DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
2. This communication is responsive to Application No. 18/819,490 filed on August 29, 2024. Claims 1-20 are subject to examination.
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)
3. The IDSs submitted 08/29/24 and 02/10/25 have been entered and considered by the Examiner.
Priority
4. Acknowledgment is made of Applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on August 29, 2023. It is noted, however, that Applicant has not filed a certified copy of the 10-2023-0113742 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections/Suggestions
5. Following claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
in claims 1, 13 and 20 the term “using” should be replaced with “utilizing”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-20 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 pre-AIA the Applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "a transceiver configured to receive a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) having a predetermined pattern and a first downlink signal comprising data from a base station" in lines 2-3. It is not clear whether said “first downlink signal” is referring to "a transceiver configured to receive a first downlink signal comprising data from a base station" or "a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) having a predetermined pattern and a first downlink signal comprising data from a base station". Hence, renders claim 1 and its dependent claims indefinite. Similar rejection applies to claims 13 and 20.
Reason for Allowance
8. Abdoli (US 2023/0155864 A1) teaches in Figure 11E DMRS based channel estimation utilizing MMSE. Yoo (US 2022/00225146 A1) teaches in Figure 5 channel estimation by utilizing DMRS based SNR and an MMSE coefficient. Hewavithana (US 2022/0158870 A1) teaches in Figures 5-6 time domain and frequency domain DMRS channel estimation utilizing MMSE noise estimation. Huss (US 2022/0103321 A1) teaches in Figures 10-11 DMRS based channel estimation utilizing MMSE weight. Pawar (US 2018/0219709 A1) teaches in Figure 11 DMRS based channel estimation utilizing MMSE.
However, the prior art of record when implemented, would not produce said user equipment as claimed in claims 1 and 20 and said method as claimed in claim 13.
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to SHAWKAT M. ALI whose telephone number is (571) 270-1639. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 8:30AM-3:30PM ET.
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 AIR at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s Supervisor, SAM K. AHN can be reached on (571) 272-3044. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAWKAT M ALI/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633
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