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 .
Response to Amendment/Arguments
With the reply filed 12/31/25, claims 1, 5, 10, 14 and 19 have been amended, claims 21 and 22 have been newly added, and claims 6 and 15 have been canceled. In view of the amendment, the rejections of the claims under nonstatutory double patenting and 35 U.S.C. §103 have been revised, and are presented below. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground of rejection presented below.
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, 8, 10, 17 and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 7 and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 11,349,550 ('550 Patent) in view of Meng et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2023/0094748.
Regarding claims 1 and 8 of the instant application, claim 7 of the '550 Patent discloses a method for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but does not disclose that information indicating an angular direction and a resource is separate from the reference signal.
Meng discloses that angular information associated with an allocated reference signal resource may be provided apart from the reference signal (see steps 706, 708, 710 – Fig. 6; ¶¶ [0106], [0119]-[0120], [0126]-[0130]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide the UE with explicit indication for a beam angle separate from a reference signal, as suggested by Meng, in the method of '550 Patent claim 7, as it provides advantages of guaranteeing the UE will perform the correct beam sweeping for beam forming and can improve overall accuracy (Meng ¶ [0133]).
Regarding claims 10, 17 and 19 of the instant application, see claim 17 of the '550 Patent discloses an apparatus for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but does not disclose that the information indicating an angular direction and a resource is separate from the reference signal.
Meng discloses that angular information associated with an allocated reference signal resource may be provided apart from the reference signal (see steps 706, 708, 710 – Fig. 6; ¶¶ [0106], [0119]-[0120], [0126]-[0130]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide the UE with explicit indication for a beam angle separate from a reference signal, as suggested by Meng, in the apparatus of '550 Patent claim 17, as it provides advantages of guaranteeing the UE will perform the correct beam sweeping for beam forming and can improve overall accuracy (Meng ¶ [0133]).
Claims 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 18 and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 7 and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 11,349,550 in view of Meng et al. and Kumagai et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2018/0205443.
Regarding claims 2, 11 and 20, claims 7 and 17 of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the angular information comprises a zenith angle direction and an azimuth angle direction.
Kumagai discloses that communicated angular direction information may comprise a zenith angle direction and an azimuth angle direction (¶¶ [0104]-[0105]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include zenith angle and azimuth angle direction information, as suggested by Kumagai, in the method and device of the claims of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng, in order to specify precise beam direction information.
Regarding claims 3 and 12, claims 7 and 17 of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the reference signal comprises a synchronization signal or a CSI-RS.
Kumagai discloses that a communicated reference signal comprises a CSI-RS (¶ [0104]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide a CSI-RS, as suggested by Kumagai, for the reference signal in the method and device of the claims of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng, as it is a well-known reference signal for conveying control information.
Regarding claims 9 and 18, claims 7 and 17 of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the information is received from a terrestrial network node.
Kumagai discloses that direction information is received from a terrestrial network node (i.e. base station 100). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide direction information from a terrestrial network node, as suggested by Kumagai, in the method and device of the claims of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng, as a terrestrial station provides an established connection.
Claims 4, 7, 13 and 16 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 7 and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 11,349,550 in view of Meng et al. and Ma et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2023/0224725.
Regarding claims 4 and 13, claims 7 and 17 of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose receiving additional information including an angular direction related to another device, and detecting a reference signal and communicating with the other device based on the other angular direction in the additional information.
Ma discloses a system for managing beam coverage area where multiple network stations are employed (see Fig. 1), which may include non-terrestrial stations with associated coverage areas and directions (¶ [0156]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to receive information for another device in a communication system involving multiple devices, as taught by Ma, in the method and device of the claims of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng, in order to communicate in a system employing multiple network nodes.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, claims 7 and 17 of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the information is received via a broadcast channel or a multicast channel.
Ma discloses a system for managing beam coverage area where beam configuration information is provided via broadcast message (¶ [0080]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide beam configuration information via a broadcast channel, as suggested by Ma, in the claims of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng, as it is a known way to provide control information, with predictable results.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 7 and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 11,349,550 in view of Meng et al., Ma et al. and Guan et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0326356.
Regarding claims 5 and 14, claims 7 and 17 of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng and Ma disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the another resource and the resource partially or fully overlap in at least one of the time domain or the frequency domain.
Guan discloses the transmission of reference information on multiple time-frequency resources which are partially overlapped (¶ [0009]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to transmit reference information on partially overlapping resources, as suggested by Guan, in the method and apparatus of claims of the '550 Patent in combination with Meng and Ma, as it allows for more efficient resource usage.
Claims 1, 8, 10, 17 and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 5 and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,136,981 ('981 Patent) in view of Meng et al.
Regarding claims 1 and 8 of the instant application, claim 5 of the '981 Patent discloses transmission operations from a network node side involving a NT-TRP complementary to the reception operations performed at the user side in the instant application claims, but does not disclose that information indicating an angular direction and a resource is separate from the reference signal.
Meng discloses that angular information associated with an allocated reference signal resource may be provided apart from the reference signal (see steps 706, 708, 710 – Fig. 6; ¶¶ [0106], [0119]-[0120], [0126]-[0130]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide the UE with explicit indication for a beam angle separate from a reference signal, as suggested by Meng, in the method of '981 Patent claim 5, as it provides advantages of guaranteeing the UE will perform the correct beam sweeping for beam forming and can improve overall accuracy (Meng ¶ [0133]).
Regarding claims 10, 17 and 19 of the instant application, claim 13 of the '981 Patent discloses transmission operations from a network node side involving a NT-TRP complementary to the reception operations performed at the user side in the application claims, but does not disclose that information indicating an angular direction and a resource is separate from the reference signal.
Meng discloses that angular information associated with an allocated reference signal resource may be provided apart from the reference signal (see steps 706, 708, 710 – Fig. 6; ¶¶ [0106], [0119]-[0120], [0126]-[0130]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide the UE with explicit indication for a beam angle separate from a reference signal, as suggested by Meng, in the method of '981 Patent claim 13, as it provides advantages of guaranteeing the UE will perform the correct beam sweeping for beam forming and can improve overall accuracy (Meng ¶ [0133]).
Claims 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 18 and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 5 and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,136,981 in view of Meng et al. and Kumagai et al.
Regarding claims 2, 11 and 20, claims 5 and 13 of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng suggest a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the angular information comprises a zenith angle direction and an azimuth angle direction.
Kumagai discloses that communicated angular direction information may comprise a zenith angle direction and an azimuth angle direction (¶¶ [0104]-[0105]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include zenith angle and azimuth angle direction information, as suggested by Kumagai, in the method and device of the claims of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng, in order to specify precise beam direction information.
Regarding claims 3 and 12, claims 5 and 13 of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the reference signal comprises a synchronization signal or a CSI-RS.
Kumagai discloses that a communicated reference signal comprises a CSI-RS (¶ [0104]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide a CSI-RS, as suggested by Kumagai, for the reference signal in the method and device of the claims of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng, as it is a well-known reference signal for conveying control information.
Regarding claims 9 and 18, claims 5 and 13 of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the information is received from a terrestrial network node.
Kumagai discloses that direction information is received from a terrestrial network node (i.e. base station 100). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide direction information from a terrestrial network node, as suggested by Kumagai, in the method and device of the claims of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng, as a terrestrial station provides an established connection
Claims 4, 7, 13 and 16 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 5 and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,136,981 in view of Meng et al., and Ma et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2023/0224725.
Regarding claims 4 and 13, claims 5 and 13 of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose receiving additional information including an angular direction related to another device, and detecting a reference signal and communicating with the other device based on the other angular direction in the additional information.
Ma discloses a system for managing beam coverage area where multiple network stations are employed (see Fig. 1), which may include non-terrestrial stations with associated coverage areas and directions (¶ [0156]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to receive information for another device in a communication system involving multiple devices, as taught by Ma, in the method and device of the claims of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng, in order to communicate in a system employing multiple network nodes.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, claims 5 and 13 of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the information is received via a broadcast channel or a multicast channel.
Ma discloses a system for managing beam coverage area where beam configuration information is provided via broadcast message (¶ [0080]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide beam configuration information via a broadcast channel, as suggested by Ma, in the method and device of the claims of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng, as it is a known way to provide control information, with predictable results.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 5 and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,136,981 in view of Meng et al., Ma et al. and Guan et al.
Regarding claims 5 and 14, claims 5 and 13 of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng and Ma disclose a method and device for receiving angular direction information, as indicated above, but do not disclose that the another resource and the resource partially or fully overlap in at least one of the time domain or the frequency domain. Guan discloses the transmission of reference information on multiple time-frequency resources which are partially overlapped (¶ [0009]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to transmit reference information on partially overlapping resources, as suggested by Guan, in the method and apparatus of claims of the '981 Patent in combination with Meng an Ma, to provide more efficient resource usage.
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 1-3, 9-12, and 18-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kumagai et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2018/0205443 in view of Meng et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2023/0094748.
Regarding claims 1, 10 and 19, Kumagai discloses an apparatus (i.e. terminal 200 – Fig. 4) comprising at least one processor (202) coupled with a non-transitory computer readable medium (201) storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method comprising: receiving information indicating an angular direction and a resource associated with a device, as terminal 200 receives, from a base station, downlink reference signals as vectors corresponding to a plurality of beam directions defined by an azimuth angle and a zenith angle (Fig. 10, ¶¶ [0104]-[0105]), detecting a reference signal from the device on the resource and based on the angular direction (see Fig. 11, steps S51-S56, ¶ [0107]), and communicating with the device based on the angular direction (Fig. 18, step S135; ¶ [0197]).
Kumagai does not expressly disclose that the information indicating an angular direction and a resource is separate from the detected reference signal. Meng discloses that angular information associated with an allocated reference signal resource may be provided apart from the reference signal (see steps 706, 708, 710 – Fig. 6; ¶¶ [0106], [0119]-[0120], [0126]-[0130]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide the UE with explicit indication for a beam angle separate from a reference signal, as suggested by Meng, in the apparatus and method of Kumagai, as it provides advantages of guaranteeing the UE will perform the correct beam sweeping for beam forming and can improve overall accuracy (see Meng, ¶ [0133]).
Regarding claims 2, 11 and 20, in the proposed combination, Kumagai discloses that the angular direction comprises a zenith and an azimuth angle direction (¶¶ [0104]-[0105]).
Regarding claims 3 and 12, in the proposed combination, Kumagai discloses that the reference signal comprises a CSI-RS (¶ [0104]).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, in the proposed combination, Kumagai discloses that the information is received from a terrestrial network node (i.e. base station 100).
Regarding claims 21 and 22, in the proposed combination, Meng discloses that the information may be provided using RRC signaling (¶ [0131]).
Claims 4, 7, 8, 13, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kumagai et al. in view of Meng et al., as applied above, and further in view of Ma et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2023/0224725.
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Kumagai in combination with Meng disclose a method and apparatus for receiving information indicating an angular direction, as described above, but do not disclose receiving additional information including an angular direction related to another device, and detecting a reference signal and communicating with the other device based on the other angular direction.
Ma discloses a system for managing beam coverage area where multiple base stations are employed (see Fig. 1), which may include non-terrestrial stations with associated coverage areas and directions (¶ [0156]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to receive information for another device in a communication system involving multiple devices, as taught by Ma, in the method and device of Kumagai and Meng, in order to communicate in a system employing multiple network nodes.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Kumagai in combination with Meng disclose a method and apparatus for receiving information indicating an angular direction, as described above, but do not disclose that the information is received via a broadcast channel or a multicast channel.
Ma discloses a system for managing beam coverage area where beam configuration information is provided via broadcast message (¶ [0080]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide beam configuration information via a broadcast channel, as suggested by Ma, in the method device of Kumagai and Meng, as it is a known way to provide control information, with predictable results.
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Kumagai in combination with Meng disclose a method and apparatus for receiving information indicating an angular direction, as described above, but do not disclose that the device is a non-terrestrial network node.
Ma discloses a system for managing beam coverage area where multiple base stations are employed (see Fig. 1), which may include non-terrestrial stations with associated coverage areas and directions (¶ [0156]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to receive information for another device in a communication system involving non-terrestrial network nodes, as taught by Ma, in the method and device of Kumagai and Meng, in order to communicate in a system with enhanced coverage.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kumagai et al. in view of Meng et al. and Ma et al., as applied to claims 4 and 13 above, and further in view of Guan et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0326356.
Regarding claims 5 and 14, Kumagai in combination with Meng and Ma teach a method and apparatus receiving information indicating an angular direction for multiple network nodes on multiple resources, as described above, but do not disclose that the another resource and the resource partially or fully overlap in at least one of the time domain or the frequency domain.
Guan discloses the transmission of reference information on multiple time-frequency resources which are partially overlapped (¶ [0009]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to transmit reference information on partially overlapping resources, as suggested by Guan, in the method and apparatus of Kumagai, Meng and Ma, as it allows for more efficient resource usage.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kumagai et al. in view of Ma et al., as applied to claims 4 and 13 above, and further in view of Wang et al. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2019/0394770.
Regarding claims 5 and 14, Kumagai in combination with Meng and Ma teach a method and apparatus receiving information indicating an angular direction for multiple network nodes on multiple resources, as described above, but do not disclose that the another resource and the resource are spatially separated.
Wang discloses that communications between a base station and UE may be sent on separate spatial streams (¶ [0062]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to send signals on separate spatial streams, as suggested by Wang, in the method and apparatus of Kumagai, Meng and Ma, as it is a well-known technique for signal transmission, yielding predictable results.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David B. Lugo whose telephone number is 571-272-3043. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone 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, Hannah Wang can be reached at 571-272-9018. 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.
/DAVID B LUGO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631 5/5/2026
Prosecution Insights