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
This is in response to an amendment/response filed 10/10/2024.
No claims have been cancelled.
No claims have been added.
Claims 1-21 are now pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/30/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 7-10 of the remarks, in regard to the independent claims, the Applicant disagrees with the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. US 20220225224 (hereinafter “Shi”) in view of 3GPP TS 36.331 version 14.13.0 Release 14 (hereinafter “NPL1”)
Specifically, the Applicant remarks:
Dl-preference merely indicates the CE mode that UE prefers for different maximum PDSCH bandwidth. It is not related to determining a particular target frequency domain resource used to transmit the first message to the terminal device much less determining the particular frequency domain resource used to transmit the first message based on the coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information. NPL1 is silent on discussing a corresponding relationship between different coverage enhancement levels and corresponding frequency resource to be used, much less using this corresponding relationship between different coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency resource, to determine the particular target frequency resource that corresponds to the specific coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information, and using this particular target frequency resource to transmit the message to the terminal device.
Applicant respectfully submits the Office Action fails to cite any passages in Shi that disclose, teach, or suggest a corresponding relationship between the coverage enhancement level and the corresponding frequency domain resource, much less using the coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information to determine the target frequency domain resource that is used to send the first message to the terminal device.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Regarding (1), NPL1 teaches a UE sending "UEAssistanceInformation message" to the eNB to specify preferred bandwidth for both downlink and uplink transmission. Each bandwidth specification corresponds to a particular CE mode (e.g. CE mode usage in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage and CE mode usage in 5MHz bandwidth). The examiner interpreted bandwidth as "frequency domain resource" as bandwidth represents the width of a specific range of frequencies used to transmit and receive signals. This specific range of frequencies includes channel bandwidth, bandwidth part (BWP), and resource blocks which are all frequency domain resources. Therefore, NPL1 teaches this limitation.
Regarding (2), the combination of the teachings of NPL1 and Shi teach “corresponding relationship between the coverage enhancement level and the corresponding frequency domain resource, much less using the coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information to determine the target frequency domain resource that is used to send the first message to the terminal device”. Please refer to the reasoning pertaining to NPL1 detailed above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6, 13, 14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. US 20220225224 (hereinafter “Shi”) in view of 3GPP TS 36.331 version 14.13.0 Release 14 (hereinafter “NPL1”)
As to claim 1 and 13 (claim 1 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 13):
Shi discloses:
An apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; one or more non-transitory computer readable memories coupled to the one or more processors and storing programming to be executed by the one or more processors, the programming including instructions (FIG. 35 and “a service node including: a processor 61 and a storage device 62”, Shi [0388])
A communication method, comprising: sending a configuration information set to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information set comprises at least one piece of configuration information, the configuration information comprises transmission configuration information and frequency domain information indicating at least one frequency domain resource, and the transmission configuration information is associated with the frequency domain information; (“FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE receives the network configuration information from a system message or an RRC release message. The network configuration information includes frequency configuration information and time configuration information.”, Shi [0157])
and sending a first message to the terminal device based on the target frequency domain information. (“In an embodiment, the cell network information is reported to the service node by the UE using any one of the above network information reporting methods applied to the user equipment. After receiving the cell network information, the service node reports the cell network information to the core network, and the core network performs targeted charging, information control, service provision and the like on the UE according to the cell network information.”, Shi [0225])
Shi as described above does not explicitly teach:
receiving assistance information of the terminal device, wherein the assistance information is used to determine a target frequency domain resource from the configuration information set, wherein the assistance information indicates a coverage enhancement level, wherein there is a corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain resource, and the coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information is used to determine the target frequency domain resource;
However, NPL1 further teaches receiving assistance information from the terminal which includes:
receiving assistance information of the terminal device, wherein the assistance information is used to determine a target frequency domain resource from the configuration information set, wherein the assistance information indicates a coverage enhancement level, wherein there is a corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain resource, and the coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information is used to determine the target frequency domain resource; (“The UEAssistanceInformation message is used for the indication of UE assistance information to the eNB.”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“BW-Preference-r14 ::= SEQUENCE {
dl-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5, mhz20 } OPTIONAL,
ul-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5} OPTIONAL
}”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“dl-Preference indicates UE's preference on configuration of maximum PDSCH bandwidth. The value mhz1dot4 corresponds to CE
mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, mhz5 corresponds to CE mode usage in 5MHz bandwidth, and mhz20 corresponds to CE mode usage in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage.”, NPL1 [page 313]) (Examiner’s Note: as listed above, ‘mhz1dott4 corresponds to CE mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, ‘mhz5 corresponds to CE mode in 5MHz bandwidth, and ‘mhz20’ corresponds to CE mode in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage – this maps to “corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain information” and this is also used to determine the target frequency domain information)
Shi and NPL1 are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as described in NPL1 into Shi. By modifying the method to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as taught by NPL1, the benefits of improved configuration (NPL1 [page 311] and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
As to claim 2 and 14 (claim 2 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 14)
Shi as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a coverage enhancement level or a DRX cycle threshold
However, NPL1 further teaches transmission configuration information that includes coverage enhancement level which includes:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a coverage enhancement level or a DRX cycle threshold (“The UEAssistanceInformation message is used for the indication of UE assistance information to the eNB.”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“BW-Preference-r14 ::= SEQUENCE {
dl-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5, mhz20 } OPTIONAL,
ul-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5} OPTIONAL
}”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“dl-Preference indicates UE's preference on configuration of maximum PDSCH bandwidth. The value mhz1dot4 corresponds to CE
mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, mhz5 corresponds to CE mode usage in 5MHz bandwidth, and mhz20 corresponds to CE mode usage in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage.”, NPL1 [page 313]) (Examiner’s Note: as listed above, ‘mhz1dott4 corresponds to CE mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, ‘mhz5 corresponds to CE mode in 5MHz bandwidth, and ‘mhz20’ corresponds to CE mode in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage – this maps to “corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain information” and this is also used to determine the target frequency domain information)
Shi and NPL1 are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include transmission configuration information that includes coverage enhancement level as described in NPL1 into Shi. By modifying the method to include transmission configuration information that includes coverage enhancement level as taught by NPL1, the benefits of improved configuration (NPL1 [page 311] and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
As to claim 6 and 18 (claim 6 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 18):
Shi discloses:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode (“FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE is in an RRC_IDLE state.”, Shi [0090])
Claim(s) 3, 5, 15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of NPL1, as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20220159568 A1; hereinafter “Kim”)
As to claim 3 and 15 (claim 3 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 15):
The combination of Shi and NPL1 as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the assistance information further comprises a DRX cycle
However, Kim further teaches DRX cycle in an assistance information which includes:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the assistance information further comprises a DRX cycle (“The UE assistance information may include, for example, one or at least one combination of the following parameters; [0161] DRX configuration information preferred by the UE [0162] For example, DRX related timer (onDurationTimer, InactivityTimer, HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, HARQ-RTT-TimerUL, RetransmissionTimerDL, RetransmissionTimerUL, DRX cycle and start offset)”, Kim [0152])
Shi, NPL1, and Kim are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi and NPL1 as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from Kim, to derive the limitations of claim 3, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification by providing assistance information including DRX cycle to the base station in order to enable the base station to provide targeted communications to the terminal.
As to claim 5 and 17 (claim 5 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 17):
The combination of Shi and NPL1 as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency domain information is carrier information
However, Kim further teaches wherein the frequency domain information comprises carrier information which includes:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency domain information is carrier information (“DCI format 1_1 may be used as a non-fallback DCI that schedules a PDSCH (indicating configuration information). In this case, a CRC may be scrambled by a C-RNTI. DCI format 1_1 in which CRC is scrambled by the C-RNTI may include, for example, the following information. TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Carrier indicator - 0 or 3 bits Identifier for DCI formats - [1] bits Bandwidth part indicator - 0, 1 or 2 bits Frequency domain resource assignment For resource allocation type 0, ┌log.sub.2(N.sub.RB.sup.DL, BWP/P┐ bits For resource allocation type 1, ┌log.sub.2(N.sub.RB.sup.DL, BWP(N.sub.RB.sup.DL, BWP + 1)/2)”, Kim [0075])
Shi, NPL1, and Kim are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi and NPL1 as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from Kim, to derive the limitations of claim 5, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to provide specific bandwidth information to the terminal for further communications.
Claim(s) 4 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of NPL1, as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Berggren et al. (WO 2020102159 A1; hereinafter “Berggren”).
As to claim 4 and 16 (claim 4 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 16):
The combination of Shi and NPL1 as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second message from a core network device, wherein the second message comprises the assistance information
However, Berggen further teaches receiving assistance information as a second message which includes:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second message from a core network device, wherein the second message comprises the assistance information (“Initially, base station 74 and UE 72 may perform a RRC connection reconfiguration 76. Subsequently, the base station 74 may optionally transmit an assistance information configuration signal 78, which may contain configuration information as described above. The UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 82. Message 82 may be optionally triggered by a satisfied condition 80 (resulting in a second message with assistance information). The condition 80 and/or the content of message 82 may subject to the configuration information include in signal 78. Upon receiving message 82, the base station 74 transmits an assistance information response signal 84. As described above, signal 84 may also include configuration information similar to signal 78. As shown in FIG. 5, upon satisfaction of condition 86, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information repeat request 88. In accordance with another aspect, the network may suspend and resume assistance information transmissions. For instance, the base station 74 may transmit a stop signal 90, which causes the UE 72 to suspend transmissions 92. The base station 74 may transmit a restart signal 94 to resume transmissions by the UE 72. For instance, after receiving the restart signal 94, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 98 (= third message with assistance information) upon optional satisfaction of condition 96”, Berggen [P. 26, Line 27 to P. 27, Line 11; and Fig. 5])
Shi, NPL1, and Berggen are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi and NPL1 as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from Berggren, to derive the limitations of claim 4, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to repeat assistance information when needed.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of NPL1, as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Rico Alvarino et al. (US 20200351844 A1; hereinafter “Rico Alvarino”).
As to claim 7 and 19 (claim 7 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 19):
Shi discloses:
An apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer readable memories coupled to the one or more processors and storing programming to be executed by the one or more processors (“An embodiment of the present application further provides a user equipment, including:[0034] one or more processors; and [0035] a storage device configured to store one or more programs”, Shi [0033])
A communication method, wherein the method comprises: receiving a configuration information set from a first network device, wherein the configuration information set comprises at least one piece of configuration information, the configuration information comprises transmission configuration information and frequency domain information indicating at least one frequency domain resource, (“FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE receives the network configuration information from a system message or an RRC release message. The network configuration information includes frequency configuration information and time configuration information.”, Shi [0157])
determining target frequency domain resource based on the configuration information set and assistance information, (“In this embodiment, the UE receives the measurement control information sent from the service node, determines whether to report the cell assistance information according to the received measurement control information, and reports, when determining that the cell assistance information needs to be reported, the measurement report to the service node. The measurement report contains the cell assistance information; [0203] In an embodiment, reporting the assistance information to the service node includes: reporting the assistance information for a target cell satisfying a measurement event configured for the service node; [0210] In an embodiment, the cell assistance information capability is in information granularity of at least one of:…[0212] frequency band, which indicates that the user equipment supports the cell assistance information function in this frequency band; and [0213] band combination, which indicates that the user equipment, when operating in a frequency band of the band combination, supports the cell assistance information function on the frequency band in the band combination; [0214] frequency band characteristic, which indicates that the user equipment, when operating in the frequency band with the frequency band characteristic, supports the cell assistance information function.”, Shi [0197])
(“After receiving the cell network information, the service node reports the cell network information to the core network, and the core network performs targeted charging, information control, service provision and the like on the UE according to the cell network information”, Shi [0225])
Shi as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein each piece of frequency domain information in the configuration information is associated with a corresponding quantity of repeated transmission times;
wherein the assistance information indicates a coverage enhancement level, wherein there is a corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain resource, and the coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information is used to determine the target frequency domain resource;
However, NPL1 further teaches receiving assistance information from the terminal which includes:
wherein the assistance information indicates a coverage enhancement level, wherein there is a corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain resource, and the coverage enhancement level indicated by the assistance information is used to determine the target frequency domain resource; (“The UEAssistanceInformation message is used for the indication of UE assistance information to the eNB.”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“BW-Preference-r14 ::= SEQUENCE {
dl-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5, mhz20 } OPTIONAL,
ul-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5} OPTIONAL
}”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“dl-Preference indicates UE's preference on configuration of maximum PDSCH bandwidth. The value mhz1dot4 corresponds to CE
mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, mhz5 corresponds to CE mode usage in 5MHz bandwidth, and mhz20 corresponds to CE mode usage in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage.”, NPL1 [page 313]) (Examiner’s Note: as listed above, ‘mhz1dott4 corresponds to CE mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, ‘mhz5 corresponds to CE mode in 5MHz bandwidth, and ‘mhz20’ corresponds to CE mode in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage – this maps to “corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain information” and this is also used to determine the target frequency domain information)
Shi and NPL1 are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as described in NPL1 into Shi. By modifying the method to include receiving assistance information from the terminal as taught by NPL1, the benefits of improved configuration (NPL1 [page 311] and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
The combination of Shi and NPL1 as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein each piece of frequency domain information in the configuration information is associated with a corresponding quantity of repeated transmission times;
However, Rico Alvarino further teaches frequency domain information that is associated with quantity of repeated transmission times which includes:
wherein each piece of frequency domain information in the configuration information is associated with a corresponding quantity of repeated transmission times; (“In some examples, the uplink transmission manager 1115 may receive the first uplink transmission according to the first frequency hopping configuration for the first CE mode using the first frequency hopping interval based on the CE mode indicator. In some examples, the uplink transmission manager 1115 may receive the first uplink transmission according to the second frequency hopping configuration for the second CE mode using the second frequency hopping interval based on the repetition level indicator indicating a number of repetitions for the first uplink transmission satisfying a threshold number of repetitions.”, Rico Alvarino [0325])
Shi, Rico Alvarino, and NPL1 are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include frequency domain information that is associated with quantity of repeated transmission times as described in Rico Alvarino into Shi as modified by NPL1. By modifying the method to include frequency domain information that is associated with quantity of repeated transmission times as taught by Rico Alvarino, the benefits of improved configuration (NPL1 [page 311], Rico Alvarino [0325]), and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
As to claim 8:
Shi as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a coverage enhancement levelor a paging cycle
However, NPL1 further teaches transmission configuration information that includes coverage enhancement level which includes:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a coverage enhancement levelor a paging cycle (“The UEAssistanceInformation message is used for the indication of UE assistance information to the eNB.”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“BW-Preference-r14 ::= SEQUENCE {
dl-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5, mhz20 } OPTIONAL,
ul-Preference-r14 ENUMERATED {mhz1dot4, mhz5} OPTIONAL
}”, NPL1 [page 311]) (“dl-Preference indicates UE's preference on configuration of maximum PDSCH bandwidth. The value mhz1dot4 corresponds to CE
mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, mhz5 corresponds to CE mode usage in 5MHz bandwidth, and mhz20 corresponds to CE mode usage in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage.”, NPL1 [page 313]) (Examiner’s Note: as listed above, ‘mhz1dott4 corresponds to CE mode usage in 1.4MHz bandwidth, ‘mhz5 corresponds to CE mode in 5MHz bandwidth, and ‘mhz20’ corresponds to CE mode in 20MHz bandwidth or normal coverage – this maps to “corresponding relationship between each coverage enhancement level and corresponding frequency domain information” and this is also used to determine the target frequency domain information)
Shi and NPL1 are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include transmission configuration information that includes coverage enhancement level as described in NPL1 into Shi. By modifying the method to include transmission configuration information that includes coverage enhancement level as taught by NPL1, the benefits of improved configuration (NPL1 [page 311] and Shi [0225]) are achieved.
As to claim 12:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the configuration information set is received while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode. (“FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating implementation of reporting cell network information according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the UE is in an RRC_IDLE state.”, Shi [0090])
Claim(s) 9 and 11 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of NPL1 and Rico Alvarino, as applied to claim 7, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20220159568 A1; hereinafter “Kim”).
As to claim 9:
The combination of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and NPL1 as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the assistance information comprises DRX cycle
However, Kim further teaches DRX cycle in an assistance information which includes:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the assistance information comprises DRX cycle (“The UE assistance information may include, for example, one or at least one combination of the following parameters; [0161] DRX configuration information preferred by the UE [0162] For example, DRX related timer (onDurationTimer, InactivityTimer, HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, HARQ-RTT-TimerUL, RetransmissionTimerDL, RetransmissionTimerUL, DRX cycle and start offset)”, Kim [0152])
Shi, NPL1, Rico Alvarino, and Kim are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and NPL1 as applied to claim 7, based on the above teaching from Kim, to derive the limitations of claim 9, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification by providing assistance information including DRX cycle to the base station in order to enable the base station to provide targeted communications to the terminal.
As to claim 11 and 21 (claim 11 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 21):
The combination of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and NPL1 as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the frequency domain information is carrier information
However, Kim further teaches wherein the frequency domain information comprises carrier information which includes:
The method according to claim 7, wherein the frequency domain information is carrier information (“DCI format 1_1 may be used as a non-fallback DCI that schedules a PDSCH (indicating configuration information). In this case, a CRC may be scrambled by a C-RNTI. DCI format 1_1 in which CRC is scrambled by the C-RNTI may include, for example, the following information. TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Carrier indicator - 0 or 3 bits Identifier for DCI formats - [1] bits Bandwidth part indicator - 0, 1 or 2 bits Frequency domain resource assignment For resource allocation type 0, ┌log.sub.2(N.sub.RB.sup.DL, BWP/P┐ bits For resource allocation type 1, ┌log.sub.2(N.sub.RB.sup.DL, BWP(N.sub.RB.sup.DL, BWP + 1)/2)”, Kim [0075])
Shi, NPL1, Rico Alvarino, and Kim are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and NPL1 as applied to claim 7, based on the above teaching from Kim, to derive the limitations of claim 11, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to provide specific bandwidth information to the terminal for further communications.
Claim(s) 10 and 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi in view of NPL1 and Rico Alvarino, as applied to claim 7, and further in view of Berggren et al. (WO 2020102159 A1; hereinafter “Berggren”).
As to claim 10 and 20 (claim 10 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 20):
The combination of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and NPL1 as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 7, further comprising: sending the assistance information to the first network device or a second network device; or sending a fourth message to a core network device, wherein the fourth message comprises the assistance information.
However, Berggen further teaches receiving second message from network device which includes:
The method according to claim 7, further comprising: sending the assistance information to the first network device or a second network device; or sending a fourth message to a core network device, wherein the fourth message comprises the assistance information. (“Initially, base station 74 and UE 72 may perform a RRC connection reconfiguration 76. Subsequently, the base station 74 may optionally transmit an assistance information configuration signal 78, which may contain configuration information as described above. The UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 82. Message 82 may be optionally triggered by a satisfied condition 80 (resulting in a second message with assistance information). The condition 80 and/or the content of message 82 may subject to the configuration information include in signal 78. Upon receiving message 82, the base station 74 transmits an assistance information response signal 84. As described above, signal 84 may also include configuration information similar to signal 78. As shown in FIG. 5, upon satisfaction of condition 86, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information repeat request 88. In accordance with another aspect, the network may suspend and resume assistance information transmissions. For instance, the base station 74 may transmit a stop signal 90, which causes the UE 72 to suspend transmissions 92. The base station 74 may transmit a restart signal 94 to resume transmissions by the UE 72. For instance, after receiving the restart signal 94, the UE 72 may transmit an assistance information message 98 (= third message with assistance information) upon optional satisfaction of condition 96”, Berggen [P. 26, Line 27 to P. 27, Line 11; and Fig. 5])
Shi, NPL1, Rico Alvarino, and Berggen are analogous because they pertain to exchanging configuration information between a network node and terminal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Shi, Rico Alvarino, and NPL1 as applied to claim 7, based on the above teaching from Berggren, to derive the limitations of claim 10, because the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to repeat assistance information when needed.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW C KIM whose telephone number is (703)756-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM (PST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at (571) 272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471