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
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/12/2024 and 04/07/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 5-6, “the second RS resource set” should be “a second RS resource set”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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 1-2, 13-20 and 25-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (US 2024/0129822) in view of Lim et al. (US 2023/0208607).
Regarding Claim 1, Huang teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory ([0039] The apparatus includes a memory configured to implement the method described in the first aspect. The apparatus may further include a memory configured to store instructions and/or data. The memory is coupled to a processor) and configured to:
transmit an indication of a UE capability to a network node, the indication of the UE capability including an association between a first reference signal (RS) transmitted in a first frequency band and a second frequency band, the second frequency band being different from the first frequency band ([0025] the terminal device sends a capability message of the terminal device to the access network device or the core network device, where the capability message of the terminal device indicates a capability of the terminal device to send the SRS on a carrier of a non-serving cell in the target frequency band; [0026] the capability message of the terminal device indicates at least one of the following: a switching time for the terminal device to switch from a source frequency band to a target frequency band, a parameter of an SRS resource configured on the target frequency band, ... a bandwidth of an SRS supported on the target frequency band, information about one or more target frequency bands, or information, for each target frequency band, about a source frequency band that supports switching to the target frequency band; [0176] The UE sends a capability message of the UE to the base station, where the capability message of the UE indicates a capability of the UE to send an SRS on a carrier of a non-serving cell in the at least one target frequency band. In a possible implementation, the capability message of the UE indicates at least one of the following: [0177] 1. Switching time for the UE to switch from a source frequency band to a target frequency band. The source frequency band may be a frequency band in which a current primary cell of the UE is located, or may be at least one source frequency band in a list of source frequency bands that are provided by the UE and that support switching);
transmit the first RS in the first frequency band to the network node ([0032] The access network device receives the SRS from the terminal device on the second carrier; [0038] the communication unit is configured to send a sounding reference signal (SRS) by using the second carrier; [0175] The second carrier is a carrier of a non-serving cell and is used for sending an SRS).
However, Huang does not teach receive an uplink (UL) grant scheduling a UL channel associated with the second frequency band from the network node, the UL grant being based at least in part on the first RS in the first frequency band.
In an analogous art, Lim teaches receive an uplink (UL) grant scheduling a UL channel associated with the second frequency band from the network node, the UL grant being based at least in part on the first RS in the first frequency band ([0243] codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described Codebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When codebook-based PUSCH is dynamically scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or is semi-statically configured by the configured grant, the UE determines a precoder for the PUSCH transmission on the basis of an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and a transmission rank (the number of PUSCH transmission layers); [0248] non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described. Noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When at least one SRS resource is configured within the SRS resource set having the value of usage configured as ‘nonCodebook’ within SRS-ResourceSet which is higher-layer signaling, the UE may receive scheduling of noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission through DCI format 0_1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lim’s method with Huang’s method so that the network can use SRS to determine how PUSCH data should be sent, such as which antennas to use or what precoding weights to apply. Thus, the performance of uplink transmission is improved.
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Huang and Lim, specifically Huang teaches a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor ([0039] The communication interface is configured for the apparatus to be in communication with another device. For example, the communication interface may be a transceiver), and wherein the second frequency band is a higher frequency band than the first frequency band ([0160] As shown in FIG. 13, the UE interrupts communication of cells in all frequency ranges, including communication of cells in FR1 and communication of cells in FR2. One or more radio frequency channels in the FR1 or the FR2 are switched to an SRS frequency, that is, a second carrier, and the SRS is sent on the second carrier), and the UL channel is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) ([0159] receiving and sending of a physical layer data channel and a control channel (for example, a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUSCH, or a PUCCH)).
Regarding Claim 13, Huang teaches the first frequency band including a first RS resource set carrying the first RS is associated with a first serving cell ([0026] the capability message of the terminal device indicates at least one of the following: a switching time for the terminal device to switch from a source frequency band to a target frequency band, a parameter of an SRS resource configured on the target frequency band, ... a bandwidth of an SRS supported on the target frequency band, information about one or more target frequency bands, or information, for each target frequency band, about a source frequency band that supports switching to the target frequency band; [0176] The UE sends a capability message of the UE to the base station, where the capability message of the UE indicates a capability of the UE to send an SRS on a carrier of a non-serving cell in the at least one target frequency band).
However, Huang does not teach wherein the indication of the UE capability includes a capability of the UE to receive the UL grant within a second serving cell associated with the second frequency band.
In an analogous art, Lim teaches wherein the indication of the UE capability includes a capability of the UE to receive the UL grant within a second serving cell associated with the second frequency band ([0243] codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described Codebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When codebook-based PUSCH is dynamically scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or is semi-statically configured by the configured grant, the UE determines a precoder for the PUSCH transmission on the basis of an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and a transmission rank (the number of PUSCH transmission layers); [0248] non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described. Noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When at least one SRS resource is configured within the SRS resource set having the value of usage configured as ‘nonCodebook’ within SRS-ResourceSet which is higher-layer signaling, the UE may receive scheduling of noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission through DCI format 0_1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lim’s method with Huang’s method so that the network can use SRS to determine how PUSCH data should be sent, such as which antennas to use or what precoding weights to apply. Thus, the performance of uplink transmission is improved.
Regarding Claim 14, Huang does not teach the UL grant includes at least one of a sounding RS resource indicator (SRI) or a transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) associated with the first RS resource set, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to predict a UL precoding for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) within the second serving cell based on the at least one of the SRI or the TPMI associated with the first RS resource set.
In an analogous art, Lim teaches the UL grant includes at least one of a sounding RS resource indicator (SRI) or a transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) associated with the first RS resource set, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to predict a UL precoding for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) within the second serving cell based on the at least one of the SRI or the TPMI associated with the first RS resource set ([0243] Subsequently, codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described Codebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When codebook-based PUSCH is dynamically scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or is semi-statically configured by the configured grant, the UE determines a precoder for the PUSCH transmission on the basis of an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and a transmission rank (the number of PUSCH transmission layers; [0244] the SRI may be given through an SRS resource indicator field within the DCI or may be configured through srs-ResourceIndicator which is higher-layer signaling. In codebook-based PUSCH transmission, the UE may receive a configuration of at least one SRS resource and a maximum of two SRS resources. When the UE receives the SRI through the DCI, the SRS resource indicated by the corresponding SRI is the SRS resource corresponding to the SRI among SRS resources transmitted earlier than the PDCCH including the corresponding SRI. Further, the TPMI and the transmission rank may be given through field information and number of layers within the DCI or may be configured through precodingAndNumberOfLayers which is higher-layer signaling. The TPMI is used to indicate a precoder applied to the PUSCH transmission When the UE receives a configuration of one SRS resource, the TPMI is used to indicate a precoder to be applied to the one configured SRS resource. When the UE received a configuration of a plurality of SRS resources, the TPMI is used to indicate a precoder to be applied to SRS resources indicated through the SRI; [0245] The precoder to be used for the PUSCH transmission is selected from an uplink codebook having the number of antenna ports which is the same as a value of nrofSRS-Ports within SRS-Config which is higher-layer signaling. In codebook-based PUSCH transmission, the UE determines a codebook subset on the basis of the TPMI and a codebookSubset within pusch-Config which is higher-layer signaling).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lim’s method with Huang’s method so that the network can use SRS to determine how PUSCH data should be sent, such as which antennas to use or what precoding weights to apply. Thus, the performance of uplink transmission is improved.
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Huang and Lim, specifically Huang teaches the at least one processor is further configured to report a first subset of RS resources among the first RS resource set associated with a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) ([0159] receiving and sending of a physical layer data channel and a control channel (for example, a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUSCH, or a PUCCH) that are associated with the FR1, and some physical layer signals (for example, a CSI-RS) may be interrupted. Optionally, in the FR1, the UE may receive a mobility measurement signal (for example, an SSB, RRM, or a CSI-RS) and send an SRS. In this embodiment of this application, the UE switches one or more radio frequency channels in the FR1 to the second carrier in the measurement gap. The second carrier may also be referred to as an SRS frequency. The SRS is sent on the second carrier).
Regarding Claim 16, Huang teaches the at least one processor is further configured to receive a radio resource control (RRC) configuration of the first RS resource set of the first serving cell ([0101] the serving base station may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration message includes the SRS configuration; [0121] Using an example in which information for configuring an SRS is carried by using an RRC reconfiguration information element, a difference between a current communication or positioning SRS configuration and a positioning SRS configuration in this embodiment of this application is described).
However, Huang does not teach the first RS resource set being associated with the UL grant of the second serving cell.
In an analogous art, Lim teaches the first RS resource set being associated with the UL grant of the second serving cell ([0243] codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described Codebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When codebook-based PUSCH is dynamically scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or is semi-statically configured by the configured grant, the UE determines a precoder for the PUSCH transmission on the basis of an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and a transmission rank (the number of PUSCH transmission layers); [0248] non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described. Noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When at least one SRS resource is configured within the SRS resource set having the value of usage configured as ‘nonCodebook’ within SRS-ResourceSet which is higher-layer signaling, the UE may receive scheduling of noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission through DCI format 0_1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lim’s method with Huang’s method so that the network can use SRS to determine how PUSCH data should be sent, such as which antennas to use or what precoding weights to apply. Thus, the performance of uplink transmission is improved.
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Huang and Lim, specifically Huang teaches the at least one processor is further configured to receive an order to transmit the indication of the UE capability to the network node, and the indication of the UE capability is transmitted based on the order to transmit the indication of the UE capability ([0025] The terminal device receives a capability request message from the access network device or a core network device, where the capability request message includes indication information of at least one target frequency band; [0174] Step 1701: The UE receives a capability request message from the base station, where the capability request message includes indication information of at least one target frequency band).
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Huang and Lim, specifically Huang teaches the indication of the UE capability to the network node is transmitted based on receiving the RRC configuration of the first RS resource set of the first serving cell ([0101] the serving base station may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration message includes the SRS configuration; [0121] Using an example in which information for configuring an SRS is carried by using an RRC reconfiguration information element, a difference between a current communication or positioning SRS configuration and a positioning SRS configuration in this embodiment of this application is described; [0176] The UE sends a capability message of the UE to the base station, where the capability message of the UE indicates a capability of the UE to send an SRS on a carrier of a non-serving cell in the at least one target frequency band).
Regarding Claim 19, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 20, Huang teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a network node, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory ([0044] The apparatus includes a memory configured to implement the method described in the second aspect. The apparatus may further include a memory configured to store instructions and/or data. The memory is coupled to a processor) and configured to:
receive an indication of a user equipment (UE) capability from a UE, the indication of the UE capability including an association between a first reference signal (RS) received in a first frequency band and a second frequency band, the second frequency band being different from the first frequency band ([0025] the terminal device sends a capability message of the terminal device to the access network device or the core network device, where the capability message of the terminal device indicates a capability of the terminal device to send the SRS on a carrier of a non-serving cell in the target frequency band; [0026] the capability message of the terminal device indicates at least one of the following: a switching time for the terminal device to switch from a source frequency band to a target frequency band, a parameter of an SRS resource configured on the target frequency band, ... a bandwidth of an SRS supported on the target frequency band, information about one or more target frequency bands, or information, for each target frequency band, about a source frequency band that supports switching to the target frequency band; [0176] The UE sends a capability message of the UE to the base station, where the capability message of the UE indicates a capability of the UE to send an SRS on a carrier of a non-serving cell in the at least one target frequency band. In a possible implementation, the capability message of the UE indicates at least one of the following: [0177] 1. Switching time for the UE to switch from a source frequency band to a target frequency band. The source frequency band may be a frequency band in which a current primary cell of the UE is located, or may be at least one source frequency band in a list of source frequency bands that are provided by the UE and that support switching);
receive the first RS in the first frequency band from the UE ([0032] The access network device receives the SRS from the terminal device on the second carrier; [0038] the communication unit is configured to send a sounding reference signal (SRS) by using the second carrier; [0175] The second carrier is a carrier of a non-serving cell and is used for sending an SRS).
However, Huang does not teach transmit an uplink (UL) grant scheduling a UL channel associated with the second frequency band for the UE, the UL grant being based at least in part on the first RS in the first frequency band.
In an analogous art, Lim teaches transmit an uplink (UL) grant scheduling a UL channel associated with the second frequency band for the UE, the UL grant being based at least in part on the first RS in the first frequency band ([0243] codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described Codebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When codebook-based PUSCH is dynamically scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or is semi-statically configured by the configured grant, the UE determines a precoder for the PUSCH transmission on the basis of an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and a transmission rank (the number of PUSCH transmission layers); [0248] non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described. Noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When at least one SRS resource is configured within the SRS resource set having the value of usage configured as ‘nonCodebook’ within SRS-ResourceSet which is higher-layer signaling, the UE may receive scheduling of noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission through DCI format 0_1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lim’s method with Huang’s method so that the network can use SRS to determine how PUSCH data should be sent, such as which antennas to use or what precoding weights to apply. Thus, the performance of uplink transmission is improved.
Regarding Claim 25, Huang teaches the first frequency band including a first RS resource set carrying the first RS is associated with a first serving cell ([0026] the capability message of the terminal device indicates at least one of the following: a switching time for the terminal device to switch from a source frequency band to a target frequency band, a parameter of an SRS resource configured on the target frequency band, ... a bandwidth of an SRS supported on the target frequency band, information about one or more target frequency bands, or information, for each target frequency band, about a source frequency band that supports switching to the target frequency band; [0176] The UE sends a capability message of the UE to the base station, where the capability message of the UE indicates a capability of the UE to send an SRS on a carrier of a non-serving cell in the at least one target frequency band).
However, Huang does not teach wherein the indication of the UE capability indicates a capability of the UE to receive the UL grant within a second serving cell associated with the second frequency band, wherein the UL grant includes at least one of a sounding RS resource indicator (SRI) or a transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) associated with the first RS resource set, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) within the second serving cell with a UL precoding associated with the UL grant based on the at least one of the SRI or the TPMI associated with the first RS resource set.
In an analogous art, Lim teaches wherein the indication of the UE capability indicates a capability of the UE to receive the UL grant within a second serving cell associated with the second frequency band ([0243] codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described Codebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When codebook-based PUSCH is dynamically scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or is semi-statically configured by the configured grant, the UE determines a precoder for the PUSCH transmission on the basis of an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and a transmission rank (the number of PUSCH transmission layers); [0248] non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described. Noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When at least one SRS resource is configured within the SRS resource set having the value of usage configured as ‘nonCodebook’ within SRS-ResourceSet which is higher-layer signaling, the UE may receive scheduling of noncodebook-based PUSCH transmission through DCI format 0_1), wherein the UL grant includes at least one of a sounding RS resource indicator (SRI) or a transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) associated with the first RS resource set, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) within the second serving cell with a UL precoding associated with the UL grant based on the at least one of the SRI or the TPMI associated with the first RS resource set ([0243] Subsequently, codebook-based PUSCH transmission is described Codebook-based PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically operate by the configured grant. When codebook-based PUSCH is dynamically scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or is semi-statically configured by the configured grant, the UE determines a precoder for the PUSCH transmission on the basis of an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a transmission precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), and a transmission rank (the number of PUSCH transmission layers; [0244] the SRI may be given through an SRS resource indicator field within the DCI or may be configured through srs-ResourceIndicator which is higher-layer signaling. In codebook-based PUSCH transmission, the UE may receive a configuration of at least one SRS resource and a maximum of two SRS resources. When the UE receives the SRI through the DCI, the SRS resource indicated by the corresponding SRI is the SRS resource corresponding to the SRI among SRS resources transmitted earlier than the PDCCH including the corresponding SRI. Further, the TPMI and the transmission rank may be given through field information and number of layers within the DCI or may be configured through precodingAndNumberOfLayers which is higher-layer signaling. The TPMI is used to indicate a precoder applied to the PUSCH transmission When the UE receives a configuration of one SRS resource, the TPMI is used to indicate a precoder to be applied to the one configured SRS resource. When the UE received a configuration of a plurality of SRS resources, the TPMI is used to indicate a precoder to be applied to SRS resources indicated through the SRI; [0245] The precoder to be used for the PUSCH transmission is selected from an uplink codebook having the number of antenna ports which is the same as a value of nrofSRS-Ports within SRS-Config which is higher-layer signaling. In codebook-based PUSCH transmission, the UE determines a codebook subset on the basis of the TPMI and a codebookSubset within pusch-Config which is higher-layer signaling).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lim’s method with Huang’s method so that the network can use SRS to determine how PUSCH data should be sent, such as which antennas to use or what precoding weights to apply. Thus, the performance of uplink transmission is improved.
Regarding Claim 26, the combination of Huang and Lim, specifically Huang teaches the at least one processor is further configured to receive a report of a first subset of RS resources among the first RS resource set associated with the PUSCH ([0159] receiving and sending of a physical layer data channel and a control channel (for example, a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUSCH, or a PUCCH) that are associated with the FR1, and some physical layer signals (for example, a CSI-RS) may be interrupted. Optionally, in the FR1, the UE may receive a mobility measurement signal (for example, an SSB, RRM, or a CSI-RS) and send an SRS. In this embodiment of this application, the UE switches one or more radio frequency channels in the FR1 to the second carrier in the measurement gap. The second carrier may also be referred to as an SRS frequency. The SRS is sent on the second carrier).
Regarding Claim 27, Huang does not teach the at least one processor is further configured to configure a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the PUSCH based on the report of the first subset of RS resources.
In an analogous art, Lim teaches the at least one processor is further configured to configure a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the PUSCH based on the report of the first subset of RS resources ([0111] DCI format 0_1 may be used for non-fallback DCI for scheduling a PUSCH ... Modulation and coding scheme - 5 bits; [0112] DCI format 0_0 may be used for fallback DCI for scheduling a PUSCH ... Modulation and coding scheme - 5 bits; [0242] the PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled through DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or semi-statically configured by the configured grant ... TABLE 28 ... mcs-Table).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lim’s method with Huang’s method so that the performance of uplink transmission is improved based on the optimal MCS selection configuration.
Regarding Claim 28, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 16.
Regarding Claim 29, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 17.
Regarding Claim 30, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 20.
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. in view of Lim et al. and Manolakos et al. (US 2022/0060307).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Huang and Lim does not teach the UE includes a first set of antenna elements associated with the first frequency band and a second set of antenna elements associated with the second frequency band, the second set of antenna elements being different from the first set of antenna elements, and wherein the indication of the UE capability includes information associated with the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements.
In an analogous art, Manolakos teaches the UE includes a first set of antenna elements associated with the first frequency band and a second set of antenna elements associated with the second frequency band, the second set of antenna elements being different from the first set of antenna elements, and wherein the indication of the UE capability includes information associated with the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements ([0074] the UE may proceed to report its switching capability to the serving base station. Upon receiving the information describing this capability, the base station may configure the UE with the same “xTyR” configuration for all the CCs in the different frequency bands for which the UE has reported are being switched together using the SRS resources. For example, the same number of antennas and common ports may be used, but only in the bands that the UE has reported are concurrently used for transmission of SRS resources by the UE. By contrast, for those bands that are not concurrently used for transmission of SRS resources by the UE, the number and arrangement of antennas and antenna ports can be different; [0075] a network configuration that allocates antenna and port resources in the context of intra-band and inter-band carrier aggregation for transmitting sounding reference signals (SRSs). In still another aspect of the disclosure directed to inter-band transmissions of SRS signals by the UE, the UE may be configured with the identical port and antenna numbers for all CCs in the bands in which the UE has reported to the network that the bands are switched together).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Manolakos’s method with Huang’s method so that the base station can configure the UE as a function of the UE's capabilities, meaning that the hardware of multi-antenna UEs can be taken into account during transmission of SRS resources and the network efficiency increased (Manolakos [0086]).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Huang and Lim does not teach the second set of antenna elements is located in a second antenna panel, the second antenna panel being associated with a frequency range different from the first set of antenna elements, and wherein the information includes at least one of: a distance between the first set of antenna elements and the second antenna panel, one or more directionalities of the first set of antenna elements and the second antenna panel, or a second association between a first transmit (TX) beamforming angle spread of the first set of antenna elements and a second TX beamforming angle spread of the second antenna panel.
In an analogous art, Manolakos teaches the second set of antenna elements is located in a second antenna panel, the second antenna panel being associated with a frequency range different from the first set of antenna elements, and wherein the information includes at least one of: a distance between the first set of antenna elements and the second antenna panel, one or more directionalities of the first set of antenna elements and the second antenna panel, or a second association between a first transmit (TX) beamforming angle spread of the first set of antenna elements and a second TX beamforming angle spread of the second antenna panel ([0037] The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182′. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182″. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180/UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station 180/UE 104. The transmit and receive directions for the base station 180 may or may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be the same).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Manolakos’s method with Huang’s method so that the base station can configure the UE as a function of the UE's capabilities, meaning that the hardware of multi-antenna UEs can be taken into account during transmission of SRS resources and the network efficiency increased (Manolakos [0086]).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Huang and Lim does not teach the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements are located on an antenna panel, and wherein the information includes at least one of: a first number of the first set of antenna elements and a second number of the second set of antenna elements on the antenna panel, a pattern of the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements on the antenna panel, or a coupling loss difference between the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements.
In an analogous art, Manolakos teaches the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements are located on an antenna panel, and wherein the information includes at least one of: a first number of the first set of antenna elements and a second number of the second set of antenna elements on the antenna panel, a pattern of the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements on the antenna panel, or a coupling loss difference between the first set of antenna elements and the second set of antenna elements ([0074] Upon receiving the information describing this capability, the base station may configure the UE with the same “xTyR” configuration for all the CCs in the different frequency bands for which the UE has reported are being switched together using the SRS resources. For example, the same number of antennas and common ports may be used, but only in the bands that the UE has reported are concurrently used for transmission of SRS resources by the UE. By contrast, for those bands that are not concurrently used for transmission of SRS resources by the UE, the number and arrangement of antennas and antenna ports can be different; [0078] the UE 504 may in step 505 send information reporting capabilities of the UE for purposes of antenna switching of SRS resources between different CCs of at least one frequency band. For example, the UE be reporting its capabilities to transmit information across the different CCs wherein the SRS resources overlap in the time domain from the perspective of the UE. In some configurations, the reported capabilities may include transmissions from the same UE antenna ports. The UE may also report an xTyR configuration of the UE, with x indicating the number of antenna ports and y indicating the number of antennas coupled to any one or more of the antenna ports. In some configurations, the number y of antennas may be the total number of antennas of the UE. In other configurations, the number y may be a subset of the total number of antennas of the UE, for example, that are capable of use in antenna switching between SRS resources across the at least one frequency band).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Manolakos’s method with Huang’s method so that the base station can configure the UE as a function of the UE's capabilities, meaning that the hardware of multi-antenna UEs can be taken into account during transmission of SRS resources and the network efficiency increased (Manolakos [0086]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-12 and 21-24 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sun et al. (US 2024/0057071) teaches method of panel selection for uplink transmission.
Hu et al. (US 2023/0276453) teaches method of SRS and PUSCH transmission.
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/YU-WEN CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413
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