Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/861,035

DEMODULATION REFERENCE SIGNAL PORT ALLOCATION METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIANTENNA PANEL COOPERATIVE TRANSMISSION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 28, 2024
Priority
Apr 29, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTCN2022090781
Examiner
TRAN, THAI Q
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
37%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
Est. Remaining
36%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 37% of cases
37%
Career Allowance Rate
16 granted / 43 resolved
-22.8% vs TC avg
Minimal -1% lift
Without
With
+-1.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 5m
Avg Prosecution
6 currently pending
Career history
53
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.6%
-33.4% vs TC avg
§103
61.7%
+21.7% vs TC avg
§102
21.4%
-18.6% vs TC avg
§112
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 43 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 Objections Claims 1-18, 23 and 26 are objected to because of the following informalities: the claimed limitations DMRS and PUSCH should be changed to Demodulation Reference Signal and Physical Uplink Shared Channel. Appropriate correction is required. 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)(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. Claims 1-18, 23 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by XIAO et al. (WO 2020/164117 A1). Regarding claim 1, XIAO et al. discloses a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port allocation method (Fig. 5 and page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …) for coordinated multiple antenna panels transmission, performed by a terminal device, the method comprising: reading a DMRS port allocation table based on DMRS configuration information and a number of transmission data RANK layers, wherein the DMRS port allocation table comprises at least one DMRS port configuration, the DMRS port configuration corresponds to a PUSCH for coordinated transmission sent based on multiple antenna panel facing a transmission reception point (TRP), and the DMRS configuration information comprises a DMRS type and a maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols (Fig. 5, page 58, paragraph #141 “In certain embodiments, the first information indicates an entry in a table corresponding to a plurality of antenna ports. In some embodiments, the table is selected from a plurality of tables based on a demodulation reference signal configuration, a transmission rank, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the entry in the table is selected based on a demodulation reference signal group configuration, a transmission rank of each codeword, or a combination thereof”, page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …”, page 14, paragraph #0056 “In another example, there may be two codewords for a PUSCH, and each codeword may be transmitted from one panel. … . In this example, a number of layers for the two codewords is three for the first codeword and one for the second codeword. If the third CDM group is configured for first panel transmission, then a gNB (e.g., the first TRP 402) may indicate information to the UE 406 to indicate one value among values {3, 9, 13, 21} in Table 18. …”, and page 15, paragraph #0057 “Table 1 through Table 22 as found herein are designed for DMRS ports indication for UL transmission. … . A dmrs-Type corresponding to the tables may be one or two and may be configured by higher layers, a maxLength may be a maximum length of front-load DMRS symbols, and a rank is a total number of layers for both codewords. In some embodiments, the maxLength and the rank may be indicated to the UE 406 by a gNB (e.g., the first TRP 402)”); and determining a DMRS port configuration by querying the DMRS port allocation table according to DMRS port allocation information, wherein the DMRS port configuration supports RANK combinations for sending data transmission layers of different TRP directions on different panels, wherein a total number of transmission data RANK layers is 4, the DMRS port configuration supports a specific RANK combination for supporting sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels, wherein the specific RANK combination comprises 3 layers and 1 layer (Fig. 5, page 58, paragraph #141 “In certain embodiments, the first information indicates an entry in a table corresponding to a plurality of antenna ports. In some embodiments, the table is selected from a plurality of tables based on a demodulation reference signal configuration, a transmission rank, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the entry in the table is selected based on a demodulation reference signal group configuration, a transmission rank of each codeword, or a combination thereof”, page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …”, pages 14-15, paragraph #0056 “In another example, there may be two codewords for a PUSCH, and each codeword may be transmitted from one panel. … . In this example, a number of layers for the two codewords is three for the first codeword and one for the second codeword. …”, and pages 16-16, paragraph #0059 “Table 2 and Table 3 correspond to DMRS port indication for three and four DMRS ports split between two codewords. … . The DMRS group configuration for Table 3 is: transform precoder is disabled; dmrs-Type=1; maxLength=1; and rank = 4”). Regarding claim 2, XIAO et al. also discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 1 and the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 2, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting 3 layers and 1 layer for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is: DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 4}, wherein, the DMRS ports 0, 1, and 4 support that a number of data layers sent in a first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 2 supports that a number of data layers sent in a second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 1, and 4 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 17-18, paragraph #0062 and Table 6 “Table 6 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. Furthermore, the first entry in Table 6 is for one symbol front-load DMRS which duplicates information found in Table 3. Moreover, the remaining entries are for two symbol front-load DMRS. Specifically, Values 1 and 2 in Table 6 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may support up to two co scheduled UEs with multi-panel transmission and each scheduled UE has two DMRS ports for each codeword. Value 3 in Table 6 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 4 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 3 and 4 may be used for DMRS port indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). The DMRS group configuration for Table 6 is: transform precoder is disabled; dmrs-Type=1; maxLength=2; and rank =4”). Regarding claim 3, XIAO et al. further discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 1 and the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 2, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting I layer and 3 layers for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is: DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 6}, wherein, the DMRS port 0 supports that a number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 2, 3, 6 support that a number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 2, 3, and 6 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 17-18, paragraph #0062 and Table 6 “Table 6 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. Furthermore, the first entry in Table 6 is for one symbol front-load DMRS which duplicates information found in Table 3. Moreover, the remaining entries are for two symbol front-load DMRS. Specifically, Values 1 and 2 in Table 6 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may support up to two co scheduled UEs with multi-panel transmission and each scheduled UE has two DMRS ports for each codeword. Value 3 in Table 6 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 4 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 3 and 4 may be used for DMRS port indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). The DMRS group configuration for Table 6 is: transform precoder is disabled; dmrs-Type=1; maxLength=2; and rank =4”). Regarding claim 4, XIAO et al. discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 2, the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 1, the RANK occupies 3 code division multiplexing (CDM) groups, and the DMRS ports of a second CDM group and a third CDM group are quasi co-located, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting 1 layer and 3 layers for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is at least one of the following: DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 4}, DMRS port combination {0, 2, 4, 5}, DMRS port combination {0, 3, 4, 5} (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 4}, the DMRS port 0 supports that a number of data layers sent in a first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 2, 3, 4 support that a number of data layers sent in a second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 2, 3, and 4 are quasi co-located; wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 2, 4, 5}, the DMRS port 0 supports that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 2, 4, 5 support that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 2, 4, and 5 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 3, 4, 5}, the DMRS port 0 supports that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 3, 4, 5 support that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 3, 4, 5 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”). Regarding claim 5, XIAO et al. discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 2, the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 1, the RANK occupies 3 CDM groups, and DMRS ports of a first CDM group and a second CDM group are quasi co-located, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting 3 layers and 1 layer for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is at least one of the following: DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 4}, DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 5}, DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 4}, DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 5} (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 4}, the DMRS ports 0, 1, 2 support that a number of data layers sent in a first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 4 supports that a number of data layers sent in a second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 1, and 2 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 5}, the DMRS ports 0, 1, 2 support that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 5 supports that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 1, and 2 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 4}, the DMRS ports 0, 2, 3 support that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 4 supports that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 2, and 3 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 5}, the DMRS ports 0, 2, 3 support that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 5 supports that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 2, and 3 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 21-21, paragraphs #0069 to #0072 and Tables 13-15 “Table 13 through Table 15 are for DMRS port indication of a total of four, five, and six DMRS ports for both codewords, respectively. … . Values 1, 2, 3, and 5 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a first pancl. Moreover, Values 1, 2, and 5 in Table 13 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2) which may provide more flexibility to a gNB, and Value 3 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 1 to 4 in Table 13 are for configurations in which the third CDM group is configured for a second panel. Moreover, Value 1 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Values 2, 3, and 4 are for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (2, 2). … ”). Regarding claim 6, XIAO et al. discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 2, the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 2, and the RANK occupies 2 CDM groups, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting 1 layer and 3 layers for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is at least one of the following: DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 8}, DMRS port combination {0, 4, 5, 10} (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 8}, the DMRS port 0 supports that a number of data layers sent in a first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 2, 3 and 8 support that a number of data layers sent in a second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 2, 3, and 8 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 4, 5, 10}, the DMRS port 0 supports that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 4, 5 and 10 support that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 4, 5, and 10 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”). Regarding claim 7, XIAO et al. discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 2, the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 2, and the RANK occupies 2 CDM groups, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting 3 layers and 1 layer for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is at least one of the following: DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 6}, DMRS port combination {0, 1, 4, 6} (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 6}, the DMRS ports 0, I and 6 support that a number of data layers sent in a first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 2 supports that a number of data layers sent in a second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 1, and 6 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 1, 4, 6}, the DMRS ports 0, 1 and 6 support that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 4 supports that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 1, and 6 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”). Regarding claim 8, XIAO et al. discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 2, the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 2, the RANK occupies 3 CDM groups, and DMRS ports of a second CDM group and a third CDM group are quasi co-located, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting 1 layer and 3 layers for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is at least one of the following: DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 4}, DMRS port combination {0, 2, 4, 5} (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 2, 3, 4}, the DMRS port 0 supports that a number of data layers sent in a first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 2, 3 and 4 support that a number of data layers sent in a second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 2, 3, and 4 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”); wherein, in the DMRS port combination {0, 2, 4, 5}, the DMRS port 0 supports that the number of data layers sent in the first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, the DMRS ports 2, 4 and 5 support that the number of data layers sent in the second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, and the DMRS ports 2, 4, and 5 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”). Regarding claim 9, XIAO et al. discloses wherein in a case that the DMRS type is 2, the maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols is 2, the RANK occupies 3 CDM groups, and DMRS ports of a first CDM group and a second CDM group are quasi co-located, the DMRS port configuration corresponding to the RANK combination of supporting 3 layers and 1 layer for sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels is DMRS port combination {0, 1, 2, 4}, wherein the DMRS ports 0, 1 and 2 support that a number of data layers sent in a first beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 3, the DMRS port 4 supports that a number of data layers sent in a second beam information indication direction corresponds to the number of RANK layers of 1, and the DMRS ports 0, 1 and 2 are quasi co-located (page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …” and pages 25-26, paragraphs #0075-#0076 and Table 18 “Table 18 is for a total of four DMRS ports for both codewords. … . Moreover, Value 6 in Table 18 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (1, 3) and Value 9 is for (Ncwn, Nnwn) = (3, 1). Values 6 and 9 may also be used for DMRS ports indication for two scheduled UEs in which (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a first UE is (1, 3) and (Ncwn, Nnwn) of a second UE is (3, 1). …”). Regarding claim 10, XIAO et al. discloses wherein a transmission mode of PUSCH coordinated transmission sent through multiple panels facing multiple TRPs is spatial division multiplexing (SDM) mode (Fig. 4, page 12, paragraph #0049 “Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 400 for multi TRP communication. The system 400 includes a first TRP 402 and a second TRP 404 that make concurrent (e.g., simultaneous, overlapping) transmissions to a UE 406 (e.g., having one or more panels). In one embodiment, the system 100 may include multiple PDCCHs that schedule multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs from the first TRP 402 and the second TRP 404. …” and page 14, paragraph #0054 “In certain embodiments, there may be two CDM groups for DMRS type 1 and three CDM groups for DMRS type 2. …”). Regarding claim 11, XIAO et al. discloses wherein the first beam information indication direction or the second beam information indication direction is determined by uplink detection resource indication information (SRI) or uplink transmission configuration indication information (UL TCI) (see pages 30-31, paragraph #0085 “In some embodiments, a DMRS group may be used to support multi-TRP and/or multi-panel PDSCH and/or PUSCH transmission. … . In certain embodiments, one DMRS group is QCL with one or more RSs indicated by TCI states in DCI or SRI in an UL grant. ...”). Regarding claim 12, XIAO et al. discloses wherein the first beam information indication direction corresponds to a transmission beam direction of a first Panel on the terminal device or a transmission beam direction facing a first TRP of a network side device (Fig. 4, page 12, paragraph #0049 “Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 400 for multi TRP communication. The system 400 includes a first TRP 402 and a second TRP 404 that make concurrent (e.g., simultaneous, overlapping) transmissions to a UE 406 (e.g., having one or more panels). In one embodiment, the system 100 may include multiple PDCCHs that schedule multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs from the first TRP 402 and the second TRP 404. …” and page 14, paragraph #0054 “In certain embodiments, there may be two CDM groups for DMRS type 1 and three CDM groups for DMRS type 2. …”); the second beam information indication direction corresponds to a transmission beam direction of a second Panel on the terminal device or a transmission beam direction facing a second TRP of the network side device (Fig. 4, page 12, paragraph #0049 “Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 400 for multi TRP communication. The system 400 includes a first TRP 402 and a second TRP 404 that make concurrent (e.g., simultaneous, overlapping) transmissions to a UE 406 (e.g., having one or more panels). In one embodiment, the system 100 may include multiple PDCCHs that schedule multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs from the first TRP 402 and the second TRP 404. …” and page 14, paragraph #0054 “In certain embodiments, there may be two CDM groups for DMRS type 1 and three CDM groups for DMRS type 2. …”). Regarding claim 13, wherein the DMRS configuration information is indicated through a higher-layer signaling (see page 15, paragraph #0057 “Table 1 through Table 22 as found herein are designed for DMRS ports indication for UL transmission. … . A dmrs-Type corresponding to the tables may be one or two and may be configured by higher layers, a maxLength may be a maximum length of front-load DMRS symbols, and a rank is a total number of layers for both codewords. In some embodiments, the maxLength and the rank may be indicated to the UE 406 by a gNB (e.g., the first TRP 402)”). Regarding claim 14, XIAO et al. discloses wherein the number of transmission data RANK layers is indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) signaling (see page 37, paragraph #0097 “In various embodiments, a gNB may indicate DMRS ports in a CDM group or a DMRS group configured for its own TRP and/or panel. Tables 27 through 30 may be used by the gNB to indicate the DMRS ports. … . The Tables 31 through 66 may be simplified from Tables 27 through 30 to reduce a number of bits used in DCI to indicate an entry in such tables”). Regarding claim 15, XIAO et al. discloses wherein the DMRS port allocation information is determined by an antenna port indication field in a DCI signaling (see page 37, paragraph #0097 “In various embodiments, a gNB may indicate DMRS ports in a CDM group or a DMRS group configured for its own TRP and/or panel. Tables 27 through 30 may be used by the gNB to indicate the DMRS ports. … . The Tables 31 through 66 may be simplified from Tables 27 through 30 to reduce a number of bits used in DCI to indicate an entry in such tables”). Regarding claim 16, XIAO et al. discloses wherein a quasi co-located relationship between CDM groups is determined by a CDM group configuration signaling sent by a network side device (see page 14, paragraph #0055 “In one example, there may be two codewords for a PUSCH, and each codeword may be transmitted from one panel. In this example, the DMRS configuration for the PUSCH transmission is type 1, and the maximum length of the front-load DMRS is two. Accordingly, there may be two CDM groups and each CDM group may have up to four ports. Moreover, DMRS port indexes in a first CDM group may be ports 0/1/1/5 and DMRS port indexes in a second CDM group may be ports 2/3/6/7. Furthermore, DMRS ports in the first CDM group are used for first panel transmission and DMRS ports in the second CDM group are used for second panel transmission. If a number of layers for the two codewords are three and one respectively, then a gNB (e.g., the first TRP 402) may transmit information to the UE 406 to indicate Value = 4 in Table 6. … .”). Regarding claim 17, XIAO et al. discloses a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port allocation method (Fig. 5 and page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …) for coordinated multiple antenna panels transmission, applied to performed by a network side device, the method comprising: sending DMRS configuration information and a number of transmission data RANK layers to a terminal device, wherein the DMRS configuration information and the number of transmission data RANK layers are used to read a DMRS port allocation table, the DMRS port allocation table comprises at least one DMRS port configuration, the DMRS port configuration corresponds to a PUSCH for coordinated transmission sent based on multiple antenna panel facing a transmission reception point (TRP), and the DMRS configuration information comprises a DMRS type and a maximum number of front-load DMRS symbols (Fig. 5, page 58, paragraph #141 “In certain embodiments, the first information indicates an entry in a table corresponding to a plurality of antenna ports. In some embodiments, the table is selected from a plurality of tables based on a demodulation reference signal configuration, a transmission rank, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the entry in the table is selected based on a demodulation reference signal group configuration, a transmission rank of each codeword, or a combination thereof”, page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …”, page 14, paragraph #0056 “In another example, there may be two codewords for a PUSCH, and each codeword may be transmitted from one panel. … . In this example, a number of layers for the two codewords is three for the first codeword and one for the second codeword. If the third CDM group is configured for first panel transmission, then a gNB (e.g., the first TRP 402) may indicate information to the UE 406 to indicate one value among values {3, 9, 13, 21} in Table 18. …”, and page 15, paragraph #0057 “Table 1 through Table 22 as found herein are designed for DMRS ports indication for UL transmission. … . A dmrs-Type corresponding to the tables may be one or two and may be configured by higher layers, a maxLength may be a maximum length of front-load DMRS symbols, and a rank is a total number of layers for both codewords. In some embodiments, the maxLength and the rank may be indicated to the UE 406 by a gNB (e.g., the first TRP 402)”); and sending DMRS port allocation information to the terminal device, wherein the DMRS port allocation information is used to query DMRS port configuration in the DMRS port allocation table, wherein the DMRS port configuration supports RANK combinations for sending data transmission layers of different TRP directions on different panels, wherein a total number of transmission data RANK layers is 4, the DMRS port configuration supports a specific RANK combination for supporting sending data links facing different TRP directions through two panels, wherein the specific RANK combination comprises 3 layers and 1 layer (Fig. 5, page 58, paragraph #141 “In certain embodiments, the first information indicates an entry in a table corresponding to a plurality of antenna ports. In some embodiments, the table is selected from a plurality of tables based on a demodulation reference signal configuration, a transmission rank, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the entry in the table is selected based on a demodulation reference signal group configuration, a transmission rank of each codeword, or a combination thereof”, page 13, paragraph #0053 “Tables 1 through 62 are found herein. Each of the tables may correspond to a plurality of antenna ports and may be for a certain DMRS CDM group configuration with parameters such as DMRS type and maximum length of front-load DMRS. …”, pages 14-15, paragraph #0056 “In another example, there may be two codewords for a PUSCH, and each codeword may be transmitted from one panel. … . In this example, a number of layers for the two codewords is three for the first codeword and one for the second codeword. …”, and pages 16-16, paragraph #0059 “Table 2 and Table 3 correspond to DMRS port indication for three and four DMRS ports split between two codewords. … . The DMRS group configuration for Table 3 is: transform precoder is disabled; dmrs-Type=1; maxLength=1; and rank = 4”). Regarding claim 18, XIAO discloses wherein the DMRS configuration information is carried in a higher-layer signaling (see page 15, paragraph #0057 “Table 1 through Table 22 as found herein are designed for DMRS ports indication for UL transmission. … . A dmrs-Type corresponding to the tables may be one or two and may be configured by higher layers, a maxLength may be a maximum length of front-load DMRS symbols, and a rank is a total number of layers for both codewords. In some embodiments, the maxLength and the rank may be indicated to the UE 406 by a gNB (e.g., the first TRP 402)”). Claim 23 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed in claim 1 with additional a processor and a memory (see page 4, paragraph #0015 “As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the embodiments may be embodied as a system, apparatus, method, or program product. Accordingly, embodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or "system." Furthermore, embodiments may take the form of a program product embodied in one or more computer readable storage devices storing machine readable code, computer readable code, and/or program code, referred hereafter as code. The storage devices may be tangible, non-transitory, and/or non-transmission. The storage devices may not embody signals. In a certain embodiment, the storage devices only employ signals for accessing code.”). Claim 26 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed in claim 17 with additional a processor and a memory (see page 4, paragraph #0015 “As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the embodiments may be embodied as a system, apparatus, method, or program product. Accordingly, embodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or "system." Furthermore, embodiments may take the form of a program product embodied in one or more computer readable storage devices storing machine readable code, computer readable code, and/or program code, referred hereafter as code. The storage devices may be tangible, non-transitory, and/or non-transmission. The storage devices may not embody signals. In a certain embodiment, the storage devices only employ signals for accessing code.”). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references relate to a demodulation reference signal port configuration. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI Q TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7382. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 6:30pm.. 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, Colleen Fauz can be reached at (571) 272-1667. 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. /THAI Q TRAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2484
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 28, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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