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 .
Response to amendment
2. This is a Final Office action in response to applicant’s remarks and arguments filed on 03/11/2026.
3. Status of the claims:
• Claims 1, 12-16, 21, 23, and 25 have been amended.
• Claim 11 has been canceled.
• Claims 1-9, 12-21, 23, and 25 are currently pending and have been examined.
Response to remarks and arguments
4. Applicant’s remarks and arguments filed on 03/11/2026 with respect to the amended independent claims have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection. Upon further search and consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view Zhang et al. (US 20200221402 A1) and Lindoff et al. (US 20090135748 A1).
5. In response to applicant’s remarks, the examiner acknowledges that the cited reference does not appear to explicitly teach applicant’s argued limitations. However, the combined system of Zhang et al. (US 20200221402 A1) and Lindoff et al. (US 20090135748 A1) cures this deficiency.
Please the rejection below.
Claim Objections
6. Claims 1, 12, 13, 21, 23, and 25 are objected to because of the following informalities:
a) The acronyms (UL-to-DL) do not match the full phrase (downlink-to-uplink).
b) The acronyms (DL-to-UP) appears to contain a typo error. The examiner suggests to change (DL-to-UP) to (DL-to-UL).
Claim 21 that is directed to “an apparatus”, should be amended to delete “by a base station” to avoid any confusion who is performing the steps.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
10. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
11. Claims 1, 12-21, 23, 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUN et al. (US 20180376510 A1) in view of Zhang et al. (US 20200221402 A1) and further in view of Lindoff et al. (US 20090135748 A1).
Regarding claim 1, SUN discloses a method for wireless communications (FIGS. 9A-E), comprising: establishing, by a base station, communication with a user equipment (UE) (SUN, para. [0004]: A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that can support communication for a number of user equipment (UEs), see also FIG. 9A, steps 902, 908); generating, by the base station, configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication (SUN. para. [0110]: FIG. 9E is an example of generating a random access radio network temporary identifier including a carrier frequency offset index. As shown in FIG. 9E, and by reference number 930, the BS 110 may generate a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) for the UE 120) by allocating (i) at least an anchor carrier for at least one of downlink communication or uplink communication, and (ii) a supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier for the uplink communications (SUN, para. 24: A UE, such as a UE using a NR radio access technology (RAT), may use a supplementary uplink (SUL) configuration. In a SUL configuration, the UE may connect to a primary uplink carrier at a first frequency band, and may connect to a supplementary uplink carrier at a second frequency band different from the first frequency band [the first frequency band and/or the second frequency band may be associated with respective downlink carriers]), wherein the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier are in at least one of a time division duplex (TDD) band or a frequency division duplex (FDD) band (SUN, para. 24: In some aspects, the first frequency band may be a time division duplexing (TDD) frequency band or a frequency division duplexing (FDD) frequency band. In some aspects, the second frequency band may be a TDD frequency band, may be an FDD frequency band, or may be an uplink-only frequency band); and transmitting, by the base station, the configuration information to the UE for the bidirectional communication (SUN, FIG. 9A, para. 92, Step 902, 24: the base station (BS) transmits RACH configuration information for all uplink carriers to the UE on a downlink carrier of a high band), wherein the UE switches between uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information (SUN, para. 83: This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE))).
SUN does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP.
In the same field of endeavor, Zhang teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining [[one or both of a guard period or]] a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information (Zhang, Fig. 10, para. [0252] [0257]: The terminal determines a location of each sub-band, a bandwidth and a bandwidth of a guard band through the content of the system information block. One possible way is to notify the control channel bandwidth at the edge of the band and the switch point of the downlink/uplink control channel in the radio frame/subframe, in the system information block), wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP (Examiner’s note: the claim uses alternative language such that determining one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE …, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP. The examiner is not giving patentable weight to the newly added limitation above since it’s tied to the guard period. The examiner selected guard location over guard period for the mapping).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN with the teaching of Zhang to include the above features into the system of SUN such as generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information as taught by Zhang. The motivation for doing so would have been to perform uplink communication and downlink communication on different frequency resources (Zhang, para. [0010]).
SUN and Zhang do not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer.
In the same field of endeavor, Lindoff teaches wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer (Lindoff, para. [0026]: FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of part of a half-duplex mobile terminal 400 according to some embodiments of the present invention, including a radio transceiver 410, an application processor 450, and control processor 460. As pictured, the radio transceiver 460 is only capable of half-duplex operation, in that receiver 430 and transmitter 440 are connected to the antenna through a duplexing switch 420, rather than through a duplexing filter. The duplexing switch is controlled by a control processor 460, which selects between a transmit mode and a receive mode at appropriate times. Thus, receiver 430 and transmitter 440 cannot operate simultaneously).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN and Zhang with the teaching of LINDOFF to include the above features such as the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer as taught by LINDOFF. The motivation for doing so would have been to enable and disable transmitter and receiver circuitry at the appropriate times, to eliminate self-interference and to reduce power consumption (Lindoff, para. [0027]).
Regarding claim 12, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the guard period of Mt symbols for the downlink-to-uplink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of the minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and the active uplink BWP, and wherein the guard period for the uplink-to-downlink (UL-to-DL) switch is a value that is Nu symbols less a delta (A) value, wherein the delta (A) value is greater than zero and less than the Nu symbols (Examiner’s note: claim 12 further defines no selected alternative language of claim 1. The examiner selected guard location over guard period in the rejection of independent claim 1. Therefore, the claim further defines the guard period is not given a patentable weight).
Regarding claim 13, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, and, Zhang further teaches wherein determining the guard location for when the UE switches, comprises: configuring the guard location on an uplink carrier of the TDD band when the UE is to perform the downlink-to-uplink (DL-to-UP) switch (Zhang, para. 249, 257, 258: The terminal determines a location of each sub-band, a bandwidth and a bandwidth of a guard band through the content of the system information block. One possible way is to notify the control channel bandwidth at the edge of the band and the switch point of the downlink/uplink control channel in the radio frame/subframe. See also FIG. 6 which illustrates a schematic diagram of an TDD frame structure).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN and LINDOFF with the teaching of Zhang to include the above features into the system of SUN such as configuring the guard location on an uplink carrier of the TDD band when the UE is to perform the downlink-to-uplink switch as taught by Zhang. The motivation for doing so would have been to perform uplink communication and downlink communication on different frequency resources (Zhang, para. [0010]).
Regarding claim 14, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, wherein determining the guard location for when the UE switches, comprises:
configuring the guard location on either a downlink or an uplink carrier when the uplink communication is on the FDD band when the UE performs the downlink-to-uplink (DL-to-UL) switching (SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 63, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein).
Regarding claim 15, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, wherein determining the guard location for when the UE switches, comprises:
configuring the guard location on a downlink carrier when the downlink communication is on the TDD band when the UE performs the UL-to-DL switching (SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 63, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein).
Regarding claim 16, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, wherein determining the guard location for when the UE switches, comprises:
configuring the guard location on either a downlink carrier or an uplink carrier when the downlink communication is on the FDD band when the UE performs the UL-to-DL switching (SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein).
Regarding claim 17, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at the base station, a repetition transmissions from the UE over a plurality of slots (SUN, para. 51, 24, 83: The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include two slots), wherein the repetition transmissions are in one or both of a normal uplink (NUL) carrier or the SUL carrier (SUN, para. 51, 24, 83: The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include two slots. Each radio frame may thus include 20 slots with indices of 0 through 19. Each slot may include L symbol periods, e.g., seven symbol periods for a normal cyclic prefix (as shown in FIG. 3) or six symbol periods for an extended cyclic prefix).
Regarding claim 18, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 17, further comprising: detecting an interruption of the repetition transmission from the UE (SUN, para. 83: SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE))); and receiving on a new component carrier the repetition transmissions from the UE that are restarted (SUN, para. 83: SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE))).
Regarding claim 19, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 17, further comprising: detecting an interruption of the repetition transmission from the UE (SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein); and receiving on a new component carrier a portion of the repetition transmissions from the UE that had been interrupted (SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein).
Regarding claim 20, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 17, further comprising: detecting an interruption of the repetition transmission from the UE (SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein), wherein the UE abandons transmissions of remaining portion of the repetition transmission that was interrupted (SUN, Fig. 7, para. 24, 83: As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the DL data portion 704 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL short burst portion 706. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)). The foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric wireless communication structure, and alternative structures having similar features may exist without necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein).
Regarding claim 21, SUN discloses an apparatus (FIGS. 1-2: base station) for wireless communications, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions (Fig. 2: Memory 282); a processor communicatively coupled with the memory (Fig. 2: Processor 280 coupled to Memory 282), the processor configured to execute the instructions to: establish, by a base station, communication with a user equipment (UE) (SUN, para. 4: A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that can support communication for a number of user equipment (UEs), see also FIG. 9A, steps 902, 908); generate, by the base station, configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication (SUN. para. [0110]: FIG. 9E is an example of generating a random access radio network temporary identifier including a carrier frequency offset index. As shown in FIG. 9E, and by reference number 930, the BS 110 may generate a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) for the UE 120) by allocating (i) at least an anchor carrier for at least one of downlink communication or uplink communication and (ii) a supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier for the uplink communications (SUN, para. 24: A UE, such as a UE using a NR radio access technology (RAT), may use a supplementary uplink (SUL) configuration. In a SUL configuration, the UE may connect to a primary uplink carrier at a first frequency band, and may connect to a supplementary uplink carrier at a second frequency band different from the first frequency band [the first frequency band and/or the second frequency band may be associated with respective downlink carriers]); and transmit, by the base station, the configuration information to the UE for the bidirectional communication (SUN, FIG. 9A, para. 92, Step 902: the base station (BS) transmits RACH configuration information for all uplink carriers to the UE on a downlink carrier of a high band), wherein the UE switches between uplink and downlink communications in one or both of anchor carrier and SUL carrier based on the configuration information (SUN, para. 83: This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE))).
SUN does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determine one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP.
In the same field of endeavor, Zhang teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determine [[one or both of a guard period or]] a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information (Zhang, Fig. 10, para. [0252] [0257]: The terminal determines a location of each sub-band, a bandwidth and a bandwidth of a guard band through the content of the system information block. One possible way is to notify the control channel bandwidth at the edge of the band and the switch point of the downlink/uplink control channel in the radio frame/subframe, in the system information block), wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP (Examiner’s note: the claim uses alternative language such that determining one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE …, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP. The examiner is not giving patentable weight to the highlight limitation above since it’s tied to the guard period).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN with the teaching of UM to include the above features into the system of SUN such as generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determine a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information as taught by Zhang. The motivation for doing so would have been to perform uplink communication and downlink communication on different frequency resources (Zhang, para. [0010]).
SUN and Zhang do not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer.
In the same field of endeavor, Lindoff teaches wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer (Lindoff, para. [0026]: FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of part of a half-duplex mobile terminal 400 according to some embodiments of the present invention, including a radio transceiver 410, an application processor 450, and control processor 460. As pictured, the radio transceiver 460 is only capable of half-duplex operation, in that receiver 430 and transmitter 440 are connected to the antenna through a duplexing switch 420, rather than through a duplexing filter. The duplexing switch is controlled by a control processor 460, which selects between a transmit mode and a receive mode at appropriate times. Thus, receiver 430 and transmitter 440 cannot operate simultaneously).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN and Zhang with the teaching of LINDOFF to include the above features such as the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer as taught by LINDOFF. The motivation for doing so would have been to enable and disable transmitter and receiver circuitry at the appropriate times, to eliminate self-interference and to reduce power consumption (Lindoff, para. [0027]).
Regarding claim 23, SUN discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions (FIGS. 1-2: Network Controller 130), executable by a processor, for wireless communications, comprising instructions for: establishing, by a base station, communication with a user equipment (UE) (SUN, para. 4: A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that can support communication for a number of user equipment (UEs), see also FIG. 9A, steps 902, 908); generating, by the base station, configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication (SUN. para. [0110]: FIG. 9E is an example of generating a random access radio network temporary identifier including a carrier frequency offset index. As shown in FIG. 9E, and by reference number 930, the BS 110 may generate a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) for the UE 120) by allocating (i) at least an anchor carrier for at least one of downlink communication or uplink communication and (ii) a supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier for the uplink communication (SUN, para. 24: A UE, such as a UE using a NR radio access technology (RAT), may use a supplementary uplink (SUL) configuration. In a SUL configuration, the UE may connect to a primary uplink carrier at a first frequency band, and may connect to a supplementary uplink carrier at a second frequency band different from the first frequency band [the first frequency band and/or the second frequency band may be associated with respective downlink carriers]), wherein the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier are in at least one of a time division duplex (TDD) band or a frequency division duplex (FDD) band (SUN, para. 24: In some aspects, the first frequency band may be a time division duplexing (TDD) frequency band or a frequency division duplexing (FDD) frequency band. In some aspects, the second frequency band may be a TDD frequency band, may be an FDD frequency band, or may be an uplink-only frequency band); and transmitting, by the base station, the configuration information to the UE for the bidirectional communication (SUN, FIG. 9A, para. 92, Step 902, 24: the base station (BS) transmits RACH configuration information for all uplink carriers to the UE on a downlink carrier of a high band), wherein the UE switches between uplink and downlink communications in one or both of anchor carrier and SUL carrier based on the configuration information (SUN, para. 83: This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE))).
SUN does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP.
In the same field of endeavor, Zhang teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining [[one or both of a guard period or]] a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information (Zhang, Fig. 10, para. [0252] [0257]: The terminal determines a location of each sub-band, a bandwidth and a bandwidth of a guard band through the content of the system information block. One possible way is to notify the control channel bandwidth at the edge of the band and the switch point of the downlink/uplink control channel in the radio frame/subframe, in the system information block), wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP (Examiner’s note: the claim uses alternative language such that determining one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE …, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP. The examiner is not giving patentable weight to the highlight limitation above since it’s tied to the guard period).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN with the teaching of UM to include the above features into the system of SUN such as generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information as taught by Zhang. The motivation for doing so would have been to perform uplink communication and downlink communication on different frequency resources (Zhang, para. [0010]).
SUN and Zhang do not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer.
In the same field of endeavor, Lindoff teaches wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer (Lindoff, para. [0026]: FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of part of a half-duplex mobile terminal 400 according to some embodiments of the present invention, including a radio transceiver 410, an application processor 450, and control processor 460. As pictured, the radio transceiver 460 is only capable of half-duplex operation, in that receiver 430 and transmitter 440 are connected to the antenna through a duplexing switch 420, rather than through a duplexing filter. The duplexing switch is controlled by a control processor 460, which selects between a transmit mode and a receive mode at appropriate times. Thus, receiver 430 and transmitter 440 cannot operate simultaneously).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN and Zhang with the teaching of LINDOFF to include the above features such as the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer as taught by LINDOFF. The motivation for doing so would have been to enable and disable transmitter and receiver circuitry at the appropriate times, to eliminate self-interference and to reduce power consumption (Lindoff, para. [0027]).
Regarding claim 25, SUN discloses an apparatus (FIGS. 1-2: base station 130) for wireless communications, comprising: means for establishing, by the apparatus, communication with a user equipment (UE) (SUN, para. 4: A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that can support communication for a number of user equipment (UEs), see also FIG. 9A, steps 902, 908); means for generating, by the apparatus, configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication (SUN. para. [0110]: FIG. 9E is an example of generating a random access radio network temporary identifier including a carrier frequency offset index. As shown in FIG. 9E, and by reference number 930, the BS 110 may generate a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) for the UE 120) by allocating at least an anchor carrier for allocating (i) at least an anchor carrier for at least one of downlink communication or uplink communication and (ii) a supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier for the uplink communication and a supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier for uplink communications (SUN, para. 24: A UE, such as a UE using a NR radio access technology (RAT), may use a supplementary uplink (SUL) configuration. In a SUL configuration, the UE may connect to a primary uplink carrier at a first frequency band, and may connect to a supplementary uplink carrier at a second frequency band different from the first frequency band [the first frequency band and/or the second frequency band may be associated with respective downlink carriers]), wherein the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier are in at least one of a time division duplex (TDD) band or a frequency division duplex (FDD) band (SUN, para. 24: In some aspects, the first frequency band may be a time division duplexing (TDD) frequency band or a frequency division duplexing (FDD) frequency band. In some aspects, the second frequency band may be a TDD frequency band, may be an FDD frequency band, or may be an uplink-only frequency band); and means for transmitting, by the apparatus, the configuration information to the UE for the bidirectional communication (SUN, FIG. 9A, para. 92, Step 902, 24: the base station (BS) transmits RACH configuration information for all uplink carriers to the UE on a downlink carrier of a high band), wherein the UE switches between uplink and downlink communications in one or both of anchor carrier and SUL carrier based on the configuration information (SUN, para. 83: This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE))).
SUN does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP.
In the same field of endeavor, Zhang teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining [[one or both of a guard period or]] a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information (Zhang, Fig. 10, para. [0252] [0257]: The terminal determines a location of each sub-band, a bandwidth and a bandwidth of a guard band through the content of the system information block. One possible way is to notify the control channel bandwidth at the edge of the band and the switch point of the downlink/uplink control channel in the radio frame/subframe, in the system information block), wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP (Examiner’s note: the claim uses alternative language such that determining one or both of a guard period or guard location for when the UE …, wherein the guard period of one or more symbols for at least one of a downlink-to-uplink (UL-to-DL) switch or an uplink-to-downlink (DL-to-UP) switch is determined based on a function of a minimum subcarrier spacing (SCS) of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an active uplink BWP. The examiner is not giving patentable weight to the highlight limitation above since it’s tied to the guard period).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN with the teaching of UM to include the above features into the system of SUN such as generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication comprises determining a guard location for when the UE switches between the uplink and downlink communications in one or both of the anchor carrier and the SUL carrier based on the configuration information as taught by Zhang. The motivation for doing so would have been to perform uplink communication and downlink communication on different frequency resources (Zhang, para. [0010]).
SUN and Zhang do not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer.
In the same field of endeavor, Lindoff teaches wherein the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer (Lindoff, para. [0026]: FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of part of a half-duplex mobile terminal 400 according to some embodiments of the present invention, including a radio transceiver 410, an application processor 450, and control processor 460. As pictured, the radio transceiver 460 is only capable of half-duplex operation, in that receiver 430 and transmitter 440 are connected to the antenna through a duplexing switch 420, rather than through a duplexing filter. The duplexing switch is controlled by a control processor 460, which selects between a transmit mode and a receive mode at appropriate times. Thus, receiver 430 and transmitter 440 cannot operate simultaneously).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN and Zhang with the teaching of LINDOFF to include the above features such as the UE is a half-duplex device that lacks a duplexer as taught by LINDOFF. The motivation for doing so would have been to enable and disable transmitter and receiver circuitry at the appropriate times, to eliminate self-interference and to reduce power consumption (Lindoff, para. [0027]).
12. Claims 2-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUN et al. (US 20180376510 A1), Zhang et al. (US 20200221402 A1), Lindoff et al. (US 20090135748 A1) and further in view of Byun et al. (US 20200260324 A1).
Regarding claim 2, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum; and configuring uplink transmission on the SUL carrier or the TDD of FR1.
In the same field of endeavor, Byun discloses wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, para. 72, Table 2: Table 2 shows FR1 may include a frequency band of 410 MHz to 7125 MHz); and configuring uplink transmission on the SUL carrier or the TDD of FR1 (Byun, para. 138: In conjunction with a UL/DL carrier pair (frequency division duplex (FDD) band) or a bidirectional carrier (time division duplex (TDD) band), a UE may be configured with additional, supplementary uplink (SUL). SUL differs from the aggregated uplink in that the UE may be scheduled to transmit either on the supplementary uplink or on the uplink of the carrier being supplemented).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features into the system of SUN such as configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Regarding claim 3, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the FDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum. However, Byun teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the FDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, para. 72, Table 2: Table 2 shows FR1 may include a frequency band of 410 MHz to 7125 MHz); and configuring uplink transmission on the SUL carrier in the FDD band of FR1 (Byun, para. 138: In conjunction with a UL/DL carrier pair (frequency division duplex (FDD) band) or a bidirectional carrier (time division duplex (TDD) band), a UE may be configured with additional, supplementary uplink (SUL). SUL differs from the aggregated uplink in that the UE may be scheduled to transmit either on the supplementary uplink or on the uplink of the carrier being supplemented).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features into the system of SUN such as configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the FDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Regarding claim 4, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2), wherein the FR2 includes a frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum. However, Byun teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2), wherein the FR2 includes a frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, Table 2, para. 72: TABLE 2 shows FR2 includes Frequency Corresponding Subcarrier Range designation frequency range Spacing FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz) and configuring uplink transmission on the SUL carrier of FR1 or the TDD band of the FR2 (Byun, para. 138: In conjunction with a UL/DL carrier pair (frequency division duplex (FDD) band) or a bidirectional carrier (time division duplex (TDD) band), a UE may be configured with additional, supplementary uplink (SUL). SUL differs from the aggregated uplink in that the UE may be scheduled to transmit either on the supplementary uplink or on the uplink of the carrier being supplemented).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features such as configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2), wherein the FR2 includes a frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Regarding claim 5, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2), wherein the FR2 includes a frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum. However, Byun teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2), wherein the FR2 includes a frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, Table 2, para. 72: TABLE 2 shows FR2 includes Frequency Corresponding Subcarrier Range designation frequency range Spacing FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz); and configuring uplink transmission on the FDD band or the TDD band of the FR2 (Byun, para. 138: In conjunction with a UL/DL carrier pair (frequency division duplex (FDD) band) or a bidirectional carrier (time division duplex (TDD) band), a UE may be configured with additional, supplementary uplink (SUL). SUL differs from the aggregated uplink in that the UE may be scheduled to transmit either on the supplementary uplink or on the uplink of the carrier being supplemented).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features such as configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2), wherein the FR2 includes a frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Regarding claim 6, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2) or the TDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum. and configuring uplink transmission on the TDD band the FR1 or the FR2. However, Byun teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2) or the TDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, para. 72: TABLE 2 shows Frequency Corresponding Subcarrier Range designation frequency range Spacing FR1 410 MHz-7125 MHz and FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz); and configuring uplink transmission on the TDD band the FR1 or the FR2 (Byun, para. 138: In conjunction with a UL/DL carrier pair (frequency division duplex (FDD) band) or a bidirectional carrier (time division duplex (TDD) band), a UE may be configured with additional, supplementary uplink (SUL). SUL differs from the aggregated uplink in that the UE may be scheduled to transmit either on the supplementary uplink or on the uplink of the carrier being supplemented).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features such as configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the TDD band of frequency range 2 (FR2) or the TDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Regarding claim 7, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the FDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum, and configuring uplink transmission on either an uplink carrier of the FDD band in FR1 or the SUL carrier in FR1. However, Byun teaches teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the FDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, para. 72, Table 2: Table 2 shows FR1 may include a frequency band of 410 MHz to 7125 MHz); and configuring uplink transmission on either an uplink carrier of the FDD band in FR1 or the SUL carrier in FR1 (Byun, para. 138: In conjunction with a UL/DL carrier pair (frequency division duplex (FDD) band) or a bidirectional carrier (time division duplex (TDD) band), a UE may be configured with additional, supplementary uplink (SUL). SUL differs from the aggregated uplink in that the UE may be scheduled to transmit either on the supplementary uplink or on the uplink of the carrier being supplemented).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features such as configuring downlink transmission from the base station to the UE on the anchor carrier in the FDD band of frequency range 1 (FR1), wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Regarding claim 8, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring an uplink bandwidth part (BWP) based on downlink control information (DCI) that is transmitted on a downlink carrier of either the TDD band in one of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2) or the FDD band in the FR1, wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum. However, Byun teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring an uplink bandwidth part (BWP) based on downlink control information (DCI) that is transmitted on a downlink carrier of either the TDD band in one of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2) or the FDD band in the FR1, wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, para. 72: TABLE 2 shows Frequency Corresponding Subcarrier Range designation frequency range Spacing FR1 410 MHz-7125 MHz and FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features such as configuring an uplink bandwidth part (BWP) based on downlink control information (DCI) that is transmitted on a downlink carrier of either the TDD band in one of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2) or the FDD band in the FR1, wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Regarding claim 9, SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF disclose the method of claim 1, the references fail to teach wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring an uplink bandwidth part (BWP) using radio resource control (RRC) signaling on the downlink carrier, wherein the RRC is either dedicated for the UE or for a group of UEs, and wherein the RRC signaling is transmitted in the TDD band in one of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2) or the FDD band in the FR1, wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum. However, Byun teaches wherein generating the configuration information for the UE for bidirectional communication, comprises: configuring an uplink bandwidth part (BWP) using radio resource control (RRC) signaling on the downlink carrier, wherein the RRC is either dedicated for the UE or for a group of UEs (Byun, para. 120: RRC messages are transferred over F1-C. The gNB-CU is responsible for the encoding of the dedicated RRC message with assistance information provided by gNB-DU. This function also allows gNB-DU to report to gNB-CU if the downlink RRC message has been successfully delivered to UE), and wherein the RRC signaling is transmitted in the TDD band in one of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2) or the FDD band in the FR1, wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum (Byun, para. 72: TABLE 2 shows Frequency Corresponding Subcarrier Range designation frequency range Spacing FR1 410 MHz-7125 MHz and FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to combine the teaching of SUN, Zhang, and LINDOFF with the teaching of Byun to include the above features such as the RRC signaling is transmitted in the TDD band in one of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2) or the FDD band in the FR1, wherein the FR1 includes a frequency range of 410 MHz — 7.125 GHz and the FR2 includes the frequency range of 24.25 GHz — 52.6 GHz of an electromagnetic spectrum as taught by Byun. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity (Byun, [0003]).
Conclusion
13. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEAN F VOLTAIRE whose telephone number is (571)272-3953. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6:30 PM.
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/JEAN F VOLTAIRE/Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417
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