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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/17/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Claims 1-15, 18-19, and 42 have been amended.
Claims 1-15, 18-19, and 42-44 are presently pending.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 8-15, 18, 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (US 20200029316, hereinafter, “Zhou”) in view of BANG et al. (US 20230122786, hereinafter, “Bang”), and further in view of Lin et al. (US 20200236692, hereinafter, “Lin”)
Claim 1. Zhou teaches: A method performed by a wireless communication device, comprising: - See Fig. 3, (wireless device)
transmitting, to a network node, first capability information that indicates that the wireless communication device supports secondary cell (SCell) dormancy operation using a dormant bandwidth part (BWP) for one or more SCells; - in ¶ [0444], (“…the wireless device may maintain a first number of BWP(s) of the one or more BWPs in a power saving state (e.g., dormant state), for example, if the SCell is in active state.”, This indicates that the wireless device supports SCell dormancy with dormant BWPs.); ¶ [0445], (“The wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) at least a second CSI report for at least one dormant BWP…if the wireless device is configured with at least one dormant BWP in the active SCell”) and
transmitting, to the network node, second capability information that indicates whether the wireless communication device supports sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells. - in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state)…may transmit SRS, if configured, on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell…A wireless device may not transmit SRS (if configured) on a BWP of an SCell, for example, if a BWP (DL and/or UL) of the SCell is in dormant state.”)
wherein the second capability information comprises one or more parameter settings associated with Aperiodic Channel State Information (A-CSI) measurement on the dormant BWP or associated with A-CSI reporting on another cell. - in ¶ [0444], (“…the wireless device may maintain a first number of BWP(s) of the one or more BWPs in a power saving state (e.g., dormant state)”)
Zhou does not explicitly teach:
transmitting, to a network node, first capability information that indicates that the wireless communication device supports secondary cell (SCell) dormancy operation using a dormant bandwidth part (BWP) for one or more SCells; transmitting, to the network node, second capability information that indicates whether the wireless communication device supports sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells.
However, Bang teaches:
transmitting, to a network node, first capability information that indicates that the wireless communication device supports secondary cell (SCell) dormancy operation using a dormant bandwidth part (BWP) for one or more SCells; – in ¶ [0182], (“a terminal has a procedure of reporting, to a corresponding base station, a capability supported by the terminal…This is denoted as a UE capability (report)…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”)
transmitting, to the network node, second capability information that indicates whether the wireless communication device supports sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells. – in ¶ [0182], (“a terminal has a procedure of reporting, to a corresponding base station, a capability supported by the terminal…This is denoted as a UE capability (report)…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include capability information, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to ensure that the network is informed of the wireless communication device’s capabilities regarding SCell dormancy and SRS transmission to improve power efficiency, as suggested by Bang, if a terminal always receives the entire serving cell bandwidth as in LTE, power consumption of the terminal may be severe. In order to solve such a problem, a base station may support the configuration of one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for the terminal so that the terminal may change a reception region within a cell. - ¶ [0062]
Combination of Zhou and Bang does not explicitly teach:
wherein the second capability information comprises one or more parameter settings associated with Aperiodic Channel State Information (A-CSI) measurement on the dormant BWP or associated with A-CSI reporting on another cell.
However, Lin teaches:
wherein the second capability information comprises one or more parameter settings associated with Aperiodic Channel State Information (A-CSI) measurement on the dormant BWP or associated with A-CSI reporting on another cell.- See Fig, 11, ¶ [0175], (“The associated scheduling offset parameter, X, can be any of the following…[0178] an aperiodic CSI-RS triggering offset”; ¶ [0182] C_X can be determined per associated scheduling offset parameter, X…¶ [0185] C_X can be reported to gNB from UE as UE capability information…UE can report two values, denoted as C_UL and C_DL, where C_UL and C_DL are applicable for UL related scheduling offsets, such as K2 or SRS triggering offset…or aperiodic CSI-RS trigger offset”, The scheduling offsets/trigger offsets reported by the UE are equated to parameter settings associated with A-CSI measurement.); ¶ [0210], (“A UE can be triggered to switch between a ‘dormancy’ and a ‘non-dormancy’ behavior for active SCells by a physical layer signal/channel on the PCell/PSCell.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou and Bang with Lin to include one or more parameter settings associated with A-CSI measurement, as taught by Lin. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to reduce power consumption, as suggested by Lin, the list of candidate values for Kmin can be determined based on UE assistance information on its preferred values. For example, to reduce signaling overhead without sacrificing power saving gain. - ¶ [0189]
Claim 8. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 1 - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the second capability information comprises one or more parameters comprising:
(i) one or more parameters associated with SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, (ii) one or more parameters associated with Aperiodic Sounding Reference (A-SRS) transmission on another cell, or (iii) both (i) and (ii). - in ¶ [0253], (“A base station may semi-statically configure a wireless device with one or more SRS configuration parameters indicating at least one of following: an SRS resource configuration identifier, a number of SRS ports, time domain behavior of SRS resource configuration (e.g., an indication of periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic SRS), slot (mini-slot, and/or subframe) level periodicity and/or offset for a periodic and/or aperiodic SRS resource”); ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state): may transmit one or more CSI reports and/or RRM report for the BWP (e.g., DL) of the SCell, may transmit SRS, if configured, on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell”)
Bang further teaches:
wherein the second capability information comprises one or more parameters comprising: (i) one or more parameters associated with SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, (ii) one or more parameters associated with Aperiodic Sounding Reference (A-SRS) transmission on another cell, or (iii) both (i) and (ii). - in ¶ [0182], (“This is denoted as a UE capability (report) in the following description…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include capability information, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to allow the network to make sure the wireless communication device only performs actions that match its abilities which reduces unnecessary signaling and power consumption, as suggested by Bang, power consumption of the terminal may be severe. In order to solve such a problem, a base station may support the configuration of one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for the terminal. - ¶ [0062]
Claim 9. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 8, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the one or more parameters comprises an aperiodic SRS triggering offset or a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset. - in ¶ [0253], (“A base station may semi-statically configure a wireless device with one or more SRS configuration parameters indicating at least one of following…time domain behavior of SRS resource configuration (e.g., an indication of periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic SRS), slot (mini-slot, and/or subframe) level periodicity and/or offset for a periodic and/or aperiodic SRS resource”)
Bang further teaches:
wherein the one or more parameters comprises an aperiodic SRS triggering offset or a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset. - in ¶ [0208], (“the terminal may require a minimum time interval between a PDCCH including the DCI that triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission and the transmitting SRS”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to allow the network to schedule A-SRS transmissions more efficiently, minimizing active transmission time which reduces power consumption and reduces latency, as suggested by Bang, the eMBB, the mMTC, and the URLLC may be services aimed at the high-speed transmission of a large amount of data, the minimization of terminal power and the access of multiple terminals, and high reliability and low latency. - ¶ [0049]
Claim 10. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 8, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Bang further teaches:
wherein the one or more parameters comprise a parameter that defines a gap between an end of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) on a triggering cell that triggers aperiodic SRS transmission and a start of SRS transmission on a cell on which the SRS transmission is triggered. - in ¶ [0208], (“The time interval for the SRS transmission of the terminal may be defined as the number of symbols between the last symbol of the PDCCH including the DCI that triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission and the first symbol to which an SRS resource first transmitted among a transmitting SRS resource(s) has been mapped.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include a parameter that defines a gap between an end of a PDCCH on a triggering cell that triggers aperiodic SRS transmission and a start of SRS transmission on a cell on which the SRS transmission is triggered, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to ensure precise time alignment, reduce power consumption and latency, as suggested by Bang, the eMBB, the mMTC, and the URLLC may be services aimed at the high-speed transmission of a large amount of data, the minimization of terminal power and the access of multiple terminals, and high reliability and low latency. - ¶ [0049]
Claim 11. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 10, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein a value of the parameter that defines the gap is based on an SCell dormancy transition time that the wireless communication device reports. - in ¶ [0372], (“SCell state transitions may be based on, for example, a first SCell timer (e.g., an SCell deactivation timer or sCellDeactivationTimer), a second SCell timer (e.g., an SCell hibernation timer or sCellHibernationTimer), and/or a third SCell timer (e.g., a dormant SCell deactivation timer or dormantSCellDeactivationTimer… a wireless device…may, for example, implement the SCell state transitions based on expiration of the first SCell timer, the second SCell timer, and/or the third SCell.”); ¶ [0389], (“The wireless device may transition the first wireless resource (e.g., first BWP) to a power saving state (e.g., dormant state), based on or in response to the cell being switched into the power saving state (e.g., dormant state).
Bang further teaches:
wherein a value of the parameter that defines the gap is based on an SCell dormancy transition time that the wireless communication device reports. - in ¶ [0208], (“the minimum time interval may be determined as an N.sub.2 symbol that is defined by taking into consideration a terminal processing ability according to the UE capability with reference to the PUSCH preparation procedure time of the terminal.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include reporting capability-related parameters by the wireless communication device, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to enhance network adaptability, improve transition efficiency, and reduce latency, as suggested by Bang, the eMBB, the mMTC, and the URLLC may be services aimed at the high-speed transmission of a large amount of data, the minimization of terminal power and the access of multiple terminals, and high reliability and low latency. - ¶ [0049]
Claim 12. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 8, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Bang further teaches:
wherein the one or more parameters comprise a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset, - in ¶ [0208], (the terminal may require a minimum time interval between a PDCCH including the DCI that triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission and the transmitting SRS. The time interval for the SRS transmission of the terminal may be defined as the number of symbols between the last symbol of the PDCCH including the DCI that triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission and the first symbol to which an SRS resource first transmitted among a transmitting SRS resource(s) has been mapped.”) and the minimum value of the A-SRS triggering offset is dependent on a subcarrier spacing of a cell - in ¶ [0055], (“The length of a corresponding OFDM symbol may be different depending on subcarrier spacings that constitute an OFDM symbol.”, This indicates that subcarrier spacing impacts the symbol length and timing.); ¶ [0059], (“if the interval between subcarriers is 30 kHz, four slots may constitute one subframe 103.”, This indicates subcarrier spacing affect the timing structure, which is essential for defining the minimum value of the A-SRS triggering offset) on which a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) triggering aperiodic SRS transmission is received by the wireless communication device. - in ¶ [0207], (“For example, a base station may trigger aperiodic SRS transmission for a terminal through DCI… Furthermore, slot mapping of the transmitting SRS resource may be determined through a slot offset between a PDCCH including the DCI and the SRS resource.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset and its dependency on subcarrier spacing, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to result in dynamic adjustment of the A-SRS triggering offset based on a cell to ensure proper alignment and reduce latency, as suggested by Bang, the eMBB, the mMTC, and the URLLC may be services aimed at the high-speed transmission of a large amount of data, the minimization of terminal power and the access of multiple terminals, and high reliability and low latency. - ¶ [0049]
Claim 13. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 8, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the one or more parameters comprise a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset, and the minimum value of the A-SRS triggering offset is dependent on a subcarrier spacing of a cell on which a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) triggering aperiodic SRS transmission is received by the wireless communication device and the subcarrier spacing of the SCell. – in ¶ [0395], (“A cell of one or more cells (e.g., an SCell) may comprise…one or more second parameters. The one or more first parameters may comprise at least one of…a subcarrier spacing”)
Bang further teaches:
wherein the one or more parameters comprise a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset, - in ¶ [0208], (the terminal may require a minimum time interval between a PDCCH including the DCI that triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission and the transmitting SRS. The time interval for the SRS transmission of the terminal may be defined as the number of symbols between the last symbol of the PDCCH including the DCI that triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission and the first symbol to which an SRS resource first transmitted among a transmitting SRS resource(s) has been mapped.”) and
the minimum value of the A-SRS triggering offset is dependent on a subcarrier spacing of a cell - in ¶ [0055], (“The length of a corresponding OFDM symbol may be different depending on subcarrier spacings that constitute an OFDM symbol.”, This indicates that subcarrier spacing impacts the symbol length and timing.); ¶ [0059], (“if the interval between subcarriers is 30 kHz, four slots may constitute one subframe 103.”, This indicates subcarrier spacing affect the timing structure, which is essential for defining the minimum value of the A-SRS triggering offset) on which a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) triggering aperiodic SRS transmission is received by the wireless communication device and the subcarrier spacing of the SCell. - in ¶ [0207], (“For example, a base station may trigger aperiodic SRS transmission for a terminal through DCI… Furthermore, slot mapping of the transmitting SRS resource may be determined through a slot offset between a PDCCH including the DCI and the SRS resource.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include a minimum value of an A-SRS triggering offset and its dependency on subcarrier spacing, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to result in dynamic adjustment of the A-SRS triggering offset based on both cells to ensure proper alignment and reduce latency, as suggested by Bang, the minimization of terminal power and the access of multiple terminals, and high reliability and low latency. - ¶ [0049]
Claim 14. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Bang further teaches:
further comprising transmitting assistance information to the network node that informs the network node of a preferred A-SRS triggering offset or a minimum gap for dormant BWP operation. - in ¶ [0208], (“the terminal may require a minimum time interval between a PDCCH including the DCI that triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission and the transmitting SRS…the minimum time interval may be determined as an N.sub.2 symbol that is defined by taking into consideration a terminal processing ability according to the UE capability”); ¶ [0182], (“a terminal has a procedure of reporting, to a corresponding base station, a capability supported by the terminal in the state in which the terminal has been connected to a serving base station. This is denoted as a UE capability (report) in the following description…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include transmitting assistance information to the network node of a preferred A-SRS triggering offset, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to allow the network to schedule A-SRS transmissions more efficiently, minimizing active transmission time which reduces power consumption and reduce latency, as suggested by Bang, the minimization of terminal power and the access of multiple terminals, and high reliability and low latency. - ¶ [0049]
Claim 15. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does not support A-SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells – in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device may not transmit SRS (if configured) on a BWP of an SCell, for example, if a BWP (DL and/or UL) of the SCell is in dormant state.”) under one or more certain conditions. – in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state): may transmit one or more CSI reports and/or RRM report for the BWP (e.g., DL) of the SCell, may transmit SRS, if configured, on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell, may not transmit on a UL-SCH on the BWP, may not transmit on a RACH, if configured, on the BWP, may not monitor a PDCCH on the BWP, may not receive DL-SCH on the BWP”)
Bang further teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does not support A-SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells under one or more certain conditions. – in ¶ [0182], (“This is denoted as a UE capability (report) in the following description…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include capability information, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to allow the network to make sure the wireless communication device only performs actions that match its abilities which reduces unnecessary signaling and saves power, as suggested by Bang, if a terminal always receives the entire serving cell bandwidth as in LTE, power consumption of the terminal may be severe. In order to solve such a problem, a base station may support the configuration of one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for the terminal. - ¶ [0062]
Claim 18 is the apparatus claim corresponding to the method claim of Claim 1 and is rejected under the same rationale as Claim 1 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claim 42 is rejected under the same rationale as Claim 1 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claims 2-7, 19, 43-44 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (US 20200029316, hereinafter, “Zhou”) in view of BANG et al. (US 20230122786, hereinafter, “Bang”), and further in view of Lin et al. (US 20200236692, hereinafter, “Lin”) and Zhou et al. (US 20200037248, hereinafter, “RefZ”).
Claim 2. Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin teaches The method of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
further comprising: switching to a dormant BWP of an SCell; – in ¶ [0389], (“a base station may configure a wireless resource (e.g., a BWP) of the cell as a power saving resource (e.g., a dormant resource such as a dormant BWP)…The wireless device may transition the first wireless resource (e.g., first BWP) to a power saving state (e.g., dormant state)”) and
upon switching to the dormant BWP of the SCell, performing one or more actions in accordance with the first capability information and the second capability information. – in ¶ [0398], (“Based on or in response to transitioning the first wireless resource (e.g., first BWP) into the power saving state (e.g., dormant state), the wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) one or more CSI reports for the first wireless resource (e.g., first BWP).”)
Combination of Zhou, Bang, and Lin does not explicitly teach:
performing one or more actions in accordance with the first capability information and the second capability information.
However, RefZ teaches:
performing one or more actions in accordance with the first capability information and the second capability information. – in ¶ [0403], (“when a wireless device and/or a gNB supports a BWP in a dormant state. The gNB and/or the wireless device may exchange information regarding whether a dormant state is supported on a BWP by RRC messages (e.g., UE-UTRA-Capability IE or UE-NR-Capability IE)…when a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in a dormant state, the wireless device: may transmit one or more CSI reports for the BWP (e.g., DL) of the SCell; may not transmit SRS on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell;”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified of Zhou, Bang, and Lin with RefZ to include performing one or more actions in accordance with the first and the second capability information, as taught by RefZ. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to reduce unnecessary signaling and save power, as suggested by RefZ, when the SCell is in dormant state, may improve battery or power consumption of the wireless device, while still providing the base station timely and/or accurate channel information feedback. - ¶ [0364]
Claim 3. Combination of Zhou, Bang, Lin, and RefZ teaches The method of claim 2, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does not support aperiodic SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, and the one or more actions comprise: – in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device may not transmit SRS (if configured) on a BWP of an SCell, for example, if a BWP (DL and/or UL) of the SCell is in dormant state.”)
a) stop receiving Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for the SCell; - in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state)…may not monitor a PDCCH on the BWP”)
b) do not receive Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH) on the SCell; - in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state)…may not receive DL-SCH on the BWP”)
c) perform periodic SRS reporting; - in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state): may transmit one or more CSI reports and/or RRM report for the BWP (e.g., DL) of the SCell, may transmit SRS, if configured, on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell”); ¶ [0252], (“A new radio network may support aperiodic, periodic, and/or semi-persistent SRS transmissions. The wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) SRS resources, for example, based on one or more trigger types.”)
d) perform any semi-persistent SRS reporting; - in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state): may transmit one or more CSI reports and/or RRM report for the BWP (e.g., DL) of the SCell, may transmit SRS, if configured, on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell”); ¶ [0252], (“A new radio network may support aperiodic, periodic, and/or semi-persistent SRS transmissions. The wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) SRS resources, for example, based on one or more trigger types.”) or
e) a combination of any two or more of a) - d). - in ¶ [0397]
Bang further teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does not support aperiodic SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, – in ¶ [0182], (“This is denoted as a UE capability (report) in the following description…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”) and
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include capability information, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to allow the network to make sure the wireless communication device only performs actions that match its abilities which reduces unnecessary signaling and saves power, as suggested by Bang, if a terminal always receives the entire serving cell bandwidth as in LTE, power consumption of the terminal may be severe. In order to solve such a problem, a base station may support the configuration of one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for the terminal. - ¶ [0062]
Claim 4. Combination of Zhou, Bang, Lin, and RefZ teaches The method of claim 3, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein aperiodic SRS transmission for the SCell cannot be triggered for the wireless communication device. – in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state)…may not monitor a PDCCH on the BWP…A wireless device may not transmit SRS (if configured) on a BWP of an SCell, for example, if a BWP (DL and/or UL) of the SCell is in dormant state. A base station may indicate, for example, in an RRC message, whether a wireless device transmits or does not transmit SRS if an SCell is in dormant state.”); ¶ [0252], (“network may support aperiodic, periodic, and/or semi-persistent SRS transmissions. The wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) SRS resources, for example, based on one or more trigger types. The one or more trigger types may comprise higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC) and/or one or more DCI formats”, Since A-SRS is triggered via DCI on PDCCH, if the wireless device is not monitoring PDCCH in dormant state, A-SRS cannot be triggered.)
Claim 5. Combination of Zhou, Bang, Lin, and RefZ teaches The method of claim 2, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does support aperiodic SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, - in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state): may transmit one or more CSI reports and/or RRM report for the BWP (e.g., DL) of the SCell, may transmit SRS, if configured, on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell”); ¶ [0252], (“A new radio network may support aperiodic, periodic, and/or semi-persistent SRS transmissions. The wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) SRS resources, for example, based on one or more trigger types.”) and
the one or more actions comprise transmitting aperiodic SRS on the SCell. - in ¶ [0397], (“A base station may indicate, for example, in an RRC message, whether a wireless device transmits or does not transmit SRS if an SCell is in dormant state.”)
Bang further teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does support aperiodic SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, and the one or more actions comprise transmitting aperiodic SRS on the SCell. – in ¶ [0182], (“This is denoted as a UE capability (report) in the following description…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include capability information, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to allow the network to make sure the wireless communication device only performs actions that match its abilities which reduces unnecessary signaling and saves power, as suggested by Bang, if a terminal always receives the entire serving cell bandwidth as in LTE, power consumption of the terminal may be severe. In order to solve such a problem, a base station may support the configuration of one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for the terminal. - ¶ [0062]
Claim 6. Combination of Zhou, Bang, Lin, and RefZ teaches The method of claim 2, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does support periodic SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, - in ¶ [0397], (“A wireless device (e.g., if a BWP (DL or UL) of an SCell is in dormant state): may transmit one or more CSI reports and/or RRM report for the BWP (e.g., DL) of the SCell, may transmit SRS, if configured, on the BWP (e.g., UL) of the SCell”); ¶ [0252], (“A new radio network may support aperiodic, periodic, and/or semi-persistent SRS transmissions. The wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) SRS resources, for example, based on one or more trigger types.”) and
the one or more actions comprise transmitting periodic SRS on the SCell. - in ¶ [0397], (“A base station may indicate, for example, in an RRC message, whether a wireless device transmits or does not transmit SRS if an SCell is in dormant state.”)
Bang further teaches:
wherein the second capability information indicates that the wireless communication device does support periodic SRS transmission on a dormant BWP of one or more SCells, and the one or more actions comprise transmitting periodic SRS on the SCell. - in ¶ [0182], (“This is denoted as a UE capability (report) in the following description…the terminal may…report the UE capability information message plural times.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou with Bang to include capability information, as taught by Bang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to allow the network to make sure the wireless communication device only performs actions that match its abilities which reduces unnecessary signaling and saves power, as suggested by Bang, if a terminal always receives the entire serving cell bandwidth as in LTE, power consumption of the terminal may be severe. In order to solve such a problem, a base station may support the configuration of one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for the terminal. - ¶ [0062]
Claim 7. Combination of Zhou, Bang, Lin, and RefZ teaches The method of claim 5, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Zhou teaches:
wherein the one or more actions further comprise transmitting a measurement report on a cell other than the SCell. - ¶ [0391], (“for a cell in a power saving state (e.g., dormant state), a wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) a first CSI report using a PUCCH resource on a PCell…If switched or switching from the normal power state to the power saving state, the wireless device may send (e.g., transmit) a second CSI report”)
Claim 19, 43 are rejected under the same rationale as Claim 2 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claim 44 is rejected under the same rationale as Claim 3 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Conclusion
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/SHIMA WASEL/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475