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 the amendment filed on 02/10/2026. Claims 17-19, 23-24 and 26-45 have been canceled.
Claims 1-16, 20-22 and 25 are presented for examination.
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.
Claims 1-16 and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shilov et al. (US 2021/0219112 A1), in view of KIM et al. (US 2019/0021045 A1), KANG et al. (US 2021/0298038 A1).
As to claim 1, Shilov discloses the invention as claimed, including a method performed by a network node (Figs. 1-2), comprising:
determining from one or more parameters (i.e., geo-location, traffic type, QoS) of a terminal device whether to trigger (i.e., activate, initiate) bandwidth part (i.e., BWP) configuration for subcarrier spacing switching for the terminal device (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; Abstract, “The RRC signaling including configuration information to activate a sidelink transmit (TX) bandwidth part (BWP) of a plurality of sidelink TX BWPs within a sidelink carrier”; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0046, “for UEs with Type-1 capabilities, BWP switching time varies depending on numerology (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 6 slots for 15, 30, 60 and 120 kHz respectively). In some aspects, for UEs with Type-2 capabilities, BWP switching time may vary depending on numerology (i.e., 3, 5, 9, 17 slots for 15, 30, 60, and 120 kHz respectively)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0077, “the base station or the ANE can activate SL TX/RX BWP, and assume that UE TX and RX RF BW is larger or equal to the BW of SL TX/RX BWP”; ¶0083, “switching between sidelink TX BWPs based on sensing and resource selection procedure operating over wideband RX BWP that covers multiple TX BWPs…selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute”); and
transmitting an indicator to the terminal device to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching (Abstract, “The RRC signaling including configuration information to activate a sidelink transmit (TX) bandwidth part (BWP) of a plurality of sidelink TX BWPs within a sidelink carrier. Data is encoded for transmission to a second UE using a first sidelink signal. The processing circuitry is to cause transmission of the encoded data via the first sidelink signal”).
Although Shilov discloses the one or more parameters of the terminal device (¶0046, “for UEs with Type-1 capabilities, BWP switching time varies depending on numerology (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 6 slots for 15, 30, 60 and 120 kHz respectively). In some aspects, for UEs with Type-2 capabilities, BWP switching time may vary depending on numerology (i.e., 3, 5, 9, 17 slots for 15, 30, 60, and 120 kHz respectively)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0077, “the base station or the ANE can activate SL TX/RX BWP, and assume that UE TX and RX RF BW is larger or equal to the BW of SL TX/RX BWP”; ¶0083, “switching between sidelink TX BWPs based on sensing and resource selection procedure operating over wideband RX BWP that covers multiple TX BWPs…selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute”), Shilov does not specifically disclose wherein the one or more parameters comprise physical channel characteristics measured for the terminal device.
However, KANG discloses wherein the one or more parameters comprise physical channel characteristics measured for the terminal device (Abstract, “reporting channel state information (CSI) by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, a plurality of BWPs are configured for the UE, and the plurality of BWPs include an activated first BWP and an inactivated second BWP, wherein the method may comprise the steps of: receiving, from a base station, information related to CSI for the second BWP on the first BWP; receiving a reference signal from the base station on the second BWP; performing a measurement on the basis of the reference signal; and transmitting, to the base station, CSI obtained on the basis of the measurement on the first BWP”; ¶0008, “performing measurement based on the reference signal, and transmitting, to the base station, the CSI obtained based on the measurement in the first BWP”; ¶0282; ¶0339, “The CSI reporting methods proposed in the disclosure may be applied to various feedback methods, not only for information necessary for MIMO precoding and link adaptation (e.g., PMI, CQI, RI, etc.) but also for beam information (e.g., CRI, SSBRI, RSRP, RSRQ, SINR), new channel information (e.g., covariance matrix feedback, best layer indication), and higher layer measurement information for radio resource management (e.g., L3 RSRP/RSRQ/RSSI)”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Shilov to include wherein the one or more parameters comprise physical channel characteristics measured for the terminal device, as taught by KANG because it would ensure that the network utilizes actual radio conditions experienced by the terminal device, thereby enabling more accurate and efficient network management decisions (KANG; ¶0282; ¶0290; ¶0339).
Although Shilov discloses transmitting an indicator to the terminal device to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching (Abstract, “The RRC signaling including configuration information to activate a sidelink transmit (TX) bandwidth part (BWP) of a plurality of sidelink TX BWPs within a sidelink carrier. Data is encoded for transmission to a second UE using a first sidelink signal. The processing circuitry is to cause transmission of the encoded data via the first sidelink signal”), Shilov does not specifically disclose transmitting an indicator to the terminal device to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching, in response to determining to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the terminal device.
However, KIM discloses transmitting an indicator to the terminal device to trigger the bandwidth part configuration (Fig. 6, 610-611) for the subcarrier spacing switching (Fig. 6, 608-609), in response to determining to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the terminal device (Fig. 6; ¶0105; ¶0106, “To configure a control region for a bandwidth part, the base station may notify the terminal of all or some of the system parameters listed in Table 3”; ¶0113, “The base station may transmit the terminal an indicator for activating or deactivating one or more of the configured bandwidth parts, and the base station and the terminal can transmit and receive signals via the activated bandwidth part. This indicator may be notified by the base station to the terminal through higher layer signaling”; ¶0132, “the base station may notify the terminal of whether a specific bandwidth part is self-scheduled or cross-scheduled…in FIG. 6, the base station may specify configuration information indicating that DCI #1 containing scheduling information for bandwidth part #1 (602) and DCI #2 containing scheduling information for bandwidth part #2 (603) are both transmitted via control region #1 (612) of bandwidth part #1 (602)”; ¶0157). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Shilov to include transmitting an indicator to the terminal device to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching, in response to determining to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the terminal device, as taught by KIM because it would allow the user to be aware of the radio resource management, and mobility management, thereby enhancing the quality of user experience (KIM; ¶0056; ¶0063; ¶0113).
As to claim 2, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the bandwidth part configuration indicates the terminal device to switch from a first bandwidth part to a second bandwidth part, and wherein the first bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part are configured with different subcarrier spacing (¶0046, “switching between BWPs is supported but may require additional time for switching. In some aspects, for UEs with Type-1 capabilities, BWP switching time varies depending on numerology (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 6 slots for 15, 30, 60 and 120 kHz respectively). In some aspects, for UEs with Type-2 capabilities, BWP switching time may vary depending on numerology (i.e., 3, 5, 9, 17 slots for 15, 30, 60, and 120 kHz respectively)”; ¶0069, “witching between BWPs”).
As to claim 3, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters of the terminal device comprises one or more of: a velocity factor; a multi-path factor; and a traffic type (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0083, “radio-resource management where BWPs are associated with UE geo-location information or QoS information or traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute (unicast, groupcast, broadcast, etc.)”).
As to claim 4, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters of the terminal device are related to one or more of: uplink measurement information of the terminal device; downlink measurement information of the terminal device; and a traffic type demand of the terminal device (¶0023, “radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling”; ¶0040, “General concepts of using NR BWP for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL)”; ¶0041, “BWPs in NR communications is to enable DL (RX) or UL (TX) bandwidth adaptation primarily driven by UE power-saving configurations”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes”; ¶0074, “Relationship with UL BWPs. In some aspects, from the UE perspective, UL and SL BWPs may have the same SCS and CP length. In some aspects, the UL and SL BWP locations within a carrier can be different”).
As to claim 5, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the determination of whether to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching for the terminal device according to the one or more parameters of the terminal device comprises: determining to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for switching from first subcarrier spacing to second subcarrier spacing for the terminal device, in response to that the one or more parameters meet a first criterion, wherein the second subcarrier spacing is larger than the first subcarrier spacing (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0077, “the base station or the ANE can activate SL TX/RX BWP, and assume that UE TX and RX RF BW is larger or equal to the BW of SL TX/RX BWP”;
¶0083, “radio-resource management where BWPs are associated with UE geo-location information or QoS information or traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute (unicast, groupcast, broadcast, etc.)”).
As to claim 6, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein the first criterion indicates that a velocity factor of the terminal device is larger than a first threshold and a multi-path factor of the terminal device is less than a second threshold (¶0014, “carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device”; ¶0057, “the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception. In one embodiment, different BWPs can be allocated to cover opposite road transmission directions”; ¶0083, “selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.)”).
As to claim 7, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein the first criterion indicates that a difference between weights of a velocity factor and a multi-path factor of the terminal device is within a first range (¶0014, “carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes…BWPs can be allocated to handle different traffic types (unicast, groupcast, broadcast) or QoS information (latency, priority, reliability, range, etc.)”; ¶0083, “traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.)”).
As to claim 8, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein the first criterion indicates that a traffic type of the terminal device is associated with a first delay requirement (¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes…BWPs can be allocated to handle different traffic types (unicast, groupcast, broadcast) or QoS information (latency, priority, reliability, range, etc.)”; ¶0083, “traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.)”).
As to claim 9, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the determination of whether to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching for the terminal device according to the one or more parameters of the terminal device comprises: determining to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for switching from third subcarrier spacing to fourth subcarrier spacing for the terminal device, in response to that the one or more parameters meet a second criterion, wherein the fourth subcarrier spacing is smaller than the third subcarrier spacing (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0077, “the base station or the ANE can activate SL TX/RX BWP, and assume that UE TX and RX RF BW is larger or equal to the BW of SL TX/RX BWP”;
¶0083, “radio-resource management where BWPs are associated with UE geo-location information or QoS information or traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute (unicast, groupcast, broadcast, etc.)”).
As to claim 10, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 9, wherein the second criterion indicates that a velocity factor of the terminal device is less than a third threshold and a multi-path factor of the terminal device is larger than a fourth threshold (¶0014, “carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device”; ¶0057, “the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception. In one embodiment, different BWPs can be allocated to cover opposite road transmission directions”; ¶0083, “selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.)”).
As to claim 11, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 9, wherein the second criterion indicates that a difference between weights of a velocity factor and a multi-path factor of the terminal device is within a second range (¶0014, “carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device”; ¶0057, “the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception. In one embodiment, different BWPs can be allocated to cover opposite road transmission directions”; ¶0083, “selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.)”).
As to claim 12, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 9, wherein the second criterion indicates that a traffic type of the terminal device is associated with a second delay requirement (¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes…BWPs can be allocated to handle different traffic types (unicast, groupcast, broadcast) or QoS information (latency, priority, reliability, range, etc.)”; ¶0083, “traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.)”).
As to claim 13, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the determination of whether to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching for the terminal device according to the one or more parameters of the terminal device comprises: determining to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for switching from fifth subcarrier spacing to sixth subcarrier spacing for the terminal device, in response to that the one or more parameters meet a third criterion, wherein the sixth subcarrier spacing is associated with an extended cyclic prefix and larger than the fifth subcarrier spacing (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0077, “the base station or the ANE can activate SL TX/RX BWP, and assume that UE TX and RX RF BW is larger or equal to the BW of SL TX/RX BWP”; ¶0083, “radio-resource management where BWPs are associated with UE geo-location information or QoS information or traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute (unicast, groupcast, broadcast, etc.)”).
As to claim 14, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the third criterion indicates that a velocity factor of the terminal device is larger than a fifth threshold and a multi-path factor of the terminal device is larger than a sixth threshold (¶0014, “carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device”; ¶0057, “the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception. In one embodiment, different BWPs can be allocated to cover opposite road transmission directions”; ¶0083, “selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.)”).
As to claim 15, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the determination of whether to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching for the terminal device according to the one or more parameters of the terminal device comprises: determining not to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching for the terminal device, in response to that the one or more parameters meet a fourth criterion (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0077, “the base station or the ANE can activate SL TX/RX BWP, and assume that UE TX and RX RF BW is larger or equal to the BW of SL TX/RX BWP”; ¶0083, “radio-resource management where BWPs are associated with UE geo-location information or QoS information or traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute (unicast, groupcast, broadcast, etc.)”).
As to claim 16, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 15, wherein the fourth criterion indicates that a velocity factor of the terminal device is less than a seventh threshold and a multi-path factor of the terminal device is less than an eighth threshold (¶0014, “carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device”; ¶0057, “the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception. In one embodiment, different BWPs can be allocated to cover opposite road transmission directions”; ¶0083, “selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.)”).
As to claim 20, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting to the terminal device information about multiple bandwidth parts with different subcarrier spacing available for the terminal device, wherein the bandwidth part configuration is used to activate one of the multiple bandwidth parts for the terminal device (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0074, “Relationship with UL BWPs. In some aspects, from the UE perspective, UL and SL BWPs may have the same SCS and CP length. In some aspects, the UL and SL BWP locations within a carrier can be different”).
As to claim 21, Shilov discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining a device group to which the terminal device belongs, according to the bandwidth part configuration for the terminal device, wherein each member of the device group is configured with same subcarrier spacing and able to be scheduled in a frequency band without a guard band (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0077, “the base station or the ANE can activate SL TX/RX BWP, and assume that UE TX and RX RF BW is larger or equal to the BW of SL TX/RX BWP”; ¶0083, “radio-resource management where BWPs are associated with UE geo-location information or QoS information or traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute (unicast, groupcast, broadcast, etc.)”).
As to claim 22, it is rejected for the same reasons set forth in claim 1 above. In addition, Shilov discloses a network node, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing computer program codes, the one or more memories and the computer program codes configured to, with the one or more processors (Fig. 3; ¶0089-¶0092).
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shilov et al. (US 2021/0219112 A1), KIM et al. (US 2019/0021045 A1), KANG et al. (US 2021/0298038 A1), further in view of Shen et al. (US 11,533,154 B2).
As to claim 25, it is rejected for the same reasons set forth in claim 1 above. In addition, Shilov discloses a method performed by a terminal device, comprising: triggering the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching, in response to the reception of the indicator from the network node (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B; ¶0043, “DL and UL BWPs can be configured with different settings in terms of sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, location, and bandwidth (BW)”; ¶0057, “BWPs associated with UE geo-location information, QoS information, or traffic type attributes. In some aspects, if UE location information is used for radio-resource management, the UE TX coordinates or a velocity vector can be used to determine which of the configured BWPs can be used for transmission or reception”; ¶0083, “radio-resource management where BWPs are associated with UE geo-location information or QoS information or traffic type attributes includes one or more of the following: selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the RX BWP for reception based on UE coordinate or its derivatives (velocity vector, travel direction, etc.); selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on QoS attribute (latency, priority, reliability, range etc.); and selection of the TX BWP for transmission based on traffic type attribute (unicast, groupcast, broadcast, etc.)”).
Shilov does not specifically disclose wherein the received indicator was the product of the network node determining from one or more parameters of the terminal device whether to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching.
However, Shen discloses wherein the received indicator was the product of the network node determining from one or more parameters of the terminal device whether to trigger the bandwidth part configuration for the subcarrier spacing switching (Fig. 1; Abstract, “configuring resource includes receiving first information from a network-side, wherein the first information indicates to the UE configurations of at least one bandwidth part, and activating at least portion of at least one configured bandwidth part, or activating at least portion of the at least one configured bandwidth part through the network-side”; col. 3, lines 10-46, “The configuration of the at least one bandwidth part may include at least one of subcarrier spacing, bandwidth part size, position of bandwidth part in frequency-domain, time-domain duration, and information on configuration of at least one signal”; col. 4, lines 12-19, “the activating at least portion of at least one configured bandwidth part following a time-domain structure may include: determining a first bandwidth part of the at least one configured bandwidth part as the bandwidth part to be active and time duration corresponding to the bandwidth part to be active; when the time duration has elapsed, turning the active bandwidth part to a second bandwidth part of the at least one configured bandwidth part”; Claim 1, “receiving first information from a network-side, wherein the first information indicates to the UE configurations of bandwidth parts, and wherein the bandwidth parts comprise a first bandwidth part and a second bandwidth part; activating the first bandwidth part of the configured bandwidth parts, wherein the first bandwidth part of the configured bandwidth parts is determined as an active bandwidth part; and when a time duration corresponding to the active bandwidth part has elapsed, turning the active bandwidth part to the second bandwidth part of the configured bandwidth parts, wherein the configurations of the bandwidth parts comprise the following of each of the bandwidth parts: a subcarrier spacing, a size, a position in frequency-domain, and information on configuration of at least one signal of each of the bandwidth parts, and wherein the configuration of the at least one signal comprises configurations of a synchronization signal, a broadcast channel, and a reference signal”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Shilov to include determining from one or more parameters of the terminal device whether to trigger bandwidth part configuration for subcarrier spacing switching for a terminal device, as taught by Shen because it would enhance the flexibility of resource allocation and enable flexible configuration of throughout and bandwidth for the terminal device, thereby improving communication efficiency (Shen; col. 10, lines 45-54).
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-16, 20-22 and 25 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUNGWON CHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-3960. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5:30PM.
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/JUNGWON CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2454 May 30, 2026
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