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
Applicant’s amendment filed on 05/06/2026 has been entered. Independent Claims 1, 11, 20, and 26 have been amended. No dependent claims have been amended. No claims have been cancelled. Claims 1, 7-11, 16-20, 26, and 31-38 are still pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments/amendments with respect to Claim Objections have been considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the Objections are withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments filed on 05/06/2026 on pages 2-3 of applicant’s remark regarding Claims 1, 11, 20, and 26 under 35 USC § 103. The applicant argues that Yoshimura fails to teach determining overlapping SBFD in the full-duplex to be used for a half-duplex symbol and a full-duplex symbol. However, the determination step does not include the language “wherein the partially full-duplex slot includes at least one half-duplex symbol and at least one full-duplex symbol”, that language is in the communicate step. The communication step is better understood through the combination of Yoshimura in view of Luo, which does show the modification in question, as shown below in the Claim Rejection. Thus, the applicant here fails to patentably distinguish the claimed invention of determining overlapping SBFD in the full-duplex to be used for a half-duplex symbol and a full-duplex symbol from the teachings of Yoshimura. The applicant’s arguments have been fully considered, but are not persuasive.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 4-11, 14-20, 23-25, 26, 29, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abotabl (Pub. No.: US 20220116961 A1, hereafter “Abotabl”) in view of Yoshimura (Pub. No.: US 20240155619 A1, hereafter “Yoshimura”), and further in view of Luo (Pub. No.: US 20210298064 A1, hereafter “Luo”).
Regarding Claim 1, Claim 11, Claim 20, and Claim 26
Abotabl teaches a Method and Apparatus Comprising
An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (Abotabl Fig. 12: 102, ¶0087), comprising: a memory (Abotabl Fig. 14: 360, ¶0108; Abotabl teaches a UE with memory); and at least one processor coupled to the memory (Abotabl Fig. 14: 1404, ¶0108) and configured to: receive an indication (Abotabl Fig. 12: 1206, ¶0089) of a configured grant (CG) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) or a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) (Abotabl ¶0089: SPS transmission) configuration for allocating CG or SPS occasions (Abotabl Fig. 12: 1206, downlink parameters; Abotabl teaches a UE receiving downlink parameters through SPS configurations);
Abotabl does not explicitly teach
determine whether the CG or SPS occasion overlaps in at least one sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbol in a partially full-duplex slot based on the CG or SPS configuration;
However, Yoshimura teaches
determine whether the CG or SPS occasion overlaps in at least one sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbol in a partially full-duplex slot (Yoshimura Fig. 2: SBFD Region, i.e. SubBand Full Duplex) based on the CG or SPS configuration (Yoshimura ¶0032: can be configured in a semi-static manner; Yoshimura teaches that the resource grid can be configured for the SBFD in a semi-static configuration for when there is an overlap between SPS and FD);
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Abotabl with Yoshimura to include having a resource grid configured, as taught by Yoshimura in ¶0026, ¶0032, and ¶0034, to increase uplink power, and thus, increase uplink coverage.
Abotabl in view of Yoshimura does not explicitly teach
communicate with a base station according to a modification to the CG or SPS occasion based on the CG or SPS occasion overlapping in at least one SBFD symbol in the partially full-duplex slot includes at least one half-duplex symbol and at least one full-duplex symbol, wherein the modifications is based on dropping resources from the CG or SPS occasion based on the partially full-duplex slot not being available for transmission.
However, Luo teaches
communicate (Luo ¶0111-¶0115: resource allocation) with a base station (Luo Fig. 12: 1202, parent node, e.g. a base station, see Fig. 1: 102/180) according to a modification (Luo ¶0111-¶0115: punctured or cancelled) to the CG (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) or SPS (Luo ¶0115: space division multiplexing) occasion based on the CG or SPS occasion overlapping (Luo ¶0111-¶0115: overlapping) in at least one SBFD symbol (Luo ¶0111-¶0115: guard symbol) in the partially full-duplex slot (Luo ¶0115: such as when the system is full duplex), wherein the partially full-duplex slot includes at least one half-duplex symbol (Luo Fig. 12: 1212) and at least one full-duplex symbol (Luo Fig. 12: 1222), wherein the modification is based on dropping resources from the CG or SPS occasion based on the partially full-duplex slot not being available for transmission (Luo ¶0111-¶0115: punctured or cancelled; Luo teaches full-duplex communication with a base station wherein when there’s an overlapping guard symbol, which are communicating with half-duplex symbols between devices, puncturing the symbol out).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Abotabl in view of Yoshimura by way of Luo, to include an element that teaches full-duplex communication with a base station wherein when there’s an overlapping guard symbol, which are communicating with half-duplex symbols between devices, puncturing the symbol out, as taught by Luo in Fig. 1, Fig. 12, and ¶0111-¶0115, to enable communication for wireless devices to continuously improve 5G NR systems and improve latency, reliability, security, scalability for multiple devices functioning.
Claim 20 and Claim 26 differs by the following limitation, which is also taught by the prior art,
An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station (Abotabl Fig. 16: 1600, ¶0129), comprising: a memory (Abotabl Fig. 16: 1604, ¶0129); and at least one processor coupled to the memory (Abotabl Fig. 16: 1604, ¶0129) and configured to: transmit (Abotabl Fig. 3: 316, ¶0129; Abotabl teaches a base station with a processor coupled to memory set to transmit)
Regarding Claim 7, Claim 16, Claim 31, and Claim 35
Abotabl in view of Yoshimura, and further in view of Luo teaches the method and the apparatus as explained above in Claim 1. Abotabl further teaches
information for modifying the CG or SPS occasion is included in a radio resource control (RRC) communication (Abotabl ¶0052: DCI information is sent through RRC signaling; Abotabl teaches the control information being sent through RRC).
Regarding Claim 8, Claim 17, Claim 32, and Claim 36
Abotabl in view of Yoshimura, and further in view of Luo teaches the method and the apparatus as explained above in Claim 1. Abotabl further teaches
a number of resource blocks (RBs) (Abotabl ¶0085: RB) and symbols (Abotabl ¶0052: slot formats include symbols) for which resources from the CG occasion overlaps (Abotabl ¶0086: full duplex operation) with either a guard band (Abotabl ¶0085: guard band) or a downlink sub-band (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Abotabl teaches a system where RBs and symbols overlap during full duplex with a guard band active).
Regarding Claim 9, Claim 18, Claim 33, and Claim 37
Abotabl in view of Yoshimura, and further in view of Luo teaches the method and the apparatus as explained above in Claim 1. Abotabl further teaches
a number of RBs and symbols for which the SPS occasion overlaps (Abotabl ¶0089: SPS overlap) with either a guard band (Abotabl ¶0085: guard band) or an uplink sub-band (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Abotabl teaches a system where RBs and symbols overlap during full duplex with a guard band active).
Regarding Claim 10, Claim 19, Claim 34, and Claim 38
Abotabl in view of Yoshimura, and further in view of Luo teaches the method and the apparatus as explained above in Claim 1. Abotabl further teaches
based at least in part on at least one rule stored in the memory (Abotabl ¶0032: instructions; Abotabl teaches the modifications being based on code).
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.
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/JUSTIN MICHAEL WHITAKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
/Sudesh M. Patidar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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