DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present U.S. non-provisional application is being examined under the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the AIA . The present U.S. non-provisional application, filed on November 25, 2024, is the U.S. national stage of an international PCT application, filed on July 13, 2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on November 25, 2024, February 25, 2026, and August 27, 2026 were filed before the mailing of a first Office action in the present U.S. non-provisional application, in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, except as indicated via strikethrough for lack of compliance with 37 CFR 1.98, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6, 11-13, 16, 17, 19, 24, 25, 27 and 28 would be considered as allowable if rewritten into independent form to include all of the limitations of the respective base claim and any intervening claims, and if made to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112 set forth in this Office action. The claimed invention is neither anticipated by the prior art of record, nor considered as obvious in view thereof to a person having ordinary skill in the art.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 7-10, 14, 18, 20-23, 26, 29 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Nilsson et al. (US 2024/0357529 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 2024/0414674 A1).
1. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, coupled to the memory, configured (Nilsson, FIG. 9) to:
receive a configuration that specifies a first resource pool for a first timing advance (TA) operation with a first transmit receive point (TRP) and a second resource pool for a second TA operation with a second TRP, the first resource pool being associated with a first downlink reference timing and the second resource pool being associated with a second downlink reference timing (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], “In cases where the two TAs are associated with different TA reference timings, the WD 22 may use a DL signal associated with a first TRP to determine the TA reference timing for the TA associated with the first TRP. Further, the WD 22 may use a DL signal associated with the second TRP to determine the TA reference timing associated with the second TRP. For example, in case SSB1 to SSB4 is associated with a first TRP and SSB5 to SSB8 is associated with a second TRP (for example based on RRC configurations), then the WD 22 may use any of SSB1 to SSB4 (and/or another signal that is directly or indirectly QCL with any of SSB1 to SSB4) to determine the TA reference timing for the TA associated with the first TRP. The WD 22 may use any of SSB5 to SSB8 (and/or perhaps another signal that is directly or indirectly QCL with any of SSB5 to SSB8) to determine the TA reference timing for the TA associated with the second TRP…” emphasis added.);
transmit a first communication to the first TRP using the first TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], “…In another embodiment, when the timing is aligned at the multiple TRPs and the timing differences among the TRPs at the WD 22 are caused by different propagation delays, one TA may be configured and/or signaled to the WD 22. The TA may be associated with one of multiple TRPs, e.g., an anchor TRP to which a RACH was sent. For each of the remaining TRPs, the WD 22 may be configured to determine a TA offset based on a DL reference signal (e.g., SSB, TRS, periodic CSI-RS, etc.) associated with the TRP. The WD 22 applies the TA plus the TA offset (i.e., TA+TA offset) when sending UL signals to the TRP…” emphasis added.); and
transmit a second communication to the second TRP using the second TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], “…In another embodiment, when the timing is aligned at the multiple TRPs and the timing differences among the TRPs at the WD 22 are caused by different propagation delays, one TA may be configured and/or signaled to the WD 22. The TA may be associated with one of multiple TRPs, e.g., an anchor TRP to which a RACH was sent. For each of the remaining TRPs, the WD 22 may be configured to determine a TA offset based on a DL reference signal (e.g., SSB, TRS, periodic CSI-RS, etc.) associated with the TRP. The WD 22 applies the TA plus the TA offset (i.e., TA+TA offset) when sending UL signals to the TRP…” emphasis added. Id.)
Nilsson et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Xu et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as first and second resource pools (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], “…FIG. 21 illustrates a timing advance procedure with multiple TRPs as per an aspect of an example embodiment of the present disclosure. A wireless device may receive (e.g., at time T1), from a base station, one or more RRC messages comprising configuration parameters of a cell. The configuration parameters may indicate a first CORESET pool index associated with a first reference signal (RS) set and/or a first timing advance group (TAG). The configuration parameters may indicate a second CORESET pool index associated with a second RS set and/or a second TAG…” emphasis added.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Xu et al. are for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages.
7. The UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration specifies two TA group (TAG) identifiers (IDs) per serving cell, the two TAG IDs being associated with different TRPs (Nilsson, paras. [0372], [0374], “In one embodiment, the two TAs are associated to one serving cell by configuring an addition TAG ID in the ServingCellConfig IE, as described below. When the parameter (i.e., “tag-Id-New”) is configured, the WD 22 may implicitly assume that a first TA defined by the legacy TAG (“tag-Id”) is to be associated with a first TRP (for example a first CORESET Pool Index) and that a second TA defined by the TAG ID (tag-Id-New) is to be associated with a second TRP (for example a first CORESET Pool Index)…”)
8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration specifies one TA group identifier with two TA operations per serving cell (Nilsson, paras. [0372], [0374], “…In one embodiment, a TAG IE is introduced in TAG-Config IE, as described below in an example of RRC configuration of two TAs for one serving cell. When a serving cell is configured with a TAG ID that is associated with the TAG IE (i.e., “TAG-New”), the WD 22 may implicitly assume that a first TA with a timer defined by the new parameter timeAlignmentTime1 is to be associated with a first TRP (e.g., a first CORESET Pool Index) and that a second TA with a timer defined by the new parameter timeAlignmentTime2 is to be associated with a second TRP (e.g., a first CORESET Pool Index).” Id.)
9. The UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration specifies a TA value that is a common reference for the first TRP and the second TRP, a first TA offset for the first TRP, and a second TA offset for the second TRP (Nilsson, paras. [0369], [0378], “…In one embodiment, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 20, where one TAG ID may be associated with two (or more) different TA, control element 100 (e.g., MAC-CE) may include two TA offset indications and one TAG ID. There may be an implicit mapping between the first TA offset indication (“Timing Advance Command 1”) and the TA associated with a first TRP, and an implicit mapping between the second TA offset indication (“Timing Advance Command 2”) and the TA associated with the second TRP. The remaining two bits of the second OCTet can be reserved. Although FIG. 20 illustrates an example of control element 100 (e.g., MAC-CE) carrying two TA offsets, control element 100 is not limited as such and may include any one or more than two TA offsets/indications.”)
10. The UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration specifies a first TA value for the first TRP and a TA offset for the second TRP that is with respect to the first TRP (Nilsson, paras. [0369], [0378], Id.)
14. The UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration associates a first TA value with a first control resource set (CORESET) pool index and a second TA value with a second CORESET pool index (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.)
18. A network entity for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, coupled to the memory, configured (Nilsson, FIG. 9, Id.) to:
transmit a configuration that specifies a first resource pool for a first timing advance (TA) operation with a first transmit receive point (TRP) and a second resource pool for a second TA operation with a second TRP, the first resource pool being associated with a first downlink reference timing and the second resource pool being associated with a second downlink reference timing (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id.);
receive a first communication to the first TRP using the first TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id.); and
receive a second communication to the second TRP using the second TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Nilsson et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Xu et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as first and second resource pools (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Xu et al. are for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages.
20. The network entity of claim 18, wherein the configuration specifies two TA group (TAG) identifiers (IDs) per serving cell, the two TAG IDs being associated with different TRPs (Nilsson, paras. [0372], [0374], Id. cf. Claim 7).
21. The network entity of claim 18, wherein the configuration specifies one TA group identifier with two TA operations per serving cell (Nilsson, paras. [0372], [0374], Id. cf. Claim 8).
22. The network entity of claim 18, wherein the configuration specifies a TA value that is a common reference for the first TRP and the second TRP, a first TA offset for the first TRP, and a second TA offset for the second TRP (Nilsson, paras. [0369], [0378], Id. cf. Claim 9).
23. The network entity of claim 18, wherein the configuration specifies a first TA value for the first TRP and a TA offset for the second TRP that is with respect to the first TRP (Nilsson, paras. [0369], [0378], Id. cf. Claim 10).
26. The network entity of claim 18, wherein the configuration associates a first TA value with a first control resource set (CORESET) pool index and a second TA value with a second CORESET pool index (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id. cf. Claim 14).
29. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) (Nilsson, FIG. 9, Id.), comprising:
receiving a configuration that specifies a first resource pool for a first timing advance (TA) operation with a first transmit receive point (TRP) and a second resource pool for a second TA operation with a second TRP, the first resource pool being associated with a first downlink reference timing and the second resource pool being associated with a second downlink reference timing (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id.);
transmitting a first communication to the first TRP using the first TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id.); and
transmitting a second communication to the second TRP using the second TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Nilsson et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Xu et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as first and second resource pools (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Xu et al. are for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages.
30. A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity (Nilsson, FIG. 9, Id.), comprising:
transmitting a configuration that specifies a first resource pool for a first timing advance (TA) operation with a first transmit receive point (TRP) and a second resource pool for a second TA operation with a second TRP, the first resource pool being associated with a first downlink reference timing and the second resource pool being associated with a second downlink reference timing (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id.);
receiving a first communication to the first TRP using the first TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id.); and
receiving a second communication to the second TRP using the second TA operation (Nilsson, paras. [0364], [0369], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Nilsson et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Xu et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as first and second resource pools (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Xu et al. are for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages (Xu, paras. [0221], [0243], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, for reasons of configuring TA procedures in mTRP via RRC configuration messages.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Nilsson et al. (US 2024/0357529 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 2024/0414674 A1), further in view of CATT: "On Two TAs for UL multi-DCI for multi-TRP operation" (R1-2203442).
15. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit a report of a difference between the first downlink reference timing and the second downlink reference timing (CATT, sec. 2, “…In NR Rel-18 UL multi-DCI for multi-TRP operation, two TAs are proposed to adjust the different UE-to-TRP uplink transmission. In the implementation, the first TA can be obtained by the legacy TA acquisition mechanism to keep spec impact as minimum as possible. For the second TA acquisition, following schemes can be considered: […] For Alt2, the second TA is acquired by estimating DL receiving difference (timing offset) by UE and then report to gNB. Downlink reference signal like SSB/CSI-RS can be used for estimation. Upon the timing offset received from UE, gNB will figure out the TA of the second TRP(TA2) and indicate two TAs to UE for the subsequent uplink timing adjustment. For Alt2, the reporting scheme might need to be considered, e.g. using CSI report framework. Proposal-2: For TA acquisition, consider UL reference signal(e.g. preamble, SRS, etc) based TA acquisition as well as downlink reference based TA acquisition schemes.” emphasis added.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of CATT are for reasons of prompting the indication of two TAs (CATT, sec. 2, Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, for reasons of prompting the indication of two TAs.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112 that forms the basis for all indefiniteness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite because they fail to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “…a first resource pool…and a second resource pool…” (ll. 4-8) whereas the scope of the claim cannot be determined because multiple plausible claim constructions exist. In a first plausible construction, a resource pool may be a list of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) (Specification, paras. [0092], [0096], “According to various aspects described herein, a network entity may configure a UE with at least one TA operation per CC for mDCI asynchronous mTRP operations (e.g., communications with multiple TRPs). A TA operation may include the application of a TA value for uplink transmission associated with a TRP. The UE 720 may be configured with at least two resource pools for at least two TA operations. Each resource pool may be associated with a downlink reference timing, which is a reference timing in downlink relative to the timing for the TA value in uplink. The downlink reference timing may be calculated per TRP. Each resource pool may be associated with a TA operation. For example, the resource pool may be a list of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs). When multiple physical cell identifiers (PCIs) are configured for a serving cell, the SSBs of the same PCI may be in the same resource pool…” emphasis added. It is noted that interpretation of a resource pool to include an SSB list is not customary in the prior art, but it is relevant because of the specification.) In a second plausible construction, a resource pool may be a CORESET pool (Specification, paras. [0092], [0096], “…In some aspects, the configuration may specify an association between the two TA values (e.g., a first TA value from a TAG and a second TA value that is indicated or derived) and different uplink channels. The configuration may also associate a first TA value with a first CORESET pool index and a second TA value with a second CORESET pool index. For example, the UE 720 may apply a first TA value for uplink channels associated with CORESET pool index 0 (zero) or with no CORESET pool index. The UE 720 may apply a second TA value for uplink channels associated with CORESET pool index 1. In another example, the network entity 710 may indicate a first TA value that is associated with TRP 505, or one CORESET pool index. The UE 720 may apply the first TA value for uplink channels associated with the associated CORESET pool index and the second TA value for uplink channels not associated with the associated CORESET pool index.” It is noted that the second construction does not appear described in the specification explicitly in the manner that the resource pool may be a list of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), however a resource pool also appears to include a CORESET pool because a CORESET pool is a control resource set pool.) It is further noted that alternative interpretations in accordance with MPEP 2111.01(V) were considered, however the specification does not appear to provide a reasonably clear meaning for the term resource pool. Accordingly, the scope of the claim cannot be determined because multiple plausible claim constructions exist. Claims 18, 29 and 30 contain the same deficiencies. Claims 2-17 and 19-28 are dependent.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record (PTO-1449, PTO-892) and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the subject matter of the present U.S. non-provisional application.
Zhu et al. (US 2022/0210825 A1) provides prior art disclosure considered as relevant to the subject matter of the claimed invention (Zhu, Abstract, “Apparatuses and methods for uplink timing adjustment in a wireless communication system. A method for operating a user equipment (UE) includes receiving a first uplink (UL) timing advance (TA) command for a first link associated with a first physical cell identity (PCI); receiving a second UL TA command for a second link associated with a second PCI; and determining, based on the first and second UL TA commands, first and second UL timing adjustments for the first and second links associated with the first and second PCIs, respectively…”)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Timothy J. Weidner whose telephone number is (571) 270-1825. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayaz R. Sheikh can be reached on (571) 272-3795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOTHY J WEIDNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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