DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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 obviousness-type 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 1-5, 8-12, 15 and 17-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-5, 8-12 and 13-15 and 19 of the issued patent Zhang et al., US 12,107,786 B2 (Zhang’786 hereinafter), in view of JIANG et al., US 2021/0212101 A1 (Jiang hereinafter). Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is covered by the subject matter of the issued patent 12,107,786.
The table below shows a side by side comparison of the instant application over the issued patent.
Instant Application
Issued patent US 12,107,786
1. A user equipment (UE), comprising:
a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless communications; and a processor, coupled to the transceiver, configured to:
transmit, using the transceiver, an uplink reference signal;
in response to the uplink reference signal, receive from a first electronic device, a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment;
receive over a single frequency network (SFN), using the transceiver, the aperiodic TRS according to the downlink assignment; and
determine a Doppler offset based at least on the aperiodic TRS to decode the PDSCH signal that comprises a combined signal from the first electronic device and a second electronic device in the SFN.
2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
detect the aperiodic TRS in a slot, wherein a slot offset of the slot is the same as the slot offset of the PDSCH.
3. The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive, using the transceiver, one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmit a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs.
4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
detect the aperiodic TRS in a first slot, wherein a first slot offset of the first slot is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal.
5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive, using the transceiver, one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and transmit a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal.
8. A method for a user equipment (UE), comprising:
transmitting an uplink reference signal;
in response to the uplink reference signal, receiving from a first electronic device, a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment;
receiving over a single frequency network (SFN) the aperiodic TRS according to the downlink assignment; and
determining a Doppler offset based at least on the aperiodic TRS to decode the PDSCH signal that comprises a combined signal from the first electronic device and a second electronic device in the SFN.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
detecting the aperiodic TRS in a slot, wherein a slot offset of the slot is the same as the slot offset of the PDSCH.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
detecting the aperiodic TRS in a first slot, wherein a first slot offset of the first slot is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to perform operations, the operations comprising:
transmitting an uplink reference signal;
in response to the uplink reference signal, receiving from a first electronic device, a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment;
receiving over a single frequency network (SFN) the aperiodic TRS according to the downlink assignment; and
determining a Doppler offset based at least on the aperiodic TRS to decode the PDSCH signal that comprises a combined signal from the first electronic device and a second electronic device in the SFN.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: detecting the aperiodic TRS in a first slot, wherein a first slot offset of the first slot is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal.
1. A first electronic device, comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless communications; and a processor, coupled to the transceiver, configured to:
receive using the transceiver, an uplink reference signal from a user equipment (UE);
determine based at least on the uplink reference signal, that a Doppler offset has satisfied a threshold;
based on the determination, use a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment; and
transmit, using the transceiver, the aperiodic TRS over a single frequency network (SFN) to the UE using the downlink assignment,
wherein the aperiodic TRS enables the UE to decode the PDSCH signal that comprises a combined signal from the first electronic device and a second electronic device in the SFN.
2. The first electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a slot offset for a slot that includes the aperiodic TRS, wherein the slot offset is determined by that of the PDSCH signal.
3. The first electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
transmit, using the transceiver, a second consecutive slot that includes one or more aperiodic TRSs; and receive a HARQ-ACK signal based on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs.
4. The first electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a first slot offset for a first slot that includes the aperiodic TRS, wherein the first slot offset is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal; and transmit, using the transceiver, the aperiodic TRS in the first slot.
5. The first electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
transmit, using the transceiver, a second consecutive slot that includes one or more aperiodic TRSs; and receive a HARQ-ACK signal based on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal.
8. A method for a base station (BS), comprising:
receiving an uplink reference signal from a user equipment (UE);
determining based at least on the uplink reference signal, that a Doppler offset has satisfied a threshold; based on the determination, using a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment; and
transmitting, by the BS, in a single frequency network (SFN), the aperiodic TRS to the UE wherein the aperiodic TRS enables the UE to decode the PDSCH signal that comprises a combined signal from the BS and a second BS in the SFN.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
determining a slot offset for a slot that includes the aperiodic TRS, wherein the slot offset is determined by that of the PDSCH signal.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
transmitting a second consecutive slot that includes one or more aperiodic TRSs; and
receiving a HARQ-ACK signal based on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
determining a first slot offset for a first slot that includes the aperiodic TRS, wherein the first slot offset is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal; and
transmitting the aperiodic TRS in the first slot.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting a second consecutive slot that includes one or more aperiodic TRSs; and
receiving a HARQ-ACK signal based on a last symbol of the PDSCH.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a base station (BS), cause the BS to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving an uplink reference signal from a user equipment (UE); determining based at least on the uplink reference signal, that a Doppler offset has satisfied a threshold; based on the determination, using a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal by the downlink assignment; and
transmitting in a single frequency network (SFN), the aperiodic TRS to the UE, wherein the aperiodic TRS enables the UE to decode the PDSCH signal that comprises a combined signal from the BS and a second BS in the SFN.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein operations further comprise: transmitting a second consecutive slot that includes one or more aperiodic TRSs; and
receiving a HARQ-ACK signal based on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a first slot offset for a first slot that includes the aperiodic TRS, wherein the first slot offset is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal; and
transmitting the aperiodic TRS in the first slot.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein operations further comprise: transmitting a second consecutive slot that includes one or more aperiodic TRSs; and
receiving a HARQ-ACK signal based on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang’786 discloses a user equipment (UE), comprising:
a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless communications; and a processor, coupled to the transceiver, configured to:
transmit, using the transceiver, an uplink reference signal;
in response to the uplink reference signal, receive from a first electronic device, a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment;
receive over a single frequency network (SFN), using the transceiver, the aperiodic TRS according to the downlink assignment; and … that comprises a combined signal from the first electronic device and a second electronic device in the SFN (see Zhang’786, claim 1).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang’786 discloses wherein the processor is further configured to:
detect the aperiodic TRS in a slot, wherein a slot offset of the slot is the same as the slot offset of the PDSCH (see Zhang’786, claim 2).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang’786 discloses wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive, using the transceiver, one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmit a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs (see Zhang’786, claim 3).
Regarding claim 4, Zhang’786 discloses wherein the processor is further configured to:
detect the aperiodic TRS in a first slot, wherein a first slot offset of the first slot is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal (see Zhang’786, claim 4).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang’786 discloses wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive, using the transceiver, one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and transmit a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal (see Zhang’786, claim 5).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang’786 discloses a method for a user equipment (UE), comprising:
transmitting an uplink reference signal;
in response to the uplink reference signal, receiving from a first electronic device, a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment;
receiving over a single frequency network (SFN) the aperiodic TRS according to the downlink assignment; and … that comprises a combined signal from the first electronic device and a second electronic device in the SFN (see Zhang’786, claim 8).
Regarding claim 9, Zhang’786 discloses further comprising:
detecting the aperiodic TRS in a slot, wherein a slot offset of the slot is the same as the slot offset of the PDSCH (see Zhang’786, claim 9).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang’786 discloses further comprising:
receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs (see Zhang’786, claim 10).
Regarding claim 11, Zhang’786 discloses further comprising:
detecting the aperiodic TRS in a first slot, wherein a first slot offset of the first slot is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal (see Zhang’786, claim 11).
Regarding claim 12, Zhang’786 discloses further comprising: receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal (see Zhang’786, claim 12).
Regarding claim 15, Zhang’786 discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to perform operations, the operations comprising:
transmitting an uplink reference signal;
in response to the uplink reference signal, receiving from a first electronic device, a downlink assignment to enable an aperiodic Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) with high measurement density, wherein the aperiodic TRS shares a same quasi-co-located (QCL) parameter with a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) signal triggered by the downlink assignment;
receiving over a single frequency network (SFN) the aperiodic TRS according to the downlink assignment; and … that comprises a combined signal from the first electronic device and a second electronic device in the SFN (see Zhang’786, claim 13).
Regarding claim 17, Zhang’786 discloses wherein the operations further comprise: receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of a last aperiodic TRS of the one or more aperiodic TRSs (see Zhang’786, claim 14).
Regarding claim 18, Zhang’786 discloses wherein the operations further comprise: detecting the aperiodic TRS in a first slot, wherein a first slot offset of the first slot is different than a second slot offset of the PDSCH signal (see Zhang’786, claim 15).
Regarding claim 19, Zhang’786 discloses wherein the operations further comprise: receiving one or more aperiodic TRSs in a second consecutive slot; and transmitting a HARQ-ACK signal based at least on a last symbol of the PDSCH signal (see Zhang’786, claim 19).
Regarding claims 1, 8 and 15, Zhang’786 does not explicitly discloses determine a Doppler offset based at least on the aperiodic TRS to decode the PDSCH signal.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Jiang discloses a method related to a wireless communication system that comprises determine a Doppler offset based at least on the aperiodic TRS to decode the PDSCH signal (Jiang, paragraph [0097], The previous TRS packet has been sent, and the UE has obtained the parameters of the time-frequency offset estimation through the TRS packet. For example, the parameters of the time-frequency offset estimation may include: Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread. In this way, when demodulating (i.e., decoding) the PDSCH, the UE can directly compensate the demodulation of the PDSCH by using the parameters of the time-frequency offset estimation estimated based on the TRS … In one embodiment, the transmission of the TRS packet can be semi-persistent and/or aperiodic).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Zhang’786 by using the features, as taught by Jiang, in order to support method for improving scheduling flexibility in a wireless communication system (see Jaing, abstract).
Claims 6-7, 13-14, 16 and 20 reciting the similar features, are also rejected based on the similar rational.
Examiner’s Comments
Claims 1-20 are subjected to double patenting. The claims would be allowable if amended or file terminal disclaimer to overcome the rejections set forth in this Office action above.
Examiner's Note
Following prior arts are made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
1. Jiang et al., US 2021/0212101 A1: discloses a method for improving scheduling flexibility in a wireless communication that includes: generating at least one indicator configured for updating scheduling information for a first transmission with a semi-persistent scheduling, the scheduling information including information related to at least one of: a sounding reference signal resource indicator, a transmission configuration indicator, and a timing advance; and transmitting the at least one indicator to at least one wireless communication device (see Jiang, abstract).
2. Nam et al., US 2019/0116012 A1 (disclosed prior art, cited in IDS of 09/30/2024): discloses techniques for determining when to transmit and transmitting an aperiodic tracking reference signal (TRS). The method includes determining a channel condition change of a downlink channel between a first wireless device and a second wireless device. The method further includes determining whether the channel condition change satisfies a trigger condition for triggering transmission of an aperiodic tracking reference signal when the channel condition change satisfies the trigger condition. (see Nam, abstract).
3. Duan et al., US 2020/0374096 A1: discloses a user equipment (UE) configured to estimate a signal-to-noise ratio for each antenna port associated with a reception of one or more tracking reference signals. The UE receives one or more of multiple single-port tracking reference signals, a single multi-port tracking reference signal, or a tracking reference signal associated with multiple power ratios. The UE estimates a channel upon receiving a demodulation reference signal (see Duan, abstract).
Conclusion
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/OBAIDUL HUQ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473 Dated: 08/20/2026
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