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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/3/2025 has been entered.
Claims 1-20 are pending and presented for examination.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16 & 19 have been amended.
Rejections to Claims 1-3, 6-8, 11-13 & 16-18 und 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian et al. (US 2021/0329646)(herein after “Fakoorian”) in view of Liao et al. (US 2019/0103953)(herein after “Liao”) have been withdrawn based on amendments to Claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16 & 19. However, new grounds of rejections under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and further in view of new reference Khan Beigi et al. (US 2024/0107525)(herein after “Khan”) have been introduced based on amendments to Claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16 & 19.
Rejections to Claims 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19 & 20 und 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and further in view of Sridharan et al. (US 2024/0048299)(herein after “Sridharan”) have been withdrawn based on amendments to Claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16 & 19. However, new grounds of rejections under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and new reference Khan and further in view of Sridharan have been introduced based on amendments to Claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16 & 19.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see “Remarks”, filed 12/3/2025, starting at the bottom of page 10 with respect to the rejection of amended claim 4 (and similarly to claims 9, 14 & 19) and amended claims 1, 6, 11 & 16 under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and further in view of Sridharan have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, these rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejections are made under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and new reference Khan Beigi et al. (US 2024/0107525)(herein after “Khan”).
Applicant’s arguments starting at the bottom of page 10 in “Remarks” files 12/3/2025 with respect the amendments to claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16 & 19 have been considered but are moot because the new grounds of rejections do not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Based on the above discussion, examiner withdraws rejections claims 1, 6, 11 & 16 under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao, but introduces new grounds of rejections of these amended claims under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and further in view of new reference Khan, and withdraws rejections claims 4, 9, 14 & 19 under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and further in view of Sridharan, but introduces new grounds of rejections of these amended claims under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and new reference Khan and further in view of Sridharan.
Applicant's arguments filed 12/3/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 1, 6, 11 & 16, applicant submits that these claims are patentable because Fakoorian and Liao alone or in combination fail to teach or suggest all the limitations of amended claims 1, 6, 11 & 16. Examiner respectfully disagrees noting that, per 35 U.S.C. 103, a patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained 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 (see §MPEP 2141).
Applicant argues that the PRB or BWP in Liao has a disparate concept from that of a ‘slot’ in the field of wireless communication representing a frequency-time unit for transmitting data and not a time unit that is half a subframe having length of 1 ms. Examiner respectfully disagrees noting that fig 2 and [0031] in Liao disclose contiguous time slots over which BWPs are allocated. [0005]-[0006] of Liao disclose that the apparatus and methods disclosed are based on providing improvements and enhancements to facilitate 5G base stations in support of UEs operating with multiple BWPs. Thus, a broadest reasonable assumption is that the BWPs in fig 2 & [0031] and PRBs in fig 7 & [0047] of Liao are based on the ‘slot’ definitions in 5G wireless communication representing a time unit that is half a subframe having length of 1 ms. Thus, examiner maintains that Fakoorian in view of Liao teach of “a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) configurable in a frequency domain”.
Applicant argues that Liao fails to teach or suggest that the plurality of contiguous PRBs in the BWP is configurable in the frequency domain. Examiner respectfully disagrees noting that Fakoorian discloses of contiguous slots that are configurable in the frequency domain (see fig 4 & [0119] in Fakoorian). Liao teaches that the slots include at least one PRB. Thus, combining Fakoorian with the teachings of Liao teaches “a number of contiguous slots (i.e. per Fakoorian) with at least one physical resource block (PRB) (i.e. per Liao) configurable in a frequency domain (i.e. per Fakoorian).”.
Applicant argues that although fig 4 of Fakoorian discloses a BS transmitting a BWP configuration indicating slot n to slot n+3, this does not disclose the BS transmitting a “start slot among the contiguous slots”. Examiner respectfully disagrees noting that a broadest reasonable interpretation of Fakoorian is that fig 4 & [0119] of Fakoorian discloses a BS transmitting BWP configuration information of 4 contiguous slots n through n+3, which inherently provides an indication that slot n is the stating slot for TDD mode and slot n+1 is the starting slot for FDD mode. It would not be possible for the UE to know when to begin receiving data transmitted in a BWP without an indication of the starting slot of the BWP (i.e. without the indication that slot n is the starting slot of the BWP). Thus, Fakoorian discloses transmitting configuration information including “information about a start slot among the contiguous slots”.
Based on the above discussion, examiner maintains that Fakoorian in view of Liao teach of “a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) configurable in a frequency domain.” and “information about a start slot among the contiguous slots” as part of the new grounds of rejections of claims 1, 6, 11 & 16 under 35 U.S.C. 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and further in view of Khan.
Applicant submits that claims 2-5, 7-10, 12-15 & 17-20 are patentable due to their dependency on claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 and for the same arguments made above. Examiner respectfully disagrees and for the same reasons as discussed above introduces new grounds of rejections of claims 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17 & 18 under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and further in view of Khan and new grounds of rejections of claims 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19 & 20 under 35 USC 103 based on Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan further in view of Sridharan.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 10-2023-0008686, filed on 1/20/2023.
Claim Interpretation
Several of the claims in the present application recite Markush groups in the format of “at least one of A, B and C”. For the purpose of this review, these Markush claims are being interpreted as a single element selection from a closed group of elements consisting of alternatives A, B, C and all possible combinations of A, B and C. See MPEP §2117 for further details.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 6-8, 11-13 & 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fakoorian et al. (US 2021/0329646)(herein after “Fakoorian”) in view of Liao et al. (US 2019/0103953)(herein after “Liao”) and further in view of Khan Beigi et al. (US 2024/0107525)(herein after “Khan”).
Regarding Claim 1, Fakoorian discloses a method for configuring resources by a base station in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes ([0004]-[0005] disclose a method for a UE to receive from a base station a Bandwidth Part (BWP) configuration indication through wireless communication. [0054] discloses the UE and base station may communicate according to TDD, full duplex FDD or half duplex FDD), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain (Fig 4 & [0119] disclose a base station transmitting to a UE a Bandwidth Part (BWP) configuration indication for spectrum configuration 400 that includes 4 contiguous slots n through n+3 configurable in a frequency domain labeled CC Bandwidth (i.e. the bandwidths of the Downlink Bandwidth Parts 405 and Uplink Bandwidth Parts 410 are configurable within the frequency domain defined by CC Bandwidth).) and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots (Fig 4 & [0119] disclose that the BWP configuration indication includes information about a starting Slot n among the contiguous slots n through n+3 defined by spectrum configuration 400.); and
transmitting information indicating at least one resource to be allocated to a user equipment (UE) based on the configuration information (Fig 6 & [0138] discloses transmission of a DCI that schedules a PDSCH or PUSCH based on a BWP configuration.).
Fakoorian fails to disclose a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB).
However, Liao teaches a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) (Fig 2 & [0031] disclose a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with a default BWP 251 in slot 201 and a BWP #2 252 in slots 202 through 204. Fig 7 & [0047] disclose that the BWPs (i.e. default BWP 251 and BWP #2 2525) include a plurality of contiguous PRBs. Thus disclosed is a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with at least one PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a method for configuring resources by a base station in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the method comprising transmitting configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, wherein the number of contiguous slots comprise at least one physical resource block (PRB), as taught by Liao. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a method for providing frequency resource flexibility in the allocation of BWPs using defined, non-overlapping PRB sub-bands to insure that the allocation of different BWPs using different PRBs do not interfere with each other.
Fakoorian fails to disclose PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB.
However, Khan further teaches PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of DL PRBs followed by UL PRBs followed by DL PRBs are allocated within a slot 208 of a set of contiguous slots 206, 208, 210, 212 & 214. Fig 2 & [0111] discloses that the pattern information may include a starting PRB and a number of PRBs which have UL PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain (i.e. Fig 2 shows a contiguous set of UL PRBs allocated between contiguous sets of DL PRBs).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a method for configuring resources by a base station in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the method comprising transmitting configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, and transmitting PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB, as further taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a method for providing flexibility in the allocation of BWPs through configuration information that indicates a starting UL PRB types and number of contiguous UL PRBs allocated within a slot between sets of contiguous DL PRB types in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Regarding Claim 2, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 1.
Fakoorian discloses wherein the contiguous slots are configured among flexible slots in which a downlink (DL) slot, an uplink (UL) slot, or a full duplex (FD) slot is configurable (Fig 4 & [0120]-[0123] disclose contiguous slots configured among downlink and uplink for both TDD and FDD.).
Regarding Claim 3, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 2.
Fakoorian discloses wherein the configuration information is transmitted using at least one of cell-specific configuration information or UE-specific configuration information. ([0107] discloses a BWP configuration may be indicated in a DCI transmission from a single (i.e. cell-specific) base station 105-a.).
Regarding Claim 6, Fakoorian discloses a base station in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes (Fig 1 & [0058]-[0059] discloses base stations 105 in a wireless communication system. [0054] discloses a UE and base station may communicate according to TDD, full duplex FDD or half duplex FDD), the base station comprising:
a transceiver ([0062] discloses a base station may be a radio transceiver.); and
a processor configured to: transmit, through the transceiver, configuration information ([0030] discloses a base station may include a processor that can transmit BWP configuration information.)
including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots (Fig 4, [0119] discloses a base station transmitting a Bandwidth Part (BWP) configuration indication including 4 contiguous slots n through n+3 in a spectrum configuration 400 in a frequency domain, labeled CC Bandwidth. Slot n is indicated as the starting slot in the BWP configuration indication.), and
transmit, through the transceiver, information indicating at least one resource to be allocated to a UE based on the configuration information (Fig 6 & [0137]-[0138] discloses a base station transmission of a DCI that schedules a PDSCH or PUSCH based on a BWP configuration.).
Fakoorian fails to disclose a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB).
However, Liao teaches a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) (Fig 2 & [0031] disclose a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with a default BWP 251 in slot 201 and a BWP #2 252 in slots 202 through 204. Fig 7 & [0047] disclose that the BWPs (i.e. default BWP 251 and BWP #2 2525) include a plurality of contiguous PRBs. Thus disclosed is a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with at least one PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a base station in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the base station comprising: a transceiver; and a processor configured to: transmit, through the transceiver, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, wherein the number of contiguous slots comprise at least one physical resource block (PRB), as taught by Liao. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a base station that can flexibly allocate BWPs using defined, non-overlapping PRB sub-bands to insure that the allocation of different BWPs using different PRBs do not interfere with each other.
Fakoorian fails to disclose PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB.
However, Khan further teaches PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of DL PRBs followed by UL PRBs followed by DL PRBs are allocated within a slot 208 of a set of contiguous slots 206, 208, 210, 212 & 214. Fig 2 & [0111] discloses that the pattern information may include a starting PRB and a number of PRBs which have UL PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain (i.e. Fig 2 shows a contiguous set of UL PRBs allocated between contiguous sets of DL PRBs).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a base station in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the base station comprising: a transceiver; and a processor configured to: transmit, through the transceiver, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, and transmitting PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB, as further taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a base station that can flexibly allocate BWPs through configuration information that indicates a starting UL PRB types and number of contiguous UL PRBs allocated within a slot between sets of contiguous DL PRB types in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Regarding Claim 7, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 6.
Fakoorian discloses wherein the contiguous slots are configured among flexible slots in which a downlink (DL) slot, an uplink (UL) slot, or a full duplex (FD) slot is configurable (Fig 4 & [0120]-[0123] disclose contiguous slots configured among downlink and uplink for both TDD and FDD.).
Regarding Claim 8, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 7.
Fakoorian discloses wherein the processor is further configured to transmit, through the transceiver, the configuration information using at least one of cell- specific configuration information or UE-specific configuration information ([0107] discloses a BWP configuration may be indicated in a DCI transmission from a single (i.e. cell-specific) base station 105-a.).
Regarding Claim 11, Fakoorian discloses a method performed by a UE in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes ([0004]-[0005] disclose a method for a UE to receive from a base station a Bandwidth Part (BWP) configuration indication through wireless communication. [0054] discloses the UE and base station may communicate according to TDD, full duplex FDD or half duplex FDD), the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots (Fig 4, [0119] discloses a base station communicating with a UE where the base station transmits a Bandwidth Part (BWP) configuration indication including 4 contiguous slots n through n+3 in a spectrum configuration 400 in a frequency domain, labeled CC Bandwidth. Slot n is indicated as the starting slot in the BWP configuration indication.);
receiving downlink (DL) control information indicating at least one resource to be allocated to the UE (Fig 6 & [0138] discloses a UE receiving a DCI scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH transmission based on a BWP configuration.); and
receiving a DL signal or transmitting an uplink (UL) signal using the at least one resource, based on the configuration information and the DL control information ([0144] discloses a UE transmitting PUSCH or receiving PDSCH based on BWP configuration information. [0138] discloses that the BWP configuration information may be indicated in a DCI that also includes PDSCH & PUSCH scheduling information.).
Fakoorian fails to disclose a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB).
However, Liao teaches a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) (Fig 2 & [0031] disclose a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with a default BWP 251 in slot 201 and a BWP #2 252 in slots 202 through 204. Fig 7 & [0047] disclose that the BWPs (i.e. default BWP 251 and BWP #2 2525) include a plurality of contiguous PRBs. Thus disclosed is a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with at least one PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a method performed by a UE in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, wherein the number of contiguous slots comprise at least one physical resource block (PRB), as taught by Liao. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a method for a UE to receive BWP configuration information flexibly allocated by a base station using defined, non-overlapping PRB sub-bands to insure that the allocation of different BWPs using different PRBs do not interfere with each other.
Fakoorian fails to disclose PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB.
However, Khan further teaches PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of DL PRBs followed by UL PRBs followed by DL PRBs are allocated within a slot 208 of a set of contiguous slots 206, 208, 210, 212 & 214. Fig 2 & [0111] discloses that the pattern information may include a starting PRB and a number of PRBs which have UL PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain (i.e. Fig 2 shows a contiguous set of UL PRBs allocated between contiguous sets of DL PRBs).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a method performed by a UE in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, and receiving PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB, as further taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a method where a UE can receive BWP configuration information flexibly allocated by a base station that indicates a starting UL PRB types and number of contiguous UL PRBs allocated within a slot between sets of contiguous DL PRB types in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Regarding Claim 12, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 11.
Fakoorian discloses wherein the contiguous slots are configured among flexible slots in which a DL slot, a UL slot, or a full duplex (FD) slot is configurable (Fig 4 & [0120]-[0123] disclose contiguous slots configured among downlink and uplink for both TDD and FDD.).
Regarding Claim 13, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 12.
Fakoorian further discloses wherein the configuration information is transmitted using at least one of cell-specific configuration information or UE-specific configuration information. ([0107] discloses a BWP configuration may be indicated in a DCI transmission from a single (i.e. cell-specific) base station 105-a.).
Regarding Claim 16, Fakoorian discloses a UE in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes (Fig 1 & [0058] & [0060] discloses UEs 115 in a wireless communication system. [0054] discloses a UE and base station may communicate according to TDD, full duplex FDD or half duplex FDD), the UE comprising:
a transceiver (Fig 9 & [0163] disclose a UE device 905 may include a receiver 910 and a transmitter 920.); and
a processor (Fig 9 & [0163] disclose a UE device 905 may include a processor.) configured to:
receive, from a base station through the transceiver, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots (Fig 4, [0119] discloses a base station communicating with a UE where the base station transmits a Bandwidth Part (BWP) configuration indication including 4 contiguous slots n through n+3 in a spectrum configuration 400 in a frequency domain, labeled CC Bandwidth. Slot n is indicated as the starting slot in the BWP configuration indication.),
receive, through the transceiver, downlink (DL) control information (DCI) indicating at least one resource to be allocated to the UE (Fig 6 & [0138] discloses a UE receiving a DCI scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH transmission based on a BWP configuration.), and
receive a DL signal or transmit an uplink (UL) signal, through the transceiver, using the at least one resource, based on the configuration information and the DCI ([0144] discloses a UE transmitting PUSCH or receiving PDSCH based on BWP configuration information. [0138] discloses that the BWP configuration information may be indicated in a DCI that also includes PDSCH & PUSCH scheduling information.).
Fakoorian fails to disclose a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB).
However, Liao teaches a number of contiguous slots with at least one physical resource block (PRB) (Fig 2 & [0031] disclose a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with a default BWP 251 in slot 201 and a BWP #2 252 in slots 202 through 204. Fig 7 & [0047] disclose that the BWPs (i.e. default BWP 251 and BWP #2 2525) include a plurality of contiguous PRBs. Thus disclosed is a number of contiguous slots 201 through 204 with at least one PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a UE in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the UE comprising: a transceiver; and a processor configured to: receive, from a base station, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, wherein the number of contiguous slots comprise at least one physical resource block (PRB), as taught by Liao. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a UE capable of receiving BWP configuration information flexibly allocated by a base station using defined, non-overlapping PRB sub-bands to insure that the allocation of different BWPs using different PRBs do not interfere with each other.
Fakoorian fails to disclose PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB.
However, Khan further teaches PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of DL PRBs followed by UL PRBs followed by DL PRBs are allocated within a slot 208 of a set of contiguous slots 206, 208, 210, 212 & 214. Fig 2 & [0111] discloses that the pattern information may include a starting PRB and a number of PRBs which have UL PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain (i.e. Fig 2 shows a contiguous set of UL PRBs allocated between contiguous sets of DL PRBs).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a UE in a wireless communication system supporting a plurality of multiplexing schemes, the UE comprising: a transceiver; and a processor configured to: receive, from a base station, configuration information including a number of contiguous slots configurable in a frequency domain and information about a start slot among the contiguous slots, as disclosed by Fakoorian, and receiving PRB pattern information for a slot of the contiguous slots, wherein the PRB pattern information includes information indicating a number of the at least one PRB which have a PRB type and are contiguous in the frequency domain, and information indicating a start PRB of the at least one PRB, as further taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a UE capable of receiving BWP configuration information flexibly allocated by a base station that indicates a starting UL PRB types and number of contiguous UL PRBs allocated within a slot between sets of contiguous DL PRB types in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Regarding Claim 17, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 16.
Fakoorian discloses wherein the contiguous slots are configured among flexible slots in which a DL slot, a UL slot, or a full duplex (FD) slot is configurable (Fig 4 & [0120]-[0123] disclose contiguous slots configured among downlink and uplink for both TDD and FDD.).
Regarding Claim 18, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 16.
Fakoorian discloses wherein the processor is further configured to receive, through the transceiver, the configuration information using at least one of cell-specific configuration information or UE-specific configuration information ([0107] discloses a BWP configuration may be indicated in a DCI transmission from a single (i.e. cell-specific) base station 105-a.).
Claims 4 & 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fakoorian et al. (US 2021/0329646)(herein after “Fakoorian”) in view of Liao et al. (US 2019/0103953)(herein after “Liao”) and Khan Beigi et al. (US 2024/0107525)(herein after “Khan”), as applied to Claim 2, and further in view of Sridharan et al. (US 2024/0048299)(herein after “Sridharan”).
Regarding Claim 4, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan discloses the method of Claim 2.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB.
However, Khan teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of PRBs includes at least one DL PRB followed by at least one UL PRB followed by at least one DL PRBs allocated within a slot 208.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method of Claim 2, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB, as taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a method for providing flexibility in the allocation of BWPs through configuration information that indicates at least one UL PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB (Fig 4 & [0104]-[0106] disclose a UE receiving control information from a network indicating a frequency hopping pattern for 20 slots indicating a pattern of physical slots that indicates at least one slot is configured as a Full Duplex slot (FD). [0063] discloses that the UE may be configured based on resource blocks (i.e. PRBs), and thus the FD slot may consist of at least one FD PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method of Claim 2, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a method for providing flexibility in the allocation of BWPs through configuration information that indicates at least one PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots to be an FD PRB in order to increase spectrum utilization and capacity by flexibly allocating FD capable UEs during certain slots to take advantage of FD paired spectrum.
Regarding Claim 5, Fakoorian in view of Liao discloses the method of Claim 3.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period, and wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period (Fig 4 & [0106] discloses a single resource slot pattern that repeats every pattern allocation period of 10 slots.), and
wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period. (Fig 3 & [0095] discloses a multiple resource slot pattern allocation that differs every second configuration period of 5 slots between DDDSU and DDSUU pattern allocations.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method of Claim 3, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period, and wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a method that for providing flexibility in the allocation of BWPs through configuration information that indicates slot patterns for allocation of UL, DL and FD PRBs within a set of contiguous slots in order to maximize spectrum utilization across TDD and FD paired spectrum bands.
Claims 9 & 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fakoorian et al. (US 2021/0329646)(herein after “Fakoorian”) in view of Liao et al. (US 2019/0103953)(herein after “Liao”) and Khan Beigi et al. (US 2024/0107525)(herein after “Khan”), as applied to Claim 7, and further in view of Sridharan et al. (US 2024/0048299)(herein after “Sridharan”).
Regarding Claim 9, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Kahn disclose the base station of Claim 7.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB.
However, Khan teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of PRBs includes at least one DL PRB followed by at least one UL PRB followed by at least one DL PRBs allocated within a slot 208.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the base station of Claim 7, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB, as taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a base station that can provide flexibility in the allocation of BWPs through configuration information that indicates at least one UL PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB (Fig 4 & [0104]-[0106] disclose a UE receiving control information from a network indicating a frequency hopping pattern for 20 slots indicating a pattern of physical slots that indicates at least one slot is configured as a Full Duplex slot (FD). [0063] discloses that the UE may be configured based on resource blocks (i.e. PRBs), and thus the FD slot may consist of at least one FD PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the base station of Claim 7, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a base station that can provide flexibility in the allocation of BWPs through configuration information that indicates at least one PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots to be an FD PRB in order to increase spectrum utilization and capacity by flexibly allocating FD capable UEs during certain slots to take advantage of FD paired spectrum.
Regarding Claim 10, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the base station of Claim 8.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, and wherein the processor is further configured to: in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, set the slot pattern to be identical every first configuration period, and in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, set the slot pattern to differ every second configuration period.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, and wherein the processor is further configured to: in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, set the slot pattern to be identical every first configuration period (Fig 4 & [0106] discloses a single resource slot pattern that repeats every pattern allocation period of 10 slots.), and
in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, set the slot pattern to differ every second configuration period (Fig 3 & [0095] discloses a multiple resource slot pattern allocation that differs every second configuration period of 5 slots between DDDSU and DDSUU pattern allocations.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the base station of Claim 8, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period, and wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a base station that can provide flexibility in the allocation of BWPs through configuration information that indicates slot patterns for allocation of UL, DL and FD PRBs within a set of contiguous slots in order to maximize spectrum utilization across TDD and FD paired spectrum bands.
Claims 14 & 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fakoorian et al. (US 2021/0329646)(herein after “Fakoorian”) in view of Liao et al. (US 2019/0103953)(herein after “Liao”) and Khan Beigi et al. (US 2024/0107525)(herein after “Khan”), as applied to Claim 12, and further in view of Sridharan et al. (US 2024/0048299)(herein after “Sridharan”).
Regarding Claim 14, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 12.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB.
However, Khan teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of PRBs includes at least one DL PRB followed by at least one UL PRB followed by at least one DL PRBs allocated within a slot 208.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method of Claim 12, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB, as taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a method for a UE to receive BWP configuration information, flexibility allocated by a base station, that indicates at least one UL PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB (Fig 4 & [0104]-[0106] disclose a UE receiving control information from a network indicating a frequency hopping pattern for 20 slots indicating a pattern of physical slots that indicates at least one slot is configured as a Full Duplex slot (FD). [0063] discloses that the UE may be configured based on resource blocks (i.e. PRBs), and thus the FD slot may consist of at least one FD PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method of Claim 12, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a method for a UE to receive BWP configuration information, flexibly allocated by a base station, that indicates at least one PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots to be an FD PRB in order to increase spectrum utilization and capacity by flexibly allocating FD capable UEs during certain slots to take advantage of FD paired spectrum.
Regarding Claim 15, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the method of Claim 13.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period, and wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period (Fig 4 & [0106] discloses a single resource slot pattern that repeats every pattern allocation period of 10 slots.), and
wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period. (Fig 3 & [0095] discloses a multiple resource slot pattern allocation that differs every second configuration period of 5 slots between DDDSU and DDSUU pattern allocations.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method of Claim 13, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period, and wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a method for a UE to receive BWP configuration information, flexibly allocated by a base station, that indicates slot patterns for allocation of UL, DL and FD PRBs within a set of contiguous slots in order to maximize spectrum utilization across TDD and FD paired spectrum bands.
Claims 19 & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fakoorian et al. (US 2021/0329646)(herein after “Fakoorian”) in view of Liao et al. (US 2019/0103953)(herein after “Liao”) and Khan Beigi et al. (US 2024/0107525)(herein after “Khan”), as applied to Claim 17, and further in view of Sridharan et al. (US 2024/0048299)(herein after “Sridharan”).
Regarding Claim 19, Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan disclose the UE of Claim 17.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB.
However, Khan teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB (Fig 2, [0073] & [0111] disclose a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) configuration where a pattern of PRBs includes at least one DL PRB followed by at least one UL PRB followed by at least one DL PRBs allocated within a slot 208.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the UE of Claim 17, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of a DL PRB and a UL PRB, as taught by Khan. The motivation to do so would be to would be to have a UE capable of receiving BWP configuration information, flexibility allocated by a base station, that indicates at least one UL PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots in order to improve UL coverage, reduce latency and increase spectrum efficiency.
Fakoorian fails to disclose wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB (Fig 4 & [0104]-[0106] disclose a UE receiving control information from a network indicating a frequency hopping pattern for 20 slots indicating a pattern of physical slots that indicates at least one slot is configured as a Full Duplex slot (FD). [0063] discloses that the UE may be configured based on resource blocks (i.e. PRBs), and thus the FD slot may consist of at least one FD PRB.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the UE of Claim 17, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the at least one PRB includes at least one of an FD PRB, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a UE capable of receiving BWP configuration information, flexibly allocated by a base station, that indicates at least one PRB allocated within a slot of contiguous slots to be an FD PRB in order to increase spectrum utilization and capacity by flexibly allocating FD capable UEs during certain slots to take advantage of FD paired spectrum.
Regarding Claim 20, Fakoorian in view of Liao disclose the method he UE of Claim 18.
Fakoorian in view of Liao fail to disclose wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period, and wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period.
However, Sridharan further teaches wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period (Fig 4 & [0106] discloses a single resource slot pattern that repeats every pattern allocation period of 10 slots.), and
wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period. (Fig 3 & [0095] discloses a multiple resource slot pattern allocation that differs every second configuration period of 5 slots between DDDSU and DDSUU pattern allocations.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the UE of Claim 18, as disclosed by Fakoorian in view of Liao and Khan, wherein the cell-specific configuration information includes information indicating a slot pattern, wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a single pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to be identical every first configuration period, and wherein in case that the slot pattern indicates a multiple pattern allocation, the slot pattern is set to differ every second configuration period, as further taught by Sridharan. The motivation to do so would be to have a UE capable of receiving BWP configuration information, flexibly allocated by a base station, that indicates slot patterns for allocation of UL, DL and FD PRBs within a set of contiguous slots in order to maximize spectrum utilization across TDD and FD paired spectrum bands.
Conclusion
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Wang et al. (US 2023/0217441) discloses a Sideling Mode 1 Mini-slot.
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/JAMES P SEYMOUR/Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419