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 .
Applicant’s RCE filed 12/15/25 is acknowledged.
Claim 1, 3, 5-7, 12, 14, and 16-19 are amended.
Claims 1-10 and 12-21 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the independent claims (pages 9-11) in a reply filed 11/10/2025 have been considered but are moot because the arguments are based on newly changed limitations in the amendment and new ground of rejections using newly introduced references or a newly introduced portion of an existing reference are applied in the current rejection.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/15/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 1, 2, 10, 12, 13, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Awadin et al. US 20220377790 (hereinafter “Awadin”) in view of Xu et al. US 20230032015 (hereinafter “Xu”)
As to claim 1 and 19 (claim 1 is the method claim for the communication device in claim 19):
Awadin discloses:
A communication device, comprising: a memory, a processor, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and that is configured to be run on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the computer program (“As shown in FIG. 16B, the example WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad/indicators 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132”, Awadin [0199])
A data transmission method for an unlicensed band (“Unlicensed Spectrum in LTE”, Awadin [0030]) (“Unlicensed Spectrum in NR”, Awadin [0032]), performed by a terminal, comprising: receiving Fixed Frame Period (FFP) configuration information from a network-side device (“the gNB/TRP may provide multiple FBE configurations for different FBE UEs depending on their capabilities, use cases and so on, e.g., different UEs may have different UE's FFP configurations which may be different than gNB's FFP. These configurations may be broadcasted/groupcasted/unicasted. UE capability may limit which configurations can be supported by the UE and the preferred configurations may be autonomously selected by the UE.”, Awadin [0074]); performing uplink transmission based on the FFP configuration information and a channel state (“A device may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) 53 check during a single observation slot. If the initiating device finds the operating channel(s) to be clear, it may transmit immediately.”, Awadin [0095]) (Examiner’s Note: channel state in this case is whether the channel is clear or not), wherein: the FFP configuration information comprises: an FFP start location of the terminal, an FFP length of the terminal, an FFP start location of the network-side device, and an FFP length of the network-side device, and the FFP start location of the terminal is different from the FFP start location of the network-side device. (“The aforementioned parameters may be used to provide information about gNB's FFP or UE's FFP. Specifically, gNB and UE may have their own FFP configurations with some parameters being common for both of them. For example, gNB's FFP and UE's FFP may duration (period) of FFP which may be indicated by FFP_duration while there is time offset (time shift) between gNB's FFP and UE's FFP which can be indicated by FFP_start/FFP_end. The time offset (time shift) may be between the beginning of gNB's FFP and the beginning of UE's FFP, or between the beginning of UE's FFP and particular SFN, or between any reference point and particular point of UE's FFP.”, Awadin [0055]) (“When gNB/UE initiates DL/UL transmissions, gNB/UE may use their own FFP configurations. On the other word, if UE initiates UL transmission and intent to occupy the channel, then UE initiates COT based on UE's FFP configurations. Similar procedure may be applied by gNB when it initiates a COT.”, Awadin [0056])
Awadin as describe above does not teach:
and wherein performing uplink transmission based on the FFP configuration information and the channel state comprises: performing at least one of downlink signal detection or downlink channel detection to obtain a detection result in an FFP idle time period indicated by the FFP configuration information, wherein an FFP comprises Channel Occupancy Time (COT) and the FFP idle time period, and the FFP idle time period is located after the COT; and determining, based on the detection result, whether to perform uplink transmission.
However, Xu further teaches detecting downlink signal and determining whether to perform uplink transmission based on the detection result which includes:
and wherein performing uplink transmission based on the FFP configuration information and the channel state comprises: performing at least one of downlink signal detection or downlink channel detection to obtain a detection result in an FFP idle time period indicated by the FFP configuration information, (FIG. 3A shows FFP idle state/period within FFP, Xu) (“The fixed frame period (FFP) configuration may be included in a system information block (e.g., SIB-1) and/or could also be signaled for a UE with UEspecific RRC signaling for FBE secondary cell (sCell) use cases.”, Xu [0035]) (“UE transmissions can occur (are allowed) within an FFP if certain downlink signals/channels (e.g., PDCCH, SSB, PBCH, RMSI, GC-PDCCH, ...) are detected within the FFP.”, Xu [0037]) wherein an FFP comprises Channel Occupancy Time (COT) and the FFP idle time period, and the FFP idle time period is located after the COT; (FIG. 3A shows FFP idle state/period within FFP after COT, Xu) and determining, based on the detection result, whether to perform uplink transmission. (“The fixed frame period is typically restricted to one of set of values:{1ms, 2ms, 2.5ms, 4ms, 5ms, 10ms}, which includes the idle period. The starting positions of the FFPs within every two radio frames starts from an even radio frame and are given by i*P, where i={0,1,.., 20/P-1} and P is the fixed frame period (in ms). The idle period for a given subcarrier spacing (SCS) is calculated as: ceil( Minimum idle period allowed by regulations / Ts), where the Minimum idle period allowed is given as: max(5% of FFP, 100us), and Ts is the symbol duration for the given SCS. A PRACH resource is typically considered invalid if it overlaps with the IDLE period of an FFP when FBE operation is indicated. UE transmissions can occur (are allowed) within an FFP if certain downlink signals/channels (e.g., PDCCH, SSB, PBCH, RMSI, GC-PDCCH, ...) are detected within the FFP.”, Xu [0037])
Awadin and Xu are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include detecting downlink signal and determining whether to perform uplink transmission based on the detection result as described in Xu into Awadin. By modifying the method to include detecting downlink signal and determining whether to perform uplink transmission based on the detection result as taught by Xu, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]) and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]) are achieved.
As to claim 2:
Awadin discloses:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 1, wherein the FFP length of the terminal is different from the FFP length of the network-side device; or the FFP length of the terminal is the same as the FFP length of the network-side device. (“For example, if the duration or period of UE's FFP is not configured, then UE may assume that duration of UE's FFP is equal to the duration of gNB's FFP.”, Awadin [0062])
As to claim 10:
Awadin discloses:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 1, wherein the FFP start location is an absolute time domain location or an offset value relative to a reference location. (“For example, gNB's FFP and UE's FFP may duration (period) of FFP which may be indicated by FFP_duration while there is time offset (time shift) between gNB's FFP and UE's FFP which can be indicated by FFP_start/FFP_end. The time offset (time shift) may be between the beginning of gNB's FFP and the beginning of UE's FFP, or between the beginning of UE's FFP and particular SFN, or between any reference point and particular point of UE's FFP.”, Awadin [0055])
As to claim 12:
Claim 12 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1 from the perspective of the network node.
As to claim 13:
Claim 13 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 2 from the perspective of the network node.
As to claim 20:
Awadin discloses:
A communication device, comprising: a memory, a processor, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and that is configured to be run on the processor, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 12.(“ It is understood that any or all of the apparatuses, systems, methods and processes described herein may be embodied in the form of computer executable instructions (e.g., program code) stored on a computer-readable storage medium which instructions, when executed by a processor, such as processors 118 or 91”, Awadin [0238])
As to claim 21:
Awadin discloses:
The communication device according to claim 19, wherein: the FFP length of the terminal is different from the FFP length of the network-side device; or the FFP length of the terminal is the same as the FFP length of the network-side device. (“For example, if the duration or period of UE's FFP is not configured, then UE may assume that duration of UE's FFP is equal to the duration of gNB's FFP.”, Awadin [0062])
Claim(s) 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 14, and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Awadin in view of Xu, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Fan et al. US 20220248466 (hereinafter “Fan”)
As to claim 3:
The combination of Xu and Awadin as described above does not explicitly teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 1, wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is later than the FFP start location of the network-side device, and the performing uplink transmission based on FFP configuration information and a channel state further comprises: performing Clear Channel Assess (CCA) to obtain the channel state in the FFP idle time period and determining, based on the channel state whether to perform uplink transmission.
However, Fan further teaches FFP timing offset and performing CCA which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 1, wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is later than the FFP start location of the network-side device (“It may be understood that the time domain offset may be a positive number, which means that the start boundary of the FFP of the terminal device is after the system frame 0 or after the start boundary of the FFP 0 of the network device.” Fan [0088]), and the performing uplink transmission (“uplink transmission”, Fan [0044]) based on FFP configuration information (“FFP configuration information”, Fan [0007]) and a channel state (“If it is detected that the channel state is busy within the defer period, a defer period continues to be generated, and then an extended clear channel assessment (extended CCA, ECCA) is not performed until it is detected that the channel state is idle within a defer period.”, Fan [0070]) further comprises: performing Clear Channel Assess (CCA) to obtain the channel state in the FFP idle time period and determining, based on the channel state whether to perform uplink transmission. (“If it is detected that the channel state is busy within the defer period, a defer period continues to be generated, and then an extended clear channel assessment (extended CCA, ECCA) is not performed until it is detected that the channel state is idle within a defer period.”, Fan [0070])
Awadin, Xu, and Fan are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include FFP timing offset and performing CCA as described in Fan into Awadin as modified by Xu. By modifying the method to include FFP timing offset and performing CCA as taught by Fan, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]), enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]), and improved communication efficiency (Fan [0044]) are achieved.
As to claim 4:
Awadin as describe above does not teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 3, wherein the determining, based on the channel state, whether to perform uplink transmission comprises any one of the following: when the terminal detects a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing uplink transmission; when the terminal detects a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing uplink transmission; when the terminal does not detect a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing uplink transmission; or when the terminal does not detect a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing uplink transmission.
However, Xu further teaches performing uplink transmission of PRACH when the channel is idle which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 3, wherein the determining, based on the channel state (“example timing diagram for FBE with fixed frame periods (FFPs) that include channel occupancy time (COT) and an idle period”, Xu [0036]), whether to perform uplink transmission comprises any one of the following: when the terminal detects a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing uplink transmission (“the UE transmission of PRACH may also be conditioned on the detection of a DL signal/channel.”, Xu [0047]); when the terminal detects a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing uplink transmission; when the terminal does not detect a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing uplink transmission; or when the terminal does not detect a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing uplink transmission.
Awadin and Xu are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include performing uplink transmission of PRACH when the channel is idle as described in Xu into Awadin. By modifying the method to include performing uplink transmission of PRACH when the channel is idle as taught by Xu, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]) and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]) are achieved.
As to claim 5:
Awadin discloses:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 4, wherein the performing uplink transmission comprises: sharing, by the terminal, (COT) of the network-side device to perform uplink transmission, wherein duration of the uplink transmission does not exceed the COT of the network-side device. (“the UE may determine that UL transmission occurs as UE shares the gNB's initiated COT not through a UE initiated COT according to UE's FFP. To the let the UE know whether UE needs to initiate its COT according to UE's FFP or share gNB initiated COT according to gNB's FFP. This can be realized by transmitting explicit indication to point that UL is within gNB's initiated COT according to gNB's FFP.”, Awadin [0078])
As to claim 7:
Awadin as describe above does not teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 5, wherein performing the uplink transmission comprises: initiating, by the terminal, Channel Occupancy Time (COT) to perform uplink transmission comprises either of the following: receiving first indication information of the network-side device, wherein the first indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to initiate the COT of the terminal to perform uplink transmission; or determining, by the terminal, whether to initiate the COT of the terminal.
However, Xu further teaches UE-initiated COT to perform uplink transmission which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 5, wherein performing the uplink transmission comprises: initiating, by the terminal, (COT) to perform uplink transmission (“It may be desirable, for various reasons, to have only a subset of these uplink transmission opportunities to be configured for supporting a UE-initiated COT”, Xu [0057]) comprises either of the following: receiving first indication information of the network-side device, wherein the first indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to initiate the COT of the terminal to perform uplink transmission; or determining, by the terminal, whether to initiate the COT of the terminal. (“the UE initiates access of the channel to start a UE COT in response to the detection”, Xu [0050])
Awadin and Xu are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include UE-initiated COT to perform uplink transmission as described in Xu into Awadin. By modifying the method to include UE-initiated COT to perform uplink transmission as taught by Xu, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]) and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]) are achieved.
As to claim 9:
Awadin as described above does not explicitly teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 1, wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is earlier than the FFP start location of the network-side device, and the method further comprises: sending third indication information to the network-side device, wherein the third indication information indicates that the network-side device is allowed to share the COT of the terminal.
However, Xu further teaches gNB COT sharing which includes:
and the method further comprises: sending third indication information to the network-side device, wherein the third indication information indicates that the network-side device is allowed to share the COT of the terminal. (“more than one UE can contend for the channel and start their own FFP. In such cases, the gNB may share one or all of these UE COTs. In the illustrated example, two UEs, UE0 and UE1 each initiate their own COT. As illustrated, for overlapping portions of the UE COTs, the gNB can serve both UEs.”, Xu [0072])
Awadin and Xu are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include gNB COT sharing as described in Xu into Awadin. By modifying the method to include gNB COT sharing as taught by Xu, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]) and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]) are achieved.
The combination of Xu and Awadin as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is earlier than the FFP start location of the network-side device,
However, Fan further teaches relative position of the FFP start location which includes:
wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is earlier than the FFP start location of the network-side device, (“the time domain offset may be a negative number, which means that the start boundary of the FFP of the terminal device is before the start boundary of the system frame 0 or before the start boundary of the FFP of the network device.”, Fan [0088])
Awadin, Xu, and Fan are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include relative position of the FFP start location as described in Fan into Awadin. By modifying the method to include relative position of the FFP start location as taught by Fan, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]), enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]), and improved communication efficiency (Fan [0044]) are achieved.
As to claim 14:
The combination of Xu and Awadin as described above does not explicitly teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 12, wherein the FFP start location of the network-side device is later than the FFP start location of the terminal, and the performing downlink transmission based on FFP configuration information and a channel state further comprises: performing Clear Channel Assess (CCA) to obtain the channel state in the FFP idle time period indicated by the FFP configuration information; and determining, based on the channel state, whether to perform downlink transmission.
However, Fan further teaches FFP timing offset and performing CCA which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 12, wherein the FFP start location of the network-side device is later than the FFP start location of the terminal “the time domain offset may be a negative number, which means that the start boundary of the FFP of the terminal device is before the start boundary of the system frame 0 or before the start boundary of the FFP of the network device.”, Fan [0088]), and the performing downlink transmission (“uplink transmission”, Fan [0044]) based on FFP configuration information (“FFP configuration information”, Fan [0007]) and a channel state further comprises: (“If it is detected that the channel state is busy within the defer period, a defer period continues to be generated, and then an extended clear channel assessment (extended CCA, ECCA) is not performed until it is detected that the channel state is idle within a defer period.”, Fan [0070]): performing Clear Channel Assess (CCA) to obtain the channel state in the FFP idle time period indicated by the FFP configuration information; and determining, based on the channel state, whether to perform downlink transmission. (“If it is detected that the channel state is busy within the defer period, a defer period continues to be generated, and then an extended clear channel assessment (extended CCA, ECCA) is not performed until it is detected that the channel state is idle within a defer period.”, Fan [0070])
Awadin, Xu, and Fan are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include FFP timing offset and performing CCA as described in Fan into Awadin as modified by Xu. By modifying the method to include FFP timing offset and performing CCA as taught by Fan, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]), enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]), and improved communication efficiency (Fan [0044]) are achieved.
As to claim 15:
Awadin as describe above does not teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 14, wherein the determining, based on the channel state, whether to perform downlink transmission comprises any one of the following: when the network-side device detects an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing downlink transmission; when the network-side device detects an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing downlink transmission; when the network-side device does not detect an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing downlink transmission; or when the network-side device does not detect an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing downlink transmission.
However, Xu further teaches performing uplink transmission of PRACH when the channel is idle which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 14, wherein the determining, based on the channel state (“example timing diagram for FBE with fixed frame periods (FFPs) that include channel occupancy time (COT) and an idle period”, Xu [0036]), whether to perform downlink transmission comprises any one of the following: when the network-side device detects an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing downlink transmission; (“Detection of the uplink transmission from the UE implies that the gNB can share the UE's COT (e.g., scheduling transmission to this UE and/or other UEs).”, Xu [0054])when the network-side device detects an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing downlink transmission; when the network-side device does not detect an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is idle, performing downlink transmission; or when the network-side device does not detect an uplink signal or an uplink channel and detects that the channel is busy, skipping performing downlink transmission.
Awadin and Xu are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include performing uplink transmission of PRACH when the channel is idle as described in Xu into Awadin. By modifying the method to include performing uplink transmission of PRACH when the channel is idle as taught by Xu, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]) and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]) are achieved.
As to claim 16:
The combination of Xu and Awadin as described above does not explicitly teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 15, wherein the performing downlink transmission comprises either of the following: sharing, by the network-side device, COT of the terminal to perform downlink transmission, wherein transmission duration does not exceed the COT of the terminal; or initiating, by the network-side device, COT of the network-side device to perform downlink transmission.
However, Fan further teaches using COT to perform downlink transmission which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 15, wherein the performing downlink transmission (“the initiating device may share a signal sending opportunity with one or more other devices during the COT”, Fan [0073]) comprises either of the following: sharing, by the network-side device, COT of the terminal to perform downlink transmission, wherein transmission duration does not exceed the COT of the terminal (“the terminal device to perform transmission in one period of COT”, Fan [0107]); or initiating, by the network-side device, COT of the network-side device to perform downlink transmission. (“the COT is used by the terminal device to perform uplink transmission, or the COT may be used by the terminal device to perform downlink transmission.”, Fan [0090]);
Awadin, Xu, and Fan are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include using COT to perform downlink transmission as described in Fan into Awadin as modified by Xu. By modifying the method to include using COT to perform downlink transmission as taught by Fan, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]), enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]), and improved communication efficiency (Fan [0044]) are achieved.
As to claim 17:
Awadin as described above does not explicitly teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 12, wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is later than the FFP start location of the network-side device, and the method further comprises: sending second indication information to the terminal, wherein the second indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to share Channel Occupancy Time (COT) of the network-side device.
However, Xu further teaches COT sharing between the network entity and UE which includes:
and the method further comprises: sending second indication information to the terminal, wherein the second indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to share COT of the network-side device. (“the UE initiates access of the channel to start a UE COT in response to the detection, wherein the network entity is allowed to share the channel during the UE COT”, Xu [0050])
Awadin and Xu are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include COT sharing between the network entity and UE as described in Xu into Awadin. By modifying the method to include COT sharing between the network entity and UE as taught by Xu, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]) and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]), are achieved.
The combination of Awadin, Xu, and Fan as describe above does not teach:
wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is later than the FFP start location of the network-side device,
However, Fan further teaches relative position of FFP start location which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 12, wherein the FFP start location of the terminal is later than the FFP start location of the network-side device, (“It may be understood that the time domain offset may be a positive number, which means that the start boundary of the FFP of the terminal device is after the system frame 0 or after the start boundary of the FFP 0 of the network device.” Fan [0088])
Awadin, Xu, and Fan are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include relative position of FFP start location as described in Fan into Awadin as modified by Xu. By modifying the method to include relative position of FFP start location as taught by Fan, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]), enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]), and improved communication efficiency (Fan [0044]) are achieved.
As to claim 18:
Awadin as describe above does not teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 12, further comprising: sending first indication information to the terminal, wherein the first indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to initiate COT to perform uplink transmission.
However, Xu further teaches UE-initiated COT to perform uplink transmission which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 12, further comprising: sending first indication information to the terminal, wherein the first indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to initiate COT to perform uplink transmission. (“It may be desirable, for various reasons, to have only a subset of these uplink transmission opportunities to be configured for supporting a UE-initiated COT”, Xu [0057])
Awadin and Xu are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include UE-initiated COT to perform uplink transmission as described in Xu into Awadin. By modifying the method to include UE-initiated COT to perform uplink transmission as taught by Xu, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]) and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Awadin in view of Fan and Xu, as applied to claim 4 above, and in further view of Myung et al. US 20230422298 (hereinafter “Myung”)
As to claim 6:
The combination of Awadin, Fan, and Xu as described above does not teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 4, wherein the uplink transmission is Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission, and the performing uplink transmission comprises: when the terminal detects a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is idle, selecting, by the terminal, any Random Access Channel (RACH) occasion in an FFP of the terminal to perform PRACH transmission, wherein duration of the PRACH transmission does not exceed COT of the network-side device.
However, Myung further teaches performing PRACH transmission during COT shared by the base station which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 4, wherein the uplink transmission is Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission, and the performing uplink transmission comprises: when the terminal detects a downlink signal or a downlink channel and detects that the channel is idle, selecting, by the terminal, any Random Access Channel (RACH) occasion in an FFP of the terminal to perform PRACH transmission, wherein duration of the PRACH transmission does not exceed COT of the network-side device. (“for Cat-2 LBT Type 2, the UE may determine the validity of an RO according to whether the specific signal/channel has been received/detected and transmit the PRACH by sharing a COT of the BS, when succeeding in Cat-2 LBT. That is, after determining whether an RO is valid depending on whether a gNB-initiated COT has been detected, the UE may transmit the PRACH by sharing the COT of the BS, when succeeding in Cat-2 LBT in a valid RO.”, Myung [0186]) (“The UE may transmit the PRACH (in FFP #N+1) after succeeding in Cat-2 LBT in the idle period of the previous FFP (FFP #N) or after performing Cat-2 (or Cat-1) LBT by sharing a COT which the BS has obtained by LBT success.”, Myung [0196])
Awadin, Fan, Xu, and Myung are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include performing PRACH transmission during COT shared by the base station as described in Myung into Awadin as modified by Fan and Xu. By modifying the method to include performing PRACH transmission during COT shared by the base station as taught by Myung, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]), enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]), and improved communication efficiency (Fan [0044] and Myung [0003]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Awadin in view of Fan and Xu, as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Tsai et al. US 20240098781 (hereinafter “Tsai”)
As to claim 8:
The combination of Awadin, Fan, and Xu as describe above does not teach:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 5. wherein before sharing, by the terminal, the COT of the network-side device to perform the uplink transmission, the method further comprises: when the FFP start location of the terminal is later than the FFP start location of the network-side device, receiving second indication information of the network-side device wherein the second indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to share the COT of the network-side device.
However, Tsai further teaches receiving indication that the UE is allowed to share gNB-initiated COT when the FFP of the UE is later than the FFP of the network device which includes:
The data transmission method for an unlicensed band according to claim 5. wherein before sharing, by the terminal, the COT of the network-side device to perform the uplink transmission, the method further comprises: when the FFP start location of the terminal is later than the FFP start location of the network-side device, receiving second indication information of the network-side device wherein the second indication information indicates that the terminal is allowed to share the COT of the network-side device. (“Next, the UE is operating as a responding device for initiating a second uplink transmission according to the first FFP. At the start of the next FFP1, the UE assumes that the gNB has performed a second LBT procedure (denoted as LBT2 in FIG. 9) successfully, and the UE detects a downlink transmission (denoted as DL Tx1 in FIG. 9) from the cell in the first FFP. In response to detecting the downlink transmission, the UE performs a third LBT procedure (denoted as LBT3 in FIG. 9) within a duration immediately prior to the start of an uplink resource in the first FFP. If the third LBT procedure indicates that the operating channel is clear, it means that the UE is allowed to share the gNB-initiated COT and perform the second uplink transmission (denoted as UL Tx2 in FIG. 9) using the uplink resource.”, Tsai [0112]) (FIG. 10, which is similar to FIG. 9, shows that the FFP of the terminal is later than the FFP of the network device and the third LBT procedure indicates that the UE is allowed to share the gNB-initiated COT) (Examiner’s Note: See Embodiment 4, 5, and 6 in the provisional for support)
Awadin, Fan, Xu, and Tsai are analogous because they pertain to applications requiring FFP configuration.
Thus 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 indication that the UE is allowed to share gNB-initiated COT when the FFP of the UE is later than the FFP of the network device as described in Tsai into Awadin as modified by Fan and Xu. By modifying the method to include receiving indication that the UE is allowed to share gNB-initiated COT when the FFP of the UE is later than the FFP of the network device as taught by Tsai, the benefits of additional configurations (Awadin [0057]), improved communication efficiency (Fan [0044]), improved COT sharing (Tsai [0112]), and enhanced resource utilization (Xu [0045]) are achieved.
Conclusion
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/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/MOHAMMAD S ADHAMI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471