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 .
Application filed on 06/08/2022 and there being no priority or continuation claimed, the effective filing date is 6/08/2022 for all claims.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/06/2025 has been entered.
Claims 1, 12 and 17 are amended, no claims are added or canceled; claims 1-20 remain pending in this application.
The examiner thanks the applicant for indicating the support for the claim amendments in the remarks.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/09/2024 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Any additional grounds of rejection are based on amendments to claims made, however as examiner addresses in applicant remarks below, previously cited art US 20200396761 A1 JEONG; Youngmin et al, teaches the claims as amended also.
Applicant submits Jeong is silent as to the use of a handover algorithm. Jeong is directed to managing uplink control channels in a communication system; specifically, in carrier aggregation. Jeong appears to be focused on optimizing performance and power consumption through frequency management and fails to address potential connection issues or risks. Applicant cannot locate any reference in Jeong to a handover algorithm utilized during a frequency allocation switch. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Jeong teaches initiate a handover algorithm to maintain communication during the switch to the second frequency allocation of the network carrier from the initial frequency allocation of the network carrier ([0155] “When a data channel is selectively used, the base station may deactivate an uplink data channel in the second carrier, and may control to transmit all uplink traffics via an uplink data channel in the first carrier. As an example, when the terminal requests allocation of an uplink resource to the second carrier and then an uplink data channel in the second carrier is deactivated before the allocation of the uplink resource, the base station may allocate, to the first carrier, the uplink resource corresponding to a corresponding request. In this example, control information for allocation of an uplink resource may include information which explicitly or implicitly notifies that an uplink resource is allocated to the first carrier at the request for allocation of an uplink resource to the second carrier.” Where disclosed steps describe a handover algorithm to maintain communciation as the claim does not define any steps of broadly claimed “handover algorithm”; see also [0145] “the adaptive PUCCH operation technique of the present disclosure may be applied in dual connectivity (DC) of FR1-FR2”).
Applicant further submits, claim 17 further recites that the location of the UE "is changing from the first location to a second location, wherein the first location is associated with the initial frequency allocation and the second location is associated with a second frequency allocation of the network carrier" and that the frequency allocation is switched based on both "the updated signal quality measurements and the location of the UE changing." Jeong does not describe this feature. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Applicants remarks (Jeong does generally reference that location information of the terminal may be used. See Jeong, ¶ [0150].) do not consider teachings of Jewong relied upon in the rejection. (See [0016] “..for activation or deactivation of an uplink control channel in the second carrier based on an electric field strength of a channel with a terminal or a location of the termina…l”; [0080] “..determining whether to switch a state of the uplink control channel in the second carrier, based on the location of the terminal or a distance between the base station and the terminal..”). These sections of Jeong teach changing from the first location to a second location, wherein the first location is associated with the initial frequency allocation and the second location is associated with a second frequency allocation of the network carrier as claimed.
For these reasons examiners finds applicant remarks not persuasive, and although the rejection is updated to include the amended claim limitations and grounds for rejection, the claims remain anticipated by US 20200396761 A1 JEONG; Youngmin et al. The rejection below includes grounds as cited for each limitation of the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 3-12, 14-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20200396761 A1 Jeong; Youngmin et al.
Consider Claims 1, 12 and 16
Jeong teaches A system for dynamic switching of frequency allocations of a network carrier (Figs. 1-3, 7, 12 and all accompanied text), the system comprising:
a base station (Figs. 1-2 base station 110 [0045], [0051-58]) of the network carrier (Jeong Fig. 1, [0044] “wireless communication system”);
a user equipment (UE) (Figs. 1-2 UE 120 130, [0046], [0059-67]), the UE comprising one or more antennas (Figs. 1-2 communicator 310 and antenna array [0062-63]) for receiving a first downlink signal from the base station (Figs. 1-2 [0062-63] “down-convert an RF band signal received via the antenna into a baseband signal”) and for transmitting a first uplink signal to the base station (Figs. 1-2 [0062-63] “up-convert a baseband signal into an RF band signal and then transmit the RF band signal via an antenna”), and a processor (Fig. 3, [0067] the controller 330 and communicator 310) the processor configure to:
determine a first signal quality measurement for a signal quality of the first downlink signal between the base station of the network carrier and the UE (Fig. 1, Fig. 12 [0142] “the base station acquires information for determination of a situation of a terminal. The information includes at least one of measurement information reported by the terminal, a transmission rate of an uplink channel, an error rate of uplink information, or location estimation information of the terminal. “ [0146] “The terminal may measure channel quality (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ)”);
determine an initial frequency allocation for the UE of frequency assigned to the network carrier based on the first signal quality measurement (Fig. 3, [0062] “The communicator 310 is configured to perform functions of transmitting or receiving a signal via a wireless channel.” determination of current frequency is implicit in order to transmit or receive; [0079] “determining whether to switch a state of the uplink control channel in the second carrier” determination of switching implies determining initial allocation of the previous or current channels in use);
receive updated signal quality measurements for the UE (Fig. 12 [0142] “the base station acquires information for determination of a situation of a terminal. The information includes at least one of measurement information reported by the terminal, a transmission rate of an uplink channel, an error rate of uplink information, or location estimation information of the terminal. “ [0146] “The terminal may measure channel quality (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ)”) over a period of time subsequent to the determination of the initial frequency allocation for the UE (Fig. 1, [0011] “to provide an apparatus and a method for selectively using an uplink control channel according to a situation in a wireless communication system” thus inherent that method updates measurements over a period of time subsequent to the initial allocation in order to address current situation in a wireless communication system);
determine the first signal quality measurement in relation to a signal quality range (Fig. 1, Fig. 12 [0146] “The terminal may measure channel quality (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ)” and “[the terminal] may report the measured channel quality to the base station. The base station may determine an electric field strength by using the reported measurement information. When the electric field strength exceeds a threshold, the base station may determine..” where RSRP & RSRQ are known in the art to be provided in a dB value that as a range and further taught comparison to threshold teaches determination in relation to a range);
determine a location of the UE ([0149] “location information of the terminal may be used as the information. For example, the terminal may estimate a location thereof (e.g., by using a global positioning system (GPS)), and may transmit information on the estimated location to the base station” and [0150] “information which can be used to estimate a location of the terminal may be used as the information”); and
update the initial frequency allocation for the UE to switch to a second frequency allocation of the network carrier from the initial frequency allocation of the network carrier ([0145] “the adaptive PUCCH operation technique of the present disclosure may be applied in dual connectivity (DC) of FR1-FR2”; Claim 3: “wherein the first cell corresponds to a frequency range 1 (FR1), and wherein the second cell corresponds to a frequency range 2 (FR2).”) based on at least one of the updated signal quality measurement ([0016] “for activation or deactivation of an uplink control channel in the second carrier based on an electric field strength of a channel with a terminal or a location of the terminal”; [0079] “determining whether to switch a state of the uplink control channel in the second carrier, based on at least one of a measurement report received from the terminal, an uplink data transmission rate, or an error rate of uplink control information.” [0153] Fig. 10 1001 and 1003, [0132] “In operation 1003, the terminal adds or releases an uplink control channel..”; See also Fig. 5A [0103] “(HARQ) acknowledge/negative acknowledge (ACK/NACK) information for downlink data in FR2 is transmitted via the uplink control channel in FR2, and HARQ ACK/NACK information for downlink data in FR1 is transmitted via the uplink control channel in FR1” thus frequency allocation implicit for uplink and downlink) and the location of the UE or [ ALTERNATIVELY FOR CLAIM 12] on movement of the UE from a first location associated with the initial frequency allocation to a second location associated with a second frequency allocation ( [0016] “..for activation or deactivation of an uplink control channel in the second carrier based on an electric field strength of a channel with a terminal or a location of the termina…l”; [0080] “..determining whether to switch a state of the uplink control channel in the second carrier, based on the location of the terminal or a distance between the base station and the terminal..”);
[FOR CLAIM 17]: determine a location of the UE is changing from the first location to a second location, wherein the first location is associated with the initial frequency allocation and the second location is associated with a second frequency allocation of the network carrier ( [0016] “..for activation or deactivation of an uplink control channel in the second carrier based on an electric field strength of a channel with a terminal or a location of the termina…l”; [0080] “..determining whether to switch a state of the uplink control channel in the second carrier, based on the location of the terminal or a distance between the base station and the terminal..” thus determination is implicit).
[FOR CLAIM 1]: initiate a handover algorithm to maintain communication during the switch to the second frequency allocation of the network carrier from the initial frequency allocation of the network carrier ([0155] “When a data channel is selectively used, the base station may deactivate an uplink data channel in the second carrier, and may control to transmit all uplink traffics via an uplink data channel in the first carrier. As an example, when the terminal requests allocation of an uplink resource to the second carrier and then an uplink data channel in the second carrier is deactivated before the allocation of the uplink resource, the base station may allocate, to the first carrier, the uplink resource corresponding to a corresponding request. In this example, control information for allocation of an uplink resource may include information which explicitly or implicitly notifies that an uplink resource is allocated to the first carrier at the request for allocation of an uplink resource to the second carrier.” Where disclosed steps describe a handover algorithm to maintain communciation as the claim does not define any steps of broadly claimed “handover algorithm”; see also [0145] “the adaptive PUCCH operation technique of the present disclosure may be applied in dual connectivity (DC) of FR1-FR2”)
Further, Jeong in the analysis teaching the system of claim 1 above, also teaches a computer-implemented method for dynamic switching of frequency allocation of claim 12 and the non-transitory computer storage media storing computer-useable instructions that, when used by one or more processors, cause the processor, of claim 17.
Consider Claim 3 and 14.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 1,
wherein the location of the UE is based on the UE within a coverage area of the cell site (Fig. 7, Fig. 12, [0143] “In operation 1203, the base station determines whether to add or release an uplink control channel, based on the acquired information. The base station may determine whether the terminal is located in a coverage of an uplink control channel in a second carrier having a frequency higher than that of a first carrier, based on the acquired information, and may determine whether to switch a state of the uplink control channel in the second carrier, based on whether the terminal is located in the coverage of the uplink control channel in the second carrier”).
Consider Claim 4, 15, and 19.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 3,
wherein the location of the UE within the coverage area of the cell site is one of near an edge of the cell site or near the middle of the cell site (Fig. 7, [0115] “ a coverage of a base station is divided into two areas 710 and 720. The first area 710 is a coverage in a case where an uplink control channel is not used in a second carrier belonging to a high-frequency range, and the second area 720 is a coverage in a case where the uplink control channel is used in the second carrier belonging to the high-frequency range”).
Consider Claim 5, 16 and 20.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 4,
further comprising switching frequency allocations based on the location of the UE changing within the coverage area of the cell site (Fig. 7, [0116] “..When the terminal is located in the second area 720, the base station may activate the uplink control channel in the second carrier, … Further, when the terminal is located outside the second area 720, the base station may deactivate the uplink control channel in the second carrier..thus may control to transmit, on the first carrier, ACK/NACK information for downlink data of the second carrier…” “control of the uplink control channel in the second carrier, that is, switching of the number of activated uplink control channels, is performed at a boundary between the first area 710 and the second area 720. “ Fig. 12, [0143] “…may determine whether to switch a state of the uplink control channel in the second carrier, based on whether the terminal is located in the coverage of the uplink control channel in the second carrier”).
Consider Claim 6.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 1,
wherein the first frequency allocation (FR 1) differs from the second frequency allocation (FR 2) ([0094-95] Table 1 “FR1 410 MHz-7125 MHz FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz” [0153] the first carrier belonging to a low-frequency range and the second carrier belonging to a high-frequency range).
Consider Claim 7.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 6, wherein FR 1 is between 4.1 GHz and 7.125 GHz and wherein FR 2 is between 24.25 GHz and 52.6 GHz ([0094-95] Table 1 “FR1 410 MHz-7125 MHz FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz” [0153] the first carrier belonging to a low-frequency range and the second carrier belonging to a high-frequency range).
Consider Claim 8.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 6, wherein FR 1 is used near an edge of the cell site (Fig. 7, [0115] “..The first area 710 is a coverage in a case where an uplink control channel is not used in a second carrier belonging to a high-frequency range, and the second area 720 is a coverage in a case where the uplink control channel is used in the second carrier belonging to the high-frequency range…”).
Consider Claim 9.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 6, wherein FR 2 is used near the base station of the cell site (Fig. 7, [0115] “..The first area 710 is a coverage in a case where an uplink control channel is not used in a second carrier belonging to a high-frequency range, and the second area 720 is a coverage in a case where the uplink control channel is used in the second carrier belonging to the high-frequency range…”).
Consider Claim 10.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 6,
wherein either FR 1 or FR 2 is used in the middle of the cell site (Fig. 7, [0115] “..The first area 710 is a coverage in a case where an uplink control channel is not used in a second carrier belonging to a high-frequency range, and the second area 720 is a coverage in a case where the uplink control channel is used in the second carrier belonging to the high-frequency range…”).
Consider Claim 11.
JEONG teaches The system of claim 10, wherein using either FR 1 or FR 2 is based on the SINR or a congestion metric (Fig. 1, Fig. 12 [0146] “The terminal may measure channel quality (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ)” and “[the terminal] may report the measured channel quality to the base station. The base station may determine an electric field strength by using the reported measurement information. When the electric field strength exceeds a threshold, the base station may determine..” where RSRQ may indicate congestion thus a congestion metric).
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.
Claim(s) 2, 13 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200396761 A1 JEONG; Youngmin et. al. in view of US 20170142729 A1 BO; Lin et. al.
Consider Claim 2, 13 and 18
Jeong teaches The system of claim 1, and the first signal quality measurement ([0146] “The terminal may measure channel quality (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ)”).
JEONG does not explicitly disclose wherein the first signal quality measurement is based on signal-to-interference and noise (SINR).
BO teaches wherein the first signal quality measurement is based on signal-to-interference and noise (SINR) ([0067] the base station may also determine edge UE by measuring a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) on a channel between the UE and the base station, or by using a reference signal received power (RSRP) reported by the UE, or by using an RSRP difference or an SINR difference, reported by the UE, between the serving cell of the UE and a neighboring cell of the serving).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the invention of JEONG to include the noted teachings of BO in order to improve a throughput and performance of edge UE (BO [0007]).
Pertinent Prior Art(s)
The prior art made of record though not relied upon in the current rejection is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20230189315 A1 HAUSTEIN; Thomas et al.
[0031] Millimetre-Wave Spectrum and Frequency Range Two
[0032] In connection with 3GPP standardization of new radio (NR), two frequency ranges have been defined: FR1 from 410 MHz to 7,125 MHz and FR2 from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.
[0815] FIG. 14 shows a schematic flow chart of a method for operating a device in a bidirectional wireless communication network in a first operating mode in which the device is in a connected mode during a first time interval and in a second operating mode, in which the device at most performs passive communication during a second, different time interval. For example, method 1000 being illustrated may be used to operate device 11. Method 1000 comprises a step 1010 for operating the device in the first operating mode and obtaining, using the device, a set of measurement results comprising at least one measurement result by measuring or determining a radio link parameter associated with an operation of the wireless communication network. A step 1020 comprises generating, using the device, a measurement report comprising a set of results having at least one measurement result of the set of measurement results and transmitting the measurement report to an entity of the wireless communication network.
KR 20090004164 A JUNG YOUNG HO et al.
3A to 3F illustrate examples of using frequency resources of a micro cell that rents a macro cell resource according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Herein, the micro cell allocates resources based on the location of the user terminal, channel quality, transmission data, and the like, to the f1-UL borrowed from the macro cell. In this case, in order to minimize the interference on the macro cell, the rental resource f1-UL is used for a terminal located in the center of the micro cell region, and the terminal located at the edge of the micro cell region is a f2-UL / DL dedicated resource for the micro cell. You can apply additional methods of sharing resources by using.
KR 20200082230 A Jeongsik DONG et al.
Referring to FIG. 6, in step 601, the base station may acquire channel quality information. The base station can obtain channel quality information for a vehicle device connected to the base station. In the present disclosure, the channel quality is, for example, beam reference signal received power (BRSRP), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), signal to interference and SINR. Noise ratio (CINR), carrier to interference and noise ratio (CINR), signal to noise ratio (SNR), error vector magnitude (EVM), bit error rate (BER), or block error rate (BLER). In addition to the examples described above, other terms having equivalent technical meanings or other metrics indicating channel quality may be used. In the present disclosure, a high channel quality means that the channel quality value related to signal size is large or the channel quality value related to error rate is small. As the channel quality is higher, it may mean that a smooth wireless communication environment is guaranteed. According to various embodiments, the higher the channel quality for the serving base station (or serving cell), the more the base station can determine that the vehicle device is located in the center of the cell. Conversely, the lower the channel quality of the serving base station, the more the base station can determine that the vehicle device is located at the cell edge.
Conclusion
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/UMAIR AHSAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647