DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Amendment filed 8/26/2025. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because they do not apply to the new grounds of rejection made in view of newly cited Wei et al. (U.S. Publication US 2021/0307041 A1).
Independent claim 1 has been amended to include a new limitation stating “wherein the first parameter indicates a resource division granularity, and wherein the resource division granularity determines a quantity of resources in a first narrowband by dividing a resource group in a first bandwidth at a granularity of a resource unit”. Although previously cited Fang et al. (U.S. Publication US 2019/0327718 A1) does disclose using a resource granularity of a number of PRBs (See paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), and although Fang et al. also discloses the quantity of resources in a narrowband being determined based on the granularity and the number of PRBs corresponding to the system bandwidth (See paragraphs 138-140 and paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), Fang et al. does not specifically disclose the granularity being indicated via first indication information, as claimed. However, Wei et al., discloses another relevant system and method of indicating narrowband resource allocations wherein an indicator may be sent from a base station, BS, to a user equipment, UE, identifying a narrowband granularity on a RB level basis (See paragraph 101 and Figure 9A of Wei et al.). Thus, based on this teaching of Wei et al., it would have been obvious that a resource division granularity of a narrowband could additionally be indicated in first indication information in order to properly configure narrowband resources. Thus, new grounds of rejection for amended claim 1 are made in view of the teachings of Wei et al.
Independent claims 7, 11, and 17 contain similar amendments as those made to claim 1 and are also rejected under new grounds in view of the teachings of Wei et al. for the same reasons.
It is further noted, due to the amendments made to claims 3, 9, 13, and 19, these claims are also rejected under new grounds in view of newly cited Namba et al. (U.S. Publication US 2021/0298052 A1).
Please see the rejections below for further detail.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2, 4-5, 7-8, 10-12, 14-15, 17-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang et al. (U.S. Publication US 2019/0327718 A1) in view of Wei et al. (U.S. Publication US 2021/0307041 A1).
With respect to claims 1 and 11, Fang et al. discloses communication apparatus comprising a transceiver and a processor coupled to the transceiver configured to perform a method (See the abstract, paragraphs 107-109, paragraph 116, and Figure 4 of Fang et al. for reference to a terminal, which is a communication apparatus, comprising modules to transmit and receive, i.e. a transceiver, and a processor performing a resource allocation method). Fang et al. also discloses obtaining first information comprising first indication information (See paragraph 62 and Figure 1 of Fang et al. for reference to a terminal receiving a resource allocation parameter, which is first indication information, from a base station). Fang et al. further discloses determining, based on the first indication information, a first parameter (See paragraph 62, paragraph 91, and Figure 2 of Fang et al. for reference to determining based on the resource allocation information a starting narrowband index and a resource position, which are first parameters). Fang et al. also discloses determining, based on the first parameter, resource configuration information of a first narrowband, wherein the resource configuration information comprises at least one of a starting resource of the first narrowband, a quantity of resources comprised in the first narrowband, or a location of the first narrowband in a first bandwidth that comprises at least one resource of the first narrowband (See paragraph 66, paragraph 69, and paragraphs 72-74 of Fang et al. for reference to determining based on the parameters starting position information of the resource position, which is a starting resource of the first narrowband, a number of narrowbands included in the bandwidth of the resource position, which is a quantity of resources comprised in the first narrowband, and a resource position, which is a location of the first narrowband). Fang et al. further discloses sending or receiving second information using a resource of the first narrowband that is based on the resource configuration information (See paragraph 92 and Figure 2 of Fang et al. for reference to the terminal receiving or sending the physical shared channel on PRBs determined by the resource allocation parameter). Although Fang et al. does disclose using a resource granularity of a number of PRBs (See paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), and although Fang et al. also discloses the quantity of resources in a narrowband being determined based on the granularity and the number of PRBs corresponding to the system bandwidth (See paragraphs 138-140 and paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), Fang et al. does not specifically disclose the granularity being indicated via first indication information, as claimed. However, Wei et al., in the field of communications, discloses another relevant system and method of indicating narrowband resource allocations wherein an indicator may be sent from a base station, BS, to a user equipment, UE, identifying a narrowband granularity on a RB level basis (See paragraph 101 and Figure 9A of Wei et al.). Providing an indication of granularity allows the network to inform the UE the current granularity used in allocating narrowband resources. Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, when presented with the work of Wei et al., to combine providing an indication of the granularity, as suggested by Wei et al., within the resource allocation parameter of Fang et al., with the motivation being to inform the UE the current granularity used in allocating narrowband resources.
With respect to claim 7, Fang et al. discloses a method comprising determining resource configuration information of a first narrowband (See the abstract, paragraphs 62-63, and Figure 1 of Fang et al. for reference to a resource allocation method for indicating a narrowband resource). Fang et al. also discloses sending first information to a terminal device, wherein the first information comprises first indication information, and wherein the first indication information is related to the resource configuration information (See paragraphs 62-64 and Figure 1 of Fang et al. for reference to a base station sending a resource allocation parameter, which is first information, to a terminal, wherein the resource allocation parameter is related to the resource configuration of the narrowband). Fang et al. further discloses transmitting second information using a resource of the first narrowband that is based on the resource configuration information (See paragraph 92 and Figure 2 of Fang et al. for reference to the base station sending or receiving the physical shared channel to the terminal on PRBs determined by the resource allocation parameter). Although Fang et al. does disclose using a resource granularity of a number of PRBs (See paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), and although Fang et al. also discloses the quantity of resources in a narrowband being determined based on the granularity and the number of PRBs corresponding to the system bandwidth (See paragraphs 138-140 and paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), Fang et al. does not specifically disclose the granularity being indicated via first indication information including a first parameter indicating the granularity, as claimed. However, Wei et al., in the field of communications, discloses another relevant system and method of indicating narrowband resource allocations wherein an indicator may be sent from a base station, BS, to a user equipment, UE, identifying a narrowband granularity on a RB level basis (See paragraph 101 and Figure 9A of Wei et al.). Providing an indication of granularity allows the network to inform the UE the current granularity used in allocating narrowband resources. Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, when presented with the work of Wei et al., to combine providing an indication of the granularity, as suggested by Wei et al., within the resource allocation parameter of Fang et al., with the motivation being to inform the UE the current granularity used in allocating narrowband resources.
With respect to claim 17, Fang et al. discloses a communication apparatus comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the communication apparatus to perform a method (See the abstract, paragraphs 101-103, paragraph 116, and Figure 3 of Fang et al. for reference to a base station, which is a communication apparatus, comprising modules for sending and receiving, i.e. a transceiver, and a processor executing software instructions to perform a resource allocation method). Fang et al. also discloses sending first information comprising first indication information for determining a first parameter (See paragraphs 62-64 and Figure 1 of Fang et al. for reference to a base station sending a resource allocation parameter, which is first information, to a terminal, wherein the resource allocation parameter used by the terminal to determine narrowband resource configuration parameters). Fang et al. further discloses wherein the first parameter is for determining resource configuration information of a first narrowband parameter (See paragraph 62, paragraph 91, and Figure 2 of Fang et al. for reference to the terminal determining based on the resource allocation information a starting narrowband index and a resource position, which are first parameters). Fang et al. also discloses and wherein the resource configuration information comprises at least one of a starting resource of the first narrowband, a quantity of resources comprised in the first narrowband, or a location of the first narrowband in a first bandwidth that comprises at least one resource of the first narrowband (See paragraph 66, paragraph 69, and paragraphs 72-74 of Fang et al. for reference to the terminal determining based on the parameters starting position information of the resource position, which is a starting resource of the first narrowband, a number of narrowbands included in the bandwidth of the resource position, which is a quantity of resources comprised in the first narrowband, and a resource position, which is a location of the first narrowband). Fang et al. further discloses receiving or sending information using a resource of the first narrowband that is based on the resource configuration information (See paragraph 92 and Figure 2 of Fang et al. for reference to the base station sending or receiving the physical shared channel to the terminal on PRBs determined by the resource allocation parameter). Although Fang et al. does disclose using a resource granularity of a number of PRBs (See paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), and although Fang et al. also discloses the quantity of resources in a narrowband being determined based on the granularity and the number of PRBs corresponding to the system bandwidth (See paragraphs 138-140 and paragraph 156 of Fang et al.), Fang et al. does not specifically disclose the granularity being indicated via first indication information, as claimed. However, Wei et al., in the field of communications, discloses another relevant system and method of indicating narrowband resource allocations wherein an indicator may be sent from a base station, BS, to a user equipment, UE, identifying a narrowband granularity on a RB level basis (See paragraph 101 and Figure 9A of Wei et al.). Providing an indication of granularity allows the network to inform the UE the current granularity used in allocating narrowband resources. Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, when presented with the work of Wei et al., to combine providing an indication of the granularity, as suggested by Wei et al., within the resource allocation parameter of Fang et al., with the motivation being to inform the UE the current granularity used in allocating narrowband resources.
With respect to claims 2, 8, 12, and 18, Fang et al. discloses further comprising further determining the first parameter based on one or more of a resource allocation granularity of the first bandwidth, a control resource set (CORESET) resource allocation granularity, and a subcarrier spacing (SCS) (See paragraphs 79-80 of Fang et al. for reference to determining the resource position based on a resource granularity). Fang et al. also discloses wherein the first bandwidth is a carrier (See paragraph 122 of Fang et al. for reference to the first bandwidth being a narrowband carrier as illustrated by Figures 6(a)-6(d)). Fang et al. further discloses configuration information comprising at least one of a quantity of resources comprised in the carrier, a center frequency of the carrier, a band on which the carrier is located, or a maximum SCS supported by the carrier, (See paragraphs 68-71 of Fang et al. for reference to the configuration information comprising a number of narrowbands or a number of PRBs, which is a quality of resources, as well as a resource position, i.e. a band on which the narrowband carrier is located).
With respect to claims 4, 10, 14, and 20, Fang et al. discloses wherein at least one element in a value set of the first parameter belongs to {2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24}, at least one value of the first parameter is 2m and m is a positive integer, or the at least one value of the first parameter is a multiple of 6 (See paragraphs 79-80 of Fang et al. for reference to at least one value in the set of resource granularity being 2 PRBs, 4 PRBs, or 6 PRBs).
With respect to claims 5 and 15, Fang et al. discloses wherein the first parameter is a first reference location, wherein the method further comprises determining the first reference location from a reference location set based on the first indication information (See paragraphs 72-74 of Fang et al. for reference to determining a starting narrowband index, which is a first reference location, based on the allocation parameters). Fang et al. further discloses wherein the reference location set comprises at least two of a starting location of the first bandwidth, a starting location of a carrier on which the first bandwidth is located, a common resource block (CRB), a point A, an end location of the first bandwidth, a starting location of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel resource block (SSB), or an end location of the SSB (See paragraphs 72-74 and paragraphs 84-89 of Fang et al. for reference to the set of indication information parameters comprising a starting narrowband index and starting location of the narrowband within a wideband).
Claims 3, 9, 13, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang et al. in view of Wei et al., and in further view of Namba et al. (U.S. Publication US 2021/0298052 A1).
With respect to claims 3, 9, 13, and 19, Fang et al. does not specifically disclose wherein the first bandwidth is a bandwidth part (BWP) and has configuration information comprising at least one of a size of a resource block group (RBG) corresponding to the BWP, a configuration of a control resource set (CORESET) corresponding to the BWP, a quantity of resources comprised in the BWP, a starting resource of the BWP, an SCS of the BWP, or a cyclic prefix type supported by the BWP. However, Namba et al., in the field of communications discloses a system and method wherein narrowband BWPs can be allocated and a specific subcarrier spacing may be set for each BWP (See paragraph 6 of Namba et al.). Identifying narrowband BWPs and corresponding SCSs has the advantage of allowing BWP configuration in accordance with the 5G standards to be indicated for narrowband BWPs. Thus it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, when presented with the work of Namba et al., to combine using narrowband BWPs with identification of the BWPs and corresponding SCSs, as suggested by Namba et al., within the system and method of Fang et al., with the motivation being to allow BWP configuration in accordance with the 5G standards to be indicated for narrowband BWPs.
Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang et al. in view of Wei et al., and in further view of Zhou et al. (U.S. Publication US 2022/0330242 A1).
With respect to claims 6 and 16, Fang et al. does not specifically disclose wherein the first bandwidth is a bandwidth part (BWP) of a terminal device, wherein a first size of the BWP is greater than a second size of the first narrowband or is M times the second size, and wherein a value of M is an integer multiple of 0.5, the value of M is an integer multiple of 0.25, at least one element in a value set of M belongs to {0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, or M is a prespecified positive integer. However, Zhou et al., in the field of communications, discloses that a narrowband may be included within an active BWP, such that the BWP has a size greater than the narrowband (See paragraph 62 of Zhou et al.). Dividing available bandwidth into bandwidth parts and allocating narrowbands within the BWPs is old and well known, as illustrated by the teachings of Zhou et al. Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, when presented with the work of Zhou et al., to group available bandwidth into BWPs comprising narrowbands, as suggested by Zhou et al., within the system and method of Fang et al., such that the bandwidth used by Fang et al. may be grouped into BWPs for flexible resource allocation as is old and well known in the art of communications.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JASON E MATTIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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