CTNF 18/841,714 CTNF 86366 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 Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 9 recites “The apparatus r of claim 8” which Examiner believes should be amended to recite “The apparatus r of claim 8” . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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. 07-34-01 Claims 13-16, 19-20 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 13 recites the limitation " the SRS TD-OCC operation " in lines 1-2 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 14-16 are rejected for claiming dependency from claim 13. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 19 recites the limitation " The processor of claim 18 " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 20 recites the limitation " The processor of claim 18 " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 ( a ) as being anticipated by Jiang et al (USPN 20220338220) . Regarding claim 18, Jiang discloses an apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: (base station, FIG. 10, comprising processing circuitry operable to [0098, 0100] determine a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration for SRS resources including time domain orthogonal cover code (TD-OCC) parameters for applying TD-OCC to the SRS resources, the TD-OCC parameters including a TD-OCC pattern and a TD-OCC length for the TD-OCC pattern (base station determines and transmits a configuration comprising A TD-OCC sequences/pattern of length L for SRS resource [0005, 0031, 0078], FIGs. 5, 6 wherein the SRS configuration is applicable to a user equipment (UE) such that multiple UEs can use a same SRS resource (UE 0 and UE 1 are multiplexed on same time-frequency domain resources using different TD-OCC nodes [0054, 0055], FIG. 5 generate, for transmission to the UD, a message comprising the SRS configuration (base station generates and transmits wireless signals associated with configuration [0098, 0031, 0078, 0081] Regarding claim 19, Jiang discloses “ wherein the TD-OCC comprises Hadamard code or a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence ” DFT sequence [0029] Regarding claim 20, Jiang discloses “ wherein the SRS configuration includes different SRS sequence for different SRS repetition symbols in the SRS resource or different SRS frequency hopping locations in the SRS resource ” frequency hopping SRS could be mapped on a different frequency domain subband, time-varying TD-OCC sequences change with slot index or symbol group [0038-0044] 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. 07-20-02-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 s 1-8, 12-14, 16, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang in view of Cozzo et al (USPN 20220086772) . Regarding claim 1, Jiang discloses an apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: (UE, FIG. 10, comprising processing circuitry operable to [0096, 0098, 0100] process, based on signals received from a network, a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration for SRS resources including time domain orthogonal cover code (TD-OCC) parameters for applying TD-OCC to the SRS resources the TD-OCC parameters including a TD-OCC pattern and a TD-OCC length for the TD-OCC pattern (UE receiving from a network node configuration comprising A orthogonal code sequences/patterns for SRS resource, each configured for L adjacent SRS symbols/length L [0006, 0029-0031, 0079], FIGs. 5, 7 apply the TD-OCC to the SRS resources in accordance with the configured parameters (UE transmits a reference signal generated based on the configuration, applying A TD-OCC sequences to L adjacent SRS symbols [0079, 0080, 0035-0037], FIG. 7 and a collision handling scheme for SRS TD-OCC (when SRS collides with PUCCH or other UL transmissions, drop SRS units depends on configured TD-OCC code [0053-0069] Jiang discloses SRS TD-OCC [0028, 0029]. However Jiang does not expressly disclose perform uplink (UL) transmission based on a power control scheme for SRS Cozzo discloses perform uplink (UL) transmission based on a power control scheme for SRS (power control for UE transmitting uplink SRS [0165, 0167, 0183] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “ perform uplink (UL) transmission based on a power control scheme for SRS” as taught by Cozzo into Jiang’s system with the motivation to apply TD-OCC to SRS would require all SRS symbols in the OCC window be transmitted with consistent power using the power control framework of Cozzo to ensure TD-OCC orthogonality is preserved. Regarding claim 2, Jiang discloses “ wherein the TD-OCC comprises Hadamard code or a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence ” DFT sequence [0029] Regarding claim 3, Jiang discloses “ wherein the SRS configuration includes different SRS sequence for different SRS repetition symbols in the SRS resource or different SRS frequency hopping locations in the SRS resource ” frequency hopping SRS could be mapped on a different frequency domain subband, time-varying TD-OCC sequences change with slot index or symbol group [0038-0044] Regarding claim 4, Jiang discloses “ wherein the SRS configuration includes different TD-OCC patterns for different frequency SRS hopping locations in the SRS resource ” in a slot, the time-domain orthogonal codes on each SRS frequency hop may be independently configured [0038] Regarding claim 5, Jiang discloses “ wherein the TD-OCC length for the TD-OCC pattern is defined as a factor of a number of symbols for SRS repetition when intra-slot SRS frequency hopping is not configured ” with A = N/R, N/L or R/L where N is the number of OFDM symbols contained in SRS resource, OCC length L is a factor of the number of SRS symbols N [0032-0034] Regarding claim 6, Jiang discloses “ wherein the TD-OCC length for the TD-OCC pattern is defined as a factor of a number of symbols for intra-slot SRS frequency hopping when intra-slot SRS frequency hopping is configured ” when intra-slot frequency hopping is enabled, TD-OCC codes on each SRS frequency hop independently configured with their own length, A=R/L where R is repetition factor/number of symbols per frequency hop [0036, 0037 Regarding claim 7, Jiang does not expressly disclose “ wherein the power control scheme for SRS TD-OCC ensures that phase continuity is maintained for all SRS symbols within a SRS TD-OCC operation and a total UL transmit power remains within specified limits when other UL signals overlap in time with the SRS TD-OCC operation ” Cozzo discloses closed-loop power control adjustment to ensure stable power [0167, 0213-0215] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “ wherein the power control scheme for SRS TD-OCC ensures that phase continuity is maintained for all SRS symbols within a SRS TD-OCC operation and a total UL transmit power remains within specified limits when other UL signals overlap in time with the SRS TD-OCC operation” as taught by Cozzo into Jiang’s system with the motivation to apply TD-OCC to SRS would require all SRS symbols in the OCC window be transmitted with consistent power using the power control framework of Cozzo to ensure TD-OCC orthogonality is preserved. Regarding claim 8, Jiang does not expressly disclose “ wherein all the SRS symbols within the SRS TD-OCC operation are transmitted at a same UL transmit power ” Cozzo discloses power allocation applied uniformly across all symbols of a transmission occasions [0167, 0213-0215] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “ wherein all the SRS symbols within the SRS TD-OCC operation are transmitted at a same UL transmit power” as taught by Cozzo into Jiang’s system with the motivation to apply TD-OCC to SRS would require all SRS symbols in the OCC window be transmitted with consistent power using the power control framework of Cozzo to ensure TD-OCC orthogonality is preserved. Regarding claim 12, Jiang discloses “ the SRS symbols are dropped by the UE ” dropping SRS units based on configured TD-OCC code when collides with PUCCH [0058, 0059] Jiang does not expressly disclose wherein, when phase continuity for the SRS symbols cannot be guaranteed, the SRS symbols are dropped ” Cozzo discloses UE cancels transmission before first symbol that overlaps with higher-priority transmission [0145, 0146, 0149] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “ wherein, when phase continuity for the SRS symbols cannot be guaranteed, the SRS symbols are dropped” as taught by Cozzo into Jiang’s system with the motivation to apply TD-OCC to SRS would require all SRS symbols in the OCC window be transmitted with consistent power using the power control framework of Cozzo to ensure TD-OCC orthogonality is preserved. Regarding claim 13, Jiang discloses “ when the SRS TD- OCC operation overlaps in time with other UL signals in a same cell, the collision handling scheme is implemented ” dropping SRS units based on configured TD-OCC code when collides with PUCCH [0058, 0059] Regarding claim 14, Jiang discloses “ wherein all of the SRS symbols are dropped when any of the SRS symbols in the TD-OCC operation overlap in time with the other UL symbols ” both Y1 adjacent SRS symbols that applied TD-OCC [1 -1] should be dropped event if only one collides with PUCCH [0058] Regarding claim 16, Jiang discloses “ process, based on signals received from the network, a configuration for the collision handling scheme; and either drop all of the SRS symbols in the TD-OCC operation when the SRS symbols partially overlap in time with the other UL symbols or drop only the SRS symbols in the TD-OCC operation that overlap in time with the other UL symbols based on the configuration for the collision handling scheme ” UE determines which SRS symbols to drop is based on higher layer configuration [0068, 0069, 0058] Regarding claim 17, Jiang discloses “ wherein the TD-OCC parameters further include an OCC hopping configuration ” time-varying TD-OCC sequences, OCC changes based on slot index, symbol group index, or transmission count [0013, 0035, 0038-0043] Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 9-11 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. 07-43-02 AIA Claim 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Liu et al (USPN 20200028638) FIG. 8 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7632. The examiner can normally be reached M-F campus 10:30-5pm, telework 6pm-8pm| Telework count days. 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, Ian N Moore can be reached at (571)272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /THAI NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 2 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 3 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 4 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 5 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 6 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 7 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 8 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 9 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 10 Art Unit: 2469 Application/Control Number: 18/841,714 Page 11 Art Unit: 2469
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