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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on 06/13/2025 has been considered and made of record by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 15-27 and 30 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 12-23, 25, 28, and 29 of U.S. Patent No. 12,334,998. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 12-23, 25, 28, and 29 of U.S. Patent No. 12,334,998 disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 15-27 and 30 of the instant application.
Claims 1-14, 28, and 29 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-11, 24, 26, and 27 of U.S. Patent No. 12,334,998 in view of Lee et al. (hereinafter, referred to as Lee) (US 2021/0111772). Claims 1-11, 24, 26, and 27 of U.S. Patent No. 12,334,998 disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 1-14, 28, and 29 of the instant application, except for transmitting capability information instead of just outputting the capability information. Lee, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a radio unit for wireless communication (see the abstract, where the terminal is the radio unit), comprising (see Fig. 3): a memory (see Fig. 3, block 303 and paragraph 0074); and one or more processors, coupled to the memory (see Fig. 3, block 305 and paragraph 0075), configured to: transmit capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit (see paragraphs 0183-0184). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of claims 1-11, 24, 26, and 27 of U.S. Patent No. 12,334,998 as suggested by Lee, to improve the performance of the precoding process.
Instant Application
12,334,998
1. A radio unit for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured individually or collectively to: transmit capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit; obtain configuration information that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks for the radio unit, wherein each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers; and communicate using at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks.
2. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information indicates an antenna array to which the capability information relates.
3. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies the number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit.
4. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies a codebook index and a set of capability parameters associated with the codebook index.
5. The radio unit of claim 4, wherein the set of capability parameters includes at least one of: a maximum supported frequency, a minimum supported frequency, a maximum supported bandwidth for the codebook index, a maximum number of carriers, a maximum carrier bandwidth, or a minimum carrier bandwidth.
6. The radio unit of claim 4, wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks are configured in accordance with the set of capability parameters.
7. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies a first codebook index, a first set of capability parameters associated with the first codebook index, a second codebook index, and a second set of capability parameters associated with the second codebook index.
8. The radio unit of claim 7, wherein the first set of capability parameters is associated with a first set of frequencies and the second set of capability parameters is associated with a second set of frequencies different than the first set of frequencies.
9. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies a plurality of codebook indexes and a respective set of capability parameters associated with each codebook index of the plurality of codebook indexes.
10. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks include a first beamforming codebook and a second beamforming codebook, wherein the first beamforming codebook is associated with a first set of carriers of the different set of carriers in accordance with the capability information and the second beamforming codebook is associated with a second set of carriers of the different set of carriers in accordance with the capability information.
11. The radio unit of claim 10, wherein the first set of carriers includes a first number of carriers, the second set of carriers includes a second number of carriers, and the first number of carriers is different than the second number of carriers.
12. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the radio unit is a radio unit of a disaggregated radio access architecture, and wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks are received from a distributed unit of the disaggregated radio access architecture.
13. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks include one or more first beamforming codebooks for a first antenna array of the radio unit and one or more second beamforming codebooks for a second antenna array of the radio unit, and wherein a particular beam index indicates a first set of beamforming weights in the one or more first beamforming codebooks and a second set of beamforming weights in the one or more second beamforming codebooks.
14. The radio unit of claim 1, further comprising an antenna array, wherein, to communicate using the at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the antenna array to generate a beam according to the at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks.
15. A distributed unit for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured individually or collectively to: obtain capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by a radio unit; and output configuration information that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks for the radio unit, wherein each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers.
16. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the capability information indicates an antenna array to which the capability information relates.
17. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the capability information identifies the number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit.
18. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the capability information identifies a codebook index and a set of capability parameters associated with the codebook index.
19. The distributed unit of claim 18, wherein the set of capability parameters includes at least one of: a maximum supported frequency, a minimum supported frequency, a maximum supported bandwidth for the codebook index, a maximum number of carriers, a maximum carrier bandwidth, or a minimum carrier bandwidth.
20. The distributed unit of claim 18, wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks are in accordance with the set of capability parameters.
21. The distributed unit of claim 18, wherein the capability information identifies a first codebook index, a first set of capability parameters associated with the first codebook index, a second codebook index, and a second set of capability parameters associated with the second codebook index.
22. The distributed unit of claim 21, wherein the first set of capability parameters is associated with a first set of frequencies and the second set of capability parameters is associated with a second set of frequencies different than the first set of frequencies.
23. The distributed unit of claim 21, wherein the capability information identifies a plurality of codebook indexes and a respective set of capability parameters associated with each codebook index of the plurality of codebook indexes.
24. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks include a first beamforming codebook and a second beamforming codebook, wherein the first beamforming codebook is associated with a first set of carriers of the different set of carriers in accordance with the capability information and the second beamforming codebook is associated with a second set of carriers of the different set of carriers in accordance with the capability information.
25. The distributed unit of claim 24, wherein the first set of carriers includes a first number of carriers, the second set of carriers includes a second number of carriers, and the first number of carriers is different than the second number of carriers.
26. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the radio unit is a radio unit of a disaggregated radio access architecture, and wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks are received from a distributed unit of the disaggregated radio access architecture.
27. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the plurality of beamforming codebooks include one or more first beamforming codebooks for a first antenna array of the radio unit and one or more second beamforming codebooks for a second antenna array of the radio unit, and wherein a particular beam index indicates a first set of beamforming weights in the one or more first beamforming codebooks and a second set of beamforming weights in the one or more second beamforming codebooks.
28. A method of wireless communication performed by a radio unit, comprising: transmitting capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit; obtaining configuration information that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks for the radio unit, wherein each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers; and communicating using at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the capability information indicates an antenna array to which the capability information relates.
30. A method of wireless communication performed by a distributed unit, comprising: obtaining capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by a radio unit; and outputting configuration information that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks for the radio unit, wherein each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers.
1. A radio unit for wireless communication, comprising: a plurality of antenna arrays; one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured individually or collectively to: output capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit, wherein the capability information indicates an antenna array, of the plurality of antenna arrays associated with the radio unit, to which the capability information relates; obtain configuration information that configures two or more beamforming codebooks for the antenna array, wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks include a first beamforming codebook and a second beamforming codebook, and wherein the first beamforming codebook is associated with a first set of carriers in accordance with the capability information and the second beamforming codebook is associated with a second set of carriers in accordance with the capability information; and communicate using the two or more beamforming codebooks to cause the antenna array to generate a beam according to the two or more beamforming codebooks.
2. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies the number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit.
3. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies a codebook index and a set of capability parameters associated with the codebook index.
4. The radio unit of claim 3, wherein the set of capability parameters includes at least one of: a maximum supported frequency, a minimum supported frequency, a maximum supported bandwidth for the codebook index, a maximum number of carriers, a maximum carrier bandwidth, or a minimum carrier bandwidth.
5. The radio unit of claim 3, wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks are configured in accordance with the set of capability parameters.
6. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies a first codebook index, a first set of capability parameters associated with the first codebook index, a second codebook index, and a second set of capability parameters associated with the second codebook index.
7. The radio unit of claim 6, wherein the first set of capability parameters is associated with a first set of frequencies and the second set of capability parameters is associated with a second set of frequencies different than the first set of frequencies.
8. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the capability information identifies a plurality of codebook indexes and a respective set of capability parameters associated with each codebook index of the plurality of codebook indexes.
9. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the first set of carriers includes a first number of carriers, the second set of carriers includes a second number of carriers, and the first number of carriers is different than the second number of carriers.
10. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein the radio unit is a radio unit of a disaggregated radio access architecture, and wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks are received from a distributed unit of the disaggregated radio access architecture.
11. The radio unit of claim 1, wherein a particular beam index indicates a first set of beamforming weights in the first beamforming codebook and a second set of beamforming weights in the second beamforming codebook.
12. A distributed unit for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured individually or collectively to: receive capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by a radio unit, wherein the capability information indicates that the capability information relates to an antenna array of a plurality of antenna arrays associated with the radio unit; and transmit, via management-plane signaling, configuration information that configures two or more beamforming codebooks for the antenna array of the radio unit, wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks include a first beamforming codebook and a second beamforming codebook, and wherein the first beamforming codebook is associated with a first set of carriers in accordance with the capability information and the second beamforming codebook is associated with a second set of carriers in accordance with the capability information.
13. The distributed unit of claim 12, wherein the capability information indicates the antenna array to which the capability information relates.
14. The distributed unit of claim 12, wherein the capability information identifies the number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit.
15. The distributed unit of claim 12, wherein the capability information identifies a codebook index and a set of capability parameters associated with the codebook index.
16. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the set of capability parameters includes at least one of: a maximum supported frequency, a minimum supported frequency, a maximum supported bandwidth for the codebook index, a maximum number of carriers, a maximum carrier bandwidth, or a minimum carrier bandwidth.
17. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks are in accordance with the set of capability parameters.
18. The distributed unit of claim 15, wherein the capability information identifies a first codebook index, a first set of capability parameters associated with the first codebook index, a second codebook index, and a second set of capability parameters associated with the second codebook index.
19. The distributed unit of claim 18, wherein the first set of capability parameters is associated with a first set of frequencies and the second set of capability parameters is associated with a second set of frequencies different than the first set of frequencies.
20. The distributed unit of claim 18, wherein the capability information identifies a plurality of codebook indexes and a respective set of capability parameters associated with each codebook index of the plurality of codebook indexes.
21. The distributed unit of claim 12, wherein the first set of carriers includes a first number of carriers, the second set of carriers includes a second number of carriers, and the first number of carriers is different than the second number of carriers.
22. The distributed unit of claim 12, wherein the radio unit is a radio unit of a disaggregated radio access architecture, and wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks are received from a distributed unit of the disaggregated radio access architecture.
23. The distributed unit of claim 12, wherein a particular beam index indicates a first set of beamforming weights in the first beamforming codebook and a second set of beamforming weights in the second beamforming codebook.
24. A method of wireless communication performed by a radio unit, comprising: outputting capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit, wherein the capability information indicates an antenna array, of a plurality of antenna arrays associated with the radio unit, to which the capability information relates; obtaining configuration information that configures two or more beamforming codebooks for the antenna array, wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks include a first beamforming codebook and a second beamforming codebook, and wherein the first beamforming codebook is associated with a first set of carriers in accordance with the capability information and the second beamforming codebook is associated with a second set of carriers in accordance with the capability information; and communicating using the two or more beamforming codebooks to cause the antenna array to generate a beam according to the two or more beamforming codebooks.
25. A method of wireless communication performed by a distributed unit, comprising: receiving capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by a radio unit, wherein the capability information indicates an antenna array, of a plurality of antenna arrays associated with the radio unit, to which the capability information relates; and transmitting, via management-plane signaling, configuration information that configures two or more beamforming codebooks for the antenna array of the radio unit, wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks include a first beamforming codebook and a second beamforming codebook, and wherein the first beamforming codebook is associated with a first set of carriers in accordance with the capability information and the second beamforming codebook is associated with a second set of carriers in accordance with the capability information.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein a particular beam index indicates a first set of beamforming weights in the first beamforming codebook and a second set of beamforming weights in the second beamforming codebook.
27. The method of claim 24, wherein the radio unit is a radio unit of a disaggregated radio access architecture, and wherein the two or more beamforming codebooks are received from a distributed unit of the disaggregated radio access architecture.
28. The method of claim 25, wherein a particular beam index indicates a first set of beamforming weights in the two or more beamforming codebooks and a second set of beamforming weights in the two or more beamforming codebooks.
29. The method of claim 25, wherein the capability information identifies a codebook index and a set of capability parameters associated with the codebook index.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-13 and 15-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea (mental process) without significantly more. Claim 28 recites a method for “transmitting capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit; obtaining configuration information that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks for the radio unit, wherein each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers; and communicating using at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks.” The combinations of limitations “transmitting capability information”, “obtaining configuration information”, and “communicating using at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks” is a process that under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitations in mind. For example, a person can verbally communicate “capability information” and “configuration information”, to another person. Also, in the last step of the claim, “communicating using at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks” is a very broad limitation and does not necessary mean that beamforming has been performed on the signals. It can simply mean verbally communicating the beamforming codebooks. In addition to the limitations cited above, claim 28 cites a “radio unit”. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in mind but for the recitation of generic computer components (e.g., a processor, a radio unit, and so on), then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. In claim 28 judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim recites only generic computer components (such as a radio unit) as additional elements. Claim 28 does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional component, as cited in claim 28 recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer functions of sending or receiving a message) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Claim 29 depends on claim 28 and it does not cite any additional elements, therefore it has been rejected as well. Claim 30 recites a method for “obtaining capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by a radio unit; and outputting configuration information that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks for the radio unit, wherein each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers.” The combinations of limitations “obtaining capability information” and “outputting configuration information” is a process that under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitations in mind. For example, a person can verbally communicate capability information and configuration information, to another person. In addition to the limitation cited above, claim 30 cites a “distributed unit”. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in mind but for the recitation of generic computer components (e.g., a processor, a distributed unit, and so on), then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. In claim 30 judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim recites only generic computer components (such as a distributed unit) as additional elements. Claim 30 does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional component, as cited in claim 30 recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer functions of sending or receiving a message) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Same reasoning applies to claims 1 and 15, if a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in mind but for the recitation of generic computer components (e.g., a processor, a memory, antennas and so on), then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. Claims 2-13 depend on claim 1. These claims do not cite any additional elements to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application, therefore they have been rejected as well. Claims 16-27 depend on claim 15. These claims do not cite any additional elements to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application, therefore they have been rejected as well.
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, 15, 17, 28, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (hereinafter, referred to as Lee) (US 2021/0111772), in view of Schwager et al. (hereinafter, referred to as Schwager) (WO 2012041425).
As to claims 1 and 28, Lee discloses a radio unit for wireless communication (see the abstract, where the terminal is the radio unit), comprising (see Fig. 3): a memory (see Fig. 3, block 303 and paragraph 0074); and one or more processors, coupled to the memory (see Fig. 3, block 305 and paragraph 0075), configured to: transmit capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit (see paragraphs 0183-0184); obtain configuration information (see paragraph 0165) that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks (see paragraphs 0011 and 0165-0166), for an antenna array of the radio unit (see paragraph 0070); and communicate using at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks (see the abstract and paragraph 0051). Lee discloses all the subject matters claimed in claims 1 and 28, except that each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers. Schwager, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a communication system using codebooks to communicate signals (see the abstract). Schwager further discloses that precoder unit 114 and precoder control unit 184 may be adapted to apply different precoding matrices (under broadest reasonable interpretation a precoding matrix is interpreted as a codebook) to different sub-carriers (each set of sub-carriers can include a single subcarrier) (see page 19, lines 1-4 and page 101, claim 10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee, as suggested by Schwager, in order to optimize the performance of the precoder for different channel conditions.
As to claims 15 and 30, Lee discloses a unit for wireless communication (see the abstract, the base station is the unit), comprising (see Fig. 2): a memory (see Fig. 2, block 205 and paragraph 0063); and one or more processors (see Fig. 2, block 207 and paragraph 0064), coupled to the memory, configured to: obtain capability information regarding a number of beamforming codebooks supported by a radio unit (see paragraphs 0183-0184); and output configuration information (see paragraph 0165) that configures a plurality of beamforming codebooks (see paragraphs 0011 and 0165-0166) for the radio unit (see paragraph 0070). Lee discloses all the subject matters claimed in claims 15 and 30, except that each of the plurality of beamforming codebooks is associated with a different set of carriers. Schwager, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a communication system using codebooks to communicate signals (see the abstract). Schwager further discloses that precoder unit 114 and precoder control unit 184 may be adapted to apply different precoding matrices (under broadest reasonable interpretation a precoding matrix is interpreted as a codebook) to different sub-carriers (each set of sub-carriers can include a single subcarrier) (see page 19, lines 1-4 and page 101, claim 10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee, as suggested by Schwager, in order to optimize the performance of the precoder for different channel conditions.
As to claims 3 and 17, Lee discloses that the capability information identifies the number of beamforming codebooks supported by the radio unit (see paragraph 0184).
Claims 2, 16, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee and Schwager, further in view of Yunoki (US 2019/0052345).
As to claims 2, 16, and 29, Lee and Schwager disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 2, 16, and 29, except that the capability information indicates the antenna array to which the capability information relates. Yunoki, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a communication system comprising a transmitter and receiver, where the transmitter and receiver exchange capability information (see paragraph 0079). Yunoki further discloses that the capability information indicates the antenna array to which the capability information relates (see Fig. 8 and paragraph 0080). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee and Schwager, as suggested by Yunoki, in order to reduce the complexity of the communication when there is more than one antenna array involved.
Claims 4, 6-9, 18, and 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee and Schwager, further in view of Huang et al. (hereinafter, referred to as Huang) (US 10,931,339).
As to claims 4 and 18, Lee and Schwager disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 4 and 18, except that the capability information identifies a codebook index and a set of capability parameters associated with the codebook index. Huang, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a communication device, where a terminal device of the communication device transmits capability information to a base station (see the abstract). Huang further discloses that the capability information identifies a codebook index and a set of capability parameters associated with the codebook index (see column 2, lines 27-67). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee and Schwager, as suggested by Huang, in order to ensure that the current state of the terminal is capable of supporting codebooks configured by the base station and increase the performance of the communication system.
As to claims 6 and 20, Huang discloses that the one or more beamforming codebooks are configured in accordance with the set of capability parameters (see column 6, lines 58-64).
As to claims 7 and 21, Lee and Schwager disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 7 and 21, except that the capability information identifies a first codebook index, a first set of capability parameters associated with the first codebook index, a second codebook index, and a second set of capability parameters associated with the second codebook index. Huang, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a communication device, where a terminal device of the communication device transmits capability information to a base station (see the abstract). Huang further discloses that the capability information identifies a first codebook index, a first set of capability parameters associated with the first codebook index, a second codebook index, and a second set of capability parameters associated with the second codebook index (see column 2, lines 27-67 and column 18, lines 42-53). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee and Schwager, as suggested by Huang, in order to ensure that the current state of the terminal is capable of supporting codebooks configured by the base station and increase the performance of the communication system.
As to claims 8 and 22, Huang further discloses that the first set of capability parameters is associated with a first set of frequencies and the second set of capability parameters is associated with a second set of frequencies different than the first set of frequencies (see column 29, lines 48-57, that discloses each antenna is associated with a radio frequency channel (a set of frequencies), see column 2, lines 27-67 that indicates each codebook index is associated with one or more antennas, and see column 11, lines 37-39, that discloses different antennas (and therefore different codebook indices) are associated with different radio frequency channels).
As to claims 9 and 23, Lee and Schwager disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 9 and 23, except that the capability information identifies a plurality of codebook indexes and a respective set of capability parameters associated with each codebook index of the plurality of codebook indexes. Huang, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a communication device, where a terminal device of the communication device transmits capability information to a base station (see the abstract). Huang further discloses that the capability information identifies a plurality of codebook indexes and a respective set of capability parameters associated with each codebook index of the plurality of codebook indexes (see column 2, lines 27-67 and column 12, lines 37- column 14, line 67). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee and Schwager, as suggested by Huang, in order to ensure that the current state of the terminal is capable of supporting codebooks configured by the base station and increase the performance of the communication system.
Claims 5 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, Schwager, and Huang, further in view of Li et al. (hereinafter, referred to as Li) (WO 2020/248794).
As to claims 5 and 19, Lee, Schwager, and Huang disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 5 and 19, except that the set of capability parameters includes a maximum number of carriers. Li, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a communication device comprising a transmitter and a receiver, wherein capability information is exchanged between the transmitter and the receiver (see the 10th paragraph under “Summary of the Invention”, “In order to facilitate network equipment to reasonably schedule each link for information transmission, the terminal equipment determines the carrier where the supported NR side link is located, and the multi-carrier combination mode of the carrier where each link except the NR side link is located. Determine capability information, where the capability information includes at least one of the multi-carrier combination modes, and send the capability information to the network device or other terminal devices. The terminal device reports the capability information of each link it supports to the network device or the communication peer device. The network device or the communication peer device can determine whether the multi-carrier transmission is currently activated according to the capability information of the terminal device.”) Li further discloses that the set of capability parameters includes a maximum number of carriers (see 28th paragraph under the “Summary of the Invention”, “In another possible implementation manner, the capability information also includes the total maximum number of transmission channels supported by the terminal device, or the relationship between the NR side link and any of the links except the NR side link. The maximum number of carriers or, the total maximum number of transmission channels on any one of the NR side links and each link except the NR side link; or, the NR side link and the NR side link”.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee, Schwager, and Huang as suggested by Li, in order to ensure that the current state of the terminal is capable of supporting codebooks configured by the base station and increase the performance of the communication system.
Claims 12 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee and Schwager, further in view of McKenzie et al. (hereinafter, referred to as McKenzie) (US 2021/0273747).
As to claims 12 and 26, Lee discloses that the codebooks are received from a base station (see the abstract and paragraph 0138). Lee and Schwager disclose all the subject matters claimed in claims 12 and 26, except that the radio unit is a radio unit of a disaggregated radio access architecture, and wherein the base station is a distributed unit of the disaggregated radio access architecture. McKenzie, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a cellular communication network that comprises at least a base station and a user equipment (i.e., terminal or radio unit) (see paragraph 0003). McKenzie discloses that the radio unit is a radio unit of a disaggregated radio access architecture (see paragraph 0004), and wherein the base station is a distributed unit of the disaggregated radio access architecture (see paragraph 0017). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee and Schwager, as suggested by McKenzie, in order to increase the coverage for the terminals and increase the performance of the communication system.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee and Schwager, in view of Stjerman (WO 2020/242355).
As to claim 14, Lee and Schwager do not expressly disclose that the antenna array generates a beam according to the at least one of the plurality of beamforming codebooks. Stjerman, in the same field of endeavor, discloses that Beam index should be understood broadly. For instance, a beam index may be represented by, for example, a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or some other measure or feedback related to what precoder to use. The beam index may not be associated with a “beam” in the classical sense. For instance, a beam may refer to a set of precoding weights used to define how a signal is mapped to the antenna elements. Several such sets of precoding weights may make up a codebook, and that codebook may be the set of beams represented by the set of beam indexes (see paragraph 0076). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Lee and Schwager, as suggested by Stjerman, in order to facilitate the beamforming process using the codebooks.
Conclusion
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LEILA . MALEK
Examiner
Art Unit 2632
/LEILA MALEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632
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