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 .
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/14/26 have been fully considered.
Applicant’s arguments, on page 10, with respect to the objections to the specification have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the objection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, starting on page 11, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 rejections to claims 1-8, 10, 12-14, 16-17, 19, 22, 28, 34, 38, and 40 have been fully considered and are persuasive in part.
Applicant argues that Xue does not disclose the features of claim 1 because it does not disclose the “cross-resource-set quality derivation recited in amended claim 1.” Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., a derivation of quality information across two different reference signal resource sets in the spatial dimension rather than temporal) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
However, Applicant also argues that Xue does not disclose “beam pointing information.” Examiner agrees. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. While Examiner maintains that Liu would be an obvious combination that teaches the features of previous claims 6, 12, 22, and 28, better prior art that teaches the modified amendment to the independent claims has come to light. Thus, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Chavva (US 20210351885 A1).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 16-17, 19, 34, 38, and 40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xue (US 20210376895 A1) in view of Chavva (US 20210351885 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Xue discloses:
“A measurement method, performed by a terminal device, comprising: performing measurement on a reference signal carried by a first reference signal resource in a first reference signal resource set, to obtain first quality information of the first reference signal resource; and” ([¶ 0086]: “To do so, gNB 804 may transmit reference signals 812 to UE 802. As discussed, gNB 804 may configure UE 802 with information about measurement occasions in which reference signals are transmitted to UE 802 and reporting occasions in which CSI feedback reports are to be transmitted to gNB 804.”; [¶ 0087]: “At 814, the UE measures CSI based on the reference signals.”)
“determining second quality information of a second reference signal resource in a second reference signal resource set according to the first quality information of the first reference signal resource and according to first auxiliary information of the first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set and second auxiliary information of the second reference signal resource in the second reference signal resource set…” ([¶ 0087]: “The UE also predicts CSI at a future time using the prediction model. As discussed, the prediction model uses the measured CSI and a time gap between the measurement based on reference signals 812 and when another transmission is expected to be received from gNB 804 (e.g., in this example, when gNB 804 transmits reference signals 816 to UE 802).”)
Xue does not explicitly disclose “wherein the first auxiliary information comprises first beam pointing information of each first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set, the second auxiliary information comprises second beam pointing information corresponding to the second reference signal resource set”
However, Chavva discloses the missing feature “wherein the first auxiliary information comprises first beam pointing information of each first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set, the second auxiliary information comprises second beam pointing information corresponding to the second reference signal resource set” ([¶ 0143]: “The neural network 602 c can determine the relevance of previous beam measurement data at the current time instance. The relevance can be determined based on a correlation between the previous beam measurement data and current beam measurement data. The neural network 602 c can predict the RSRP of other beams of the UE 601 at the current time instance.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Chavva, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize an indication of beam pointing information as disclosed by Chavva. The motivation for doing so is that it improves accuracy. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Chavva to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 2, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “receiving first indication information sent by a network device, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate the first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set.” ([¶ 0086]: “To do so, gNB 804 may transmit reference signals 812 to UE 802. As discussed, gNB 804 may configure UE 802 with information about measurement occasions in which reference signals are transmitted to UE 802 and reporting occasions in which CSI feedback reports are to be transmitted to gNB 804.”; [¶ 0087]: “At 814, the UE measures CSI based on the reference signals.”)
Regarding claim 3, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “wherein the reference signal carried by the first reference signal resource comprises a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).” ([¶ 0086]: “To do so, gNB 804 may transmit reference signals 812 to UE 802. As discussed, gNB 804 may configure UE 802 with information about measurement occasions in which reference signals are transmitted to UE 802 and reporting occasions in which CSI feedback reports are to be transmitted to gNB 804.”; [¶ 0087]: “At 814, the UE measures CSI based on the reference signals.”)
Regarding claim 4, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “receiving second indication information sent by a network device, wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the second auxiliary information, wherein the second auxiliary information comprises a number of second reference signal resources in the second reference signal resource set.” ([¶ 0085]: “As illustrated, to configure UE 802 to predict CSI based on a CSI prediction model, gNB 804 transmits CSI prediction model and qualifying scheme 810 to the UE. The CSI prediction model, as discussed, may be a machine learning model configured to execute on the UE and predict CSI at a future point in time given a current CSI measurement and a time delay as input. The qualifying scheme generally identifies qualifying rules for determining whether a predicted CSI is a qualified prediction or an unqualified prediction, as discussed above.”)
Regarding claim 16, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “sending indication information of the second quality information to a network device; wherein the indication information of the second quality information comprises: identification of at least one target reference signal resource determined from respective second reference signal resources according to the second quality information of each second reference signal resource; and/or second quality information of the at least one target reference signal resource.” ([¶ 0089]: “After calculating the difference between the predicted CSI generated at 814 and the measured CSI generated by measuring reference signals 816 and quantizing the difference, UE 802 generates and transmits a message 820 including the measured CSI and the quantized difference 820.”)
Regarding claim 17, Xue discloses:
“A measurement method, performed by a network device, comprising: sending first indication information to a terminal device, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate performing measurement on a reference signal carried by a first reference signal resource in a first reference signal resource set to obtain first quality information of the first reference signal resource;” ([¶ 0086]: “To do so, gNB 804 may transmit reference signals 812 to UE 802. As discussed, gNB 804 may configure UE 802 with information about measurement occasions in which reference signals are transmitted to UE 802 and reporting occasions in which CSI feedback reports are to be transmitted to gNB 804.”; [¶ 0087]: “At 814, the UE measures CSI based on the reference signals.”)
“wherein the first quality information of the first reference signal resource is used together with first auxiliary information of the first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set and second auxiliary information of a second reference signal resource in a second reference signal resource set to determine second quality information of the second reference signal resource in the second reference signal resource set.” ([¶ 0087]: “The UE also predicts CSI at a future time using the prediction model. As discussed, the prediction model uses the measured CSI and a time gap between the measurement based on reference signals 812 and when another transmission is expected to be received from gNB 804 (e.g., in this example, when gNB 804 transmits reference signals 816 to UE 802).”)
Xue does not explicitly disclose “wherein the first auxiliary information comprises first beam pointing information of each first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set, the second auxiliary information comprises second beam pointing information corresponding to the second reference signal resource set”
However, Chavva discloses the missing feature “wherein the first auxiliary information comprises first beam pointing information of each first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set, the second auxiliary information comprises second beam pointing information corresponding to the second reference signal resource set” ([¶ 0143]: “The neural network 602 c can determine the relevance of previous beam measurement data at the current time instance. The relevance can be determined based on a correlation between the previous beam measurement data and current beam measurement data. The neural network 602 c can predict the RSRP of other beams of the UE 601 at the current time instance.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Chavva, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize an indication of beam pointing information as disclosed by Chavva. The motivation for doing so is that it improves accuracy. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Chavva to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 19, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “sending second indication information to the terminal device, wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate the second auxiliary information, wherein the second auxiliary information comprises a number of second reference signal resources in the second reference signal resource set.” ([¶ 0085]: “As illustrated, to configure UE 802 to predict CSI based on a CSI prediction model, gNB 804 transmits CSI prediction model and qualifying scheme 810 to the UE. The CSI prediction model, as discussed, may be a machine learning model configured to execute on the UE and predict CSI at a future point in time given a current CSI measurement and a time delay as input. The qualifying scheme generally identifies qualifying rules for determining whether a predicted CSI is a qualified prediction or an unqualified prediction, as discussed above.”)
Regarding claim 34, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “receiving indication information of the second quality information sent by the terminal device; wherein the indication information of the second quality information comprises: identification of at least one target reference signal resource determined from respective second reference signal resources according to the second quality information of each second reference signal resource; and/or second quality information of the at least one target reference signal resource.” ([¶ 0089]: “After calculating the difference between the predicted CSI generated at 814 and the measured CSI generated by measuring reference signals 816 and quantizing the difference, UE 802 generates and transmits a message 820 including the measured CSI and the quantized difference 820.”)
Regarding claim 38, Xue discloses:
“A terminal device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive code instructions and transmit the code instructions to the processor; the processor is configured to run the code instructions to implement a measurement method, the method comprising:” ([¶ 0098]: “The processing system 1002 includes a processor 1004 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1012 via a bus 1006.”)
“performing measurement on a reference signal carried by a first reference signal resource in a first reference signal resource set, to obtain first quality information of the first reference signal resource; and” ([¶ 0086]: “To do so, gNB 804 may transmit reference signals 812 to UE 802. As discussed, gNB 804 may configure UE 802 with information about measurement occasions in which reference signals are transmitted to UE 802 and reporting occasions in which CSI feedback reports are to be transmitted to gNB 804.”; [¶ 0087]: “At 814, the UE measures CSI based on the reference signals.”)
“determining second quality information of a second reference signal resource in a second reference signal resource set according to the first quality information of the first reference signal resource and according to at least one of first auxiliary information of the first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set or second auxiliary information of the second reference signal resource in the second reference signal resource set.” ([¶ 0087]: “The UE also predicts CSI at a future time using the prediction model. As discussed, the prediction model uses the measured CSI and a time gap between the measurement based on reference signals 812 and when another transmission is expected to be received from gNB 804 (e.g., in this example, when gNB 804 transmits reference signals 816 to UE 802).”)
Xue does not explicitly disclose “wherein the first auxiliary information comprises first beam pointing information of each first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set, the second auxiliary information comprises second beam pointing information corresponding to the second reference signal resource set”
However, Chavva discloses the missing feature “wherein the first auxiliary information comprises first beam pointing information of each first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set, the second auxiliary information comprises second beam pointing information corresponding to the second reference signal resource set” ([¶ 0143]: “The neural network 602 c can determine the relevance of previous beam measurement data at the current time instance. The relevance can be determined based on a correlation between the previous beam measurement data and current beam measurement data. The neural network 602 c can predict the RSRP of other beams of the UE 601 at the current time instance.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Chavva, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize an indication of beam pointing information as disclosed by Chavva. The motivation for doing so is that it improves accuracy. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Chavva to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 40, Xue discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses: “A network device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive code instructions and transmit the code instructions to the processor; the processor is configured to run the code instructions to implement the measurement method” ([¶ 0098]: “The processing system 1002 includes a processor 1004 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1012 via a bus 1006.”)
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xue (US 20210376895 A1) in view of Chavva (US 20210351885 A1) and further in view of Fakoorian (US 20240406036 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue does not explicitly disclose “wherein the second indication information is at least carried in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.”
However, Fakoorian discloses the missing feature “wherein the second indication information is at least carried in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.” ([¶ 0067]: “In a third option, the UE is indicated to retune its AI-ML network in a periodic mechanism, for example via MAC-CE or RRC signaling.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Fakoorian, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize RRC as disclosed by Fakoorian. The motivation for utilizing RRC is that it improved interoperability. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Fakoorian to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Claim(s) 6-7, 12-13, 22, and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xue (US 20210376895 A1) in view of Chavva (US 20210351885 A1) and further in view of Liu (US 20220053434 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue does not explicitly disclose “receiving third indication information sent by a network device, wherein the third indication information is configured to indicate the first auxiliary information.”
However, Liu discloses the missing feature “receiving third indication information sent by a network device, wherein the third indication information is configured to indicate the first auxiliary information” ([¶ 0120]: “In this case, the configuration information indicates a sending pattern of the M reference signals. For example, M=4, and the reference signals are SSSs. In FIG. 5(a), one reference signal set includes four SSSs that are distributed on four consecutive symbols, and each SSS corresponds to one beam direction.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Liu, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize an indication of beam pointing information as disclosed by Liu. The motivation for doing so is that it improves accuracy. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Liu to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 7, Xue in view of Chavva and Liu discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “wherein the third indication information is indicated by at least one or a combination of following signaling: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling; a media access control control element (MAC CE) signaling; or a downlink control information (DCI) signaling.” ([¶ 0034]: “A medium access control (MAC)-control element (MAC-CE) is a MAC layer communication structure that may be used for control command exchange between wireless nodes.”)
Regarding claim 12, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue does not explicitly disclose “receiving fourth indication information sent by a network device, wherein the fourth indication information is configured to indicate the second auxiliary information.”
However, Liu discloses the missing feature “receiving fourth indication information sent by a network device, wherein the fourth indication information is configured to indicate the second auxiliary information.” ([¶ 0120]: “In this case, the configuration information indicates a sending pattern of the M reference signals. For example, M=4, and the reference signals are SSSs. In FIG. 5(a), one reference signal set includes four SSSs that are distributed on four consecutive symbols, and each SSS corresponds to one beam direction.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Liu, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize an indication of beam pointing information as disclosed by Liu. The motivation for doing so is that it improves accuracy. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Liu to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 13, Xue in view of Chavva and Liu discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue further discloses “wherein the third indication information is indicated by at least one or a combination of following signaling: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling; a media access control control element (MAC CE) signaling; or a downlink control information (DCI) signaling.” ([¶ 0034]: “A medium access control (MAC)-control element (MAC-CE) is a MAC layer communication structure that may be used for control command exchange between wireless nodes.”)
Regarding claim 22, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue does not explicitly disclose “sending third indication information to the terminal device, wherein the third indication information is configured to indicate the first auxiliary information, wherein the first auxiliary information comprises first beam pointing information of each first reference signal resource in the first reference signal resource set.”
However, Liu discloses the missing feature “sending third indication information to the terminal device, wherein the third indication information is configured to indicate the first auxiliary information.” ([¶ 0120]: “In this case, the configuration information indicates a sending pattern of the M reference signals. For example, M=4, and the reference signals are SSSs. In FIG. 5(a), one reference signal set includes four SSSs that are distributed on four consecutive symbols, and each SSS corresponds to one beam direction.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Liu, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize an indication of beam pointing information as disclosed by Liu. The motivation for doing so is that it improves accuracy. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Liu to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Regarding claim 28, Xue in view of Chavva discloses all the features of the parent claim.
Xue does not explicitly disclose “sending fourth indication information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth indication information is configured to indicate the second auxiliary information, and wherein the second auxiliary information comprises second beam pointing information corresponding to the second reference signal resource set.”
However, Liu discloses the missing feature “sending fourth indication information to the terminal device, wherein the fourth indication information is configured to indicate the second auxiliary information.” ([¶ 0120]: “In this case, the configuration information indicates a sending pattern of the M reference signals. For example, M=4, and the reference signals are SSSs. In FIG. 5(a), one reference signal set includes four SSSs that are distributed on four consecutive symbols, and each SSS corresponds to one beam direction.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Xue and Liu, to modify the technique as disclosed by Xue, to utilize an indication of beam pointing information as disclosed by Liu. The motivation for doing so is that it improves accuracy. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Xue with Liu to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 10, and 14 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 8, of the closest prior arts Xue (US 20210376895 A1) in view of Chavva (US 20210351885 A1) and Liu (US 20220053434 A1) discloses all the features of the parent claim. However, Xue in view of Chavva and Liu does not disclose “wherein the third indication information comprises an index of the reference signal, and wherein the index of the reference signal has a correspondence relationship with beam pointing; or wherein the third indication information comprises a quasi co-location relationship between the first beam pointing information of the first reference signal resource and a target reference signal with known beam pointing information.” The cited references fail to anticipate or render the above limitations in combination with all the recited limitations of claims 8 obvious, over any of the prior art of record, alone or in combination.
Regarding claim 10, of the closest prior arts Xue (US 20210376895 A1) in view of Chavva (US 20210351885 A1) and Liu (US 20220053434 A1) discloses all the features of the parent claim. However, Xue in view of Chavva and Liu does not disclose “wherein the first beam pointing information comprises horizontal direction pointing information and vertical direction pointing information; or wherein the first beam pointing information further comprises beam width information, and wherein the beam width information comprises at least one of half power beam width, half power angle, and 3 dB beam width.” The cited references fail to anticipate or render the above limitations in combination with all the recited limitations of claims 10 obvious, over any of the prior art of record, alone or in combination.
Regarding claim 14, of the closest prior arts Xue (US 20210376895 A1) in view of Chavva (US 20210351885 A1) and Liu (US 20220053434 A1) discloses all the features of the parent claim. However, Xue in view of Chavva and Liu does not disclose “wherein the fourth indication information comprises a resource number, and wherein the resource number has a correspondence relationship with beam pointing; or wherein the second beam pointing information comprises a beam pointing information range in a horizontal direction and a beam pointing information range in a vertical direction.” The cited references fail to anticipate or render the above limitations in combination with all the recited limitations of claims 8 obvious, over any of the prior art of record, alone or in combination.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAAD KHAWAR whose telephone number is (571)272-7948. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Jiang can be reached at (571)-270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SAAD KHAWAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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