DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . In virtue of the communication filed on 10/04/2024, claims 1-20 are pending in the present application, claims 1, 8 and 11 are presented in independent form. The present application claims priority to Provisional Applications 63/226,155 (priority 07/27/2021), 63/226,161 (priority 07/27/2021), 63/231,545 (priority 07/15/2022) and is a continuation of Application no. 17/866,055 (now US Patent No. 12,156,263).
Claim Interpretation
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked. The Applicant is reminded that all limitations reciting “and/or” will be given the broadest reasonable interpretation of “or” and interpreted as a limitation required only in the alternative.
Specification
The specification is Maintained objected to as the content of specification containing improper format and contents. According to 37 C.F.R. 1.71 the content of Specification should include a Detailed description wherein:
(a) The specification must include a written description of the invention or discovery and of the manner and process of making and using the same, and is required to be in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention or discovery appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same.
(b) The specification must set forth the precise invention for which a patent is solicited, in such manner as to distinguish it from other inventions and from what is old. It must describe completely a specific embodiment of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter or improvement invented, and must explain the mode of operation or principle whenever applicable. The best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention must be set forth.
(c) In the case of an improvement, the specification must particularly point out the part or parts of the process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter to which the improvement relates, and the description should be confined to the specific improvement and to such parts as necessarily cooperate with it or as may be necessary to a complete understanding or description of it.
(d) A copyright or mask work notice may be placed in a design or utility patent application adjacent to copyright and mask work material contained therein. The notice may appear at any appropriate portion of the patent application disclosure. For notices in drawings, see § 1.84(s). The content of the notice must be limited to only those elements provided for by law. For example, "©1983 John Doe"(17 U.S.C. 401) and "*M* John Doe" (17 U.S.C. 909) would be properly limited and, under current statutes, legally sufficient notices of copyright and mask work, respectively. Inclusion of a copyright or mask work notice will be permitted only if the authorization language set forth in paragraph (e) of this section is included at the beginning (preferably as the first paragraph) of the specification.
(e) The authorization shall read as follows:
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyright or mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all (copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever. The Applicant Specification includes material which appear to be a reproduction of 3GPP documents RP-193133 (cited in notice of reference cited, copy provided) and TS-38.321 (cited in notice of reference cited, copy provided) (see Applicant Specification page 3 line 24 through the end of the document). The Examiner notes that the material is subject to copyright by the copyright owner and requires copyright and mask work notice according to sections d and e of 37 CFR 1.71 set forth above. See MPEP 608.01.
(f) The specification must commence on a separate sheet. Each sheet including part of the specification may not include other parts of the application or other information. The claim(s), abstract, and "Sequence Listing" (if required or submitted under § 1.821(c)) should not be included on a sheet including any other part of the application.
(g)
(1) The specification may disclose or be amended to disclose the names of the parties to a joint research agreement as defined in § 1.9(e).
(2) An amendment under paragraph (g)(1) of this section must be accompanied by the processing fee set forth § 1.17(i) if not filed within one of the following time periods:
(i) Within three months of the filing date of a national application;
(ii) Within three months of the date of entry of the national stage as set forth in § 1.491 in an international application;
(iii) Before the mailing of a first Office action on the merits; or
(iv) Before the mailing of a first Office action after the filing of a request for continued examination under § 1.114.
(3) If an amendment under paragraph (g)(1) of this section is filed after the date the issue fee is paid, the patent as issued may not necessarily include the names of the parties to the joint research agreement. If the patent as issued does not include the names of the parties to the joint research agreement, the patent must be corrected to include the names of the parties to the joint research agreement by a certificate of correction under 35 U.S.C. 255 and § 1.323 for the amendment to be effective.
The Examiner maintains the objection to the specification according to at least (a) above, and the reasoning set forth above. Therefore, the objections below are maintained and made Final.
The Examiner maintains that the figures, tables and format of the included reproduced material is not proper for the Specification. The Examiner recognizes that information from standards may be present under fair use, however the subject matter which is included should be clearly identified as the contribution of the prior art, and the subject matter which the Applicant's invention contributes over the standard clearly identified. The standards information included should not be an exact reproduction of standards documents, including the formatting thereof, but should be modified to embrace the formatting requirements for Specification. The Applicant has not addressed the Examiner’s objection to the manner in which the Standard documents is included in the Specification. Direct copy and paste (including formatting) of the documents is not appropriate. The formatting between the Patent Specification and the Standards documents is not congruent. The Examiner maintains the Objection to the specification as the Applicant failed to address the second aspect of the objection wherein the Examiner stated “the format (headings etc.), figures (figures should be included ONLY the Drawings and marked as prior art if applicable), tables (standards documents contain tables which are not consistent with requirements of the Specification), code sections (codes sections on pages 23-26, 27-28, and 30-38 of the Specification do not meet requirements for the inclusion of code segments in the Specification) of the specification are objected to. The Examiner notes that such content is not appropriate in a specification and does not comply with the format and contents required in the specification. Therefore, even if inclusion of the standard documents in the Written Description section of the Applicant specification constitutes a fair use, the format of the reproduction does not conform to the requirements of the Specification and must be edited to comply to requirements of the Specification. The sections of the Specification which are elements of the standards are not clearly distinguished and clearly identified in the detailed description over the contribution of the Applicant’s invention over the Standard’s teaching, wherein the contribution of the Applicant's invention over the standards material is not clearly set forth.
The Examiner cites MPEP 608.1 as a reference to the Applicant as to the format required of the Specification. The Figures, tables, code etc. currently present in the Specification are not permitted elements of the Specification. If, as the Applicant contends, the material is present in Figs. 5-12 and labeled as prior art, ALL the figures, tables, etc. should be removed from the Specification and reference to the corresponding Figure in the drawings should be made. The Examiner notes that the Specification currently contains many more Figures, tables, code etc. which are not shown in Figures 5-12. All figures, tables, codes etc. should be removed from the Specification and should be included in the Drawings. No Figures, tables, drawings are permitted as elements in a Specification. Such elements are permitted as elements of a Patent Application, but should be included as Figures in the Drawings.
The Examiner notes the section of the MPEP regarding program code: 37 CFR 1.96 which discloses:
(a) General. Descriptions of the operation and general content of computer program listings should appear in the description portion of the specification. A computer program listing for the purpose of this section is defined as a document that lists, in appropriate sequence, the instructions, routines, and other contents of a program for a computer. The program listing may be either in machine or machine-independent (object or source) language that will cause a computer to perform a desired procedure or task such as solving a problem, regulating the flow of work in a computer, or controlling or monitoring events. Computer program listings may be submitted in patent applications, as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.
(b) Material which will be printed in the patent: If the computer program listing is contained in 300 lines or fewer, with each line of 72 characters or fewer, it may be submitted either as drawings or as part of the specification.
(1) Drawings. If the listing is submitted as drawings, it must be submitted in the manner and complying with the requirements for drawings as provided in § 1.84. At least one figure numeral is required on each sheet of drawing.
(2) Specification.
(i) If the listing is submitted as part of the specification, it must be submitted in accordance with the provisions of § 1.52.
(ii) Any listing having more than 60 lines of code that is submitted as part of the specification must be positioned at the end of the description but before the claims. Any amendment must be made by way of submission of a substitute sheet.
(c) As an appendix that will not be printed: Any computer program listing may, and any computer program listing having over 300 lines (up to 72 characters per line) must, be submitted as an electronic document in ASCII plain text, whether submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing system or on a read-only optical disc, in compliance with § 1.52(e). An electronic document containing such a computer program listing is to be referred to as a "Computer Program Listing Appendix." The "Computer Program Listing Appendix" will not be part of the printed patent. The specification must include an incorporation by reference of the "Computer Program Listing Appendix," in accordance with § 1.77(b)(5).
(1) A "Computer Program Listing Appendix" must conform to the following requirements:
(i) Computer compatibility: PC or Mac®;
(ii) Operating system compatibility: MS–DOS®, MS-Windows®, Mac OS®, or Unix®/Linux®;
(iii) Line terminator: ASCII CRLF or LF only; and
(iv) Control codes: The data must not be dependent on control characters or codes that are not defined in the ASCII character set.
Any Applicant’s insistence on a direct reproduction of standards documents, even if permitted under fair use, is not appropriate as an element of the Specification. The Applicant must identify only those elements which are necessary to support a written description of the Applicant's invention and include only those elements conforming to the formatting of the Specification as a whole. Every contribution of the standards documents must be clearly identified and the contribution over the standards documents of the Applicant’s invention must also be clearly identified. In the submitted Specification the Applicant may include titles which identify "3GPP STANDARDS DISCLOSURE" but does not address the issue of which parts of the written description are entirely attributable to the Standards documents and which constitute the disclosure which defines the Support of the Applicant’s invention over the disclosure of the standards documents as set forth by the Examiner. The direct reproduction of the Standards MUST be removed, and only the necessary elements should be incorporated. The Examiner maintains that the Specification would not be allowed to be printed as it is currently set forth as it incorporates elements (figures, tables, code) which are not permitted in a printed Specification of a patent.
The reproduction of the standard documents in the Written Description section of the specification as presently set forth includes inappropriate/non-matching headings and labels which create confusion in the context of the Specification as a whole. The reproduction of the standard documents in the Written Description section of the specification also includes Drawings, Code and Tables which are not appropriate in the Written Description section of the specification, wherein all figures/tables should be set forth in the Drawings, and labeled with ‘Prior Art’ if applicable and the Code sections should be included according to the MPEP section cited above. All of the issues noted by the Examiner stem from the reproduction of the standard documents in the Written Description section of the specification which also appears to include code sections which are not properly set forth.
The Applicant is reminded that the Specification is a written description of the invention and of the manner and process of making and using the same. The specification must be in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention pertains to make and use the same. See 35 U.S.C.112 and 37 CFR 1.71. In reproducing entire specification documents in the Specification, the requirement for concise and exact terms is not met. The entirety of the Standards documents is not necessary, and presents a Specification that is not clear, concise, or exact. The written description must not include information that is not related to applicant’s invention. The specification must commence on a separate sheet. Each sheet including part of the specification may not include other parts of the application or other information. Additionally, Graphical illustrations, diagrammatic views, flowcharts, code, and diagrams in the descriptive portion of the specification do not come within the purview of 37 CFR 1.58(a), which permits tables, chemical and mathematical formulas in the specification in lieu of drawings. The examiner must object to such descriptive illustrations in the specification and request drawings in accordance with 37 CFR 1.81 when an application contains graphs, drawings, code, tables or flow charts in the specification. The written description portion of the specification must not contain drawings, tables, code or flow diagrams.
The Examiner maintains that ONLY the subject matter which is necessary to understand the Applicant’s invention which is found in the standard documents should be placed in the background section of the specification, and the direct reproduction of the documents should be deleted from the Specification. Any incorporation of the subject matter of the standard documents which is necessary to present a written description which is full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention pertains to make and use the same, should be incorporated with formatting consistent with the Patent Application as a whole, such that the formatting of the standards documents is not directly reproduced. The Examiner notes that during issue any potential issuance of a patent, the current specification would not be permitted to be issued given the inclusion of Tables, Figures, Code, and Diagrams in the Specification, and the issues set forth above.
The Applicant Specification includes material which appear to be a reproduction of 3GPP documents RP-193133 (cited in notice of reference cited) and TS-38.321 (cited in notice of reference cited) (see Applicant Specification page 6 line 24 through the end of the document, or paras. 0054-00565). The Examiner notes that the material is subject to copyright by the copyright owner and requires copyright and mask work notice according to sections d and e of 37 CFR 1.71 set forth above. See MPEP 608.01.
The Examiner notes the specification contains improper formation (in the sections that appear to be a reproduction of 3GPP documents RP-193133 and TS-38.321) including: the format (headings etc.), Figures (Figures should be included in the drawing and marked as prior art if applicable), code sections etc. The Examiner notes that such content is not appropriate in a specification and does not comply with the format and contents required in the specification. The Examiner notes that due to the incorporation of material published and copyrighted by the 3GPP noted above the lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicants’ cooperation is requested in checking the lengthy specification in addition to all issues noted above and any of which applicants may become aware in the specification in a thorough review.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,156,263 in view of WO-2022130207 (d1), U.S. Patent Application Publication US 20200053752(d2), and/or U.S. Patent Application Publication US 20220417909 (d3).
The limitations for the current Application correspond to the limitations of US Pat. No. 12,156,263 (hereinafter the patent), according to the table set forth below. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the present application are found in their entirety within the bounds of the claims of the patent and/or are obvious over the art noted below. The limitations of the claims are mapped to limitations of claims 1-20 of the patent according to the mapping in the table below.
US Pat. 12,156,263
1. A method of a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal, wherein the PDCCH signal indicates or provides information of a Physical Cell Identity (PCI);
determining to
perform
a first random access procedure on
a first Transmission/Reception Point (TRP),
based on the PDCCH signal,
to obtain or derive a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with
the first TRP, wherein the first TRP is associated with the PCI different from PCIs of serving cells of the UE; and
performing multi-TRP operation on
the first TRP
associated with the first TA information and a second TRP associated with a second TA information, wherein the second TRP is a TRP of a serving cell of the UE, and
wherein different sets of N.sub.TA and/or N.sub.TA offset are maintained or configured for the first TA information and the second TA information.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising
receiving a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), wherein the MAC CE contains a Timing Advance Group (TAG) id field indicating id of a TAG and a Timing Advance Command (TAC) field indicating
an absolute Timing Advance for a TRP.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising
obtaining the second TA information in a second random access procedure on the second TRP.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first TRP and the second TRP
are associated with different TAGs.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein
the first TA information is a Timing Advance between downlink and uplink of the first TRP and the second TA information is a Timing Advance
between downlink and uplink of the second TRP.
8. A method of a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal, wherein the PDCCH signal contains a field;
determining to
perform
a first random access procedure on
a first Transmission/Reception Point (TRP),
based on the field of the PDCCH signal, to obtain or derive a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with
the first TRP, wherein the first TRP is associated with a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) different from PCIs of serving cells of the UE; and
performing multi-TRP operation
on
the first TRP
associated with the first TA information and
a second TRP associated with a second TA information,
wherein different sets of N.sub.TA and/or N.sub.TA offset are maintained or configured for the first TA information and the second TA information.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising
receiving a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), wherein the MAC CE contains a Timing Advance Group (TAG) id field indicating id of a TAG and a Timing Advance Command (TAC) field indicating an absolute Timing Advance for
a TRP.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein
size of the field is one bit, and/or obtaining the second TA information in a second random access procedure on
the second TRP of a serving cell of the UE,
and/or the field is used for identifying to update the second TA information or obtain the first TA information.
13. The UE of claim 11, wherein the first TRP and the second TRP are associated with different TAGs.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein
the first TA information is a Timing Advance between downlink and uplink of the first TRP and the second TA information is a Timing Advance between downlink and uplink of the second TRP.
11. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:
a memory; and a processor operatively connected to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code to:
receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal, wherein the PDCCH signal indicates or provides information of a Physical Cell Identity (PCI);
determine to
perform
a first random access procedure on
a first Transmission/Reception Point (TRP), based on the PDCCH signal,
to obtain or derive a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with
the first TRP, wherein the first TRP is associated with the PCI different from PCIs of serving cells of the UE; and
perform multi-TRP operation
on
the first TRP associated with the first TA information and a second TRP associated with a second TA information, wherein the second TRP is a TRP of a serving cell of the UE, and
wherein different sets of N.sub.TA and/or N.sub.TA offset are maintained or configured for the first TA information and the second TA information.
12. The UE of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program code to
receive a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), wherein the MAC CE contains a Timing Advance Group (TAG) id field indicating id of a TAG and a Timing Advance Command (TAC) field indicating an absolute Timing Advance for
a TRP.
19. The UE of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program code to
obtain the second TA information in a second random access procedure on
the second TRP.
13. The UE of claim 11,
wherein the first TRP and the second TRP
are associated with different TAGs.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein
the first TA information is a Timing Advance
between downlink and uplink of the first TRP
and the second TA information is a Timing Advance between downlink and uplink of the second TRP.
18889368
1. (Original) A method of a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal, wherein the PDCCH signal indicates or provides information of a Physical Cell Identity (PCI);
determining to
initiate
a first random access procedure on
a cell
with the PCI different from a PCI of serving cells of the UE,
based on the information indicated or provided by the PDCCH signal,
to obtain or derive a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with
at least one first Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the cell with the PCI; and
performing multi-TRP operation via
the at least one first TCI state
associated with the first TA information and at least one second TCI state, of a serving cell of the UE, associated with a second TA information,
wherein different sets of NTA and/or NTA offset are maintained or configured for the first TA information and the second TA information.
2. (Original) The method of claim 1, further comprising
receiving a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), wherein the MAC CE contains a Timing Advance Group (TAG) identity (id) field indicating an id of a TAG and a Timing Advance Command (TAC) field indicating
an absolute Timing Advance for one or more TCI states.
3. (Original) The method of claim 1, further comprising
obtaining the second TA information in a second random access procedure.
4. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first TCI state and the at least one second TCI state
are associated with different TAGs.
5. (Original) The method of claim 1, further comprising applying the first TA information for uplink transmissions via the at least one first TCI state.
6. (Original) The method of claim 1, further comprising applying the second TA information for uplink transmissions via the at least one second TCI state.
7. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein
TA information contains Timing Advance between downlink and uplink, and/or a fixed offset used to calculate the Timing Advance.
8. (Original) A method of a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal, wherein the PDCCH signal contains a field;
determining to
initiate
a first random access procedure on
a cell with a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) different from a PCI of serving cells of the UE,
based on the field of the PDCCH signal, to obtain or derive a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with
at least one first Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the cell with the PCI; and
performing multi-TRP operation
via
the at least one first TCI state
associated with the first TA information and
at least one second TCI state, of a serving cell of the UE, associated with a second TA information,
wherein different sets of NTA and/or NTA offset are maintained or configured for the first TA information and the second TA information.
9. (Original) The method of claim 8, further comprising
receiving a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), wherein the MAC CE contains a Timing Advance Group (TAG) identity (id) field indicating an id of a TAG and a Timing Advance Command (TAC) field indicating an absolute Timing Advance for
one or more TCI states.
10. (Original) The method of claim 8, wherein:
size of the field is one bit, and/or obtaining the second TA information in a second random access procedure on
a serving cell of the UE,
and/or the field is used for identifying to update the second TA information or obtain the first TA information.
11. (Original) The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one first TCI state and the at least one second TCI state are associated with different TAGs.
12. (Original) The method of claim 8, further comprising applying the first TA information for uplink transmissions via the at least one first TCI state.
13. (Original) The method of claim 8, further comprising applying the second TA information for uplink transmissions via the at least one second TCI state.
14. (Original) The method of claim 8, wherein
TA information contains Timing Advance between downlink and uplink, and/or a fixed offset used to calculate the Timing Advance.
15. (Original) A User Equipment (UE), comprising:
a memory; and a processor operatively connected to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code to:
receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal, wherein the PDCCH signal indicates or provides information of a Physical Cell Identity (PCI);
determine to
initiate
a first random access procedure on
a cell with the PCI different from PCIs of serving cells of the UE, based on the information indicated or provided by the PDCCH signal,
to obtain or derive a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with
at least one first Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of the cell with the PCI; and
perform multi-TRP operation
via
the at least one first TCI state associated with the first TA information and at least one second TCI state, of a serving cell of the UE, associated with a second TA information,
wherein different sets of NTA and/or NTA offset are maintained or configured for the first TA information and the second TA information.
16. (Original) The UE of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program code to
receive a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), wherein the MAC CE contains a Timing Advance Group (TAG) identity (id) field indicating an id of a TAG and a Timing Advance Command (TAC) field indicating an absolute Timing Advance for
one or more TCI states.
17. (Original) The UE of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program code to
obtain the second TA information in a second random access procedure on
a serving cell of the UE.
18. (Original) The UE of claim 15,
wherein the at least one first TCI state and the at least one second TCI state
are associated with different TAGs.
19. (Original) The UE of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program code to apply the first TA information for uplink transmissions via the at least one first TCI state and/or apply the second TA information for uplink transmissions via the at least one second TCI state.
20. (Original) The UE of claim 15, wherein
TA information contains Timing Advance
between downlink and uplink,
and/or a fixed offset used to calculate the Timing Advance.
Explanation of Correspondence
direct correspondence between limitations
Recites the exact receiving step
Difference herein is negligible between performing and initiating and considered obvious
Direct correspondence
Here the present application uses cell in place of TRP, TRP is considered as representing a cell and has similar meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art
Obvious from language from claim 1 of the patent including: the PDCCH signal indicates or provides information of a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) and PCI different from PCIs of serving cells of the UE
Overlapping scope between ‘based’ and ‘information provided by’ obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art
Direct correspondence
TCI would be understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to be connected to the TRP with associated of the patent
Only distinction being on vs. via which are understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to be overlapping in scope
Differences between TCI state and TRP are understood in the art such that a TCI state is part of a TRP;
Limitations correspond to the same functionality despite minor differences in language addressed in the reasoning above;
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
No claim limitations directly correspond to the claim but the claims would be considered obvious
No claim limitations directly correspond to the claim but would be considered obvious
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
No claim limitations directly correspond to the claim but would be considered obvious
No claim limitations directly correspond to the claim but would be considered obvious
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 5
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
Direct correspondence between limitations
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
Direct correspondence between limitations
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
See reasoning above with respect to similar language with respect to claim 1
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
Direct correspondence between limitations
No claim limitations directly correspond to the claim but would be considered obvious
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations
Direct correspondence between limitations except for differences already addressed above
It is noted that the sections of the column US PAT No. 12,156, 263 (wherein the corresponding limitations are aligned along the horizontal axis. The Examiner notes the differences in the claims of the present Application of current application with respect to the patent are obvious from the patent. Additionally, the differences are clearly obvious from the disclosure at least from WO-2022130207 (d1), U.S. Patent Application Publication US 20200053752(d2), and/or U.S. Patent Application Publication US 20220417909 (d3). d1 discloses a system including a UE and Cell-A (i.e. first TRP) and Cell-B (i.e. second TRP) (see d1 Fig. 9) wherein the UE comprises a memory (see Fig 15 element 4130); and a processor (see d1 Fig. 15 element 4120) operatively connected to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code (see d1 Fig. 15 Wireless Device (i.e. UE) element 4110) containing memory (see d1 para. 0193 Fig. 15) which stores computer readable code executed by a processor (element 4120) controls the UE to perform actions (see d1 para. 0193), wherein the program code causes execution of a method (see d1 Fig. 9); d1 further discloses a UE receiving a RRC reconfiguration (see d1 Fig. 9 para. 0083) wherein the reconfiguration represents a signal which notifies of a TRP activation (see d1 para. 0089, 0192) (i.e. receiving a signaling, wherein the signaling indicates activation for a first Transmission/Reception Point (TRP)) or reception of PDDCH (see d1 para. 0071) (i.e. and/or is a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal); d1 also discloses a determination of performance of a random access procedure to obtain a timing advance based on a determination that a TA is not valid (see d1 Fig. para. 0083, 0088) (i.e. determining to perform a first random access procedure on the first TRP, based on the signaling) and reception of a TA command (see d1 para. 0083) (i.e. to obtain a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with the first TRP); d1 also discloses multi-TRP transmission (see d1 Fig. 5-6 para. 0066-0071) (i.e. performing multi-TRP operation)
D1 does not appear to explicitly disclose a first and second TRP in a multi-TRP implementation which employ a first and second TA information. Attention is directed to d2, d2 discloses a multi-TA, multi-TRP implementation wherein each TRP has an associated TA (see d2 para. 0005-0006) (i.e. a first TRP associated with the first TA information and a second TRP associated with a second TA information) wherein d2 also discloses multi-TA operation in a multi-TRP environment (i.e. obtain a first Time Alignment (TA) information associated with the first TRP) (see d2 Fig. 8 para. 0120-0124). d3 discloses a PDCCH signal which indicates or provides information of a Physical Cell Identity PCI; a first TRP is associated with the PCI different from the PCI values of serving cells of the UE and the second TRP is a TRP of a serving cell of the UE (see d3 para. 0123, 0133, 0139, 0140).
Therefore, the differences between the current application and the patent are obvious at least from d1, d2, d3 in the sections noted above. As a result, claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,156,263.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN SCOTT TAYLOR whose telephone number is (571)270-3189. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon. - Thurs. 9:00-4:00.
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/NATHAN S TAYLOR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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