CTNF 18/837,786 CTNF 94028 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cui et al. (US 2023/0337229 A1), hereinafter “Cui”, in view of SHAHMOHAMMADIAN et al. (US 2022/0029861 A1), hereinafter “Hoda” . Regarding claim 7 , Cui teaches, a terminal comprising: a transmitter (Cui: Fig.11) that transmits a single UE capability information (Cui: [0116] The operation flow/algorithmic structure 1200 may include, at 1202, transmitting, to the network, UE capability information indicating that the UE supports a capability of applying an SRS TA to SRS transmission. This capability can be indicated as being related to the UE capability for SRS Tx antenna port switching.). Cui, though teaches support of sounding reference signal (SRS) antenna switching, it fails to expressly teach, the claim, indicating support of sounding reference signal (SRS) antenna switching for six or more antennas. Hoda, a relevant prior art supporting antenna switching, in the same field of endeavor teaches the claim of supporting six or more antennas, (Hoda: [0007] Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide different antenna switching configurations with increased numbers of antennas, e.g., eight antennas.). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine disclosure by Hoda with that of Cui motivated by providing “mechanisms for enhancing the capacity and coverage of SRS transmission”, as disclosed in [0008]. Cui teaches a processor (Cui: Fig.15) that controls SRS transmission based on a configuration depending on the UE capability information (Cui: [0053] supportedSRS-TxPortSwitch indicates SRS Tx port switching pattern supported by the UE, which is mandatory with capability signaling. The indicated UE antenna switching capability of 'xTyR' corresponds to a UE, capable of SRS transmission on 'x' antenna ports over total of 'y' antennas, where 'y' corresponds to all or subset of UE receive antennas), wherein the UE capability information indicates support of only a part of downgrading configurations capable of being used by a UE-implemented antenna structure (Cui: [0053] “If the UE indicates the support of downgrading configuration of SRS Tx port switching pattern using supportedSRS TxPortSwitch-v1610, the UE shall report the values for this as below, based on what is reported in supported SRS-TxPortSwitch.). Claim 10 is for a method performed by the apparatus of claim 7. Claim is a change in category with respect to claim 7. Claim is rejected based on rejection of claim 1. Claim 11 is for a base station implementing function complimentary to the method of claim 7. Claim elements are discussed above in claim 7. Claim is rejected based on rejection of claim 1. Claim 12 is for a system comprising apparatus of claim 7 and apparatus of claim 11. Claim is rejected based on rejection of claims 7 and 11. Regarding claim 8 , combination of Cui and Hoda teaches the terminal according to claim 7 (discussed above), wherein the UE capability information includes one or more SRS antenna switching patterns selected from among mandatory configurations (discussed above in relation to disclosure in Cui: [0053]) and the downgrading configurations (discussed above in claim 7, as per disclosure in [0053] regarding downgrading configuration). Regarding claim 9 , combination of Cui and Hoda teaches the terminal according to claim 7 (discussed above). Cui however fails to expressly teach but Hoda in the same field of endeavor teaches, wherein the UE capability information includes one or more SRS antenna switching patterns out of t1r1, t2r2, t1r2, t4r4, t2r4, t1r4, t2r6, t1r6, t4r8,t2r8, and tlr8. (implied by disclosure in Hoda: [0119] In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, for an xTyR scenario with x={ 1,2,4} and y={ 6,8}, a gNB should be able to configure a downgrading configuration of an SRS for antenna switching with allowing new UE capability design for SRS antenna switching as follows: [0120] { t1r1, t1r2, t1r6} [0121] { t1r1, t1r2, t2r2, t2r6} [0122] { t1r1, t1r2, t2r2, t1r6, t2r6} [0123] { t1r1, t1r2, t1r4, t1r8} [0124] { t1r1, t1r2, t2r2, t2r4, t4r4, t1r8} [0125] { t1r1, t1r2, t2r2, t1r4, t2r4, t1r8, t2r8, t4r8} It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine disclosure by Hoda with that of Cui motivated by providing “mechanisms for enhancing the capacity and coverage of SRS transmission”, as disclosed in [0008] . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure : US-20210242913-A1 teaches SRS antenna switching (see [0092] e.g.); and US 20210384949 A1 teaches SRS antenna switching. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to INTEKHAAB AALAM SIDDIQUEE whose telephone number is (571)272-0895. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9AM-5PM 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, Yemane Mesfin can be reached at 571-272-3927. 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. /INTEKHAAB A SIDDIQUEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/837,786 Page 2 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/837,786 Page 3 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/837,786 Page 4 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/837,786 Page 5 Art Unit: 2462
Prosecution Insights