Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 10-13, 15, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yang et al. (USPN 12369149) (hereinafter Yang).
Regarding claim 1, Yang discloses an indication method comprising receiving by a terminal device (UE 115) indication information, the indication information (i.e. SRS resource configuration) being used for indicating a combination of a number of transmission layers (i.e. antenna ports supported by UE) of at least one uplink channel (col. 22, lines 2-15 and Fig 4, ref 401 also see col. 20, line 61 to col. 21, line 6).
Regarding claim 2, Yang discloses each uplink channel is associated with a spatial parameter, and the spatial parameter includes reference signal set information (i.e. SRS resource configuration information (col. 22, lines 2-15).
Regarding claim 3, Yang discloses the indication information comprises first information, and the first information is used for indicating the combination of the number of transmission layers of the at least one uplink channel; and the indication information further comprises second information, and the second information is used for indicating an association relationship between the combination of the number of transmission layers of the at least one uplink channel and a spatial parameter (col. 22, lines 2-15)
Regarding claim 5, Yang discloses wherein the indication information further comprises a first SRS resource indicator and/or a second SRS resource indicator; wherein the first SRS resource indicator is used for indicating one or more SRS resources in a first SRS resource set; and the second SRS resource indicator is used for indicating one or more SRS resources in a second SRS resource set (col. 22, lines 2-15: SRS resource configuration) (note: the SRS resource configuration would be the functional equivalent of the claimed first or second SRS resource indicator).
As to claim 10, Yang discloses transmitting by the terminal device the at least one uplinke channel according to the spatial parameters of the at least one uplink channel (col. 22, lines 2-15).
Claims 11-13, 15, 19 and 20 are rejected for similar reasons as stated above.
Claims 1-3, 5, 6, 8, 10-13, 15, 17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (USPGPUB 2024365314) (claims priority to PCT/CN2022/074062 filed on Jan. 26, 2022) (hereinafter Chen).
As to claim 1, Chen discloses an indication method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device (i.e. UE 120), indication information (i.e. downlink signaling), the indication information being used for indicating a combination of a number of transmission layers of at least one uplink channel (i.e. PUSCH) (fig. 3, ref. 210 and paras. 133 and 147: scheduling a PUSCH wherein the PUSCH includes a plurality of transmission layers and includes a plurality of SRI information associated with different transmission layers of the plurality of transmission layers).
As to claim 2, Chen discloses each uplink channel is associated with a spatial parameter (e.g. SRI information), and the spatial parameter comprises at least one of: transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information, capability set information, antenna panel information, transmission reception point (TRP) information, control resource set (CORESET) information, reference signal set information, a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource set, reference signal information, or beam information (see para 47, receiving SRI information associated with different transmission layers).
As to claim 3, Chen discloses indication information comprises first information, and the first information is used for indicating the combination of the number of transmission layers of the at least one uplink channel; and the indication information further comprises second information, and the second information is used for indicating an association relationship between the combination of the number of transmission layers of the at least one uplink channel and a spatial parameter (para 47: SRI information is associated with different transmission layers; also see para 4 showing the PUSCH includes a plurality of transmission layers).
As to claim 5, Chen discloses the indication information further comprises a first SRS resource indicator and/or a second SRS resource indicator (e.g. SRI); wherein the first SRS resource indicator is used for indicating one or more SRS resources in a first SRS resource set; and the second SRS resource indicator is used for indicating one or more SRS resources in a second SRS resource set (para. 47; its inherent that “a plurality of SRI information associated with different transmission layers” as disclosed by Chen would include a first SRS resource indicator and a second SRS resource indicator).
Claim 6 is rejected for similar reasons as stated above.
As to claim 8, Chen discloses the indication information further comprises first precoding information and/or second precoding information; and the second information is further used for indicating an association relationship of the combination of the number of transmission layers of the at least one uplink channel with the first precoding information and/or the second precoding information (paras 132 and 137 show that precoding information used by the PUSCH can be configured by an SRS resource set, and that a single DCI can configure a PUSCH and different transmission layers using separate precoding matrices.).
Claim 10 is rejected for similar reasons as stated above. Furthermore, Chen discloses transmitting an uplink channel according to the determined content (Fig. 3, ref S230).
Claims 11-13, 15, 17, 19 and 20 are rejected for similar reasons as stated above. Furthermore, Chen discloses a network device (e.g. network device 110) (Fig. 1).
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 4, 7, 9, 14, 16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Kim et al. (USPN 12342183) (hereinafter Kim).
As to claim 4, Chen discloses the invention substantively as described in the claims above. Chen further discloses that when the quantity of the transmission layers comprised in the combination of the number of transmission layers of the at least one uplink channel is a number, in a case where a number of SRI information of the plurality of SRI information is 2, a first half of transmission layers of the plurality of transmission layers are associated with one of the plurality of SRI information, and a second half of transmission layers of the plurality of transmission layers are associated with another of the plurality of SRI information (para 113). Although Chen enumerates a quantity of transmission layers, it does not explicitly state the quantity is one or two. However, Kim discloses that a number of transmission layers may be limited to be smaller than or equal to a specific number of layers, for example two layers (col. 47, lines 4-7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Kim’s disclosure of 2 layers with Chen’s transmission layer SRI allocation scheme to effectively allocate spatial resources to various transmission mediums with minimal overhead.
As to claims 7 and 9, they are rejected for similar reasons as stated above. Chen discloses the invention as described above. Chen does not explicitly state that the number of transmission layers is explicitly set to one or two, however Kim discloses that a number of transmission layers may be limited to be smaller than or equal to a specific number of layers, for example two layers (col. 47, lines 4-7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Kim’s disclosure of 2 layers with Chen’s transmission layer allocation scheme to effectively allocate spatial resources to various transmission mediums with minimal overhead.
Claims 14, 16, and 18 are rejected for similar reasons as stated above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joseph E Avellino whose telephone number is (571)272-3905. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00am-3:00pm.
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. 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.
JOSEPH E. AVELLINO
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2478
/JOSEPH E AVELLINO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2478
Prosecution Insights