DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-5, 8-11, 13-15, 17, 22-25, 31, 33 and 34 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 –
(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.
Claim 1-4, 8-11, 13, 15, 17, 22-25, 31, 33 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yao et al, application No. 2023/0354359, hereinafter known as Yao.
As to claim 1, Yao discloses a method for determining a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state, performed by a terminal (Yao, figure 6, [0101]-[0103], terminal and base station determining TCI states), the method comprising: receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate at least two sets of TCI states (Yao, [0054]-[0055], [0068], table 1, downlink control indication DCI with two TCI states where a TCI state equals a set according to instant application paragraph [0038]; [0102], sent in the DCI from network/base station to terminal); and determining, according to a configuration for at least one of a channel or a signal, a TCI state for a transmission of the at least one of the channel or the signal (Yao, [0059]-[0066], TCI states indicated by network to terminal in CORSET; [0104], terminal using DCI indication transmits plural signals such as PUCCH or SRS).
As to claim 2, Yao discloses at least one set of TCI states in the at least two sets of TCI states comprises one joint TCI state; or at least one set of TCI states in the at least two sets of TCI states comprises at least one of a separate uplink (UL) TCI state or a separate downlink (DL) TCI state (Yao, [0045], [0057], TCI state may refer to uplink TCI state and Downlink TCI state).
As to claim 3, Yao discloses wherein determining, according to the configuration for the at least one of the channel or the signal, the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one of the channel or the signal comprises: determining a specified set of TCI states in the at least two sets of TCI states as the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one of the channel or the signal, in response to the configuration for the at least one of the channel or the signal indicating a transmission based on one set of TCI states (Yao, [0065], [0082], channel configured for two sets of TCI states and using the specified TCI state accordingly).
As to claim 4, Yao discloses wherein the specified set of TCI states comprises: a first set of TCI states in the first indication information (Yao, [0077], TCI states in the first indication with specified set of states).
As to claim 8, Yao discloses wherein, the channel comprises at least one of: a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); the signal comprises at least one of: a channel state information reference signal (CSI RS) or a sounding reference signal (SRS) (Yao, [0045], Channels including PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, CSI-RS and SRS).
As to claim 9, Yao discloses wherein a configuration for at least one channel in the channel indicates a transmission based on one set of TCI states, a configuration for at least another channel indicates a transmission based on a plurality of sets of TCI states (Yao, [[0059]-[0066], configuration for TCI state as indicated for one TRP (one set) and two TRP (two sets)).
As to claim 10, Yao discloses wherein determining, according to the configuration for the at least one of the channel or the signal, the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one of the channel or the signal comprises: determining, in the at least two sets of TCI states, one set of TCI states with an associated group ID the same as a group ID associated with any one channel as the TCI state for a transmission of the any one channel, in response to a configuration for the any one channel indicating the transmission based on one set of TCI states (Yao, [0066]-[0067], CORSET to indication for two TCI sets that may share a CORSET pool ID or group ID).
As to claim 11, Yao dicloses the method according to claim 9. Yao does not expressly disclose however Liu dicloses wherein determining, according to the configuration for the at least one of the channel or the signal, the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one of the channel or the signal comprises: in response to a configuration for at least one first channel indicating the transmission based on one set of TCI states and a configuration for at least one second channel indicating the transmission based on a plurality of sets of TCI states, determining a TCI state for a transmission of the at least one second channel and a TCI state for a transmission of the at least one first channel independently (Yao, [0063]-[0069], configuration for one TCI state or two TCI provided where the associated TCI states area applied on independent associated PUCCH transmission).
As to claim 13, Yao and Liu dicloses the method according to claim 9. Yao does not disclose however Liu dicloses wherein determining the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one first channel and the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one second channel independently, comprises: determining the at least two sets of TCI states as the TCI state for a transmission of the at least one first channel, and determining one set of TCI states for a transmission of the at least one second channel according to additional information (Yao, [0063]-[0069], configuration for one TCI state or two TCI provided where the associated TCI states area applied to their on PUCCH transmission; [0067], additional information for determining the plural channel including pool ID or group ID).
As to claim 15, the claim is rejected as applied to claim 1 above by Yao.
As to claim 17, Yao discloses wherein determining, according to the configuration for the at least one of the channel or the signal in the terminal, the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one of the channel or the signal comprises one of: determining a specified set of TCI states in the at least two sets of TCI states as the TCI state for the transmission of the at least one of the channel or the signal, in response to the configuration for the at least one of the channel or the signal indicating a transmission based on one set of TCI states; or determining the at least two sets of TCI states as the TCI state for a transmission of any one channel, in response to a configuration for the any one channel indicating a transmission based on a plurality of sets of TCI states (Yao, [0065], [0082], channel configured for two sets of TCI states and using the specified TCI state accordingly).
As to claims 22-25, the claims are rejected as applied to claim 8-11 respectively above by Yao.
As to claim 31, the claim is rejected as applied to claim 1 above by Yao.
As to claim 33, Yao discloses wherein the additional information comprises any one of: a group ID associated with at least one channel; a codepoint value in an indication field for indicating an SRS resource set index in downlink control information (DCI); information indicated by an information field for indicating downlink assignment in the DCI; or information indicated by a newly-added information field in the DCI (Yao, [0065]-[0067], [0066]-[0067], CORSET to indication for two TCI sets that may share a CORSET pool ID or group ID).
As to claim 34, the claim is rejected as applied to claim 15 above by Yao.
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.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Liu et al, application no. 2023/0397193, hereinafter known as Liu.
As to claim 5, Yao dicloses the method according to claim 4. Yao does not disclose however Liu dicloses wherein, the first set of TCI states is one set of TCI states located at a least bit field position in the first indication information; or the first set of TCI states is one set of TCI states with a smallest TCI state ID in the first indication information (Liu, Figure 4, [0099]-[010], TCI state ID in MAC CE with bit field indication for plural TCI states).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Yao to include the limitations of wherein, the first set of TCI states is one set of TCI states located at a least bit field position in the first indication information; or the first set of TCI states is one set of TCI states with a smallest TCI state ID in the first indication information as taught by Liu. Use of bit field in control messages such as MAC-CE is well known in the art.
As to claim 14, Yao dicloses the method according to claim 4. Yao does not disclose however Liu dicloses wherein the first indication information comprises any one of: a media access control-control element (MAC CE); or downlink control information (DCI) and a MAC CE (Liu, Figure 4, [0099]-[010], TCI state ID in MAC CE with bit field indication for plural TCI states)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Yao to include the limitations of wherein the first indication information comprises any one of: a media access control-control element (MAC CE); or downlink control information (DCI) and a MAC CE as taught by Liu. Use of bit field in control messages such as MAC-CE is well known in the art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GAUTAM SHARMA whose telephone number is (571)270-7182. The examiner can normally be reached 11am-8pm.
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, Hassan Phillips can be reached at 571-272-3940. 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.
/GAUTAM SHARMA/ Examiner, Art Unit 2467
/HASSAN A PHILLIPS/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2467
Prosecution Insights