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 .
Claims 4-6 are pending in this office action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/08/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The reasons are set forth below.
Applicant Argues:
On pages 4-7 of the remarks, applicant argues although Pan et al. discusses "QCL" and "NssB_QCL," Pan et al. does not teach or suggest a specific process for determining a value of NssB_QCL, contrary to Applicant's claimed invention. That is, Pan et al. does not teach or suggest that NssB_QCL = 32 could or should have been assumed for QCL with respect to average gain for reception of an SS/PBCH block.
In response, the Examiner respectfully submits:
Pan discloses in [0080], SS/PBCH blocks in a serving cell that are within a same discovery burst transmission window or across discovery burst transmission windows are quasi co-located with respect to average gain, QCL-TypeA, and QCL-TypeD properties, when applicable, if a value of (N.sub.DM-RS.sup.PBCH mod N.sub.SSB.sup.QCL) is same among the SS/PBCH blocks. N.sub.DM-RS.sup.PBCH is an index of a DM-RS sequence transmitted in a PBCH of a corresponding SS/PBCH block, and N.sub.SSB.sup.QCL is either provided by ssbPositionQCL-Relationship-r16 or, if ssbPositionQCL-Relationship-r16 is not provided, obtained from a MIB provided by a SS/PBCH block.
Si also discloses “with respect to average gain for” in [0082] and [0168].
Applicant Argues:
On pages 6-7 of the remarks, applicant argues that Si teaches processes related to determining the physical time-domain location of a channel and Pan et al. is directed to indicating a maximum number of beams, which are completely different from Applicant's claimed features directed to processing physical layer signals under a specific QCL number assumption with respect to average gain. Accordingly, even assuming arguendo that one skilled in the art would have been motivated to combined the teachings of Si and Pan et al., which is clearly not the case, such a combination still would not have provided the specific features required by Applicant's claimed invention.
In response, the Examiner respectfully submits:
Si is directed toward a UE receiving a synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) and determining a set of configurations for a control resource set 9see Abstract or Si). Pan is directed toward synchronization signal block management and decoding of PBCH. Both Si and Pan are directed toward SS/PBCH management. Therefore, one skilled in the art would have been motivated to combined the teachings of Si and Pan.
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 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (US 2022/0263619 A1) in view of Pan et al (US 2023/0327723 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Si teaches a user equipment comprising:
reception circuitry configured to receive a SS/PBCH block, a MIB including a higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon, and a Type0-PDCCH (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0115]-[0118], [0229]-[0238]; UE receives SS/PBCH and MIB with SubcarrierSpacingCommon) wherein
monitoring occasions of the Type0-PDCCH are associated with the SS/PBCH block (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0015], [0115]-[0118] UE monitoring type0-PDCCH multiplexed with SS/PBCH); wherein
and quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the Type0-PDCCH is assumed based on a value of the NSSBQCL (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0082], [0106]; [0168]; [0184]).
Si does not explicitly disclose in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the SS/PBCH block.
Pan teaches in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the SS/PBCH block (Pan: Table 11; [0101]-[0102], [0105]-[0106] NSSBQCL = 32 SubcarrierSpacingCommon with scs15or16 when spare bit is set to 1; [0080], SS/PBCH blocks in a serving cell that are within a same discovery burst transmission window or across discovery burst transmission windows are quasi co-located with respect to average gain ).
It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Si in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the SS/PBCH block as disclosed by Pan to provide a system for SSB acquisition (Pan: Abstract).
Regarding claim 5, Si teaches a base station device comprising:
transmission circuitry configured to transmit a SS/PBCH block, a MIB including a higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon, and a Type0-PDCCH (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0115]-[0118], [0229]-[0238]; UE receives SS/PBCH and MIB with SubcarrierSpacingCommon) wherein
monitoring occasions of the Type0-PDCCH are associated with the SS/PBCH block (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0015], [0115]-[0118] UE monitoring type0-PDCCH multiplexed with SS/PBCH).
Si does not explicitly disclose in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for transmission of the SS/PBCH block and the Type0-PDCCH.
Pan teaches in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for transmission of the SS/PBCH block and the Type0-PDCCH (Pan: Table 11; [0101]-[0102], [0105]-[0106] NSSBQCL = 32 SubcarrierSpacingCommon with scs15or16 when spare bit is set to 1; [0080] SS/PBCH blocks in a serving cell that are within a same discovery burst transmission window or across discovery burst transmission windows are quasi co-located with respect to average gain).
It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Si in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for transmission of the SS/PBCH block and the Type0-PDCCH as disclosed by Pan to provide a system for SSB acquisition (Pan: Abstract).
Regarding claim 6, Si teaches a method used by a user equipment comprising:
receiving a SS/PBCH block, a MIB including a higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon, and a Type0-PDCCH (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0115]-[0118], [0229]-[0238]; UE receives SS/PBCH and MIB with SubcarrierSpacingCommon) wherein
monitoring occasions of the Type0-PDCCH are associated with the SS/PBCH block (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0015], [0115]-[0118] UE monitoring type0-PDCCH multiplexed with SS/PBCH); wherein
and quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the Type0-PDCCH is assumed based on a value of the NSSBQCL (Si: Figs. 5-6; [0082]; [0106]; [0168]; [0184]).
Si does not explicitly disclose in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the SS/PBCH block.
Pan teaches in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the SS/PBCH block (Pan: Table 11; [0101]-[0102], [0105]-[0106] NSSBQCL = 32 SubcarrierSpacingCommon with scs15or16 when spare bit is set to 1; [0080] SS/PBCH blocks in a serving cell that are within a same discovery burst transmission window or across discovery burst transmission windows are quasi co-located with respect to average gain).
It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Si in a case that the higher layer parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon indicates 'scs15or60', NSSBQCL = 32 is assumed for quasi co-location with respect to average gain for reception of the SS/PBCH block as disclosed by Pan to provide a system for SSB acquisition (Pan: Abstract).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/KODZOVI ACOLATSE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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