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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see response to 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections on page 3 lines 11-22, filed 6/18/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 14, 18, and 20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of U.S. Publication No. 20130128852 to Xue et al in view of U.S. Publication No. 20160227520 to Davydov et al. Refer to updated 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections of claims 14, 18, and 20.
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 14, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 20130128852 to Xue et al in view of U.S. Publication No. 20160227520 to Davydov et al.
Referring to claim 14, Xue et al disclose in Figures 1-13 a method for wireless communications at a UE (UE), comprising:
Receiving (from BS) a first signal (PDCCH control signaling: resource allocation signal of Figure 10) in a control channel (PDCCH), the control channel comprising a PDCCH transmission, the first signal allocating a first group of RBs (BS allocates RBGs to UE and transmits a resource allocation signal of Figure 10 to UE indicating the allocated RBGs) … Sections 0003, 0061, 0083, 0090, 0104, 0114, and 0129: BS allocates RBGs to UE; BS then transmits a resource allocation signal of Figure 10 (claimed “first signal”) to UE on a PDCCH indicating the allocated RBGs. BS uses a different number of bits of the resource allocation bit field in PDCCH to indicate the allocated RBGs (claimed “a first group of RBs”) to UE. Section 0003 lines 20-22: “Allocation of each RBG can be indicated using one bit in a resource allocation field in PDCCH, that is, can be indicated in a bitmap manner” (claimed “a first group of RBs”). In the resource allocation signal of Figure 10 and Section 0146 lines 27-29: “each bit indicates whether or not one RB within one resource block group is allocated” (claimed “a first group of RBs”). Also, in the resource allocation signal of Figure 10 and Section 0146 lines 35-46: “each bit may indicate whether or not N resource blocks included in one resource block group are allocated, in which the N resource blocks can be N resource blocks consecutive in a frequency domain within one resource block group (i.e. N resource blocks with consecutive resource block serial numbers), or can be N resource blocks spaced at an equal frequency within one resource block group (i.e. N resource blocks with inconsecutive resource block serial numbers that are spaced at an equal interval)” (claimed “a first group of RBs”).
Receiving a second signal (PDCCH control signaling: resource allocation signal of Figure 10, which can be the same as the claimed “first signal”) in the control channel, the second signal allocating a second group of RBs (BS allocates RBGs to UE and transmits a resource allocation signal of Figure 10 to UE indicating the allocated RBGs: the resource allocation signal of Figure 10 indicates the allocation of a plurality of different RBGs in a bitmap, which includes a claimed “first group of RBs” and “second group of RBs”) … The claims of the pending application do not differentiate between the claimed “first signal” and “second signal”, so the claimed “first signal” and “second signal” can be the same signal: PDCCH control signaling to indicate the allocated RBGs. However, Xue et al can also disclose that the claimed “first signal” and “second signal” are different. Section 0003 lines 20-22 discloses that “Allocation of each RBG can be indicated using one bit in a resource allocation field in PDCCH, that is, can be indicated in a bitmap manner”. So: the resource allocation signal of Figure 10 indicates the allocation of a plurality of different RBGs in a bitmap, which can include the claimed “first group of RBs” and “second group of RBs”, using a bit (claimed “first signal”) to indicate a first RBG and another bit (claimed “second signal”) to indicate another RBG.
Receiving (Section 0003) or transmitting (Sections 0003, 0004, and 0045) a transmission using the allocated first group of RBs and the second group of RBs. Section 0003 lines 13-15: “PDCCH control signalling schedules time-frequency resources used by a terminal for receiving or transmitting data.” BS receives uplink data from UE using the allocated RBs and BS transmits downlink data to UE using the allocated RBs, wherein the allocated RBs are a claimed “first group of RBs” and “second group of RBs”. . Refer to Sections 0036-0190.
Xue et al do not disclose … receiving a first signal in a control channel, the control channel comprising a PDCCH transmission, the first signal allocating a first group of RBs in a first plurality of symbols; receiving a second signal in the control channel, the second signal allocating a second group of RBs in a second plurality of symbols, the second plurality of symbols being of different number of symbols from the first plurality of symbols …
Davydov et al disclose in Figures 1-10 and Sections 0034-0038 wherein an RB can comprise 7 symbols for short or normal cyclic prefix or 6 symbols if an extended cyclic prefix is used, or a different number of one or more symbols. Also in Sections 0051, 0058, and Table 2: each RBG is associated with a different number of RBs and corresponding bandwidth. Each RBG can comprise a different number of RBs and each RB comprises a different number of symbols, so each RBG comprises a different number of symbols (claimed “the second plurality of symbols being of different number of symbols from the first plurality of symbols”). Refer to Sections 0015-0078. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include … receiving a first signal in a control channel, the control channel comprising a PDCCH transmission, the first signal allocating a first group of RBs in a first plurality of symbols; receiving a second signal in the control channel, the second signal allocating a second group of RBs in a second plurality of symbols, the second plurality of symbols being of different number of symbols from the first plurality of symbols … One would have been motivated to do so since BS allocates a different number of data symbols to different respective groups of RBs, thereby facilitating different amount of data transmission in the symbols of the different RB groups.
Referring to claim 18, Xue et al disclose in Figures 1-13 further comprising transmitting a PUSCH transmission using the allocated first group of RBs or the second group of RBs. Section 0003 lines 13-15: “PDCCH control signalling schedules time-frequency resources used by a terminal for receiving or transmitting data.” BS receives uplink data from UE using the allocated RBs and BS transmits downlink data to UE using the allocated RBs, wherein the allocated RBs are a claimed “first group of RBs” or “second group of RBs”. Section 0003 lines 20-29: UE can transmit uplink data using the allocated RBs to BS on a PUSCH. Refer to Sections 0036-0190.
Referring to claim 20, Xue et al disclose in Figures 1-13 further comprising receiving a PDSCH transmission using the allocated first group of RBs or the second group of RBs. Section 0003 lines 13-15: “PDCCH control signalling schedules time-frequency resources used by a terminal for receiving or transmitting data.” BS receives uplink data from UE using the allocated RBs and BS transmits downlink data to UE using the allocated RBs, wherein the allocated RBs are a claimed “first group of RBs” or “second group of RBs”. Section 0003 lines 20-29: UE can receive downlink data using the allocated RBs from BS on a PDSCH. The use of a PDSCH for downlink data transmission using the allocated RBs is also disclosed in Sections 0004, 00041, 0045, 0104, 0114, and 129. Refer to Sections 0036-0190.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Publication No. 20120087331 to Seo et al disclose in Figures 1-15 a terminal determines the size of an RBG according to the number of RBs within the basic band in the overall bands which include the fundamental band and an aggregated segment band; the size of an RBG of the aggregated segment band is determined on the basis of the size of the RBG of the basic band. Refer to Sections 0014-0022 and 0038-0156.
U.S. Publication No. 20130244571 to Hong et al disclose in Figures 1-4 that BS allocates a specific number of resource blocks, each having 180 kHz, as the size of a resource block group used to transmit and receive data packets to and from UE according to the available bandwidth and allocates the number of resource blocks, corresponding to the determined size of the resource block group, to UE, according to CASE1-CASE4. Refer to Sections 0020-0051.
U.S. Publication No. 20140029537 to Golitschek Edler von Elbwart disclose in Figure 1-8 an RBG is the union of P adjacent RBs, where P can be established for any uplink system bandwidth supported by LTE. Refer to Sections 0001-0110 and 0121-0214.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE Y NG whose telephone number is (571)272-3124. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12pm-9pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, 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, Ricky Ngo can be reached on 5712723139. 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.
/Christine Ng/
Examiner, AU 2464
July 27, 2026
Prosecution Insights