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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) a method of “selecting at least one signal as a default pathloss reference signal for secondary cell activation” and “determining uplink transmit power for transmission by a user equipment on a secondary ell using the selected at least one reference signal as the default pathloss reference signal”. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the method is simple steps of making a determination, which may be a mental process or an algorithm that may be performed with a generic computer. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the selection/determination are not applied to the actual usage/transmission of the selected reference signal or the transmitting using the determined uplink transmit power.
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(s) 1-3, 5, 8-12, 14 and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shen (US 2024/0357513).
Shen discloses the following features.
Regarding claim 1, an apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code that, when executed by the at least one processor (see terminal 101 in Fig. 1 and see memory 703 and processor 701 in Fig. 7), cause the apparatus at least to:
select at least one reference signal as a default pathloss reference signal for secondary cell activation (see step S302 in Fig. 3, wherein a target reference signal is selected as the pathloss reference signal in the process of activating a secondary cell as shown in paragraph [0154]); and
determine uplink transmit power for transmission by a user equipment on a secondary cell using the selected at least one reference signal as the default pathloss reference signal (see “a downlink pathloss may be obtained through calculation by obtaining a power of a channel sent by the network side and a power measured for the pathloss reference signal, and then the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel is determined based on the downlink pathloss” recited in paragraph [0154]).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the at least one reference signal is a synchronization signal block or a channel state information reference signal (see “the UE selects the synchronization signal block of the MIB as the pathloss reference signal” recited in paragraph [0143]; and see “The third reference signal is a reference signal indicated by the spatial relationship of the uplink channel, for example, a synchronization signal block, a channel state information-reference signal, or a sounding reference signal” recited in paragraph [0174], wherein the third reference signal is “the target reference signal” as shown in paragraph [0173], and this “target reference signal” is equivalent to the claimed reference signal selected in claim 1).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the secondary cell is known (see “the secondary cell is known” recited in paragraph [0166], also see paragraph [0073] and [0167] for “known cell”).
Regarding claim 5, wherein the at least one reference signal has a same index as a reported layer three reference signal received power measurement (see “the target reference signal includes the first reference signal” recited in paragraph [0073]; and see “the first reference signal is a reference signal corresponding to a layer 3 measurement result reported by the terminal device” recited in paragraph [0072], and see “the layer 3 measurement result may be a layer 3 reference signal received power (L3-RSRP)” recited in paragraph [0163] and see [0141], which shows that a reference signal is configured with an index; that is, the target reference signal may be the first reference signal, which has an index, and the first reference signal also has a reported L3-RSRP measurement).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the at least one reference signal is associated with or quasi-colocated with a channel state information signal used for channel state information reporting (see “The third reference signal is a reference signal indicated by the spatial relationship of the uplink channel, for example, a synchronization signal block, a channel state information-reference signal, or a sounding reference signal. The pathloss reference signal may be determined based on the third reference signal or the reference signal that has the quasi-colocation relationship with the third reference signal, the downlink pathloss is calculated, and the uplink transmit power of the first message is determined, so that the network device successfully receives the first message” recited in paragraph [0045]).
Regarding claim 9, wherein the secondary cell is unknown (see “a to-be-activated secondary cell is an unknown cell” recited in paragraph [0135] and “the secondary cell is a known cell or an unknown cell” in paragraph [0166]).
Regarding claim 10, wherein the at least one reference signal is quasi-colocated with an activated transmission control indication state for which the user equipment has performed layer three measurement or the reference signal is maintained (see “the target reference signal includes a fourth reference signal or a reference signal that has a quasi-colocation relationship with the fourth reference signal, and the fourth reference signal is a reference signal indicated by transmission configuration indicator information of a control resource set of a current downlink bandwidth.” recited in paragraph [0076], since the reference signal is indicated by a transmission configuration indication information of a control resource set of a “current downlink bandwidth”, this reference signal must be maintained and active).
Regarding claim 11, wherein the user equipment has not yet reported the reference signal (see “In addition, if a to-be-activated secondary cell is an unknown cell, the UE further needs to measure and report a layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), to notify a network of beam information” recited in paragraph [0135], wherein since the reference signal has yet to be measured, the UE also has not yet reported the reference signal; also see “If the terminal device has not reported a measurement result of the cell, the cell is considered as an unknown cell” recited in paragraph [0043]).
Regarding claim 12, wherein the at least one reference signal has been reported in a layer one reference signal received power measurement reporting (see “the second reference signal is the reference signal corresponding to the layer 1 measurement result reported by the terminal device” recited in paragraph [0040] and see “the first cell is an unknown cell, and the target reference signal includes the second reference signal or the reference signal that has the quasi-colocation relationship with the second reference signal” recited in paragraph [0042]).
Regarding claim 14, wherein the at least one reference signal is associated with or quasi-colocated with a channel state information signal used for channel state information reporting (see “The third reference signal is a reference signal indicated by the spatial relationship of the uplink channel, for example, a synchronization signal block, a channel state information-reference signal, or a sounding reference signal. The pathloss reference signal may be determined based on the third reference signal or the reference signal that has the quasi-colocation relationship with the third reference signal, the downlink pathloss is calculated, and the uplink transmit power of the first message is determined, so that the network device successfully receives the first message” recited in paragraph [0045]).
Regarding claim 17, cause the apparatus at least to reuse reference signal received power measurement reference signal for pathloss measurements (see “The first reference signal is the reference signal corresponding to the layer 3 measurement result reported by the terminal device…the terminal device may determine, as the pathloss reference signal, the first reference signal” recited in paragraph [0017]).
Regarding claim 18, a method for an apparatus (see terminal 101 in Fig. 1), comprising: selecting at least one reference signal as a default pathloss reference signal for secondary cell activation (see step S302 in Fig. 3, wherein a target reference signal is selected as the pathloss reference signal in the process of activating a secondary cell as shown in paragraph [0154]); and determining uplink transmission power for transmission by a user equipment on a secondary cell using the selected at least one reference signal as the default pathloss reference signal (see “a downlink pathloss may be obtained through calculation by obtaining a power of a channel sent by the network side and a power measured for the pathloss reference signal, and then the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel is determined based on the downlink pathloss” recited in paragraph [0154]).
Regarding claim 19, wherein the at least one reference signal is a synchronization signal block or a channel state information reference signal (see “the UE selects the synchronization signal block of the MIB as the pathloss reference signal” recited in paragraph [0143]; and see “The third reference signal is a reference signal indicated by the spatial relationship of the uplink channel, for example, a synchronization signal block, a channel state information-reference signal, or a sounding reference signal” recited in paragraph [0174], wherein the third reference signal is “the target reference signal” as shown in paragraph [0173], and this “target reference signal” is equivalent to the claimed reference signal selected in claim 1).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 4 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen as applied to claims 3 and 18 above, and further in view of Cui (US 2025/0167942).
Shen discloses the features as shown above.
Shen also discloses the following features.
Regarding claims 4 and 21, wherein the at least one reference signal is quasi-colocated (see “when the secondary cell is a known cell, the target reference signal includes the first reference signal or the reference signal that has the quasi-colocation relationship with the first reference signal” recited in paragraph [0168]) with an activated transmission control indication state (see “In some possible embodiments, the target reference signal includes a fourth reference signal or a reference signal that has a quasi-colocation relationship with the fourth reference signal. The fourth reference signal is a reference signal indicated by transmission configuration indicator information of a control resource set of a current downlink bandwidth” recited in paragraph [0177]-[0178]).
Shen does not disclose the following features: regarding claims 4 and 21, wherein an index of the reference signal was included among reported reference signal block indices.
Cui discloses the following features.
Regarding claims 4 and 21, wherein an index of the reference signal was included among reported reference signal block indices (see “More specifically, during secondary cell (SCell) (e.g., a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) SCell) activation it may be beneficial for the UE and or network to determine certain known or assumed conditions regarding pathloss reference signals (PL-RS)…for a known physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell (SCell), certain transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, pathloss reference signals (PL-RSs), and/or spatial relation indications may be based on one or more layer-3 (L3) measurements… More specifically, a UE may calculate a pathloss estimate in decibels (dB) by using a reference signal resource index for an active downlink bandwidth part of a serving cell and sounding reference signal (SRS) resource set, according to some embodiments. Additionally, the RS resource index may be provided by a PL-RS associated with the SRS resource set and may be either a synchronization signal block index (SSB-Index) providing a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block index or a channel state information-reference signal index (CSI-RS-Index) providing a CSI-RS resource index” recited in paragraph [0137], which shows that the RS resource index of a PL-RS being associated with a reported CSI-RS resource index or a reported SSB-index).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the current Application to modify the system of Shen using features, as taught by Cui, in order to provide mechanisms for improved reference signal measurement mechanisms during secondary cell activation in New Radio (see paragraph [0137] of Cui).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Guo (US 2022/0086769).
Shen discloses the features as shown above.
Shen does not disclose the following features: regarding claim 6, wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a synchronization signal block associated with or quasi-colocated with a configured channel state information reference signal, when the channel state information reference signal is configured as a pathloss reference signal.
Guo discloses the following features.
Regarding claim 6, wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a synchronization signal block associated with or quasi-colocated with a configured channel state information reference signal, when the channel state information reference signal is configured as a pathloss reference signal (see “For a PUCCH resource, an RRC parameter PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo is used to provide a reference signal (for example, an CSI-RS or SS/PBCH block or SRS resource) that provides spatial relation info or spatial relation information for that PUCCH resource and a downlink reference signal (CSI-RS or SSB) that provides a pathloss reference signal for that PUCCH resource, which may be shown in the below Table” recited in paragraph [0012], which shows an SSB PUCCH resource being associated with a downlink CSI-RS, and the CSI-RS provides a pathloss reference signal; also see paragraph [0050], which shows that the SSB being used as the reference signal for determining transmit power).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the current Application to modify the system of Shen using features, as taught by Guo, in order determine uplink transmission power based on spatial relation information (see paragraph [0012] of Guo).
Claim(s) 7 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen as applied to claims 3 and 9 above, and further in view of Zhou (US 2024/0014975).
Shen discloses the features as shown above.
Shen does not disclose the following features: regarding claims 7 and 13, wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a reference signal in a same transmission control indication state as indicated in a transmission control indication command or uplink spatial relation activation command.
Zhou discloses the following features.
Regarding claims 7 and 13, wherein the at least one reference signal comprises a reference signal in a same transmission control indication state as indicated in a transmission control indication command (see “For example, the base station 110a may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a data structure (e.g., PDSCH-Config as defined in 3GPP specifications and/or another standard) that indicates the one or more configured TCI states (e.g., in a tci-StatesToAddModList table as defined in 3GPP specifications and/or another standard) in an RRC message that configures the SCell (e.g., an rrcConnectionReconfiguration message as defined in 3GPP specifications and/or another standard)… In some examples, the UE 120 may determine the reference signal associated with one TCI state (e.g., having a lowest or highest ID) among those included in the RRC command that configures and/or activates the SCell as the pathloss reference signal activated in the SCell” recited in paragraph [0083], wherein the UE selects a reference signal with TCI state indicated in the RRC command that configures the TCI states) or uplink spatial relation activation command.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the current Application to modify the system of Shen using features, as taught by Zhou, in order to select reference signal without receiving additional message (see paragraph [0080] of Zhou).
Claim(s) 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bai (US 2023/0107840).
Shen discloses the features as shown above.
Shen does not disclose the following features: regarding claim 15, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to compensate receive beam gain offset between layer three measurement and layer one measurement, or between wide beam and narrow beam; regarding claim 16, cause the apparatus to at least to indicate the user equipment’s capability for compensating the receive beam gain offset.
Bai discloses the following features.
Regarding claim 15, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to compensate receive beam gain offset between layer three measurement and layer one measurement, or between wide beam and narrow beam (see “According to certain aspects, the UE measures the serving cell SSB using a refined receive beam (e.g., a narrow beam) and the UE measures the non-serving cells using a wide beam receive beam (e.g., an omni beam or pseudo-omni beam). The different receive beams may be associated with different Rx beamforming gain. The UE may report the raw measurement values (e.g., RSRPs) or the UE may compensate for the different Rx beamforming gain (e.g., by adjusting the measurement values) and report the compensated values to the BS” recited in paragraph [0062]).
Regarding claim 16, cause the apparatus to at least to indicate the user equipment’s capability for compensating the receive beam gain offset (see “At block 550, the UE performs inter-cell signal measurement and reporting based on the one or more capabilities” recited in paragraph [0061], and paragraph [0062] shows the reporting with compensation of the different Rx beamforming gain).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the current Application to modify the system of Shen using features, as taught by Bai, in order to compensate for the different receive beamforming gain (see paragraph [0062] of Bai).
Conclusion
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/JUTAI KAO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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