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 .
Applicant’s RCE filed 12/9/25 is acknowledged.
Claim 1, 9, and 15 are amended.
Claim 2 is cancelled
Claim 22 is added
Claims 1, 3-12, and 14-22 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the independent claims (pages 10-13) in a reply filed 12/9/2025 have been considered but are moot because the arguments are based on newly changed limitations in the amendment and new ground of rejections using newly introduced references or a newly introduced portion of an existing reference are applied in the current rejection.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/9/25 has been entered.
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, 4-9, 12, 15, and 17-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner et al. US 20230354161 (hereinafter “Wagner”) in view of Xue et al. US 20230300810 (hereinafter “Xue”) and in further view of R4-2215942 “Asymmetric bandwidths for APT 600 MHz” (hereinafter “R4-2215942”)
As to claim 1 and 15 (claim 15 is the non-transitory computer storage medium of the base station in claim 1):
Wagner discloses
A non-transitory computer storage medium having programming instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a base station, (“non-transitory, machine-readable media store instructions that cause processing circuitry of a base station”, Wagner [0007])
A base station (FIG. 5 102, Wagner) comprising: a processor; and a plurality of programming instructions configured to be operated by the processor to perform operations including: receiving a message from a first user equipment (UE) indicating that the first UE is capable of communicating on a n71 band; (“The processing circuitry also causes the receiver to receive an indication of a capability of the user equipment to operate on the frequency band or the partial frequency band.”, Wagner [0005]) (“For example, the partial frequency band may include the n71 frequency band, while the full frequency band may include the extended n71 frequency band, where the downlink frequency range of the n71 frequency band is extended by 5 MHz, and the uplink frequency range of the n71 frequency band is extended by 5 MHz. In some cases, the partial frequency band may be applicable to certain geographical regions (e.g., the United States), while the full frequency band may be applicable to other geographical regions (e.g., the Asia Pacific region).”, Wagner [0022])
configuring the first UE with uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -46 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation; (“For example, the user equipment 10 may determine whether it may duplex downlink channel/uplink channel pairs having a different duplex distance than that associated with the n71 frequency band 120 or 46 MHz, such as 51 MHz, 56 MHz, 86 MHz, and so on.”, Wagner [0047]) receiving a message from a (“The processing circuitry also causes the receiver to receive an indication of a capability of the user equipment to operate on the frequency band or the partial frequency band.”, Wagner [0005]) (“As such, the frequency band 150 ranges from 612 MHz to 703 MHz, including the downlink frequency range 152 ranging from 612 MHz to 652 MHz, and the uplink frequency range 154 ranging from 663 MHz to 703 MHz.”, Wagner [0041])(Examiner’s Note: n105 UL frequency range is 663-703MHz and DL frequency range is 612-652MHz which includes the n71 UL range 663-698MHz and DL range 617-652MHz) (Examiner’s Note: n105 is specified as full or extended band in Wagner);
Wagner as described above does not explicitly teach multiple UEs sending capability information related to supported frequency bands to a base station.
However, Xue teaches multiple UEs sending capability information to a base station related to supported frequency bands which includes:
receiving a message from a second UE indicating that the second UE is capable of communicating on a n71 band and a n105 band (FIG. 1 shows multiple UEs reporting multiple band capability and Table 1 – Table 11 list different bands and band combinations, Xue) (“With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations, in some possible implementations, the first identifier defines the band in which the first uplink carrier is located as an SUL band; or the first identifier defines a band combination, and the band combination is a band combination of at least one first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier.”, Xue [0035]) (“ With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations, in some possible implementations, when the TDD band or the band combination in which the first uplink carrier is located is used for SUL transmission, the method further includes: receiving capability information reported by the user equipment. The capability information includes the first identifier; or the capability information indicates that the user equipment is used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, and/or sidelink transmission in the TDD band in which the first uplink carrier is located; or the capability information indicates that the user equipment is not used for SUL transmission in the TDD band in which the first uplink carrier is located; or the capability information indicates that the user equipment supports both TDD transmission and SUL transmission, and a priority of a capability of performing SUL transmission by the user equipment is lower than a priority of a capability of performing TDD transmission by the user equipment.”, Xue [0026])
Xue and Wagner are analogous because they both pertain to UE and base station exchanging capability and configuration information.
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 multiple UEs sending capability information to a base station related to supported frequency bands as described in Xue into Wagner. By modifying the method to include multiple UEs sending capability information to a base station related to supported frequency bands as taught by Xue, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
The combination of Xue and Wagner as described above does not explicitly teach:
and configuring the second UE with uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation by utilizing carrier aggregation that at least combines a first uplink MHz range of a primary cell with a second uplink MHz range of a secondary cell.
However, R4-2215942 teaches aggregating frequency range of multiple cells which includes:
and configuring the second UE with uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation (“The default duplex spacing for n105 is -51 MHz”, R4-2215942 [3: Proposal]) by utilizing carrier aggregation that at least combines a first uplink MHz range of a primary cell with a second uplink MHz range of a secondary cell. (“For n105 devices this cell could be aggregated with the cell with MFB1 indication (intra-band contiguous CA in the UL and DL)”, R4-2215942 [FIG. 2])
R4-2215942, Xue, and Wagner are analogous because they pertain to using extended frequency range for uplink and downlink communication.
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 aggregating frequency range of multiple cells as described in R4-2215942 into Wagner as modified by Xue. By modifying the method to include aggregating frequency range of multiple cells as taught by R4-2215942, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007] and R4-2215942 [Proposal]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
As to claim 4 and 18 (claim 18 is the non-transitory computer storage medium in the base station in claim 4):
The combination of Wagner and Xue as described above doesn’t teach:
The base station of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first UE and the second UE is capable of communicating with the base station using asymmetric channel bandwidths.
However, R4-2215942 further teaches asymmetric channel bandwidth combinations which includes:
The base station of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first UE and the second UE is capable of communicating with the base station using asymmetric channel bandwidths. (“The operating bands and supported asymmetric channel bandwidth combinations are defined in table 5.3.6-1.”, R4-2215942 [page 1, Background])
Xue, Wagner, and R4-2215942 are analogous because they all pertain to configuring a UE for transmission.
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 asymmetric channel bandwidth combinations as described in R4-2215942 into Wagner as modified by Xue. By modifying the method to include asymmetric channel bandwidth combinations as taught by R4-2215942, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007] R4-2215942 [Proposal]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
As to claim 5, 12, and 19 (claim 12 is the method claim for the base station in claim 5 and non-transitory computer storage medium in claim 19):
Wagner discloses:
The base station of claim 1, wherein the receiving the message from the second UE comprises receiving UE capabilities of the second UE indicating that the second UE is capable of utilizing the UE specific channel bandwidth, (“Returning back to decision block 184, if the user equipment 10 determines that it may not be capable of operating on the full frequency band 162 (e.g., it may not be capable of duplexing the duplex distances associated with the full frequency band 162, including 51 MHz, 56 MHz, 86 MHz, and so on), then, in process block 192, the user equipment 10 transmits an indication that it may operate on the partial frequency band 160 (e.g., assuming that it may do so). That is, if the user equipment 10 determines that it may operate on the partial frequency band 160, then it may transmit the indication.”, Wagner [0049]) and the configuring comprises configuring, based at least in part on the UE capabilities, the second UE with the uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using the -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation by utilizing the UE specific channel bandwidth. (“For example, the user equipment 10 may determine whether it may duplex downlink channel/uplink channel pairs having a different duplex distance than that associated with the n71 frequency band 120 or 46 MHz, such as 51 MHz, 56 MHz, 86 MHz, and so on.”, Wagner [0047]) (“In some embodiments, the network 102 may either allocate to the user equipment 10 a downlink channel 156/uplink channel 158 pair that is separated by a duplex distance of 46 MHz (e.g., 156B and 158A, 156C and 158B, 156D and 158C, 156E and 158D, 156F and 158E, 156G and 158F, or 156H and 158G)”, Wagner [0047]) (FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show hardware that allow tunable UE specific bandwidth, “In some cases, the digital filter 61 may be tuned to (e.g., filter components outside of) a certain frequency range or fixed step size, such as a radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidth (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and so on).” Wagner [0034]) (“In some cases, the digital filter 89 may be tuned to (e.g., filter components outside of) a certain frequency range or fixed step size, such as an RF channel bandwidth (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and so on). In other cases, the digital filter 89 may be tuned to any allocable bandwidth (e.g., 1 MHz or less, 5 MHz or less, 10 MHz or less, and so on).”, Wagner [0035])
As to claim 6 and 20 (claim 20 is the non-transitory computer storage medium in the base station in claim 6):
Wagner discloses:
The base station of claim 1, wherein the receiving the message from the second UE comprises receiving UE capabilities of the second UE indicating that the second UE is not capable of utilizing the UE specific channel bandwidth, equipment 10 may determine whether it may duplex downlink channel/uplink channel pairs having a different duplex distance than that associated with the n71 frequency band 120 or 46 MHz, such as 51 MHz, 56 MHz, 86 MHz, and so on. If so, in process block 186, the user equipment 10 transmits an indication that it may operate on the full frequency band 162 to the base station 104. In process block 188, the network 102 then configures the user equipment 10 to operate on the full frequency band 162. For example, the network 102 may schedule the user equipment 10 for a downlink channel 156 and/or an uplink channel 158 on the full frequency band 162, provide transmission/reception configurations to operate on the full frequency band 162, indicate timing for downlink and/or uplink on the full frequency band 162, and so on.”, Wagner [0047])
The combination of Xue and Wagner as described above does not explicitly teach:
and the configuring comprises configuring, based at least in part on the UE capabilities, the second UE with the uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using the -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation by utilizing carrier aggregation.
However, R4-2215942 teaches aggregating frequency range of multiple cells which includes:
and the configuring comprises configuring, based at least in part on the UE capabilities, the second UE with the uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using the -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation by utilizing carrier aggregation. (“The default duplex spacing for n105 is -51 MHz”, R4-2215942 [3: Proposal]) (“For n105 devices this cell could be aggregated with the cell with MFB1 indication (intra-band contiguous CA in the UL and DL)”, R4-2215942 [FIG. 2])
R4-2215942, Xue, and Wagner are analogous because they pertain to using extended frequency range for uplink and downlink communication.
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 aggregating frequency range of multiple cells as described in R4-2215942 into Wagner as modified by Xue. By modifying the method to include aggregating frequency range of multiple cells as taught by R4-2215942, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007] and R4-2215942 [Proposal]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
As to claim 7:
Wagner discloses:
The base station of claim 1, wherein the receiving the message from the first UE comprises receiving an indication that the first UE supports variable transmit-receive frequency separation (“the duplexer and transceiver may be configured to use a variable duplex spacing.”, Wagner [0043]), and, based at least in part on receiving the indication configuring the first UE with uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a −51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation instead of the −46 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation. (“the duplex distance between corresponding channels (e.g., downlink channel 1 and uplink channel 1, downlink channel 2 and uplink channel 2, and so on) would change from 46 MHz to 51 MHz.”, Wagner [0040])
As to claim 8:
Wagner discloses:
The base station of claim 1, wherein the base station is a Fifth Generation (5G) gNodeB or a base station of a newer generation than 5G.(“the 3GPP specifies the 600 megahertz (MHz) frequency band for use by a frequency range 1 (FR1) fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR)”, Wagner [0020])
As to claim 9:
A method comprising: providing, by a user equipment (UE), an indication to a first base station that the UE is capable of communicating over an n105 frequency band; (“The processing circuitry also causes the receiver to receive an indication of a capability of the user equipment to operate on the frequency band or the partial frequency band.”, Wagner [0005])
receiving from the first base station, by the UE, configuration information specifying uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation by utilizing either a UE specific channel bandwidth or carrier aggregation; (“For example, the user equipment 10 may determine whether it may duplex downlink channel/uplink channel pairs having a different duplex distance than that associated with the n71 frequency band 120 or 46 MHz, such as 51 MHz, 56 MHz, 86 MHz, and so on.”, Wagner [0047]) (“In some embodiments, the network 102 may either allocate to the user equipment 10 a downlink channel 156/uplink channel 158 pair that is separated by a duplex distance of 46 MHz (e.g., 156B and 158A, 156C and 158B, 156D and 158C, 156E and 158D, 156F and 158E, 156G and 158F, or 156H and 158G)”, Wagner [0047]) (FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show hardware that allow tunable UE specific bandwidth, “In some cases, the digital filter 61 may be tuned to (e.g., filter components outside of) a certain frequency range or fixed step size, such as a radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidth (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and so on).” Wagner [0034]) (“In some cases, the digital filter 89 may be tuned to (e.g., filter components outside of) a certain frequency range or fixed step size, such as an RF channel bandwidth (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and so on). In other cases, the digital filter 89 may be tuned to any allocable bandwidth (e.g., 1 MHz or less, 5 MHz or less, 10 MHz or less, and so on).”, Wagner [0035])
providing, by the UE, an indication to a second base station that the UE is capable of communicating over a n71 frequency band and a n105 frequency band, (“The processing circuitry also causes the receiver to receive an indication of a capability of the user equipment to operate on the frequency band or the partial frequency band.”, Wagner [0005]) (“As such, the frequency band 150 ranges from 612 MHz to 703 MHz, including the downlink frequency range 152 ranging from 612 MHz to 652 MHz, and the uplink frequency range 154 ranging from 663 MHz to 703 MHz.”, Wagner [0041])(Examiner’s Note: n105 UL frequency range is 663-703MHz and DL frequency range is 612-652MHz which includes the n71 UL range 663-698MHz and DL range 617-652MHz)
wherein the second base station is capable of communicating over the n71 frequency band but not the n105 frequency band; (Embodiments herein provide various systems, apparatuses, and techniques to communicate on a frequency band (e.g., the 600 MHz frequency band) that may be specified for use differently in different geographical regions. In particular, a communication network (e.g., a 5th generation (5G)/New Radio (NR) network, a 4th generation (4G)/long term evolution (LTE®) network, a 6th generation (6G) or greater than 6G network, and so on), via a base station, may broadcast an indication of the frequency band and an indication of a partial frequency band. The frequency band may include a greater range than the partial frequency band, and the partial frequency band may be compatible with certain (e.g., legacy) user equipment, while the full frequency band may be compatible with other (e.g., more recent) user equipment. For example, the partial frequency band may include the n71 frequency band, while the full frequency band may include the extended n71 frequency band, where the downlink frequency range of the n71 frequency band is extended by 5 MHz, and the uplink frequency range of the n71 frequency band is extended by 5 MHz. In some cases, the partial frequency band may be applicable to certain geographical regions (e.g., the United States), while the full frequency band may be applicable to other geographical regions (e.g., the Asia Pacific region).”, Wagner [0022]) (“FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 including the user equipment 10 of FIG. 1 communicatively coupled to a wireless communication network 102 supported by base stations 104A, 104B (collectively 104), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the base stations 104 may include Next Generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB) base stations and may provide 5G/NR coverage via the wireless communication network 102 to the user equipment 10. The base stations 104 may include any suitable electronic device, such as a communication hub or node, that facilitates, supports, and/or implements the network 102. In some embodiments, the base stations 104 may include Evolved NodeB (eNodeB) base stations and may provide 4G/LTE coverage via the wireless communication network 102 to the user equipment 10.”, Wagner [0036]) (Examiner’s Note: as shown in FIG. 5 and mentioned in [0022], the embodiment includes two base stations which can support different frequency bands, one can indicate that it supports the full/extended frequency band or 5G/NR which includes n105 and n71 band and another base station can indicate that it supports partial frequency range or LTE which only includes n71 band)
The combination of Xue and Wagner as described above does not explicitly teach:
and receiving from the second base station, by the UE, configuration information specifying uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -46 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation by utilizinq carrier aqqreqation that at least combines a first uplink MHz range of a primary cell with a second uplink MHz range of a secondary cell.
However, R4-2215942 teaches aggregating frequency range of multiple cells which includes:
and receiving from the second base station, by the UE, configuration information specifying uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -46 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation (“n71 is indicated by MFBI in these cells”, R4-2215942 [Section 2]) (Examiner’s Note: MFBI stands for “multi-frequency band indicator” and n71 corresponds to -46 MHz separation) by utilizinq carrier aqqreqation that at least combines a first uplink MHz range of a primary cell with a second uplink MHz range of a secondary cell. (“For n105 devices this cell could be aggregated with the cell with MFB1 indication (intra-band contiguous CA in the UL and DL)”, R4-2215942 [FIG. 2])
R4-2215942, Xue, and Wagner are analogous because they pertain to using extended frequency range for uplink and downlink communication.
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 aggregating frequency range of multiple cells as described in R4-2215942 into Wagner as modified by Xue. By modifying the method to include aggregating frequency range of multiple cells as taught by R4-2215942, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007] and R4-2215942 [Proposal]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
As to claim 17:
Wagner discloses:
The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein the UE is a first UE and the operations further comprise: receiving a message from a second UE indicating that the second UE is capable of communicating on a n71 band (“The processing circuitry also causes the receiver to receive an indication of a capability of the user equipment to operate on the frequency band or the partial frequency band.”, Wagner [0005])(“such as user equipment 10 that may operate on the n71 frequency band 120”, Wagner [0046]); and configuring the second UE with uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a −46 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation. (“it may be configured to only duplex a certain duplex distance (e.g., 46 MHz).”, Wagner [0040]);
As to claim 21:
Wagner discloses:
The method of claim 9, wherein the UE is a first UE and the method further comprising: providing, by a second UE, an indication to the first base station that the second UE is capable of communicating over a n105 frequency band; (“The processing circuitry also causes the receiver to receive an indication of a capability of the user equipment to operate on the frequency band or the partial frequency band.”, Wagner [0005]) (“As such, the frequency band 150 ranges from 612 MHz to 703 MHz, including the downlink frequency range 152 ranging from 612 MHz to 652 MHz, and the uplink frequency range 154 ranging from 663 MHz to 703 MHz.”, Wagner [0041])(Examiner’s Note: n105 UL frequency range is 663-703MHz and DL frequency range is 612-652MHz which includes the n71 UL range 663-698MHz and DL range 617-652MHz)
receiving from the first base station, by the second UE, configuration information specifying uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation by utilizing either a UE specific channel bandwidth or carrier aggregation; (“For example, the user equipment 10 may determine whether it may duplex downlink channel/uplink channel pairs having a different duplex distance than that associated with the n71 frequency band 120 or 46 MHz, such as 51 MHz, 56 MHz, 86 MHz, and so on.”, Wagner [0047]) (“In some embodiments, the network 102 may either allocate to the user equipment 10 a downlink channel 156/uplink channel 158 pair that is separated by a duplex distance of 46 MHz (e.g., 156B and 158A, 156C and 158B, 156D and 158C, 156E and 158D, 156F and 158E, 156G and 158F, or 156H and 158G)”, Wagner [0047]) (FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show hardware that allow tunable UE specific bandwidth, “In some cases, the digital filter 61 may be tuned to (e.g., filter components outside of) a certain frequency range or fixed step size, such as a radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidth (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and so on).” Wagner [0034]) (“In some cases, the digital filter 89 may be tuned to (e.g., filter components outside of) a certain frequency range or fixed step size, such as an RF channel bandwidth (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and so on). In other cases, the digital filter 89 may be tuned to any allocable bandwidth (e.g., 1 MHz or less, 5 MHz or less, 10 MHz or less, and so on).”, Wagner [0035])
providing, by the second UE, an indication to the second base station that the second UE is capable of communicating over a n71 frequency band and a n105 frequency band, (“The processing circuitry also causes the receiver to receive an indication of a capability of the user equipment to operate on the frequency band or the partial frequency band.”, Wagner [0005]) (“As such, the frequency band 150 ranges from 612 MHz to 703 MHz, including the downlink frequency range 152 ranging from 612 MHz to 652 MHz, and the uplink frequency range 154 ranging from 663 MHz to 703 MHz.”, Wagner [0041])(Examiner’s Note: n105 UL frequency range is 663-703MHz and DL frequency range is 612-652MHz which includes the n71 UL range 663-698MHz and DL range 617-652MHz)
wherein the second base station is capable of communicating over the n71 frequency band but not the n105 frequency band; (Embodiments herein provide various systems, apparatuses, and techniques to communicate on a frequency band (e.g., the 600 MHz frequency band) that may be specified for use differently in different geographical regions. In particular, a communication network (e.g., a 5th generation (5G)/New Radio (NR) network, a 4th generation (4G)/long term evolution (LTE®) network, a 6th generation (6G) or greater than 6G network, and so on), via a base station, may broadcast an indication of the frequency band and an indication of a partial frequency band. The frequency band may include a greater range than the partial frequency band, and the partial frequency band may be compatible with certain (e.g., legacy) user equipment, while the full frequency band may be compatible with other (e.g., more recent) user equipment. For example, the partial frequency band may include the n71 frequency band, while the full frequency band may include the extended n71 frequency band, where the downlink frequency range of the n71 frequency band is extended by 5 MHz, and the uplink frequency range of the n71 frequency band is extended by 5 MHz. In some cases, the partial frequency band may be applicable to certain geographical regions (e.g., the United States), while the full frequency band may be applicable to other geographical regions (e.g., the Asia Pacific region).”, Wagner [0022]) (“FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 including the user equipment 10 of FIG. 1 communicatively coupled to a wireless communication network 102 supported by base stations 104A, 104B (collectively 104), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the base stations 104 may include Next Generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB) base stations and may provide 5G/NR coverage via the wireless communication network 102 to the user equipment 10. The base stations 104 may include any suitable electronic device, such as a communication hub or node, that facilitates, supports, and/or implements the network 102. In some embodiments, the base stations 104 may include Evolved NodeB (eNodeB) base stations and may provide 4G/LTE coverage via the wireless communication network 102 to the user equipment 10.”, Wagner [0036]) (Examiner’s Note: as shown in FIG. 5 and mentioned in [0022], the embodiment includes two base stations which can support different frequency bands, one can indicate that it supports the full/extended frequency band or 5G/NR which includes n105 and n71 band and another base station can indicate that it supports partial frequency range or LTE which only includes n71 band)
and receiving from the second base station, by the second UE, configuration information specifying uplink and downlink spectrum allocations using a -46 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation. (“ As such, user equipment 10 having a duplexer 56 and the transceiver 30 configured to duplex a duplex distance 136 of 46 MHz may duplex or separate signals received on the downlink channel 1 128A from signal transmitted on the uplink channel 1 130A, signals received on the downlink channel 2 128B from signal transmitted on the uplink channel 2 130B, and so on. That is, as long as corresponding channels (e.g., 128A and 130A, 128B and 130B, and so on) are allocated, the duplexer 56 together with the transceiver 30 may duplex between signals on the downlink channel 128/uplink channel 130 pair, as the duplex distance 136 remains 46 MHz.”, Wagner [0039])
Wagner as described above does not explicitly teach multiple UEs sending and receiving configuration information to and from a base station related to supported frequency bands.
However, Xue teaches multiple UEs sending and receiving configuration information to and from a base station related to supported frequency bands which includes:
(FIG. 1 and Table 1, Xue)(“Optionally, the capability information reported by the terminal includes the first identifier; or the capability information indicates that user equipment is used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, and/or sidelink transmission in a TDD band in which a first uplink carrier is located; or the capability information indicates that user equipment is not used for SUL transmission in a TDD band in which a first uplink carrier is located; or the capability information indicates that user equipment supports both TDD transmission and SUL transmission, and a priority of a capability of performing SUL transmission by the user equipment is lower than a priority of a capability of performing TDD transmission by the user equipment.”, Xue [0206])
(“The second user equipment 103 of LTE operates in an LTE TDD band of the 2010 MHz to 2025 MHz frequency band and is configured to perform downlink transmission in the TDD band. In conclusion, the first user equipment 102 of NR and the second user equipment 103 of LTE may implement multiplexing in a TDD band of the 2010 MHz to 2025 MHz frequency band, to implement spectrum sharing.”, Xue [0295])
Xue and Wagner are analogous because they both pertain to UE and base station exchanging capability and configuration information.
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 multiple UEs sending capability information to a base station related to supported frequency bands as described in Xue into Wagner. By modifying the method to include multiple UEs sending capability information to a base station related to supported frequency bands as taught by Xue, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
As to claim 22:
Wagner discloses:
The base station of claim 1, wherein: the uplink and downlink spectrum allocations for the first UE are 663 MHz to 673 MHz uplink range and 617 MHz to 627 MHz downlink range; (“The n71 band includes two 35 MHz wide frequency ranges, one for downlink (e.g., from 617 MHz to 652 MHz) and one for uplink (e.g., from 663 MHz to 698 MHz).”, Wagner [0020]) (FIG. 6: uplink 130A-130B and downlink 128A-128C, Wagner) (Examiner’s Note: channel bandwidth is set to 10MHz) and the uplink and downlink spectrum allocations for the second UE are 663 MHz to 678 MHz uplink range and 612 MHz to 627 MHz downlink range. (“FIG. 7 is a frequency diagram of a frequency band 150 in the 600 MHz frequency range, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the frequency band 150 includes a downlink frequency range 152 having channels 156A-H (collectively 156) and an uplink frequency range 154 having channels 158A-H (collectively 158), where the downlink frequency range 152 extends the downlink frequency range 122 of the n71 frequency band 120 shown in FIG. 6 by 5 MHz by adding new downlink channel 1 156A (e.g., from 612 MHz to 617 MHz), and the uplink frequency range 154 extends the uplink frequency range 124 of the n71 frequency band 120 by 5 MHz by adding new channel 8 158H (e.g., from 698 MHz to 703 MHz). As such, the frequency band 150 ranges from 612 MHz to 703 MHz, including the downlink frequency range 152 ranging from 612 MHz to 652 MHz, and the uplink frequency range 154 ranging from 663 MHz to 703 MHz.”, Wagner [0041]) (FIG. 7: uplink 158A-158C and downlink 156A-156C, Wagner) (Examiner’s Note: channel bandwidth is extended by 5MHz for n105 band)
Wagner as described above does not explicitly teach multiple UEs with different band configurations.
However, Xue teaches multiple UEs with different band configurations which includes:
(FIG. 1 shows multiple UEs reporting multiple band capability and Table 1 – Table 11 list different bands and band combinations, Xue) (“With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations, in some possible implementations, the first identifier defines the band in which the first uplink carrier is located as an SUL band; or the first identifier defines a band combination, and the band combination is a band combination of at least one first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier.”, Xue [0035]) (“ With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations, in some possible implementations, when the TDD band or the band combination in which the first uplink carrier is located is used for SUL transmission, the method further includes: receiving capability information reported by the user equipment. The capability information includes the first identifier; or the capability information indicates that the user equipment is used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, and/or sidelink transmission in the TDD band in which the first uplink carrier is located; or the capability information indicates that the user equipment is not used for SUL transmission in the TDD band in which the first uplink carrier is located; or the capability information indicates that the user equipment supports both TDD transmission and SUL transmission, and a priority of a capability of performing SUL transmission by the user equipment is lower than a priority of a capability of performing TDD transmission by the user equipment.”, Xue [0026])
Xue and Wagner are analogous because they both pertain to UE and base station exchanging capability and configuration information.
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 multiple UEs sending capability information to a base station related to supported frequency bands as described in Xue into Wagner. By modifying the method to include multiple UEs sending capability information to a base station related to supported frequency bands as taught by Xue, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner in view of Xue and R4-2215942, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of R4-2212778 (hereinafter “R4-2212778”)
As to claim 10:
The combination of Wagner and Xue as described above doesn’t teach:
The method of claim 9, wherein the UE specific channel bandwidth is not centered on a 100 KHz raster.
However, R4-2212778 further teaches UE specific channel bandwidth that is not centered on the channel raster which includes:
The method of claim 9, wherein the UE specific channel bandwidth is not centered on a 100 KHz raster. (“the UE specific channel bandwidth does not have to be located/centred on the channel raster since the carrier resource grid is centred on the channel raster for at least one numerology as needed for E-UTRA sharing and EN-DC (sub-carrier/PRB alignment with the E-UTRA carrier). The default TX-RX separation should also apply for configured UE specific channel bandwidths such that UE minimum requirements apply.”, R4-2212778 [Observation 6])
Xue, Wagner, R4-2215942, and R4-2212778 are analogous because they all pertain to configuring a UE for transmission.
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 UE specific channel bandwidth that is not centered on the channel raster as described in R4-2212778 into Wagner as modified by Xue and R4-2215942. By modifying the method to include UE specific channel bandwidth that is not centered on the channel raster as taught by R4-2212778, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007] and R4-2215942 [Proposal]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043] and R4-2212778 [Observation 6]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 3, 11, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner in view of Xue and R4-2215942, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of R4-2200031 (hereinafter “R4-2200031”)
As to claim 3, 11, and 16 (claim 11 is the method claim for the base station in claim 3 and non-transitory computer storage medium in claim 16):
Wagner discloses:
The base station of claim 1, wherein the operations further include broadcasting SIB1 messages,
the SIB1 messages (“In some embodiments, the indication of the full frequency band 162 may be included in a system information block (e.g., as defined by the 3GPP) broadcasted by the base station 104, and the indication of the partial frequency band 160 may be included in a multiple frequency band indicator (e.g., as defined by the 3GPP), which may be part of the system information block.”, Wagner [0046]) using the -46 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation (“The partial frequency band 160 may be compatible with certain (e.g., legacy) user equipment 10, such as user equipment 10 that may operate on the n71 frequency band 120 using a duplexer 56 and transceiver 30 that may duplex downlink channel/uplink channel pairs having a duplex distance of 46 MHz.”, Wagner [0046]) while further uplink and downlink communications between the base station and the second UE utilize the UE specific channel bandwidth and the -51 MHz transmit-receive frequency separation. (“On the other hand, the full frequency band 162 may be compatible with other (e.g., more recent) user equipment 10, such as those that were designed to use the full frequency band 162 (e.g., those that may have a duplexer 56 and transceiver 30 that may duplex downlink channel/uplink channel pairs having a different duplex distance, such as 51 MHz, 56 MHz, 86 MHz, and so on).”, Wagner [0046])
The combination of Wagner, R4-2215942, and Xue as described above doesn’t teach:
wherein the SIB1 messages have a cell specific channel bandwidth that is narrower than the UE specific channel bandwidth,
However, R4-2200031 further teaches configuring SIB1 to have narrower bandwidth than UE specific channel bandwidth which includes:
wherein the SIB1 messages have a cell specific channel bandwidth that is narrower than the UE specific channel bandwidth, (“Is it possible to configure the UE with a dedicated carrierBandwidth in the ServingCellConfig that is wider than/partially outside the carrierBandwidth configured in SIB 1?”, R4-2200031 [page 2, line 14])
Xue, Wagner, R4-2215942, and R4-2200031 are analogous because they all pertain to configuring a UE for transmission.
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 configuring SIB1 to have narrower bandwidth than UE specific channel bandwidth as described in R4-2200031 into Wagner as modified by Xue and R4-2215942. By modifying the method to include configuring SIB1 to have narrower bandwidth than UE specific channel bandwidth as taught by R4-2200031, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007] and R4-2215942 [Proposal]) and improved versatility (Wagner [0043] and R4-2200031 [page2, line 14]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner in view of Xue and R4-2215942, as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Chow et al. US 20200029377 (hereinafter “Chow”)
The combination of Wagner, R4-2215942, and Xue as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 9, wherein the configuration information from the base station specifies asymmetric channel bandwidths for uplink and downlink, with downlink channel bandwidth being larger than uplink channel bandwidth.
However, Chow further teaches asymmetric bandwidth which includes:
The method of claim 9, wherein the configuration information from the base station specifies asymmetric channel bandwidths for uplink and downlink (“wherein the uplink band and the downlink band are not adjacent to each other and are asymmetric in bandwidth”, Chow [0056]), with downlink channel bandwidth being larger than uplink channel bandwidth. (“the downlink band assigned can be larger than the uplink band assigned, as generally more data transmitted on the downlink.”, Chow [0035])
Xue, Wagner, R4-2215942, and Chow are analogous because they all pertain to configuring a UE for transmission.
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 asymmetric bandwidth as described in Chow into Wagner as modified by Xue and R4-2215942. By modifying the method to include asymmetric bandwidth as taught by Chow, the benefits of improved transmission efficiency (Xue [0007], R4-2215942 [Proposal], and Chow [0015]), and improved versatility (Wagner [0043]) are achieved.
Conclusion
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/MOHAMMAD S ADHAMI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471