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 .
This office action is in response to remarks filed 09/16/2025.
Claims 1-30 are pending and presented for examination. Claims 1-6, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 29, and 30 are amended. No claims were cancelled. No new claims were added.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 09/16/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-8, 10, 11, 16, 22-24, 26, 27, 29, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liao (US 20200221308 A1, hereinafter “Liao”).
RE Claim 1, Liao discloses:
A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2), comprising:
identifying a plurality of resource bandwidths of a first bandwidth part based at least in part on a bandwidth part configuration (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007; Each DL or UL BWP contains a single or multiple radio resource clusters. Each radio resource cluster contains a set of contiguous resource blocks (RBs) in frequency domain. The radio resource clusters in a DL or UL BWP is contiguous or non-contiguous. ¶0008; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4),
wherein each resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths comprises a respective sub-bandwidth part of the first bandwidth part (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007),
determining that at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is a master resource bandwidth (Only one of the radio-resource clusters, a master resource bandwidth, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; UE 602 acquires system information provided by gNB 601, e.g., master information block (MIB) carried in physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The MIB contains the essential DL CORESET configuration, which defines the initial DL BWP. The essential SIBs scheduled via the essential DL CORESET further configure the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP. The essential DL CORESET (e.g. CORESET #0) and SSB is contained in at least one radio resource clusters within the initial DL BWP, for UE to receive broadcast message, perform RACH procedure and perform SSB related measurements. ¶0033, Fig. 6); and
communicating with a base station using a resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths for the first bandwidth part based at least in part on the determining (Only one of the radio-resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; After RACH procedure, in step 713, UE 702 reports its BWP capability to the network on the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific DL BWP and the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific UL BWP. After UE capability negotiation, in step 714, UE 702 receives one or multiple UE-specific BWP configurations from the network through dedicated RRC signals. Each UE-specific BWP configuration can be either a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0035, Fig. 7; UE receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly for at least one radio resource cluster of a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0036, Fig. 7: 715).
RE Claim 2, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein communicating with the base station comprises:
communicating with the base station using the master resource bandwidth for the first bandwidth part based at least in part on determining that the at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is the master resource bandwidth (If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7; )
RE Claim 3, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
receiving an indication of the master resource bandwidth from the base station, wherein determining that the at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is the master resource bandwidth is based at least in part on the indication. (If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7;)
RE Claim 4, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein the receiving comprises:
receiving one or more of a radio resource control message (RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4), a downlink control information message (The bitfield size of the frequency-domain resource allocation in the DCI is based on the aggregated radio resources within a BWP no matter it's a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. The aggregated radio resources within a BWP are indexed by RB from the lower frequency location to the higher frequency location within clusters of a BWP based on the subcarrier spacing of the BWP. ¶0037, Fig. 8), or a medium access control-control element message comprising the indication of the master resource bandwidth (MAC-CE message is optional.),
wherein determining that the at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is the master resource bandwidth is based at least in part on one or more of the radio resource control message, the downlink control information message, or the medium access control-control element message comprising the indication.( RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4; If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7)
RE Claim 5, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein determining that the at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is the master resource bandwidth comprises (If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7):
determining that the at least one resource bandwidth corresponds to a smallest resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths. (RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4; Example multi-cluster BWP with two radio clusters, radio resource, with 40 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidth. ¶0037, Fig. 8: BWP#2; Given each radio source cluster, resource bandwidth, is configured for a bandwidth for each cluster then the device may determine the smallest bandwidth of the plurality of bandwidths.)
RE Claim 6, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein determining that the at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is the master resource bandwidth comprises (If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7):
determining that the at least one resource bandwidth corresponds to a largest resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths (RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4; Example multi-cluster BWP with two radio clusters, radio resource, with 40 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidth. ¶0037, Fig. 8: BWP#2; Given each radio source cluster, resource bandwidth, is configured for a bandwidth for each cluster then the device may determine the largest bandwidth of the plurality of bandwidths.).
RE Claim 7, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein the master resource bandwidth overlaps with an uplink band (If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7), a guard band (Guard bands at two frequency sides of each radio resource cluster within a DL BWP or UL BWP. ¶0040, Fig. 8), or a downlink band (If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0036, Fig. 7), or any combination thereof (The radio resource clusters within a BWP can either overlap with or orthogonal to each other in frequency domain. The radio resource clusters can be either distributed (e.g., distributed multi-cluster BWP 320) or localized (e.g., localized multi-cluster BWP 330. ¶0030, Fig. 3;).
RE Claim 8, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
switching from the first bandwidth part to a second bandwidth part for communicating with the base station, wherein communicating with the base station comprises communicating with the base station based at least in part on switching to the second bandwidth part (UE receives high level signaling a set of DL or UL BWP configurations from a base station. Each BWP contains a single or multiple radio resource clusters. UE receives a DL or UL BWP switch signal over the initial DL BWP, first bandwidth part, to switch from the initial DL or UL BWP, first bandwidth part, to an active DL or UL BWP, second bandwidth part, respectively. ¶0041, Fig. 8, 9).
RE Claim 10, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
determining an active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part based at least in part on receiving an indication of the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part (UE 702 receives one or multiple UE-specific BWP configurations from the network through dedicated RRC signals. Each UE-specific BWP configuration can be either a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. In addition to UE-specific BWP configuration, the UE also receives CORESET configurations, an active resource bandwidth, each of which is associated to a DL BWP. When a CORESET is associated with a DL BWP, the frequency-domain location of the CORESET shall be within the DL BWP no matter it's a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0035, Fig. 7;), wherein communicating with the base station comprises; and
communicating with the base station using the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part. (If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET, an active resource bandwidth, for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7))
RE Claim 11, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein the active resource bandwidth associated with the second bandwidth part is different from the master resource bandwidth associated with the first bandwidth part. (UE 702 receives one or multiple UE-specific BWP configurations from the network through dedicated RRC signals. Each UE-specific BWP configuration can be either a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. In addition to UE-specific BWP configuration, the UE also receives CORESET configurations, active resource bandwidths, each of which is associated to a DL BWP, each BWP configured differently. When a CORESET is associated with a DL BWP, the frequency-domain location of the CORESET shall be within the DL BWP no matter it's a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0035, Fig. 7 If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0036, Fig. 7)
RE Claim 16, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
receiving a radio resource control configuration message including the data structure (One or more DL BWPs can be configured by dedicated RRC for a UE. ¶0022; The information for each radio resource cluster in the configured BWPs can be utilized by UE. ¶ 0024; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4), wherein mapping the set of bits to the element in the data structure is based at least in part on the radio resource control configuration message (One or more DL BWPs can be configured by dedicated RRC for a UE. ¶0022; The information for each radio resource cluster in the configured BWPs can be utilized by UE. ¶ 0024; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4), wherein the data structure comprises a table and the element comprises an entry in the table, the entry identifying a bandwidth part identifier or a resource bandwidth identifier, or both. (One or more DL BWPs can be configured by dedicated RRC for a UE. ¶0022; The information for each radio resource cluster in the configured BWPs can be utilized by UE. ¶ 0024; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4;)
RE Claim 22, Liao discloses:
A method for wireless communication at a base station (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2), comprising:
determining a bandwidth part configuration comprising a plurality of resource bandwidths of a first bandwidth part (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007; Each DL or UL BWP contains a single or multiple radio resource clusters. Each radio resource cluster contains a set of contiguous resource blocks (RBs) in frequency domain. The radio resource clusters in a DL or UL BWP is contiguous or non-contiguous. ¶0008; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4),
wherein each resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths comprises a respective sub-bandwidth part of the first bandwidth part (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007), and
wherein at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is a master resource bandwidth for a user equipment (UE) (Only one of the radio-resource clusters, a master resource bandwidth, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; UE 602 acquires system information provided by gNB 601, e.g., master information block (MIB) carried in physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The MIB contains the essential DL CORESET configuration, which defines the initial DL BWP. The essential SIBs scheduled via the essential DL CORESET further configure the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP. The essential DL CORESET (e.g. CORESET #0) and SSB is contained in at least one radio resource clusters within the initial DL BWP, for UE to receive broadcast message, perform RACH procedure and perform SSB related measurements. ¶0033, Fig. 6); and
transmitting a message comprising the bandwidth part configuration to the UE (Only one of the radio-resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; After RACH procedure, in step 713, UE 702 reports its BWP capability to the network on the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific DL BWP and the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific UL BWP. After UE capability negotiation, in step 714, UE 702 receives one or multiple UE-specific BWP configurations from the network through dedicated RRC signals. Each UE-specific BWP configuration can be either a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0035, Fig. 7; UE receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly for at least one radio resource cluster of a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0036, Fig. 7: 715).
RE Claim 23, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
transmitting one or more of a radio resource control message (RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4), a downlink control information message (The bitfield size of the frequency-domain resource allocation in the DCI is based on the aggregated radio resources within a BWP no matter it's a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. The aggregated radio resources within a BWP are indexed by RB from the lower frequency location to the higher frequency location within clusters of a BWP based on the subcarrier spacing of the BWP. ¶0037, Fig. 8), or a medium access control-control element message comprising an indication of the master resource bandwidth to the UE (MAC-CE message is optional.),
wherein the master resource bandwidth overlaps with an uplink band (If a UE-specific UL BWP is a multi-cluster UL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific UL BWP shall contain RACH resources for RACH procedure and PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACK feedback and CSI report, a master resource bandwidth. In step 715, UE 702 receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly. ¶0036, Fig. 7), a guard band (Guard bands at two frequency sides of each radio resource cluster within a DL BWP or UL BWP. ¶0040, Fig. 8), or a downlink band (If a UE-specific DL BWP is a multi-cluster DL BWP, at least one of radio resource clusters within the UE-specific DL BWP shall be associated with at least one CORESET for DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0036, Fig. 7), or any combination thereof (The radio resource clusters within a BWP can either overlap with or orthogonal to each other in frequency domain. The radio resource clusters can be either distributed (e.g., distributed multi-cluster BWP 320) or localized (e.g., localized multi-cluster BWP 330. ¶0030, Fig. 3;).
RE Claim 24, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein the at least one resource bandwidth corresponds to a smallest resource bandwidth of the set of resource bandwidths (RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4; Example multi-cluster BWP with two radio clusters, radio resource, with 40 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidth. ¶0037, Fig. 8: BWP#2; Given each radio source cluster, resource bandwidth, is configured for a bandwidth for each cluster then the device may determine the smallest bandwidth of the plurality of bandwidths.) or to a largest resource bandwidth of the set of resource bandwidths. (RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4; Example multi-cluster BWP with two radio clusters, radio resource, with 40 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidth. ¶0037, Fig. 8: BWP#2; Given each radio source cluster, resource bandwidth, is configured for a bandwidth for each cluster then the device may determine the largest bandwidth of the plurality of bandwidths.)
RE Claim 26, Liao discloses:
The method, wherein a bandwidth part identifier associated with the second bandwidth part corresponds to a subset of bits of the set of bits , or a resource bandwidth identifier associated with the active resource bandwidth corresponds to the subset of bits of the set of bits. (One or more DL BWPs can be configured by dedicated RRC for a UE. ¶0022; The information for each radio resource cluster in the configured BWPs can be utilized by UE. ¶ 0024; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4)
RE Claim 27, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
transmitting a radio resource control configuration message including a data structure comprising a set of bandwidth part identifiers and a set of resource bandwidth identifiers (One or more DL BWPs can be configured by dedicated RRC for a UE. ¶0022; The information for each radio resource cluster in the configured BWPs can be utilized by UE. ¶ 0024; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4), wherein the set of bits map to an element in the data structure, the element identifying a bandwidth part identifier or a resource bandwidth identifier, or both, wherein the data structure comprises a table. (One or more DL BWPs can be configured by dedicated RRC for a UE. ¶0022; The information for each radio resource cluster in the configured BWPs can be utilized by UE. ¶ 0024; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4;)
RE Claim 29, Liao discloses:
A wireless communication device for wireless communication (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2), comprising:
one or more memories storing process-executable code (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2); and
one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and operable to execute the code (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2) to cause the wireless communication device to:
identify a plurality of resource bandwidths of a first bandwidth part based at least in part on a bandwidth part configuration (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007; Each DL or UL BWP contains a single or multiple radio resource clusters. Each radio resource cluster contains a set of contiguous resource blocks (RBs) in frequency domain. The radio resource clusters in a DL or UL BWP is contiguous or non-contiguous. ¶0008; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4),
wherein each resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths comprises a respective sub-bandwidth part of the first bandwidth part (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007),
determine that at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is a master resource bandwidth(Only one of the radio-resource clusters, a master resource bandwidth, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; UE 602 acquires system information provided by gNB 601, e.g., master information block (MIB) carried in physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The MIB contains the essential DL CORESET configuration, which defines the initial DL BWP. The essential SIBs scheduled via the essential DL CORESET further configure the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP. The essential DL CORESET (e.g. CORESET #0) and SSB is contained in at least one radio resource clusters within the initial DL BWP, for UE to receive broadcast message, perform RACH procedure and perform SSB related measurements. ¶0033, Fig. 6); and
communicate with a base station using a resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths for the first bandwidth part based at least in part on the determining. (Only one of the radio-resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; After RACH procedure, in step 713, UE 702 reports its BWP capability to the network on the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific DL BWP and the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific UL BWP. After UE capability negotiation, in step 714, UE 702 receives one or multiple UE-specific BWP configurations from the network through dedicated RRC signals. Each UE-specific BWP configuration can be either a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0035, Fig. 7; UE receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly for at least one radio resource cluster of a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0036, Fig. 7: 715)
RE Claim 30, Liao discloses:
A wireless communication device for wireless communication (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2), comprising:
one or more memories storing process-executable code (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2); and
one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and operable to execute the code (¶¶0025-0027, Fig. 2) to cause the wireless communication device to:
determine a bandwidth part configuration comprising a plurality of resource bandwidths of a first bandwidth part (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007; Each DL or UL BWP contains a single or multiple radio resource clusters. Each radio resource cluster contains a set of contiguous resource blocks (RBs) in frequency domain. The radio resource clusters in a DL or UL BWP is contiguous or non-contiguous. ¶0008; RRC configuration for an N-cluster BWP, e.g. 1st radio resource cluster and 2nd radio resource cluster of a single BWP, includes at least: starting RB index of each radio source cluster in the BWP, the ending RB index or bandwidth of each radio resource cluster in the BWP, RB start/end indexes relative to lowest RB within the barrier. ¶0030, Fig. 3: 320, 330, Fig. 4),
wherein each resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths comprises a respective sub-bandwidth part of the first bandwidth part (The BWP definition is extended to cluster BWPs to aggregate distributed spectrum blocks within a frequency range (e.g., 200 MHz) by single carrier operation. Specifically, the BWP definition is extended to a group of one or multiple radio resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, each of which contains a set of contiguous PRBs in frequency domain within the associated carrier. ¶0007), and
wherein at least one resource bandwidth of the plurality of resource bandwidths is a master resource bandwidth for a user equipment (UE) (Only one of the radio-resource clusters, a master resource bandwidth, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; UE 602 acquires system information provided by gNB 601, e.g., master information block (MIB) carried in physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The MIB contains the essential DL CORESET configuration, which defines the initial DL BWP. The essential SIBs scheduled via the essential DL CORESET further configure the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP. The essential DL CORESET (e.g. CORESET #0) and SSB is contained in at least one radio resource clusters within the initial DL BWP, for UE to receive broadcast message, perform RACH procedure and perform SSB related measurements. ¶0033, Fig. 6); and
transmit a message comprising the bandwidth part configuration to the UE. (Only one of the radio-resource clusters, resource bandwidths of a BWP, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling, a master resource bandwidth. ¶0031; After RACH procedure, in step 713, UE 702 reports its BWP capability to the network on the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific DL BWP and the maximal number of radio resource clusters of a UE-specific UL BWP. After UE capability negotiation, in step 714, UE 702 receives one or multiple UE-specific BWP configurations from the network through dedicated RRC signals. Each UE-specific BWP configuration can be either a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0035, Fig. 7; UE receives DL/UL scheduling and performs DL reception and UL transmission accordingly for at least one radio resource cluster of a multi-cluster BWP. ¶0036, Fig. 7: 715)
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 12-15, 17, 18, 21, and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Liao, in view of Zhou et al. (US 20190357215 A1, hereinafter “Zhou”), in view of Awadin et al. (US 20220039158 A1, hereinafter “Awadin”).
RE Claim 12, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, further comprising:
receiving a downlink control information message from the base station, wherein switching to the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the downlink control information message).
However, Zhou discloses:
The method, further comprising:
receiving a downlink control information message from the base station (Base station may send DCI for DL assignment or UL grant. ¶0363, Fig. 21: 2114), wherein switching to the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the downlink control information message (Base station sends DCI for BWP switching. ¶0364; ¶0492; Fig. 31).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Zhou, DCI signaling to switch between BWPs.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity in switching bandwidths to obtain improvements in device such as battery consumption and network performance such as spectrum efficiency and latency. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Zhou: Abstract, ¶¶0004, 0279, 327)
RE Claim 13, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
determining a set of bits in a downlink control information field of the downlink control information message (The bitfield size of the frequency-domain resource allocation in the DCI is based on the aggregated radio resources within a BWP no matter it's a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. The aggregated radio resources within a BWP are indexed by RB from the lower frequency location to the higher frequency location within clusters of a BWP based on the subcarrier spacing of the BWP. ¶0037, Fig. 8),
Liao does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the indication of the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part corresponds to the set of bits in the downlink control information field,
wherein determining the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the set of bits in the downlink control information field of the downlink control information message.
However, Awadin discloses:
wherein the indication of the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part corresponds to the set of bits in the downlink control information field (DCI used to indicated sub-bands, SBs, is transmitted to the UE. Size of SB-bitmap equal to the number of configured SBs. DCI may be configured for each sub-band, if broadcast, or one sub-band. DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.; DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.;),
wherein determining the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the set of bits in the downlink control information field of the downlink control information message. (DCI used to indicated sub-bands, SBs, is transmitted to the UE. Size of SB-bitmap equal to the number of configured SBs. DCI may be configured for each sub-band, if broadcast, or one sub-band. DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Awadin, configure a set of bits that identify resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of BWP in the DCI signaling.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity, identification/indication of sub-bands, in switching bandwidths to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Awadin: Abstract, ¶¶0001-0010, 0077-0079, 0108, 0140)
RE Claim 14, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, further comprising:
determining a bandwidth part identifier associated with the second bandwidth part based at least in part on a first subset of bits of the set of bits, wherein switching to the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the bandwidth part identifier; and
determining a resource bandwidth identifier associated with the active resource bandwidth based at least in part on a second subset of bits of the set of bits,
wherein communicating with the base station using the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the bandwidth part identifier and the resource bandwidth identifier.
However, Zhou discloses:
The method, further comprising:
determining a bandwidth part identifier associated with the second bandwidth part based at least in part on a first subset of bits of the set of bits, wherein switching to the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the bandwidth part identifier (DCI may comprise a BWP indicator field for active BWP from a configured DL BWP set for one or more DL receptions. BWP indicator may also include uplink indicator field. ¶0287; DCI format comprising a BWP ID field, first subset, and a second field, a set of bits. Bandwidth part indicator, BWP ID, comprises a set of bits for action indication, control information, including active and second resource bandwidths. Bits are transmitted via downlink DCI. ¶¶0437, 0441; Fig. 28A-30B; Fig. 31; Base station sends DCI for BWP switching. ¶0364; ¶0492; Fig. 31); and
Liao and Zhou do not explicitly disclose:
determining a resource bandwidth identifier associated with the active resource bandwidth based at least in part on a second subset of bits of the set of bits,
wherein communicating with the base station using the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the bandwidth part identifier and the resource bandwidth identifier.
However, Awadin discloses:
determining a resource bandwidth identifier associated with the active resource bandwidth based at least in part on a second subset of bits of the set of bits (DCI used to indicated sub-bands, SBs, is transmitted to the UE. Size of SB-bitmap equal to the number of configured SBs. DCI may be configured for each sub-band, if broadcast, or one sub-band. DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109; DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.),
wherein communicating with the base station using the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the bandwidth part identifier and the resource bandwidth identifier. (gNB transmits a channel acquisition request to indicate sub-bands at the gNB. Signal transmitted with a bitmap field where each bit represents availability of one sub-band. ¶¶0136-0137; Signal carried on DCI transmitted to the UE. ¶¶0139-1040; gNB transmits a bitmap indicating the available DL BWPs of multiple DL BWPs at the gNB. The signal indicates the ID of the activated BWP. ¶¶0141-0142; DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.;)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Zhou, DCI signaling and BWP identifiers to switch between BWPs, with the teachings of Awadin, configure a set of bits that identify resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of BWP and BWP identifiers in the DCI signaling.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity, identification/indication of sub-bands, in switching BWPs and sub-bands to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Zhou: Abstract, ¶¶0004, 0279, 327; Awadin: Abstract, ¶¶0001-0010, 0077-0079, 0108, 0140)
RE Claim 15, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, further comprising:
mapping the set of bits to an element in a data structure comprising a set of bandwidth part identifiers and a set of resource bandwidth identifiers; and
determining a bandwidth part identifier associated with the second bandwidth part and a resource bandwidth identifier associated with the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part based at least in part on the mapping.
However, Awadin discloses:
mapping the set of bits to an element in a data structure comprising a set of bandwidth part identifiers and a set of resource bandwidth identifiers(gNB transmits a channel acquisition request to indicate sub-bands at the gNB. Signal transmitted with a bitmap field where each bit represents availability of one sub-band. ¶¶0136-0137; Signal carried on DCI transmitted to the UE. ¶¶0139-1040; gNB transmits a bitmap indicating the available DL BWPs of multiple DL BWPs at the gNB. The signal indicates the ID of the activated BWP. ¶¶0141-0142); and
determining a bandwidth part identifier associated with the second bandwidth part and a resource bandwidth identifier associated with the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part based at least in part on the mapping. (DCI used to indicated sub-bands, SBs, is transmitted to the UE. Size of SB-bitmap equal to the number of configured SBs. DCI may be configured for each sub-band, if broadcast, or one sub-band. DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Awadin, configure a set of bits that identify resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of BWP and BWP identifiers in the DCI signaling.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity, identification/indication of sub-bands, in switching BWPs and sub-bands to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Awadin: Abstract, ¶¶0001-0010, 0077-0079, 0108, 0140)
RE Claim 17, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, wherein selecting a subset of resource bandwidths of a second plurality of resource bandwidths associated with the second bandwidth part based at least in part on the switching, wherein communicating with the base station comprises:
communicating with the base station using at least one resource bandwidth of the subset of resource bandwidths, wherein the subset of resource bandwidths are initial resource bandwidths for the second bandwidth part.
However, Awadin disclose:
The method, wherein selecting a subset of resource bandwidths of a second plurality of resource bandwidths associated with the second bandwidth part based at least in part on the switching (UE configured by high layer, e.g. RRC message such as sub-band configuration lists, SB-ConfigLists, with multiple sub-bands, SB, configurations per BWP – a set of resource bandwidths, sub-bands per a BWP. ¶0095; DCI transmitted in a UE-specific search space with a bitmap field, called SB-bitmap field for example. UE expects that a SB is available when its corresponding bit is set to one, a subset of total SBs. ¶0104; Some sub-bands may be configured as a default sub-band which may always carry the DCI indicating which sub-bands are available, e.g. SB-Bitmap, an initial or master resource sub-band - bandwidth. ¶0109; ¶0124?), wherein communicating with the base station comprises:
communicating with the base station using at least one resource bandwidth of the subset of resource bandwidths, wherein the subset of resource bandwidths are initial resource bandwidths for the second bandwidth part. (UE Assisted Sub-band/BWP switching method during an assistance window is used to exchange information about the available DL and UL sub-bands/BWP for both gNB and UE sides. gNB uses information to adjust DL sub-bands/BWP and schedule UL transmission. The second portion of maximum channel occupancy time, MCOT, labeled as DL/UL transmission widow is utilized for the actual DL and UL transmission consisting of data, signals, or control. The DL/UL transmission window may contain multiple DL-UL switching points ¶0124)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Awadin, configure a set of bits that identify resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of BWP and BWP identifiers in the DCI signaling.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity, identification/indication of sub-bands and initial/default resource sub-bands, in switching BWPs and sub-bands to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Awadin: Abstract, ¶¶0001-0010, 0077-0079, 0108, 0124, 0140)
RE Claim 18, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
message comprising a downlink control information field (The bitfield size of the frequency-domain resource allocation in the DCI is based on the aggregated radio resources within a BWP no matter it's a single-cluster BWP or a multi-cluster BWP. The aggregated radio resources within a BWP are indexed by RB from the lower frequency location to the higher frequency location within clusters of a BWP based on the subcarrier spacing of the BWP. ¶0037, Fig. 8); and
Liao does not explicitly disclose:
determining one or more bits in the downlink control information field, wherein selecting the subset of resource bandwidths of the second plurality of resource bandwidths is based at least in part on the one or more bits in the downlink control information field.
However, Awadin discloses:
determining one or more bits in the downlink control information field, wherein selecting the subset of resource bandwidths of the second plurality of resource bandwidths is based at least in part on the one or more bits in the downlink control information field. (UE-assisted sub-band selection assists the gNB to determine the preferred downlink sub-bands. UE may further narrow down the sub-bands in case some of them are not available from the UE perspective. ¶0082; gNB transmits a channel acquisition request to indicate sub-bands at the gNB. Signal transmitted with a bitmap field where each bit represents availability of one sub-band. ¶¶0136-0137; Signal carried on DCI transmitted to the UE. ¶¶0139-1040; gNB transmits a bitmap indicating the available DL BWPs of multiple DL BWPs at the gNB. The signal indicates the ID of the activated BWP. ¶¶0141-0142)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Awadin, configure a set of bits that identify resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of BWP and BWP identifiers in the DCI signaling.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity, identification/indication of sub-bands and initial/default resource sub-bands, in switching BWPs and sub-bands to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Awadin: Abstract, ¶¶0001-0010, 0077-0079, 0108, 0124, 0140)
RE Claim 21, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, wherein the second active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the first bandwidth part, a first active resource bandwidth associated with the first bandwidth part, the second bandwidth part, a second plurality of resource bandwidths of the second bandwidth part, or any combination thereof.
However, Awadin discloses:
The method, wherein the second active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part is based at least in part on the first bandwidth part (element is optional), a first active resource bandwidth associated with the first bandwidth part (element is optional), the second bandwidth part, a second plurality of resource bandwidths of the second bandwidth part, or any combination thereof. (DCI used to indicated sub-bands, SBs, is transmitted to the UE. Size of SB-bitmap equal to the number of configured SBs. DCI may be configured for each sub-band, if broadcast, or one sub-band. DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.; gNB transmits a channel acquisition request to indicate sub-bands at the gNB. Signal transmitted with a bitmap field where each bit represents availability of one sub-band. ¶¶0136-0137; Signal carried on DCI transmitted to the UE. ¶¶0139-1040; gNB transmits a bitmap indicating the available DL BWPs of multiple DL BWPs at the gNB. The signal indicates the ID of the activated BWP. ¶¶0141-0142)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Awadin, configure a set of bits that identify resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of BWP and BWP identifiers in the DCI signaling.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity, identification/indication of sub-bands and initial/default resource sub-bands, in switching BWPs and sub-bands to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Awadin: Abstract, ¶¶0001-0010, 0077-0079, 0108, 0124, 0140)
RE Claim 25, Liao does not disclose but Zhou discloses:
The method, further comprising:
transmitting a downlink control information message to the UE comprising a command for the UE to switch to a second bandwidth part (DCI may comprise a BWP indicator field for active BWP from a configured DL BWP set for one or more DL receptions. BWP indicator may also include uplink indicator field. ¶0287; Primary active bandwidth, PBWP activates a second resource bandwidth part, SBWP, different from PBWP. ¶0408; Fig. 25A-25D; ¶0492; Fig. 31; Base station sends DCI for BWP switching. ¶0364; ¶0492; Fig. 31),
Liao and Zhou does not disclose:
wherein the downlink control information message comprises a set of bits in a downlink control information field of the downlink control information message identifying an active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part.
However, Awadin discloses:
wherein the downlink control information message comprises a set of bits in a downlink control information field of the downlink control information message identifying an active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part. (DCI used to indicated sub-bands, SBs, is transmitted to the UE. Size of SB-bitmap equal to the number of configured SBs. DCI may be configured for each sub-band, if broadcast, or one sub-band. DCI carries the SB-bitmap field indicating which SBs are available for transmission. A sub-band may be configured as a default sub-band that always carries the DCI, active resource bandwidth, indicating which SBs are available by the SB-bitmap. An example, the sub-band with the smallest index may be the default sub-band. ¶¶0104-0109.; gNB transmits a channel acquisition request to indicate sub-bands at the gNB. Signal transmitted with a bitmap field where each bit represents availability of one sub-band. ¶¶0136-0137; Signal carried on DCI transmitted to the UE. ¶¶0139-1040; gNB transmits a bitmap indicating the available DL BWPs of multiple DL BWPs at the gNB. The signal indicates the ID of the activated BWP. ¶¶0141-0142)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Zhou, DCI signaling and BWP identifiers to switch between BWPs, with the teachings of Awadin, configure a set of bits that identify resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of BWP and BWP identifiers in the DCI signaling.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity, identification/indication of available sub-bands, in switching BWPs and sub-bands to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Zhou: Abstract, ¶¶0004, 0279, 327; Awadin: Abstract, ¶¶0001-0010, 0077-0079, 0108, 0140)
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Liao, in view of Chen (US 20200092864 A1, hereinafter “Chen”).
RE Claim 9, Liao discloses:
The method, further comprising:
communicating with the base station using the active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part. (Under the novel definition of cluster-based BWP, a distributed multi-cluster BWP 430 can be defined under a single carrier or serving cell. The distributed multi-cluster BWP 430 comprises a first radio resource cluster, which corresponds to the first serving RAT subchannel 410, and a second radio resource cluster, which corresponds to the second serving RAT subchannel 420. As a result, only one of the radio-resource clusters, a master resource bandwidth, within the BWP has to contain essential control information for initial access, control, configuration, and DL/UL scheduling. ¶0031, Fig. 4; UE receives high level signaling a set of DL or UL BWP configurations from a base station. Each BWP contains a single or multiple radio resource clusters. UE receives a DL or UL BWP switch signal over the initial DL BWP, first bandwidth part, to switch from the initial DL or UL BWP, first bandwidth part, to an active DL or UL BWP, second bandwidth part, respectively. ¶0041, Fig. 8, 9)
Liao does not explicitly disclose:
determining that the master resource bandwidth associated with the first bandwidth part is an active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part based at least in part on a configuration, wherein communicating with the base station comprises; and
However, Chen discloses:
determining that the master resource bandwidth associated with the first bandwidth part is an active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part based at least in part on a configuration, wherein communicating with the base station comprises (Terminal determines by first information field the index numbers of the one or more active bandwidth parts to which the terminal device needs to be handed over. ¶0068; Terminal device receives by higher level signaling a frequency domain resource location and/or bandwidth value, resource bandwidths, and index of one or more bandwidth parts. ¶0069; The bandwidth values of the sub-bands, master resource bandwidth or active resource bandwidth, are the same. ¶0071); and
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, , with the teachings of Chen, determine that the resource bandwidths are the same bandwidths of current BWP and active BWP.
The motivation in doing so would be to avoid separately indicating specific bandwidth values of different sub-bands and thereby reducing resource overheads to improve network efficiency. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0007-0008, ; Chen: Abstract, ¶¶0005-0007, 0072)
Claim 19, 20, and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao, in view of Jung et al. (US 20230180199 A1, hereinafter “Jung”).
RE Claim 19, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, wherein determining a second active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part based at least in part on a resource bandwidth switching pattern, wherein communicating with the base station comprises:
communicating with the base station using the second active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part.
However, Jung discloses:
The method, wherein determining a second active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part based at least in part on a resource bandwidth switching pattern (UE is configured with a plurality of CORESETs and a plurality of sub-bands within an active DL bandwidth part, each sub-band associated with a CORESET of the plurality of CORESETs, and performs sub-band switching among the plurality of sub-bands based on a predefined or configured sub-band switching pattern. ¶0152; UE is configured with a plurality of DL bandwidth parts and performs BWP switching among the plurality of DL BWPs based on a predefined or configured BWP switching pattern. ¶0153) , wherein communicating with the base station comprises:
communicating with the base station using the second active resource bandwidth for the second bandwidth part. (UE monitoring a narrowband CORESET and being operated within a DL/UL sub-band associated with a frequency location of the narrowband CORESET may continue being operated with a narrow bandwidth until the UE detects a DCI format indicating a wideband DL/UL signals/channels and/or is supposed to receive/transmit a semi-statically configured wideband DL/UL signals/channel. Once the UE starts to be operated with a wide bandwidth within the active DL/UL bandwidth part, the UE starts/re-starts a wideband operation timer at every reception or transmission occasion of wideband signals/channels. ¶0154)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Jung, configure a switching order of coreset resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity in switching bandwidths to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Jung: Abstract, ¶¶0003-0007, 0155, 0166)
RE Claim 20, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, further comprising:
receiving a radio resource control configuration message comprising an indication of the resource bandwidth switching pattern, wherein the resource bandwidth switching pattern is based at least in part on a bandwidth part or a bandwidth part switching order, or both.
However, Jung discloses:
The method, further comprising:
receiving a radio resource control configuration message comprising an indication of the resource bandwidth switching pattern, wherein the resource bandwidth switching pattern is based at least in part on a bandwidth part or a bandwidth part switching order, or both. (UE is configured for PDCCH monitoring including periodicity, slots, and frequency domain resources by the RRC signaling. UE receives information of a frequency domain resource, a resource bandwidth, of a control resource set, coreset, of a DL active bandwidth part. Information contains frequency hopping such as frequency hopping pattern of the control resource set within the DL active bandwidth part and determines a frequency location, a set of PRBs such as resource bandwidth, of the control resource set in each PDCCH monitoring occasion. ¶0149; UE is configured with a plurality of CORESETs and a plurality of sub-bands within an active DL bandwidth part, each sub-band associated with a CORESET of the plurality of CORESETs, and performs sub-band switching among the plurality of sub-bands based on a predefined or configured sub-band switching pattern. ¶0152; UE is configured with a plurality of DL bandwidth parts and performs BWP switching among the plurality of DL BWPs based on a predefined or configured BWP switching pattern. ¶0153)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Jung, configure a switching order of coreset resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity in switching bandwidths to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Jung: Abstract, ¶¶0003-0007, 0155, 0166)
RE Claim 28, Liao does not explicitly disclose:
The method, further comprising:
transmitting a radio resource control configuration message comprising an indication of a resource bandwidth switching pattern, wherein the resource bandwidth switching pattern is based at least in part on a bandwidth part or a bandwidth part switching order, or both.
However, Jung discloses:
The method further comprising:
transmitting a radio resource control configuration message comprising an indication of a resource bandwidth switching pattern, wherein the resource bandwidth switching pattern is based at least in part on a bandwidth part or a bandwidth part switching order, or both.
(UE is configured for PDCCH monitoring including periodicity, slots, and frequency domain resources by the RRC signaling. UE receives information of a frequency domain resource, a resource bandwidth, of a control resource set, coreset, of a DL active bandwidth part. Information contains frequency hopping such as frequency hopping pattern of the control resource set within the DL active bandwidth part and determines a frequency location, a set of PRBs such as resource bandwidth, of the control resource set in each PDCCH monitoring occasion. ¶0149; UE is configured with a plurality of CORESETs and a plurality of sub-bands within an active DL bandwidth part, each sub-band associated with a CORESET of the plurality of CORESETs, and performs sub-band switching among the plurality of sub-bands based on a predefined or configured sub-band switching pattern. ¶0152; UE is configured with a plurality of DL bandwidth parts and performs BWP switching among the plurality of DL BWPs based on a predefined or configured BWP switching pattern. ¶0153)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the claimed invention to combine the method of Liao, determining resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP, with the teachings of Jung, configure a switching order of coreset resource bandwidths, sub-bands, of each BWP.
The motivation in doing so would be to provide specific BWP or resource bandwidth switching for a given UEs to provide finer granularity in switching bandwidths to obtain improvements in device and network performance such as reduced overhead signaling. Managing when and how often a device monitors a channel, monitors a wide or narrow channel, and the device power usage for each is achieved by using narrow portions of a bandwidth part and selecting the right bandwidth for network needs such as latency, bandwidth, or avoiding interference. Devices are with reduced capability monitoring such as narrow bandwidth and/or power sensitive also benefit. (Liao: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0007-0008, 0022; Jung: Abstract, ¶¶0003-0007, 0155, 0166)
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 22, 29, and 30 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s argument with respect to reference Jung have been considered but are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Jung does not teach or suggest ‘a plurality of resource bandwidths of a first part bandwidth part” nor does information of one frequency domain resource for one control set, applicant emphasis.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. In a cursory review of Jung, the subject matter is disclosed. RRC parameter, frequencyDomainResources, of the CORESET configuration. UE determines a DL sub-band of the DL active bandwidth part associated with the determined frequency location of the control resource set, and receives DL signal/channels within the DL sub-band. The DL sub-band includes at least the frequency location of the control resource set. ¶0149. In addition, ‘UE is configured with a plurality of CORESETs and a plurality of sub-bands within an active DL bandwidth part, each sub-band associated with a CORESET of the plurality of CORESETs, and performs sub-band switching among the plurality of sub-bands based on a predefined or configured sub-band switching pattern.’ ¶0152. In some instances, the user equipment can be configured with a plurality of control resource sets and a plurality of sub-bands within the active downlink bandwidth part, each sub-band associated with a particular control resource set of the plurality of control resource sets, and can perform sub-band switching among the plurality of sub-bands based on an established sub-band switching pattern. ¶0179. Therefore, Jung discloses a plurality of sub-bands, resource bandwidths, of a bandwidth part.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20180027563 A1 Nguyen et al.
US 20180279310 A1 Chen et al.
US 20190313377 A1 Abdoli et al.
US 20190141734 A1 Lei et al.
US 20220039158 A1 Awadin et al.
US 20220124730 A1 Li et al.
US 20200228282 A1 Kwak et al.
The above references disclose various aspects of bandwidth parts or BWPs and methods of operation with portions of bandwidth parts.
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/PAUL A. LANGER/Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419
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