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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7, 9-12 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1 (and 10), the claim states: “the UE determines whether to activate the second CORESET based on a bandwidth of the first CORESET”, which was no described in the original specification. Applicant states there is support in Para [0227-230]. These paragraphs state CORESET#0-R may be activated but does not state the UE activates this CORESET.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-7, 9-12 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1 (and 10), the claim states: “the UE determines whether to activate the second CORESET based on a bandwidth of the first CORESET”, which is unclear. It is not clear how the UE “activates” a second CORESET, rather than monitor a second CORESET or use a second CORESET.
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, 4-7 and 9-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al (US 2022/0408479, hereinafter Wang), in view of Davydov et al (US 2019/0069322, hereinafter Davydov) and in view of Xu et al (US 2020/0228966, hereinafter Xu).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a method of performing initial cell access (initial access steps, Para [0036]) by a user equipment (UE) in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)-based wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal (PBCH is transmitted to the UE, Para [0033]); receiving system information block 1 (SIB1)-scheduling information in a first control resource set (CORESET) based on the PBCH signal and receiving an SIB1 based on SIB1-scheduling information (the PBCH includes MIB which contains configuration of the CORESET and search space, Para [0033], where SIB1 is scheduled through PDCCH using the search space and associated CORESET, Para [0036], PDCCH is used to transmit DCI that schedules PDSCH carrying SIB1, Para [0037], scheduling PDSCH for transmission of SIB1, Para [0058]); wherein the UE is a second type of UE with having a capability reduced than a first type of UE (for 3GPP, there are NR UEs that support large bandwidth sizes and NR-light UEs that support smaller bandwidth sizes, Para [0005]. Also see pages 1, 4-5, 9-10 and Fig. 2 from the provisional application); but is not explicit about receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB) including PBCH. Davydov discloses a SS/PBCH block, where the SS block includes PBCH, Fig. 1a; nor discloses wherein the CORESET includes at least one of a first CORESET or a second CORESET dedicated to the second type UE. Xu discloses CORESET#0 and Low Tier CORESET#0, Fig. 4, and defining a separate low tier CORESET#0 for low tier UEs having lower bandwidth capability, Para [0065]; nor discloses wherein the UE determines whether to activate the second CORESET based on a bandwidth of the first CORESET. Xu discloses low tier UEs may not be able to support the bandwidth of CORESET#0, Para [0062], therefore the network may need to configure a CORESET that supports narrower bandwidths, Para [0063] and a separate CORESET will be defined for low tier UEs, Para [0065], meaning the low tier UE will use the low tier CORESET#0. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Davydov and Xu in the system of Wang in order to configure CORESETs for UEs with different bandwidth capabilities
Regarding claim 4, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the SIB1-scheduling information is downlink control information (DCI) received through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and wherein SIB1-scheduling information received by the UE is different from SIB1-scheduling information for the first type UE in at least one of a DCI size, a related radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), or cyclic redundancy check (CRC) masking (first control information may have a CRC scrambled with first RNTI and second control information may have a CRC scrambled with a different second RNTI, Para [0051], DCI sent in the PDCCH, Para [0046]).
Regarding claim 5, Wang discloses the method of claim 4, wherein a location of the CORESET is determined based on a location of a first CORESET configured for the first type UE. Xu discloses low tier CORESET is configured based on time domain of the larger CORESET, where the CORESETs overlap in the same set of symbols, Para [0069].
Regarding claim 6, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the CORESET is confined in the first CORESET. Xu discloses low tier CORESET is configured based on time domain of the larger CORESET, where the CORESETs overlap in the same set of symbols, Para [0069].
Regarding claim 7, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first CORESET is obtained by applying a specific time offset or a specific frequency offset to a CORESET monitored by the first type of UE (subset of the set of control resource elements maybe located in a second search space with a time offset relative to the search space, Para [0057], search space for NR-Light UEs is offset in time from the search space for legacy UEs, Para [0068]).
Regarding claim 9, Wang discloses a processor-readable storage medium configured to store a program for executing the method of claim 1 (computer readable medium, Para [0113]).
Regarding claim 10, Wang discloses a device (UE, Fig. 9) configured to perform initial cell access in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)-based wireless communication system, the device comprising: a memory configured to store instructions (memory containing instructions, Para [0015]); and a processor (processing circuitry, Para [0015]) configured to execute the instructions to: receiving a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal (PBCH is transmitted to the UE, Para [0033]); receiving system information block 1 (SIB1)-scheduling information in a first control resource set (CORESET) based on the PBCH signal and receiving an SIB1 through a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (the PBCH includes MIB which contains configuration of the CORESET and search space, Para [0033], where SIB1 is scheduled through PDCCH using the search space and associated CORESET, Para [0036], PDCCH is used to transmit DCI that schedules PDSCH carrying SIB1, Para [0037], scheduling PDSCH for transmission of SIB1, Para [0058]); wherein the UE is a second type of UE with reduced capability to support a smaller maximum bandwidth than a first type of UE among different types of UEs supported in the 3GPP-based wireless communication system (for 3GPP, there are NR UEs that support large bandwidth sizes and NR-light UEs that support smaller bandwidth sizes, Para [0005]), but is not explicit about receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB) including PBCH. Davydov discloses a SS/PBCH block, where the SS block includes PBCH, Fig. 1a; nor discloses wherein the CORESET includes at least one of a first CORESET or a second CORESET dedicated to the second type UE. Xu discloses CORESET#0 and Low Tier CORESET#0, Fig. 4, and defining a separate low tier CORESET#0 for low tier UEs having lower bandwidth capability, Para [0065]; nor discloses wherein the UE determines whether to activate the second CORESET based on a bandwidth of the first CORESET. Xu discloses low tier UEs may not be able to support the bandwidth of CORESET#0, Para [0062], therefore the network may need to configure a CORESET that supports narrower bandwidths, Para [0063] and a separate CORESET will be defined for low tier UEs, Para [0065], meaning the low tier UE will use the low tier CORESET#0. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Davydov and Xu in the system of Wang in order to configure CORESETs for UEs with different bandwidth capabilities
Regarding claim 11, Wang discloses the device of claim 10, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a radio signal under control of the processor, wherein the device is a user equipment (UE) operating in the 3GPP-based wireless communication (RF transceiver, Para [0130], UEs operating in 3GPP, Para [0005]).
Regarding claim 12, Wang discloses the device of claim 10, wherein the device is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a digital signal processing device (ASIC, Para [0154]).
Regarding claim 13, Wang discloses a method of transmitting a signal by a base station in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)-based wireless communication system, the method comprising: transmitting a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) (PBCH is transmitted to the UE, Para [0033]); transmitting (SIB1)-scheduling information in a first control resource set (CORESET) based on the PBCH signal and transmitting an SIB1 through a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (the PBCH includes MIB which contains configuration of the CORESET and search space, Para [0033], where SIB1 is scheduled through PDCCH using the search space and associated CORESET, Para [0036], PDCCH is used to transmit DCI that schedules PDSCH carrying SIB1, Para [0037], scheduling PDSCH for transmission of SIB1, Para [0058]); wherein the base station supports both a first type of user equipment (UE) and a second type of UE with reduced capability to support a smaller maximum bandwidth than the first type of UE (for 3GPP, there are NR UEs that support large bandwidth sizes and NR-light UEs that support smaller bandwidth sizes, Para [0005]), but is not explicit about receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB) including PBCH. Davydov discloses a SS/PBCH block, where the SS block includes PBCH, Fig. 1a; 4. nor discloses wherein the CORESET includes at least one of a first CORESET or a second CORESET dedicated to the second type UE. Xu discloses CORESET#0 and Low Tier CORESET#0, Fig. 4, and defining a separate low tier CORESET#0 for low tier UEs having lower bandwidth capability, Para [0065]; nor discloses wherein the BS determines whether to activate the second CORESET based on a bandwidth of the first CORESET. Xu discloses low tier UEs may not be able to support the bandwidth of CORESET#0, Para [0062], therefore the network may need to configure a CORESET that supports narrower bandwidths, Para [0063] and a separate CORESET will be defined for low tier UEs, Para [0065], meaning the low tier UE will use the low tier CORESET#0. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Davydov and Xu in the system of Wang in order to configure CORESETs for UEs with different bandwidth capabilities
Regarding claim 14, Wang discloses a base station (BS, Fig. 9) configured to transmit a signal in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)-based wireless communication system, the base station comprising: a memory configured to store instructions (memory containing instructions, Para [0011]); and a processor (processing circuitry, Para [0011]) configured to execute the instructions to: transmit a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal (PBCH is transmitted to the UE, Para [0033]); transmit system information block 1 (SIB1)-scheduling information in a first control resource set (CORESET) based on the PBCH signal and transmit an SIB1 through a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (the PBCH includes MIB which contains configuration of the CORESET and search space, Para [0033], where SIB1 is scheduled through PDCCH using the search space and associated CORESET, Para [0036], PDCCH is used to transmit DCI that schedules PDSCH carrying SIB1, Para [0037], scheduling PDSCH for transmission of SIB1, Para [0058]); wherein the processor is configured to support both a first type of user equipment (UE) and a second type of UE with reduced capability to support a smaller maximum bandwidth than the first type of UE (for 3GPP, there are NR UEs that support large bandwidth sizes and NR-light UEs that support smaller bandwidth sizes, Para [0005]), but is not explicit about receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB) including PBCH. Davydov discloses a SS/PBCH block, where the SS block includes PBCH, Fig. 1a; nor discloses wherein the CORESET includes at least one of a first CORESET or a second CORESET dedicated to the second type UE. Xu discloses CORESET#0 and Low Tier CORESET#0, Fig. 4, and defining a separate low tier CORESET#0 for low tier UEs having lower bandwidth capability, Para [0065]; nor discloses wherein the BS determines whether to activate the second CORESET based on a bandwidth of the first CORESET. Xu discloses low tier UEs may not be able to support the bandwidth of CORESET#0, Para [0062], therefore the network may need to configure a CORESET that supports narrower bandwidths, Para [0063] and a separate CORESET will be defined for low tier UEs, Para [0065], meaning the low tier UE will use the low tier CORESET#0. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Davydov and Xu in the system of Wang in order to configure CORESETs for UEs with different bandwidth capabilities.
Regarding claim 15, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, wherein a bandwidth of the second CORESET is determined based on a bandwidth of the SSB. Davydov discloses the CORESET bandwidth and frequency position may be defined relative to the SS/PBCH bandwidth, Para [0088], where the SSB is 20 PRBs and the CORESET is 24 PRBs, Fig. 1J. Xu discloses defining a separate CORSET for UEs having a lower bandwidth capability, Para [0065], where the SSB is 20 RBs and the low tier CORSET is 24 RBs, Fig. 4.
Regarding claim 16, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, but not wherein based on the bandwidth of the first CORESET not exceeding a threshold, the UE receives the SIB1-scheduling information in the first CORESET without activating the second CORESET. Xu discloses low tier UEs may not be able to support the bandwidth of CORESET#0, Para [0062], therefore the network may need to configure a CORESET that supports narrower bandwidths, Para [0063], in this case CORESET#0 is a size supported by low tier UEs and a separate low tier CORESET is not needed.
Regarding claim 17, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, but not wherein based on the bandwidth of the first CORESET exceeding a threshold, the UE receives the SIB1-scheduling information in the second CORESET by activating the second CORESET. Xu discloses low tier UEs may not be able to support the bandwidth of CORESET#0 (meaning bandwidth is greater than BW capacity/threshold), Para [0062], therefore the network may need to configure a CORESET that supports narrower bandwidths, Para [0063] and a separate CORESET will be defined for low tier UEs, Para [0065], meaning the low tier UE will use the low tier CORESET#0.
Regarding claim 18, Wang discloses the method of claim 16, but not wherein the threshold is a UE-specific threshold determined based on the UE’s capability. Xu discloses low tier UEs may support a maximum bandwidth of only 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, Para [0061], obvious different UEs can have different bandwidth supported capabilities.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, in view of Davydov, in view of Xu and in view of Bergqvist et al (US 2021/0289426, hereinafter Bergqvist).
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, but not wherein the SIB1-scheduling information comprises both scheduling information for the first type of SIB1 and scheduling information for the second type of SIB1. Bergqvist discloses SIB1 and SIB1-BR types, Para [0078], one DCI can schedule more than one SIB1, Para [0079] and DCI can schedule first message containing SIB1 and second message containing another SIB1, in this case SIB1-BR, Para [0080]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Bergqvist in the system of Wang in view with Davydov and Xu in order to methods of transmitting SIBs by including extended information while allowing legacy UEs to remain compatible.
Regarding claim 3, Wang discloses the method of claim 1, but not wherein the SIB1 comprises system information specific to the second type UE. Bergqvist discloses DCI can schedule first message containing SIB1 and second message containing another SIB1, in this case SIB1-BR, Para [0080], in view with Wang, the NR-Light UE would receive the SIB1-BR and the legacy UE would receive the SIB1. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Bergqvist in the system of Wang in view with Davydov and Xu in order to methods of transmitting SIBs by including extended information while allowing legacy UEs to remain compatible.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/24/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant amends the limitations in the claim and argues the references do not disclose the amended limitations. Applicant argues the second CORSET can be configured for the UE in a deactivated state and the deactivated second CORESET can be activated in consideration of the first CORESET. In response, this is not a limitation in the claim and there is no support for this in the specification. The specification never states a second CORESET is configured in a deactivated state nor is this a limitation in the claim. Applicant argues the Xu reference does not disclose activating and/or deactivating the low tier CORESET. Applicant also argues over the Davydov reference, arguing Davydov fails to disclose the argued limitation as well. In response, the Applicant’s specification does not describe a UE can activate a CORESET. It is not clear what Applicant means by activating a CORESET, a CORESET can be configured and the UE can monitor a CORESET but a UE does not activate CORESETs. Xu discloses a low tier CORESET will be configured if the CORESET is greater than the bandwidth supported by low tier UEs.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN CUNNINGHAM whose telephone number is (571) 272-1765. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday 7:30-18:00 (EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Vu can be reached on (571) 272-3155. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN M CUNNINGHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461