DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 12/02/2025 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “different from the first wireless communication band, during the coexistence period”. For clarity purposes and consistency within the claim, the examiner suggests removing “during the coexistence period” as it is already mentioned just prior to said limitation. Similar objection applies to claim 20.
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 of this title, 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, 16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (US 2018/0035444 A1) in view of Song et al. (US 2015/0124676 A1, hereinafter “Song”).
As to claim 1:
Wu discloses an apparatus configured for wireless communications (device; see Figs. 1-4 and 6; [0072]), comprising a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors (“processor 610 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which might be incorporated into the operating system 640 and/or other code, such as an application program 645) contained in the working memory 635”; [0079]), the processing system configured to cause a user equipment to (“processor 610 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which might be incorporated into the operating system 640 and/or other code, such as an application program 645) contained in the working memory 635”; [0079]; [0072]):
enable a coexistence period (“coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers… a GNSS receiver 310 can operate simultaneously when a RAT transceiver 320 is operating in a reception mode”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032]); and
during the coexistence period (“coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers… a GNSS receiver 310 can operate simultaneously when a RAT transceiver 320 is operating in a reception mode”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032]):
receive positioning data from a positioning system via a first wireless communication band (“Mobile device 105 is able to perform satellite-based positioning by receiving SPS signals from one or more satellites… Each SPS signal may also include ephemeris information which can be used to determine the location of the satellite at the time the SPS signal is transmitted. Mobile device 105 is able to determine when it receives each of the SPS signals 110, 115, and 120… compute the location of mobile device 105, based on the known location of each satellite and the distance between each satellite and mobile device 105”; [0032]-[0033]; [0037]; [0043] coexistence period [0006]; [0065]; [0026]; [0050] note: SPS/GNSS = first wireless communication band, reception by GNSS receiver = first communications) based on a prioritization of first communications, that include the positioning data, over the first wireless communication band and a deprioritization of second communications over a second wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band, during the coexistence period (“prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT”; Abstract; [0006]; [0065]; [0026] coexistence period [0006]; [0065]; [0026]; [0050] note: RAT/LTE = second wireless communication band, transmission by RAT = second communications; SPS/GNSS = first wireless communication band, reception by GNSS receiver = first communications).
Wu does not explicitly disclose receive data from a network via the second wireless communication band.
However, Song discloses during the coexistence period receive data from a network via the second wireless communication band (“The mobile device 102 receives navigation signals from GNSS 106 while concurrently downloading maps via the LTE network 104”; [0027] LTE = second wireless communication band).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Song into Wu’s system/method as it would allow during the coexistence period to receive data from a network via the second wireless communication band. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to concurrently support user applications, thereby improving on user experience (Song; [0003]).
As to claim 16:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above. Wu further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to: determine high-priority data for sending to a network has a sending priority higher than a threshold; and send the high-priority data to the network via the second wireless communication band during the coexistence period (“prioritizing a GNSS locating signal reception or a RAT transmissions based upon one or more parameters. These parameters can include information gathered from an external agent indicating a priority, information from prior prioritization of one transmission over another”; [0065]).
As to claim 18:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above. Wu further discloses wherein the coexistence period is defined by one or more of: a periodicity of the coexistence period; a time offset of the coexistence period; or a duration of the coexistence period (“prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT”; Abstract; [0006]; [0065]; [0026] RAT/LTE = first wireless communication band; SPS/GNSS = second wireless communication band “coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032]).
As to claim 19:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above. Wu further discloses wherein: the first wireless communication band is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication band (“GNSS transceiver may operate on 1.5/1.6 GHz frequency band”; [0037]), and the second wireless communication band is an L band (see Fig. 1; [0032]-[0034]).
As to claim 20:
Wu discloses a method of wireless communications by a user equipment (device; see Figs. 1-4 and 6; Abstract; [0072]), comprising:
enabling a coexistence period (“coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers… a GNSS receiver 310 can operate simultaneously when a RAT transceiver 320 is operating in a reception mode”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032]); and
during the coexistence period (“coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers… a GNSS receiver 310 can operate simultaneously when a RAT transceiver 320 is operating in a reception mode”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032]):
receiving positioning data from a positioning system via a first wireless communication band (“Mobile device 105 is able to perform satellite-based positioning by receiving SPS signals from one or more satellites… Each SPS signal may also include ephemeris information which can be used to determine the location of the satellite at the time the SPS signal is transmitted. Mobile device 105 is able to determine when it receives each of the SPS signals 110, 115, and 120… compute the location of mobile device 105, based on the known location of each satellite and the distance between each satellite and mobile device 105”; [0032]-[0033]; [0037]; [0043] coexistence period [0006]; [0065]; [0026]; [0050] note: SPS/GNSS = first wireless communication band, reception by GNSS receiver = first communications) based on a prioritization of first communications that includes the positioning data, over the first wireless communication band and a deprioritization of second communications over a second wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band, during the coexistence period (“prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT”; Abstract; [0006]; [0065]; [0026] coexistence period [0006]; [0065]; [0026]; [0050] note: RAT/LTE = second wireless communication band, transmission by RAT = second communications; SPS/GNSS = first wireless communication band, reception by GNSS receiver = first communications).
Wu does not explicitly disclose receiving data from a network via the second wireless communication band.
However, Song discloses during the coexistence period receiving data from a network via the second wireless communication band (“The mobile device 102 receives navigation signals from GNSS 106 while concurrently downloading maps via the LTE network 104”; [0027] LTE = second wireless communication band).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Song into Wu’s system/method as it would allow during the coexistence period to receive data from a network via the second wireless communication band. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to concurrently support user applications, thereby improving on user experience (Song; [0003]).
Claims 2-9, 14-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (US 2018/0035444 A1) in view of Song (US 2015/0124676 A1) and further in view of Lindoff et al. (US 2016/0066356 A1, hereinafter “Lindoff”).
As to claim 2:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to: select a configuration for the coexistence period; and send, to a network, the configuration for the coexistence period.
However, Lindoff discloses the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to: select a configuration for the coexistence period; and send, to a network, the configuration for the coexistence period (“The radio frequency communication device 320 may signal the capability to any suitable network node 310”; [0078] “The capability information may also comprise specific mitigation techniques which the radio frequency communication device 320 is capable to apply in order to handle the simultaneous signal transmission over the network (cellular) transmission link and signal reception over the D2D reception link. For example a radio frequency communication device 320 may indicate that it supports all pre-defined mitigation techniques. In another example a device may indicate that it is capable of applying only (a) specific mitigation technique(s), such as prioritization between D2D reception and network (cellular) transmission and transmission power adjustment”; [0078]; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method of Wu and Song as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to: select a configuration for the coexistence period; and send, to a network, the configuration for the coexistence period. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 3:
The combined system/method of Wu, Song and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to receive, from the network, a confirmation of the configuration for the coexistence period (“the prioritization rule is determined by the network node 310 based on a negotiation between the network node 310, and the radio frequency communication devices 320”; [0077]; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to receive, from the network, a confirmation of the configuration for the coexistence period. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 4:
The combined system/method of Wu, Song and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to: receive, from the network, a modified configuration for the coexistence period, and enable the coexistence period in accordance with the modified configuration for the coexistence period (“the network node 310 may also be configured to update the prioritization rule dynamically”; [0080]; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to: receive, from the network, a modified configuration for the coexistence period, and enable the coexistence period in accordance with the modified configuration for the coexistence period. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 5:
The combined system/method of Wu, Song and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein to select the configuration for the coexistence period, the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to select the configuration from a plurality of pre-configured configurations (“the radio frequency communication device 320 to use a particular mitigation technique or plurality of techniques”; [0075]; [0078]; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow to select the configuration for the coexistence period, the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to select the configuration from a plurality of pre-configured configurations. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 6:
The combined system/method of Wu, Song and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to select the configuration from the plurality of pre-configured configurations (“the radio frequency communication device 320 to use a particular mitigation technique or plurality of techniques”; [0075]; [0078]; [0055]) based at least in part on at least a partial overlap of the configuration with a configured measurement period (“a mitigation technique may be to prioritize signal measurements for the reception over a network (cellular) transmission”;[0063]; [0075]; [0078]; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to select the configuration from the plurality of pre-configured configurations based at least in part on at least a partial overlap of the configuration with a configured measurement period. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 7:
The combined system/method of Wu, Song and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to select the configuration for the coexistence period based on one or more of: an availability of the positioning data from the positioning system, or another positioning system, via a third wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band and the second wireless communication band; a quality of a signal that includes the positioning data received via the second wireless communication band; an availability of location data for a mobile entity of the positioning system; mobility information of the user equipment; location information of the user equipment; an authentication status associated with the positioning system; or an operational state of the user equipment (“The first radio frequency communication device 320 determines 700 if a power imbalance (due to simultaneous transmission to the network node 310 and reception from the peer device or vice versa) will be likely to cause or is currently causing a transmission or reception problem on one or both links. If the radio frequency communication device 320 determines that such a problem can occur in the forthcoming communication or is occurring in the current communication, then the radio frequency communication device 320 determines 710 an appropriate solution or mitigation technique”; [0054]-[0055] For examination purposes, the examiner elected “operational state of the user equipment” as the other alternatives are optional).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to select the configuration for the coexistence period based on one or more of: an availability of the positioning data from the positioning system, or another positioning system, via a third wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band and the second wireless communication band; a quality of a signal that includes the positioning data received via the second wireless communication band; an availability of location data for a mobile entity of the positioning system; mobility information of the user equipment; location information of the user equipment; an authentication status associated with the positioning system; or an operational state of the user equipment. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 8:
The combined system/method of Wu, Song and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Wu further discloses wherein in order to select the configuration for the coexistence period (““coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023]), the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to determine an availability of ephemeris data for a satellite vehicle of the positioning system (“Each SPS signal may also include ephemeris information which can be used to determine the location of the satellite at the time the SPS signal is transmitted. Mobile device 105 is able to determine when it receives each of the SPS signals 110, 115, and 120”; [0033]; [0086]).
As to claim 9:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to: request, from a network, a configuration for the coexistence period; receive, from the network, the configuration for the coexistence period; and configure the coexistence period based on the configuration for the coexistence period.
However, Lindoff discloses the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to: request, from a network, a configuration for the coexistence period (“the prioritization rule is determined by the network node 310 based on a negotiation between the network node 310, and the radio frequency communication devices 320”; [0077]); receive, from the network, the configuration for the coexistence period (“Additionally or alternatively, the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to receive a configuration from the network node 310 and to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on a received configuration”; [0055]; [0060]); and configure the coexistence period based on the configuration for the coexistence period (“Additionally or alternatively, the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to receive a configuration from the network node 310 and to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on a received configuration”; [0055]; [0060]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method of Wu and Song as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to: request, from a network, a configuration for the coexistence period; receive, from the network, the configuration for the coexistence period; and configure the coexistence period based on the configuration for the coexistence period. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 14:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to send, to a network, an indication to enable or disable the coexistence period via at least one of a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) or a physical layer signal.
However, Lindoff discloses the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to send, to a network, an indication to enable or disable the coexistence period via at least one of a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) or a physical layer signal (“The radio frequency communication device 320 may also be configured to report any mitigation technique to the network node 310 or the second radio frequency communication device 325 to enable them to adapt their transmissions accordingly”; Fig. 3; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method of Wu and Song as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to send, to a network, an indication to enable or disable the coexistence period via at least one of a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) or a physical layer signal. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 15:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above. Wu further discloses timing information related to the second communications over the second wireless communication band (“Given certain timing parameters of a RAT transmission (such as through provided herein regarding LTE transmission timings), a controller can be operable to intelligently prioritize serial powering, blanking of a GNSS receiver, or message content between the controller and GNSS receiver, for example”; [0067]). Wu does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to send, to a network, the timing information.
However, Lindoff discloses the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to send, to a network, information (“At the end of each time period, the radio frequency communication device 320 reports signal quality status and/or other transmission quality measures, and receives new D2D resources to use for the next time period (i.e. 200-500 ms)”; [0005]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method of Wu and Song as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to send, to a network, timing information related to the second communications over the second wireless communication band. As Wu discloses the timing information is used for prioritization, therefore could be used by Lindoff for prioritization performed by network. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 17:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to enable the coexistence period based at least in part on the second wireless communication band having less than a threshold frequency band gap from the first wireless communication band.
However, Lindoff discloses wherein the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the user equipment to enable the coexistence period (“if a problem is detected, the radio frequency communication device 320 determines one or more mitigation techniques to solve the problem 840. The radio frequency communication device 320 may also be configured to decide not to perform simultaneous network (cellular) transmission and D2D reception or vice versa until the detected problem does no longer exist or until a certain time period has expired. The selected mitigation technique(s) is then applied by the radio frequency communication device 320 or possibly communicated to the network node 310”; [0060]) based at least in part on the second wireless communication band having less than a threshold frequency band gap from the first wireless communication band (“problem that may arise due to such in-band emission (for instance LTE 20 MHz). In FIG. 6A, showing a time period A (referring to time period A in FIG. 5), the first radio frequency communication device 320 D1 transmits a PUCCH to the network node 310 (referenced D1->NW) and at the same time also receives data in D2D mode from the second radio frequency communication device 325 D2 (referenced D1<-D2). Assuming the PUCCH is transmitted with higher power than the D2D part is received at (due to e.g. path loss differences or different SINR (Signal-to-Noise-and-Interference-Ratio) targets); the D2D reception may be affected by transmission (TX) leakage (referenced LA) from the PUCCH transmission”; [0011]; “current signal environment, which in turn may be defined by current noise or interference levels. For example, if there has been a trend in rising noise levels, the controller may be determined that there is a likelihood that problems will occur in the next transmissions/receptions and may thus, proactively, determine that there is a problem” [0058]; [0060]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method of Wu and Song as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to enable the coexistence period based at least in part on the second wireless communication band having less than a threshold frequency band gap from the first wireless communication band. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
Claims 21 and 23-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 2018/0035444 A1) in view of Lindoff (US 2016/0066356 A1).
As to claim 21:
Wu discloses an apparatus configured for wireless communications (base station 155; see Fig. 1; [0035]-[0036]):
send, to a user equipment, [signals] (“mobile device 105 is able to perform wireless communications by sending signals to, and receiving signals from, one or more base stations 155”; [0035]). Wu also discloses a configuration for a coexistence period (“coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032]) where first communications over a first wireless communication band are prioritized and second communication over a second wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band, are deprioritized (“prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT”; Abstract; [0006]; [0065]; [0026] coexistence period [0006]; [0065]; [0026]; [0050] note: RAT/LTE = second wireless communication band, transmission by RAT = second communications; SPS/GNSS = first wireless communication band, reception by GNSS receiver = first communications); and
send, to the user equipment, during the coexistence period, data over the second wireless communication band (“a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers… a GNSS receiver 310 can operate simultaneously when a RAT transceiver 320 is operating in a reception mode”; [0052] note: RAT/LTE = second wireless communication band).
Wu does not explicitly disclose the apparatus comprising a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause a network entity to: send, to a user equipment, a configuration for a coexistence period.
However, Lindoff disclose an apparatus configured for wireless communications (network node; see Figs. 2-3), comprising a processing system that includes one or more processors (“The memory 240 is used for various purposes by the controller 210, such as for storing program instructions and application data”; Fig. 2; [0042]) and one or more memories (“The memory 240 is used for various purposes by the controller 210, such as for storing program instructions and application data”; Fig. 2; [0042]) coupled with the one or more processors (see Fig. 2), the processing system configured to cause a network entity to (see Figs. 2-3):
send, to a user equipment, a configuration for a coexistence period (“the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on pre-defined rules. Additionally or alternatively, the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to receive a configuration from the network node 310 and to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on a received configuration”; [0055]; [0063]-[0074]; [0080] “A first general mitigation technique is to prioritize between D2D reception and network (cellular) transmission”; [0063]; [0005]; [0075]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into Wu’s system/method as it would allow the apparatus configured for wireless communications to comprise a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause a network entity to: send, to a user equipment, a configuration for a coexistence period where first communications over a first wireless communication band are prioritized and second communication over a second wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band, are deprioritized. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 23:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the network entity to receive, from the user equipment, a requested configuration for the coexistence period (“the prioritization rule is determined by the network node 310 based on a negotiation between the network node 310, and the radio frequency communication devices 320”; [0077]-[0078]; [0055]; [0060]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the network entity to receive, from the user equipment, a requested configuration for the coexistence period. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 24:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the network entity to modify the requested configuration for the coexistence period to generate the configuration for the coexistence period sent to the user equipment (“the network node 310 may also be configured to update the prioritization rule dynamically”; [0080]; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the network entity to modify the requested configuration for the coexistence period to generate the configuration for the coexistence period sent to the user equipment. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 25:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the configuration for the coexistence period comprises an indication configured to be used by the user equipment for selection of the configuration from a plurality of pre-configured configurations (“the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on pre-defined rules. Additionally or alternatively, the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to receive a configuration from the network node 310 and to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on a received configuration”; [0055]; [0075]; [0078]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the configuration for the coexistence period to comprise an indication configured to be used by the user equipment for selection of the configuration from a plurality of pre-configured configurations. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 26:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the network entity to select the configuration for the coexistence period based on one or more of: network traffic associated with the user equipment; a quality of service (QoS) requirement associated with the user equipment; an availability of positioning data from a positioning system; a quality of a signal that includes positioning data received by the user equipment; an availability of location data for a mobile entity of a positioning system; mobility information of the user equipment; location information of the user equipment; an authentication status associated with a positioning system; or an operational state of the user equipment (“The first radio frequency communication device 320 determines 700 if a power imbalance (due to simultaneous transmission to the network node 310 and reception from the peer device or vice versa) will be likely to cause or is currently causing a transmission or reception problem on one or both links. If the radio frequency communication device 320 determines that such a problem can occur in the forthcoming communication or is occurring in the current communication, then the radio frequency communication device 320 determines 710 an appropriate solution or mitigation technique”; [0054] “the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on pre-defined rules. Additionally or alternatively, the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to receive a configuration from the network node 310 and to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on a received configuration. Combinations of how the radio frequency communication device 320 applies the mitigation techniques are of course possible.”; [0055] For examination purposes, the examiner elected “operational state of the user equipment” as the other alternatives are optional).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the network entity to select the configuration for the coexistence period based on one or more of: network traffic associated with the user equipment; a quality of service (QoS) requirement associated with the user equipment; an availability of positioning data from a positioning system; a quality of a signal that includes positioning data received by the user equipment; an availability of location data for a mobile entity of a positioning system; mobility information of the user equipment; location information of the user equipment; an authentication status associated with a positioning system; or an operational state of the user equipment. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 27:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Wu further discloses timing information related to a transmission from the user equipment over the second wireless communication band (“Given certain timing parameters of a RAT transmission (such as through provided herein regarding LTE transmission timings), a controller can be operable to intelligently prioritize serial powering, blanking of a GNSS receiver, or message content between the controller and GNSS receiver, for example”; [0067]). Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the network entity to receive, from the user equipment, information(“At the end of each time period, the radio frequency communication device 320 reports signal quality status and/or other transmission quality measures, and receives new D2D resources to use for the next time period (i.e. 200-500 ms)”; [0005]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the network entity to receive, from the user equipment, timing information related to a transmission from the user equipment over the second wireless communication band. As Wu discloses the timing information is used for prioritization, therefore could be used by Lindoff for prioritization performed by network. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 28:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Wu further discloses wherein the coexistence period is defined by one or more of: a periodicity of the coexistence period; a time offset of the coexistence period; or a duration of the coexistence period (“prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT”; Abstract; [0006]; [0065]; [0026] RAT/LTE = first wireless communication band; SPS/GNSS = second wireless communication band “coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032].
As to claim 29:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above, Wu further discloses wherein: the first wireless communication band is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication band (“GNSS transceiver may operate on 1.5/1.6 GHz frequency band”; [0037]), and the second wireless communication band is an L band (see Fig. 1; [0032]-[0034]).
As to claim 30:
Wu discloses a method of wireless communications by a network entity (base station 155; see Fig. 1; Abstract; [0035]-[0036]), comprising:
sending, to a user equipment, [signals] (“mobile device 105 is able to perform wireless communications by sending signals to, and receiving signals from, one or more base stations 155”; [0035]). Wu also discloses a configuration for a coexistence period (“coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules”; [0065]; [0023] “a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers”; [0052]; [0045]; [0050]; [0006]; [0032]) where first communications over a first wireless communication band are prioritized and second communications over a second wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band, are deprioritized (“prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT”; Abstract; [0006]; [0065]; [0026] coexistence period [0006]; [0065]; [0026]; [0050] note: RAT/LTE = second wireless communication band, transmission by RAT = second communications; SPS/GNSS = first wireless communication band, reception by GNSS receiver = first communications); and
sending, to the user equipment, during the coexistence period, data over the second wireless communication band (“a GNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used in conjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers… a GNSS receiver 310 can operate simultaneously when a RAT transceiver 320 is operating in a reception mode”; [0052] note: RAT/LTE = second wireless communication band).
Wu does not explicitly disclose sending, to a user equipment, a configuration for a coexistence period.
However, Lindoff discloses a network entity (network node; see Figs. 2-3) sending, to a user equipment, a configuration for a coexistence period (“the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on pre-defined rules. Additionally or alternatively, the radio frequency communication device 320 may be configured to receive a configuration from the network node 310 and to apply one or more such mitigation techniques based on a received configuration”; [0055]; [0063]-[0074]; [0080] “A first general mitigation technique is to prioritize between D2D reception and network (cellular) transmission”; [0063]; [0005]; [0075]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into Wu’s system/method as it would allow sending, to a user equipment, a configuration for a coexistence period where first communications over a first wireless communication band are prioritized and second communications over a second wireless communication band, different from the first wireless communication band, are deprioritized. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 31:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above. Wu further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the network entity to: receive, from the user equipment, high-priority data via the second wireless communication band during the coexistence period (“prioritizing a GNSS locating signal reception or a RAT transmissions based upon one or more parameters. These parameters can include information gathered from an external agent indicating a priority, information from prior prioritization of one transmission over another”; [0065]; [0052]).
As to claim 32:
The combined system/method of Wu and Lindoff discloses the invention set forth above. Lindoff further discloses wherein the processing system (controller 110; Fig. 1) is configured to cause the network entity to receive, from the user equipment, an indication to enable or disable the coexistence period via at least one of a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) or a physical layer signal (“The radio frequency communication device 320 may also be configured to report any mitigation technique to the network node 310 or the second radio frequency communication device 325 to enable them to adapt their transmissions accordingly”; Fig. 3; [0055]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Lindoff into the combined system/method of Wu and Song as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the network entity to receive, from the user equipment, an indication to enable or disable the coexistence period via at least one of a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) or a physical layer signal . Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to improve on spectrum usage and spectrum capacity as well as not wasting resource (Lindoff; [0014]-[0015]).
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (US 2018/0035444 A1) in view of Song et al. (US 2015/0124676 A1) and further in view of Cui et al. (US 2024/0243859 A1, hereinafter “Cui”).
As to claim 11:
The combined system/method of Wu and Song discloses the invention set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to disable hybrid automatic repeat request feedback during the coexistence period.
However, Cui discloses in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the HARQ process can wait a long time for the feedback (e.g., acknowledgement/response regarding receipt/non-receipt of transmission) before the next transmission. In order to avoid the HARQ stalling and to increase throughput, HARQ feedback disabling can be applied (see paragraphs [0031]; [0034]; [0037] and [0048]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cui’s teaching of disabling HARQ feedback when communicating with satellites into the combined system of Wu and Song as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to disable hybrid automatic repeat request feedback during the coexistence period, since Wu’s coexistence period includes communication with satellite. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to reduce signaling overhead (Cui; [0014]-[0015]).
As to claim 12:
The combined system/method of Wu, Song and Cui discloses the invention set forth above. Cui further discloses wherein the processing system is configured to cause the user equipment to allow hybrid automatic repeat request feedback outside of long propagation delays like the ones with satellites (in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the HARQ process can wait a long time for the feedback (e.g., acknowledgement/response regarding receipt/non-receipt of transmission) before the next transmission. In order to avoid the HARQ stalling and to increase throughput, HARQ feedback disabling can be applied; see paragraphs [0031]; [0034]; [0037] and [0048]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cui’s teaching into the combined system/method as it would allow the processing system to be configured to cause the user equipment to allow hybrid automatic repeat request feedback outside of the coexistence period. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to reduce signaling overhead (Cui; [0014]-[0015]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIELA VIDAL CARPIO whose telephone number is (571)272-1250. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00AM to 5:00PM.
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/MARIELA VIDAL CARPIO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476