Page 5, Step 2.3, Step 3.1 and Paras. 10-13 Page 9 which involve calculation of the SINR for each combination of RRU, antenna, and UE and compare it with a threshold. The only combinations that meet the threshold are retained for further processing ), and determine one or more candidate transmission devices to which the wireless units belong (Claim 3 describes the screening process for the frequency domines through SINR from different RRUs, antenna and UEs. Step 2.3 describes how the frequency domain data Dmnk is removed/retained based on the threshold, which is associated with removed/retained RRU(m), Antenna (n), and UE(k), that means the candidate devices can be identified based on the SINR through the data structure); calculate a sum of third transmission sub-parameters of all wireless units of each candidate transmission device, the third transmission sub-parameter being a sub-parameter in the second transmission parameter (Step 3.2, Para. 2 Page 10 states “according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise; calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power” that confirms the summing of the noise variances for selected antennas, see claim 7 and Para. 5 Page 5); and determine one of the one or more candidate transmission devices with a smallest sum as the target transmission device (Para. 3 Page 10 states “calculating MMIB according to the equivalent SINR to obtain the MI result MI1, MI2 ... MIL, selecting the maximum MI corresponding to K UE and the corresponding frequency domain data to combine to obtain the final frequency domain data base band combining result for PUSCH reception processing”, see also Step 3.3 and claim 5. That implies the calculation of equivalent SINR involves summing of noise variances (even the calculation of the variance values include summing and averaging process) for the selected antennas or target transmission device, which means smallest sum of them leads to highest SINR which in turn results as highest MI, best choice for uplink processing). Regarding claim 11, Zheng teaches the electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to, when determining the target transmission device: Zheng further teaches determine all wireless units transmitting the uplink signal based on the second transmission parameter (Para. 9 Page 2, states “SINR: Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, signal-to-dry ratio, refers to the ratio of the sum of the signal and interference and noise in the system.” See also Para. 8 Page 5, Step 2.3, Step 3.1 and Paras. 10-13 Page 9 which involve calculation of the SINR for each combination of RRU, antenna, and UE and compare it with a threshold. The only combinations that meet the threshold are retained for further processing ), and determining one or more candidate transmission devices to which the wireless units belong (Claim 3 describes the screening process for the frequency domines through SINR from different RRUs, antenna and UEs. Step 2.3 describes how the frequency domain data Dmnk is removed/retained based on the threshold, which is associated with removed/retained RRU(m), Antenna (n), and UE(k), that means the candidate devices can be identified based on the SINR through the data structure); calculate a sum of third transmission sub-parameters of all wireless units of each candidate transmission device, the third transmission sub-parameter being a sub-parameter in the second transmission parameter (Step 3.2, Para. 2 Page 10 states “according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise; calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power” that confirms the summing of the noise variances for selected antennas, see claim 7 and Para. 5 Page 5); and determine one of the one or more candidate transmission devices with the sum less than a threshold as the target transmission device (Step 2.2 and Step 2.3 Page 4 describe how the noise power for each device is calculated, which is a part of SINR computation, using these values for SINR determination, then select the effective base band data to transmit according to the corresponding threshold, as described in claim 1, see also Step 3.3 and claim 5. That implies the calculation of equivalent SINR involves summing of noise variances (even the calculation of the variance values include summing and averaging process) for the selected target transmission device, see Paras. 9-12 Page 9. Mathematically, higher SINR means the denominator (noise power +interference power) is lower. Therefore, if the SINR is greater than the threshold is selected, it implies that the sum of the denominator (noise power +interference power) is must be less than a certain value (threshold) for the data to be retained, which means smallest sum of them leads to highest SINR which reflected the lowest noise power/ noise variance (if the interference is neglected), best choice for uplink processing). Regarding claim 12, Zheng teaches the electronic device according to claim 7, wherein: the target transmission device is one of at least one target transmission device; and the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to: Zheng further teaches determine all wireless units transmitting the uplink signal based on the second transmission parameter (Para. 9 Page 2, states “SINR: Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, signal-to-dry ratio, refers to the ratio of the sum of the signal and interference and noise in the system.” See also Para. 8 Page 5, Step 2.3, Step 3.1 and Paras. 10-13 Page 9 which involve calculation of the SINR for each combination of RRU, antenna, and UE and compare it with a threshold. The only combinations that meet the threshold are retained for further processing ), and determine one or more candidate transmission devices to which the wireless units belong (Claim 3 describes the screening process for the frequency domines through SINR from different RRUs, antenna and UEs. Step 2.3 describes how the frequency domain data Dmnk is removed/retained based on the threshold, which is associated with removed/retained RRU(m), Antenna (n), and UE(k), that means the candidate devices can be identified based on the SINR through the data structure); calculate a sum of third transmission sub-parameters of all wireless units of each candidate transmission device, the third transmission sub-parameter being a sub-parameter in the second transmission parameter (Step 3.2, Para. 2 Page 10 states “according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise; calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power” that confirms the summing of the noise variances for selected antennas, see claim 7 and Para. 5 Page 5); and in response to determining that a number of candidate transmission devices having the sum less than a first threshold exceeds a second set threshold, select a set number of candidate transmission devices according to an ascending order of the sums of the candidate transmission devices as the at least one target transmission device (Step 4 Page 4 and Para. 12 Page 7 states” then calculating the corresponding MMIB to obtain MI1, MI2 ... MIL ' according to the calculated MMIB, selecting the maximum Nmax MI result and the corresponding RI value r and receiving antenna number Nr, calculating the CQI result corresponding to MI, reporting the result to the MAC layer; wherein, Nr, Nmax is a positive integer” That means the method can select the top N combinations, corresponds to devices, antennas, data streams, based on the highest calculation of quality metric, MIMIB/MI as a second threshold, subject to Nmax or threshold, see also Para. 4 Page 10). Regarding claim 13, Zheng teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to (Paras. 6-10 Page 10 describes the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing the instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, to perform the steps of the method): obtain an uplink signal (Para. 10 Page 5 states “a user terminal UE module, for receiving and transmitting data.” That implies the UE can transmit uplink signal and received downlink signal. Para. 17 Page 3 and Para. 1 Page 4 describe how the system/NR BS receives uplink signal by m RRUs as also illustrated in Fig. 4 and Paras. 9-10 Page 7);obtain a first transmission parameter and a second transmission parameter of the uplink signal based on the uplink signal and transmission data carried in the uplink signal, the first transmission parameter representing a demodulation attribute of the uplink signal transmission data and the second transmission parameter representing a quality attribute of the uplink signal transmission data (Step 3, Para. 2 Page 4, Para. 11 Page 7 and Step 3.1 states “Step 3.1: after receiving the frequency domain data, the BBU extracts the DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal) data, which is part of the uplink signal full frame, on the corresponding symbols of the K UEs in all frequency domain data“ which illustrates after receiving the uplink signal, the system can extracts the demodulation attribute, as a first transmission parameter based on the data in the uplink signal, see also Para. 10 Page 8. Abstract states “selecting different frequency domain data combinations to calculate the fine channel quality estimation” and Para. 11 Page 3 states “performing channel estimation for the multi-path frequency domain data of different UE at BBU side;” see also Step 3 Pages 4 and 7 which describe performing channel estimation, noise power or SINR as a second parameter (quality attribute) using the data (frequency domain data from multiple RRUs) from the received uplink signal); determine a target transmission device based on the second transmission parameter (After proceeding Step 3, the BBU then determine the best combination from the candidates (target transmission devices) based on quality metrics, such as noise power/variance, as described in Steps 2-4 Page 4, see also Paras. 1-4 Page 5); select a first transmission sub-parameter associated with the target transmission device in the first transmission parameter, and select a second transmission sub-parameter associated with the target transmission device in the second transmission parameter (After initial test based on SINR and noise power, the system determines the set of the candidate transmission devices , such as specific RRUs an d antenna, whose test meets the threshold, as described in lase Para. Page 5 and Para. 11-13 Page 10 . Step 3.3 states “Step 3.3: calculating MMIB according to the equivalent SINR to obtain the MI result MI1, MI2 ... MIL, selecting the maximum MI corresponding to K UE and the corresponding frequency domain data to combine to obtain the final frequency domain data base band combining result for PUSCH receiving processing” That implies the selection a subset of H from the whole matrix H of the channel parameter and a subset of σ from the whole matrix of noise power parameter that maximizing the S/N ratio ), the first transmission sub-parameter and the second transmission sub-parameter being associated with an uplink signal of the target transmission device (Step 3.1: The matrix Hmnk is considered the channel parameter and noise power/noise variance parameter σ2mnk, as described in Para. 6 Page 7, where those parameters calculated for each RRU, antenna and UE combination based on the actual uplink signal received, as described in the last Para. Page 9 and Para. 1 Page 10); and determine a third transmission parameter of the uplink signal based on the first transmission sub-parameter and the second transmission sub-parameter (Para. 12 Page 4, last Para. Page 9, and Para. 2 Page 10 depict how to calculate MMSE, as a third parameter, (Minimum Mean Square Error) channel estimation to obtain the corresponding channel estimation Hmnk and noise power σ2mnk , where W is the MMSE matrix, as stated in Para. 2 Page 10 and claim 7, that is a process of equalization and detection, as stated in abstract. That confirms the MMSE computed according to the first and second sub-parameters that extracted from H and σ2 matrices). Regarding claim 16, Zheng teaches the storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to, when determining the target transmission device includes: Zheng further teaches determine all wireless units transmitting the uplink signal based on the second transmission parameter (Para. 9 Page 2, states “SINR: Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, signal-to-dry ratio, refers to the ratio of the sum of the signal and interference and noise in the system.” See also Para. 8 Page 5, Step 2.3, Step 3.1 and Paras. 10-13 Page 9 which involve calculation of the SINR for each combination of RRU, antenna, and UE and compare it with a threshold. The only combinations that meet the threshold are retained for further processing ), and determine one or more candidate transmission devices to which the wireless units belong (Claim 3 describes the screening process for the frequency domines through SINR from different RRUs, antenna and UEs. Step 2.3 describes how the frequency domain data Dmnk is removed/retained based on the threshold, which is associated with removed/retained RRU(m), Antenna (n), and UE(k), that means the candidate devices can be identified based on the SINR through the data structure); calculate a sum of third transmission sub-parameters of all wireless units of each candidate transmission device, the third transmission sub-parameter being a sub-parameter in the second transmission parameter (Step 3.2, Para. 2 Page 10 states “according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise; calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power” that confirms the summing of the noise variances for selected antennas, see claim 7 and Para. 5 Page 5); and determine one of the one or more candidate transmission devices with a smallest sum as the target transmission device (Para. 3 Page 10 states “calculating MMIB according to the equivalent SINR to obtain the MI result MI1, MI2 ... MIL, selecting the maximum MI corresponding to K UE and the corresponding frequency domain data to combine to obtain the final frequency domain data base band combining result for PUSCH reception processing”, see also Step 3.3 and claim 5. That implies the calculation of equivalent SINR involves summing of noise variances (even the calculation of the variance values include summing and averaging process) for the selected antennas or target transmission device, which means smallest sum of them leads to highest SINR which in turn results as highest MI, best choice for uplink processing). Regarding claim 17, Zheng teaches the storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to, when determining the target transmission device: Zheng further teaches determine all wireless units transmitting the uplink signal based on the second transmission parameter (Para. 9 Page 2, states “SINR: Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, signal-to-dry ratio, refers to the ratio of the sum of the signal and interference and noise in the system.” See also Para. 8 Page 5, Step 2.3, Step 3.1 and Paras. 10-13 Page 9 which involve calculation of the SINR for each combination of RRU, antenna, and UE and compare it with a threshold. The only combinations that meet the threshold are retained for further processing ), and determining one or more candidate transmission devices to which the wireless units belong (Claim 3 describes the screening process for the frequency domines through SINR from different RRUs, antenna and UEs. Step 2.3 describes how the frequency domain data Dmnk is removed/retained based on the threshold, which is associated with removed/retained RRU(m), Antenna (n), and UE(k), that means the candidate devices can be identified based on the SINR through the data structure); calculate a sum of third transmission sub-parameters of all wireless units of each candidate transmission device, the third transmission sub-parameter being a sub-parameter in the second transmission parameter (Step 3.2, Para. 2 Page 10 states “according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise; calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power” that confirms the summing of the noise variances for selected antennas, see claim 7 and Para. 5 Page 5); and determine one of the one or more candidate transmission devices with the sum less than a threshold as the target transmission device (Step 2.2 and Step 2.3 Page 4 describe how the noise power for each device is calculated, which is a part of SINR computation, using these values for SINR determination, then select the effective base band data to transmit according to the corresponding threshold, as described in claim 1, see also Step 3.3 and claim 5. That implies the calculation of equivalent SINR involves summing of noise variances (even the calculation of the variance values include summing and averaging process) for the selected target transmission device, see Paras. 9-12 Page 9. Mathematically, higher SINR means the denominator (noise power +interference power) is lower. Therefore, if the SINR is greater than the threshold is selected, it implies that the sum of the denominator (noise power +interference power) is must be less than a certain value (threshold) for the data to be retained, which means smallest sum of them leads to highest SINR which reflected the lowest noise power/ noise variance (if the interference is neglected), best choice for uplink processing). Regarding claim 18, Zheng teaches the storage medium according to claim 13, wherein: the target transmission device is one of at least one target transmission device; and the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to: Zheng further teaches determine all wireless units transmitting the uplink signal based on the second transmission parameter (Para. 9 Page 2, states “SINR: Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, signal-to-dry ratio, refers to the ratio of the sum of the signal and interference and noise in the system.” See also Para. 8 Page 5, Step 2.3, Step 3.1 and Paras. 10-13 Page 9 which involve calculation of the SINR for each combination of RRU, antenna, and UE and compare it with a threshold. The only combinations that meet the threshold are retained for further processing ), and determine one or more candidate transmission devices to which the wireless units belong (Claim 3 describes the screening process for the frequency domines through SINR from different RRUs, antenna and UEs. Step 2.3 describes how the frequency domain data Dmnk is removed/retained based on the threshold, which is associated with removed/retained RRU(m), Antenna (n), and UE(k), that means the candidate devices can be identified based on the SINR through the data structure); calculate a sum of third transmission sub-parameters of all wireless units of each candidate transmission device, the third transmission sub-parameter being a sub-parameter in the second transmission parameter (Step 3.2, Para. 2 Page 10 states “according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise; calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power” that confirms the summing of the noise variances for selected antennas, see claim 7 and Para. 5 Page 5); and in response to determining that a number of candidate transmission devices having the sum less than a first threshold exceeds a second set threshold, select a set number of candidate transmission devices according to an ascending order of the sums of the candidate transmission devices as the at least one target transmission device (Step 4 Page 4 and Para. 12 Page 7 states” then calculating the corresponding MMIB to obtain MI1, MI2 ... MIL ' according to the calculated MMIB, selecting the maximum Nmax MI result and the corresponding RI value r and receiving antenna number Nr, calculating the CQI result corresponding to MI, reporting the result to the MAC layer; wherein, Nr, Nmax is a positive integer” That means the method can select the top N combinations, corresponds to devices, antennas, data streams, based on the highest calculation of quality metric, MIMIB/MI as a second threshold, subject to Nmax or threshold, see also Para. 4 Page 10). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 2-3, 8-9 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zheng et al. (CN-113709813-A), as field on Sep. 03, 2021 and published on Nov. 26, 2021, refer to citation of “U” in the PTO-892 of the clarified PE2E translation of CN 113709813 A, in view of Feng et al. (CN-104253640-B), refer to citation of “V” in the PTO-892 of the clarified PE2E translation of CN-104253640-B. As to claims 2-3 see similar rejections to claims 8-9, respectively. The apparatus teaches the method. Regarding claim 8, Zheng teaches the electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the uplink signal is a first uplink signal and the transmission data is first transmission data; the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to: Zheng does not explicitly obtain a second uplink signal; and parse second transmission data in the second uplink signal at least based on the third transmission parameter; and the first uplink signal is a sub-signal in the second uplink signal, and the first transmission data is sub-data in the second transmission data. However, Feng teaches obtain a second uplink signal; and parse second transmission data in the second uplink signal at least based on the third transmission parameter ( Abstract and claim 1 state “After the user equipment UE sends the uplink data, the cell baseband processing unit BBU extracts the pilot signals of each antenna from the received data of all the antennas of all the radio remote modules RRU of the BBU according to the scheduling information of the UE; Determining, by the BBU, an effective antenna from the antenna according to a locally generated pilot sequence and pilot signals of each of the antennas; Performing joint equalization detection on the channel response and the received data of the effective antenna to obtain data information sent by the UE” that implies obtaining the second uplink signal and by performing joint equalization detection which is according to the third parameter, MMSE, which is the standard process of MMSE to recover the transmitted data, see also Step 103 Page 7); and the first uplink signal is a sub-signal in the second uplink signal, and the first transmission data is sub-data in the second transmission data (Abstract, claim 1, Para. 1-4 and 10-14 describe this process by extracted the pilot signal from the received data at each antenna, where the complete data payload includes the pilot signal and the actual user data, described as second transmission data, that need to be recovered). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Feng (in analogous art) by adding obtain a second uplink signal; and parse second transmission data in the second uplink signal at least based on the third transmission parameter to effectively improve the uplink reception performance of cell merging systems. (Feng, Abstract and claim1). Regarding claim 9, Zheng and Feng teach the electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to, when obtaining the first transmission parameter and the second transmission parameter of the first uplink signal: Zheng teaches in response to attribute information of the second uplink signal, determine the first uplink signal in a timing sequence of the second uplink signal (Paras. 6, 12 Page 4, Para. 9 Page 8, Para. 6 Page 9, Para. 1 Page 10 describe the system can identify the timing/position of the first uplink signal (DMRS/pilot signal) from the symbols and PRB as indicated by the scheduling information, which can be derived from the attribute data of the second uplink signal); determine a correlation parameter between the first uplink signal and the first transmission data as the first transmission parameter (Computed H matrix is considered the correlation parameter between the first uplink signal and the first transmission parameter, demodulation attribute (DMRS), as described in claim 5 and Step 3.1. The H matrix can reflect the level of influence/distortion of the channel on the received signal from UEs); calculate a fourth transmission parameter based on the first transmission parameter and the first uplink signal (Paras. 10,12 Page 8 states “wherein, calculating the equivalent SINR in step 3.2 comprises: according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise, calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), then according to calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power. “ That confirms the calculation of the noise power/ value based on the first uplink signal and the first transmission parameter, demodulation attribute (DMRS) or matrix H); and calculate the second transmission parameter based on the fourth transmission parameter (Steps 3.1 -Step 3.3, the quality attribute, second attribute, of the uplink signal, such as SINR, related to signal noise or the value of the noise or the noise variance, as a fourth transmission parameter). Regarding claim 14, Zheng teaches the storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the uplink signal is a first uplink signal and the transmission data is first transmission data; the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to: Zheng does not explicitly obtain a second uplink signal; and parse second transmission data in the second uplink signal at least based on the third transmission parameter; and the first uplink signal is a sub-signal in the second uplink signal, and the first transmission data is sub-data in the second transmission data. However, Feng teaches obtain a second uplink signal; and parse second transmission data in the second uplink signal at least based on the third transmission parameter ( Abstract and claim 1 state “After the user equipment UE sends the uplink data, the cell baseband processing unit BBU extracts the pilot signals of each antenna from the received data of all the antennas of all the radio remote modules RRU of the BBU according to the scheduling information of the UE; Determining, by the BBU, an effective antenna from the antenna according to a locally generated pilot sequence and pilot signals of each of the antennas; Performing joint equalization detection on the channel response and the received data of the effective antenna to obtain data information sent by the UE” that implies obtaining the second uplink signal and by performing joint equalization detection which is according to the third parameter, MMSE, which is the standard process of MMSE to recover the transmitted data, see also Step 103 Page 7.); and the first uplink signal is a sub-signal in the second uplink signal, and the first transmission data is sub-data in the second transmission data (Abstract, claim 1, Para. 1-4 and 10-14 describe this process by extracted the pilot signal from the received data at each antenna, where the complete data payload includes the pilot signal and the actual user data, described as second transmission data, that need to be recovered). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zheng to incorporate the teachings of Feng (in analogous art) by adding obtain a second uplink signal; and parse second transmission data in the second uplink signal at least based on the third transmission parameter to effectively improve the uplink reception performance of cell merging systems. (Feng, Abstract and claim1). Regarding claim 15, Zheng and Feng teach the storage medium according to claim 14, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to, when obtaining the first transmission parameter and the second transmission parameter of the first uplink signal: Zheng teaches in response to attribute information of the second uplink signal, determine the first uplink signal in a timing sequence of the second uplink signal (Paras. 6, 12 Page 4, Para. 9 Page 8, Para. 6 Page 9, Para. 1 Page 10 describe the system can identify the timing/position of the first uplink signal (DMRS/pilot signal) from the symbols and PRB as indicated by the scheduling information, which can be derived from the attribute data of the second uplink signal); determine a correlation parameter between the first uplink signal and the first transmission data as the first transmission parameter (Computed H matrix is considered the correlation parameter between the first uplink signal and the first transmission parameter, demodulation attribute (DMRS), as described in claim 5 and Step 3.1. The H matrix can reflect the level of influence/distortion of the channel on the received signal from UEs); calculate a fourth transmission parameter based on the first transmission parameter and the first uplink signal (Paras. 10,12 Page 8 states “wherein, calculating the equivalent SINR in step 3.2 comprises: according to calculating the MMSE matrix, according to calculating the total power of the noise, calculating the total power of the signal according to P=diag (WH), then according to calculating to obtain the equivalent SINR; wherein, W is the MMSE matrix, H is the channel matrix, P is the total signal power. “ That confirms the calculation of the noise power/ value based on the first uplink signal and the first transmission parameter, demodulation attribute (DMRS) or matrix H); and calculate the second transmission parameter based on the fourth transmission parameter (Steps 3.1 -Step 3.3, the quality attribute, second attribute, of the uplink signal, such as SINR, related to signal noise or the value of the noise or the noise variance, as a fourth transmission parameter). Relevant Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Jiang et al. (US-20200264263-A1), Liu et al. (US-20170302337-A1), Cirik et al. (US-20220210862-A1), and Zhang et al. (US-20240306178-A1) teach method involved Optimization process of the uplink transmission channel in wireless network systems. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANAA S. AL SAMAHI whose telephone number is (571)272-4171. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST. 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, Asad Nawaz can be reached at (571) 272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SANAA AL SAMAHI/Examiner, Art Unit 2463 /ASAD M NAWAZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2463
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 26, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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2y 11m (~10m remaining)
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