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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The references listed in the Information Disclosure Statement(s) filed on 2/24/2025, 3/5/2025, 7/22/2025 have been considered by the examiner (see attached PTO-1449 form or PTO/SB/08A and 08B forms).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 13 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 13 and 18 both recite “the alternative UE receive beam or beam pair” but there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. It is unclear whether “or beam pair” was meant to be included in claims 12 and 17 together with “an alternative UE beam,” or is meant to refer to the “UE beam” as in corresponding claims 3 and 8.
Claims 13 and 18 will be interpreted as best understood.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhou et al. (US 2020/0280979, hereinafter “Zhou”).
Regarding claims 1 and 6, Zhou discloses an apparatus (UE 115, Fig. 1, implemented as device 605 of Fig. 6, para. 0113) comprising:
a communication interface (transceiver/antenna 620, 625, Fig. 6); and
one or more processors, wherein when executing program instructions stored in the apparatus (processor 640, memory 630 with code 635, para. 0118), the one or more processors cause the apparatus to:
transmit user equipment (UE) beam tracking capability information (transmit indication to base station that UE supports beam update procedure, updating beamforming parameters of the one or more beams, step 1110, Fig. 11);
receive beam tracking update configuration information (receive MAC-CE to initiate beam update procedure, step 1115, Fig. 11); and
update a UE beam based on the UE beam tracking capability information and the beam tracking update configuration information (perform beam update procedure based on the received MAC-CE, step 1120, Fig. 11); and
wherein the updating the UE beam is performed:
periodically, or aperiodically, or as a result of a triggering signal (update beams periodically, para. 0046; also initiated by MAC-CE communication, para. 0110).
Regarding claims 2 and 7, Zhou further discloses wherein the beam tracking update configuration information provides information for tracking one or more of:
a UE beam for a serving beam (updated one or more transmission beams, para. 0110, also step 1120, Fig. 11); or
an alternative UE beam for UE beam management processes.
Regarding claims 3 and 8, Zhou further discloses wherein the UE beam is one or more of:
a UE beam that is used for the serving beam (transmission beams, para. 0110 and step 1120, Fig. 11);
a UE beam that is used for beam switching;
a UE beam that is used for handover; or
a UE beam that is used for beam failure recovery.
Regarding claims 4 and 9, Zhou further discloses wherein the UE beam tracking capability information comprises one or more of:
an indication of a capability of the UE to compensate for UE orientation changes;
an indication as to whether the UE is able to use an equation provided in beam tracking update configuration information to update beam information;
an indication as to whether the UE includes at least one of a gyroscope or a compass;
an indication of a number of antenna panels at the UE; or
an indication as to whether the UE is capable of beamforming one or more beams (transmit indication to the base station that UE supports a beam update procedure that updates one or more beamforming parameters of the one or more transmission beams, step 1110, Fig. 11, indication of support of beam update procedure inherently indicates capability of beamforming).
Regarding claims 5 and 10, Zhou further discloses wherein the beam tracking update configuration information comprises one or more of:
beam angle information (beam update procedure identifies updated spatial relation parameters for the uplink beam to be transmitted from the UE to the base station, para. 0111, wherein spatial relationship information includes beam direction, para. 0004, i.e. “angle”);
equation information enabling at least one of a time dependent update or a location dependent update;
geometry information pertaining to a reflector between the UE and a serving base station; or
reflector location information.
Regarding claims 11 and 16, Zhou discloses an apparatus (base station 105, Fig. 1, implemented as device 1005, Fig. 10) comprising:
a communication interface (transceiver 1020, antenna 1025, Fig. 10); and
one or more processors, wherein when executing program instructions stored in the apparatus (processor 1040, memory 1030, with code 1035, Fig. 10), the one or more processors cause the apparatus to:
receive user equipment (UE) beam tracking capability information (receive from the UE, indication that UE supports a beam update procedure, step 1310, Fig. 13); and
transmit beam tracking update configuration information (transmits MAC-CE to UE to initiate beam update procedure, step 1315, Fig. 13); and
wherein the UE beam tracking capability information and the beam tracking update configuration information are used to update a UE receive beam periodically, or aperiodically, or as a result of a triggering signal (update beams periodically, para. 0046; also initiated by MAC-CE communication, para. 0110).
Regarding claims 12 and 17, Zhou further discloses wherein the beam tracking update configuration information provides information for tracking one or more of:
a UE beam for a serving beam (perform beam update based on MAC-CE to update one or more transmission beams, step 1320, Fig. 13); or
an alternative UE beam for UE beam management processes.
Claims 13 and 18, are also anticipated by Zhou since the features disclose only further specify the “alternative UE beam” of claims 12 and 17, which was recited in the alternative to the “UE beam.” As the rejection of claims 12 and 17 above was directed to the “UE beam”, the subject matter claims 13 and 18 is not required and not given further patentable weight, with respect to the applied prior art.
Regarding claims 14 and 19, Zhou further discloses wherein the UE beam tracking capability information comprises one or more of:
an indication of a capability of the UE to compensate for UE orientation changes;
an indication as to whether the UE is able to use an equation provided in beam tracking update configuration information to update beam information;
an indication as to whether the UE includes at least one of a gyroscope or compass;
an indication of a number of antenna panels at the UE; or
an indication as to whether the UE is capable of beamforming one or more beams (transmit indication to the base station that UE supports a beam update procedure that updates one or more beamforming parameters of the one or more transmission beams, step 1110, Fig. 11, and receiving the same indication as in step 1310, Fig. 13; indication of support of beam update procedure inherently indicates capability of beamforming).
Regarding claims 15 and 20, Zhou further discloses wherein the beam tracking update configuration information comprises one or more of:
beam angle information (beam update procedure identifies updated spatial relation parameters for the uplink beam to be transmitted from the UE to the base station, para. 0111, wherein spatial relationship information includes beam direction, para. 0004, i.e. “angle”);
equation information enabling at least one of a time dependent update or a location dependent update;
geometry information pertaining to a reflector between the UE and a base station; or
reflector location information.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID S HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1798. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., EST.
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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.
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/David S Huang/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631 5/2/2026
