DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is a response to an application filed on October 25, 2024, and to the preliminary amendment filed on even date. Prior to the preliminary amendment, claims 1-15 were pending. By the preliminary amendment, claims 1-15 were canceled, and claims 16-31were newly added. Accordingly, claims 16-31 are currently pending and ready for examination.
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 .
Relevant Technical Information Submittal Requirement
Requirement — Overview
The applicant is required to submit copies of non-patent literature and relevant technical information as set forth below.
Basis for Requirement
35 U.S.C. § 131 provides:
The Director shall cause an examination to be made of the application and the alleged new invention; and if on such examination it appears that the applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, the Director shall issue a patent therefor.
37 C.F.R. § 1.105(a) provides:
In the course of examining or treating a matter in a pending or abandoned application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111 or 371 (including a reissue application), in a patent, or in a reexamination proceeding, the examiner or other Office employee may require the submission, from individuals identified under § 1.56(c), or any assignee, of such information as may be reasonably necessary to properly examine or treat the matter, for example:
….
(iii) Related information: A copy of any non-patent literature, published application, or patent (U.S. or foreign), by any of the inventors, that relates to the claimed invention.
(iv) Information used to draft application: A copy of any non-patent literature, published application, or patent (U.S. or foreign) that was used to draft the application.
(v) Information used in invention process: A copy of any non-patent literature, published application, or patent (U.S. or foreign) that was used in the invention process, such as by designing around or providing a solution to accomplish an invention result.
…
(viii) Technical information known to applicant. Technical information known to applicant concerning the related art, the disclosure, the claimed subject matter, other factual information pertinent to patentability, or concerning the accuracy of the examiner’s stated interpretation of such items.
Background
The applicant has stated in a publicly available European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) record that the present application, Application No. 18/860,145 (“the Application”), identified as “WO2023KR05792” and “WO2023211209A1,” which are family PCT application publications of the Application, may be or may become ESSENTIAL in relation to at least the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) identified in the attached IPR Information Statement Annex.”1
Necessity for this Requirement.
This Requirement is issued pursuant to the Director’s duty and authority to examine patent applications. See 35 U.S.C. § 131; 37 C.F.R. § 1.105(a). The ETSI record indicates the applicant likely possesses information relating to the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) that is necessary for a more complete understanding of the invention and its context. See MPEP § 704.11. Such information may include non-patent literature and technical materials (e.g., contribution papers or Tdocs) authored, generated, or submitted by the applicant or others that form the basis of, or resulted from, the claimed invention.
Applicant is Required to Submit:
Copies of any non-patent literature relating to the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) identified in the ETSI record for the Application, which satisfies any of the following criteria:
Authored by any of the inventors and related to the claimed invention,
Used to draft the present application, or
Used in the invention process (for example, used to design around prior art or to provide a solution that enabled the claimed invention); and
Any technical information known to the applicant relating to the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) identified in the ETSI record for the Application, which concerns the related art, the disclosure, the claimed subject matter, other factual information pertinent to patentability, or the accuracy of the examiner’s stated interpretation of such items.
Instructions to Applicant
A complete reply to this Requirement is a reply to each enumerated requirement for information giving either the information required or a statement that the information required to be submitted is unknown and/or is not readily available to the applicant. There is no requirement for the applicant to show that the required information was not, in fact, readily attainable, but the applicant is required to make a good faith attempt to obtain the information and to make a reasonable inquiry once the information is requested. See MPEP § 704.12(b).
This Requirement is subject to the provisions of 37 CFR §§ 1.134, 1.135 and 1.136 and is accorded the same period for reply as the action on the merits sent with this Requirement. See MPEP § 704.13 (third paragraph). EXTENSIONS OF THIS TIME PERIOD MAY BE GRANTED UNDER 37 CFR 1.136 (a).
Information Disclosure Statement
The three information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on October 25, 2024 and on October 2, 2025 (2 IDSs) are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 18, 20, 22, 26 and 28 are objected to for the following informalities:
٠ Claims 18 and 26, each on the last line, recites the limitation, “the band,” which limitation lacks sufficient antecedent basis. For the purpose of the examination, the limitation is read “a band.”
٠ Claims 20 (on line 11) and 28 (on line 10) recite the limitation, “from the BS,” which as these claims are directed to a BS or a method performed by a BS, receiving a UL signal “from the BS” appear erroneous. For the purpose of the examination, the limitation is read “from the UE.”
٠ Claim 22, on line 1, recites “The BS of 21 6,” which appears erroneous. For the purpose of the examination, the preamble is read “The BS of claim 21.”
Corrections are required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section151, 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
Claims 16-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liang et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2024/0107511) (hereinafter “Liang”).
Regarding Claim 16, Liang discloses a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1, “UE;” and Fig. 19, “UE”) in a wireless communication system (Fig. 1; and ¶[0021], “wireless communication network”), the UE comprising:
a transceiver (Fig. 19, “transmitter” and “receiver”); and
a controller coupled with the transceiver (Fig. 19, “Processor(s)” and “Memory(s)”), and configured to (See, ¶[0028]; and ¶¶[0188]-[0189]):
receive (See, Fig. 3, S302; and ¶[0090], “the BS can use one or more RRC (Radio Resource Control) parameters to indicate which transmission chain configuration (or transmission chain state) the UE should stay in following the current uplink transmission.”), from a base station (BS) (Fig. 1, “BS”), first information (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to {Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB), Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC), Case 1-6 (OneTxOnBandBandD), Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)};” and ¶[0177], “two RRC parameters may each correspond to a subset of the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.” See, Table 18 for the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.) configuring a state of dual transmission (Tx) chains for an uplink (UL) Tx switching (See, “Embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), the state of the dual UL Tx chains including a state of a first UL Tx chain and a second UL Tx chain (See, ¶[0175], “For example, if the RRC is set to “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1), the UE would know that, if 1-port transmission is triggered on Band A, then it should set the transmission chain configuration as Case 1-1. That is, one transmission chain is assigned to Band A and Band B respectively.”),
transmit, to the BS (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a first UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-1”. See, Table 18.) on a first UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 1. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a first band based (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band A column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) on the first UL Tx chain (One of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “ the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”) and a second UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 2. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a second band (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band B column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) based on the second UL Tx chain (The other one of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), and
in case that the first information (i.e., the parameter RRC1, see, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1”.) indicates that one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on a carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), transmit, to the BS (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC)”. See, Table 18.) on a third UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 3. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “0P+1P+1P+0P”.) for a third band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “1T” for Band C column) based on the first UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-2 is moving the “Tx chain from Brand [sic] A to Band C”.).
Regarding claim 17/16, Liang discloses a UE comprising all elements recited in claim 16 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that the controller is further configured to receive, from the BS, second information (RRC2. See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC2 can correspond to case {Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD), Case 1-4 (OneTxOnBandAandD), Case 1-5 (OneTxOnBandAandC), Case 2-3 (TwoTxOnBandC), Case 2-4 (TwoTxOnBandD)}”.) configuring an associated band for the UL Tx switching (See, ¶[0178], “(OneTxOnBandCandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandC),” each respectively provides pairing relationship between the 1) Band A/Band C; 2) Band A/Band D; and 3) Band C/Band D.)
wherein the second information indicates the third band (E.g., Band C. See, above.) and a fourth band (E.g., Band D. See, above.) associated with the third band (“(OneTxOnBandCandD)” See, above.), and
wherein the second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. See, Table 18.) is transmitted on a fourth carrier (E.g., Carrier 4. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “0P+0P+1P+1P”.) for the fourth band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “1T” for Band D column) based on the second UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3 is moving the “Tx chains from Band A and Band B to Band C and Band D”.).
Regarding claim 18/17, Liang discloses a UE comprising all elements recited in claim 17 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that each of the first UL signal and the second UL signal is transmitted at one port (See, e.g., Fig. 18, “Preceding Transmission;” and “Current Transmission;” ¶[0164], “Case 1-1: 1 transmission chain on Band A and 1 transmission chain on Band B (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band A and Band B); ¶[0166], “Case 1-3: 1 transmission chain on Band C and 1 transmission chain on Band D (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band C and Band D); and ¶[0178], “Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB)…. Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. In the case of the UE switching the Tx chain state from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3, e.g., the preceding UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the claimed “first UL signal,” and the current UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the “second UL signal,” are each transmitted at one port, i.e., Case 1-1: 1P+1P+0P+0P; and Case 1-3: 0P+0P+1P+1P. See, Table 18.),
wherein the first information and the second information are received via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling (See, ¶[0176], “the two or more RRC parameters can be used to configure the transmission chain state of the UE for embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0178], “RRC1” and “RRC2”), and
wherein the first information indicates that:
one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on the carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), or
both of the first UL Tx chain and the second UL Tx chain are supported on the carrier for the band (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)” See, also, Table 18, Case 2-1 and Case 2-2.).
Regarding claim 19/16, Liang discloses a UE comprising all elements recited in claim 17 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that a UL signal is not transmitted for a duration of switching gap between the transmission of the first UL signal and the transmission of second UL signal (See, ¶[0038], “the UE may be configured to withhold the transmission during a switching period ;”and ¶[0085], “a switching gap is needed for the uplink transmission switching among Case 1-1, Case 1-2, Case 1-3 and Case 1-4.”).
Regarding claim 20, Liang discloses a base station (BS) (Fig. 1, “BS;” and Fig. 19, “BS”.) in a wireless communication system (Fig. 1; and ¶[0021], “wireless communication network”), the BS comprising:
a transceiver (Fig. 19, “transmitter” and “receiver”); and
a controller coupled with the transceiver (Fig. 19, “Processor(s)” and “Memory(s)”), and configured to (See, ¶[0028]; and ¶¶[0188]-[0189]):
transmit (See, Fig. 3, S302; and ¶[0090], “the BS can use one or more RRC (Radio Resource Control) parameters to indicate which transmission chain configuration (or transmission chain state) the UE should stay in following the current uplink transmission.”), to a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1, “UE”), first information (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to {Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB), Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC), Case 1-6 (OneTxOnBandBandD), Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)};” and ¶[0177], “two RRC parameters may each correspond to a subset of the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.” See, Table 18 for the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.) configuring a state of dual transmission (Tx) chains for an uplink (UL) Tx switching (See, “Embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), the state of the dual UL Tx chains including a state of a first UL Tx chain and a second UL Tx chain (See, ¶[0175], “For example, if the RRC is set to “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1), the UE would know that, if 1-port transmission is triggered on Band A, then it should set the transmission chain configuration as Case 1-1. That is, one transmission chain is assigned to Band A and Band B respectively.”),
receive, from the UE (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a first UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-1”. See, Table 18.) on a first UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 1. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a first band based (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band A column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) on the first UL Tx chain (One of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “ the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”) and a second UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 2. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a second band (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band B column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) based on the second UL Tx chain (The other one of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), and
in case that the first information (i.e., the parameter RRC1, see, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1”.) indicates that one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on a carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), receive, from the BS (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC)”. See, Table 18.) on a third UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 3. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “0P+1P+1P+0P”.) for a third band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “1T” for Band C column) based on the first UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-2 is moving the “Tx chain from Brand [sic] A to Band C”.).
Regarding claim 21/20, Liang discloses a BS comprising all elements recited in claim 20 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that the controller is further configured to transmit, to the UE, second information (RRC2. See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC2 can correspond to case {Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD), Case 1-4 (OneTxOnBandAandD), Case 1-5 (OneTxOnBandAandC), Case 2-3 (TwoTxOnBandC), Case 2-4 (TwoTxOnBandD)}”.) configuring an associated band for the UL Tx switching (See, ¶[0178], “(OneTxOnBandCandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandC),” each respectively provides pairing relationship between the 1) Band A/Band C; 2) Band A/Band D; and 3) Band C/Band D.)
wherein the second information indicates the third band (E.g., Band C. See, above.) and a fourth band (E.g., Band D. See, above.) associated with the third band (“(OneTxOnBandCandD)” See, above.), and
wherein the second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. See, Table 18.) is transmitted on a fourth carrier (E.g., Carrier 4. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “0P+0P+1P+1P”.) for the fourth band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “1T” for Band D column) based on the second UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3 is moving the “Tx chains from Band A and Band B to Band C and Band D”.).
Regarding claim 22/21, Liang discloses a BS comprising all elements recited in claim 21 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that each of the first UL signal and the second UL signal is received at one port2 (See, e.g., Fig. 18, “Preceding Transmission;” and “Current Transmission;” ¶[0164], “Case 1-1: 1 transmission chain on Band A and 1 transmission chain on Band B (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band A and Band B); ¶[0166], “Case 1-3: 1 transmission chain on Band C and 1 transmission chain on Band D (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band C and Band D); and ¶[0178], “Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB)…. Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. In the case of the UE switching the Tx chain state from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3, e.g., the preceding UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the claimed “first UL signal,” and the current UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the “second UL signal,” are each transmitted at one port, i.e., Case 1-1: 1P+1P+0P+0P; and Case 1-3: 0P+0P+1P+1P. See, Table 18.),
wherein the first information and the second information are transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling (See, ¶[0176], “the two or more RRC parameters can be used to configure the transmission chain state of the UE for embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0178], “RRC1” and “RRC2”), and
wherein the first information indicates that:
one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on the carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), or
both of the first UL Tx chain and the second UL Tx chain are supported on the carrier for the band (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)” See, also, Table 18, Case 2-1 and Case 2-2.).
Regarding claim 23/20, Liang discloses a BS comprising all elements recited in claim 20 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that a UL signal is not received for a duration of switching gap between the transmission of the first UL signal and the transmission of second UL signal (See, ¶[0038], “the UE may be configured to withhold the transmission during a switching period ;”and ¶[0085], “a switching gap is needed for the uplink transmission switching among Case 1-1, Case 1-2, Case 1-3 and Case 1-4.”).
Regarding claim 24, Liang discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1, “UE”) in a wireless communication system (Fig. 1; and ¶[0021], “wireless communication network”), the method comprising:
receiving (See, Fig. 3, S302; and ¶[0090], “the BS can use one or more RRC (Radio Resource Control) parameters to indicate which transmission chain configuration (or transmission chain state) the UE should stay in following the current uplink transmission.”), from a base station (BS) (Fig. 1, “BS”), first information (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to {Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB), Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC), Case 1-6 (OneTxOnBandBandD), Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)};” and ¶[0177], “two RRC parameters may each correspond to a subset of the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.” See, Table 18 for the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.) configuring a state of dual transmission (Tx) chains for an uplink (UL) Tx switching (See, “Embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), the state of the dual UL Tx chains including a state of a first UL Tx chain and a second UL Tx chain (See, ¶[0175], “For example, if the RRC is set to “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1), the UE would know that, if 1-port transmission is triggered on Band A, then it should set the transmission chain configuration as Case 1-1. That is, one transmission chain is assigned to Band A and Band B respectively.”),
transmitting, to the BS (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a first UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-1”. See, Table 18.) on a first UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 1. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a first band based (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band A column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) on the first UL Tx chain (One of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “ the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”) and a second UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 2. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a second band (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band B column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) based on the second UL Tx chain (The other one of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), and
in case that the first information (i.e., the parameter RRC1, see, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1”.) indicates that one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on a carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), transmitting, to the BS (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC)”. See, Table 18.) on a third UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 3. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “0P+1P+1P+0P”.) for a third band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “1T” for Band C column) based on the first UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-2 is moving the “Tx chain from Brand [sic] A to Band C”.).
Regarding claim 25/24, Liang discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 24 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that the method further comprises receiving, from the BS, second information (RRC2. See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC2 can correspond to case {Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD), Case 1-4 (OneTxOnBandAandD), Case 1-5 (OneTxOnBandAandC), Case 2-3 (TwoTxOnBandC), Case 2-4 (TwoTxOnBandD)}”.) configuring an associated band for the UL Tx switching (See, ¶[0178], “(OneTxOnBandCandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandC),” each respectively provides pairing relationship between the 1) Band A/Band C; 2) Band A/Band D; and 3) Band C/Band D.)
wherein the second information indicates the third band (E.g., Band C. See, above.) and a fourth band (E.g., Band D. See, above.) associated with the third band (“(OneTxOnBandCandD)” See, above.), and
wherein the second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. See, Table 18.) is transmitted on a fourth carrier (E.g., Carrier 4. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “0P+0P+1P+1P”.) for the fourth band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “1T” for Band D column) based on the second UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3 is moving the “Tx chains from Band A and Band B to Band C and Band D”.).
Regarding claim 26/25, Liang discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 25 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that each of the first UL signal and the second UL signal is transmitted at one port (See, e.g., Fig. 18, “Preceding Transmission;” and “Current Transmission;” ¶[0164], “Case 1-1: 1 transmission chain on Band A and 1 transmission chain on Band B (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band A and Band B); ¶[0166], “Case 1-3: 1 transmission chain on Band C and 1 transmission chain on Band D (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band C and Band D); and ¶[0178], “Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB)…. Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. In the case of the UE switching the Tx chain state from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3, e.g., the preceding UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the claimed “first UL signal,” and the current UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the “second UL signal,” are each transmitted at one port, i.e., Case 1-1: 1P+1P+0P+0P; and Case 1-3: 0P+0P+1P+1P. See, Table 18.),
wherein the first information and the second information are received via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling (See, ¶[0176], “the two or more RRC parameters can be used to configure the transmission chain state of the UE for embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0178], “RRC1” and “RRC2”), and
wherein the first information indicates that:
one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on the carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), or
both of the first UL Tx chain and the second UL Tx chain are supported on the carrier for the band (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)” See, also, Table 18, Case 2-1 and Case 2-2.).
Regarding claim 27/24, Liang discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 25 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that a UL signal is not received for a duration of switching gap between the transmission of the first UL signal and the transmission of second UL signal (See, ¶[0038], “the UE may be configured to withhold the transmission during a switching period ;”and ¶[0085], “a switching gap is needed for the uplink transmission switching among Case 1-1, Case 1-2, Case 1-3 and Case 1-4.”).
Regarding claim 28, Liang discloses a method performed by a base station (BS) (Fig. 1, “BS”) in a wireless communication system (Fig. 1; and ¶[0021], “wireless communication network”), the method comprising:
transmitting (See, Fig. 3, S302; and ¶[0090], “the BS can use one or more RRC (Radio Resource Control) parameters to indicate which transmission chain configuration (or transmission chain state) the UE should stay in following the current uplink transmission.”), to a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1, “UE”), first information (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to {Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB), Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC), Case 1-6 (OneTxOnBandBandD), Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)};” and ¶[0177], “two RRC parameters may each correspond to a subset of the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.” See, Table 18 for the 10 candidate transmission chain configurations.) configuring a state of dual transmission (Tx) chains for an uplink (UL) Tx switching (See, “Embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), the state of the dual UL Tx chains including a state of a first UL Tx chain and a second UL Tx chain (See, ¶[0175], “For example, if the RRC is set to “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1), the UE would know that, if 1-port transmission is triggered on Band A, then it should set the transmission chain configuration as Case 1-1. That is, one transmission chain is assigned to Band A and Band B respectively.”),
receiving, from the UE (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a first UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-1”. See, Table 18.) on a first UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 1. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a first band based (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band A column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) on the first UL Tx chain (One of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “ the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”) and a second UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 2. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1P+1P+0P+0P”.) for a second band (E.g., Band A. See, Table 18, Case 1-1, “1T” for Band B column; and ¶[0175], “OneTxOnBandAandB” (i.e., Case 1-1)”) based on the second UL Tx chain (The other one of the two Tx Chain. See, e.g., ¶[0034], “Generally speaking, the BS can configure the UE to have two transmission chains;” and ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned.”), and
in case that the first information (i.e., the parameter RRC1, see, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1”.) indicates that one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on a carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), receiving, from the BS (See, e.g., ¶[0037], “UE may transmit subsequent uplink transmission on the current uplink carriers.”), a second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-2 (OneTxOnBandBandC)”. See, Table 18.) on a third UL carrier (E.g., Carrier 3. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “0P+1P+1P+0P”.) for a third band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-2, “1T” for Band C column) based on the first UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-2 is moving the “Tx chain from Brand [sic] A to Band C”.).
Regarding claim 29/28, Liang discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 28 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that the method further comprises transmitting, to the UE, second information (RRC2. See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC2 can correspond to case {Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD), Case 1-4 (OneTxOnBandAandD), Case 1-5 (OneTxOnBandAandC), Case 2-3 (TwoTxOnBandC), Case 2-4 (TwoTxOnBandD)}”.) configuring an associated band for the UL Tx switching (See, ¶[0178], “(OneTxOnBandCandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandD) … (OneTxOnBandAandC),” each respectively provides pairing relationship between the 1) Band A/Band C; 2) Band A/Band D; and 3) Band C/Band D.)
wherein the second information indicates the third band (E.g., Band C. See, above.) and a fourth band (E.g., Band D. See, above.) associated with the third band (“(OneTxOnBandCandD)” See, above.), and
wherein the second UL signal (A UL transmission, e.g., preceding, current or subsequent, see, Figs. 17 and 18, when the then current state of Tx chain is, e.g., “Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. See, Table 18.) is transmitted on a fourth carrier (E.g., Carrier 4. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “0P+0P+1P+1P”.) for the fourth band (E.g., Band C. See, Table 18, Case 1-3, “1T” for Band D column) based on the second UL Tx chain (See, e.g., Fig. 18, switching from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3 is moving the “Tx chains from Band A and Band B to Band C and Band D”.).
Regarding claim 30/29, Liang discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 29 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that each of the first UL signal and the second UL signal is received at one port3 (See, e.g., Fig. 18, “Preceding Transmission;” and “Current Transmission;” ¶[0164], “Case 1-1: 1 transmission chain on Band A and 1 transmission chain on Band B (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band A and Band B); ¶[0166], “Case 1-3: 1 transmission chain on Band C and 1 transmission chain on Band D (i.e., 1-port transmission is transmitted on both Band C and Band D); and ¶[0178], “Case 1-1 (OneTxOnBandAandB)…. Case 1-3 (OneTxOnBandCandD)”. In the case of the UE switching the Tx chain state from Case 1-1 to Case 1-3, e.g., the preceding UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the claimed “first UL signal,” and the current UL transmission, i.e., corresponding to the “second UL signal,” are each transmitted at one port, i.e., Case 1-1: 1P+1P+0P+0P; and Case 1-3: 0P+0P+1P+1P. See, Table 18.),
wherein the first information and the second information are transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling (See, ¶[0176], “the two or more RRC parameters can be used to configure the transmission chain state of the UE for embodiment 4-4;” and ¶[0178], “RRC1” and “RRC2”), and
wherein the first information indicates that:
one of the first UL Tx chain or the second UL Tx chain is supported on the carrier for each band (See, ¶[0084], “the uplinkTxSwitchingOption may be set to dualUL and each band is associated with at most two transmission chains assigned;” and ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … (OneTxOnBandAandB) …. (OneTxOnBandBandC) …. (OneTxOnBandBandD),” indicating at least one Tx Chain can be supported on any of the four Bands A, B, C and D), or
both of the first UL Tx chain and the second UL Tx chain are supported on the carrier for the band (See, ¶[0178], “the parameter RRC1 can correspond to … Case 2-1 (TwoTxOnBandA), Case 2-2 (TwoTxOnBandB)” See, also, Table 18, Case 2-1 and Case 2-2.).
Regarding claim 31/28, Liang discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 28 as discussed above.
Liang further discloses that a UL signal is not received for a duration of switching gap between the transmission of the first UL signal and the transmission of second UL signal (See, ¶[0038], “the UE may be configured to withhold the transmission during a switching period ;”and ¶[0085], “a switching gap is needed for the uplink transmission switching among Case 1-1, Case 1-2, Case 1-3 and Case 1-4.”).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
1) Chen et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2023/0199755) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention, including non-transmittal of UL signal during the switching gap (See, e.g., ¶[0073]);
2) Nakamura et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2024/0306048) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention (See, e.g., Fig. 6, and the descriptions thereof);
3) Rastegardoost et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2024/0389129) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention, including carrier pairing (See, e.g., Fig. 26, and the descriptions thereof);
4) Takeda et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2022/0322388) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention, including band pairing (See, e.g., Figs. 4-6 and 14, and the descriptions thereof); and
5) Cao et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2024/0297693) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention, including carrier pairing (See, e.g., Figs. 4 and 6, and the descriptions thereof).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KI S KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-9141. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:00AM - 5:30PM.
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, Moo R Jeong can be reached at (571) 272-9617. 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.
/K.S.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2418 September 3, 2026
/WUTCHUNG CHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2418
1 See Samsung Electronics Co, LTD’s IPR Information Statement and IPR Licensing Declaration and IPR
Information Statement Annex, ISLD-202401-001, pp 1 & 5 (identifying the Application as “WO2023KR05792” and “WO2023211209A1”), Retrieved from the Internet<URL: https://ipr.etsi.org/IPRDetails.aspx?IPRD_ID=8241&IPRD_TYPE_ID=2&MODE=2&sessionkey=6df9a0> (Year: 2024). A copy of the ISLD-202401-001 is being provided herewith.
2 This claim limitation, “received at one port,” is construed to mean “received from one port of the UE.” That is, the port is understood to be an antenna port of the UE, and not of a BS. It may be more appropriate to recite “transmitted at one port by the UE.”
3 See, footnote 1 above.
Prosecution Insights