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 03/30/26, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 , 3-11, 13-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Ly (Pub No 20210185571) further in view of Molavianjazi (Pub No 20190349867), and newly cited Nangia (Pub No 20200100194)
Regarding claim 1,
Applicant argues that the prior art does not teach the amended limitation.
The examiner relies on newly cited Nangia to teach the amended limitation
.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 1 , 3-11, 13-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The limitation “in response to the first carrier of the source cell including the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier, sending an uplink signal only on a second carrier, of the source cell, on which a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is configured between the SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier;”
The specification states 1. sending on the second carrier of a target cell and 2. Sending on a first carrier of the source cell.
[0008] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the carrier of the source cell includes the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier, the sending an uplink signal on one carrier of the source cell includes: sending the uplink signal only on a carrier on which a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is configured, where the carrier on which the PUCCH is configured is the first SUL carrier or the first uplink carrier.
[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the carrier of the target cell includes the second SUL carrier and the second uplink carrier, after the target cell is accessed, the method further includes: sending the uplink signal only on a carrier on which a physical uplink control channel PUCCH is configured, where the carrier on which the PUCCH is configured is the second SUL carrier or the second uplink carrier.
The specification does not describe sending an uplink signal only on a second carrier, of the source cell, on which a PUCCH is configured.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 3-8, 10-11, 13-18, 20-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ly (Pub No 20210185571) further in view of Molavianjazi (Pub No 20190349867), and Nangia (Pub No 20200100194)
Regarding claim 1 and 11 and 20,
Ly teaches A communication method, comprising:
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to provide execution comprising: (see para [0021])
a processor; a transceiver; and a memory configured to store computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communications apparatus to: (see para [0108])
receiving first information from a source cell, wherein the first information indicates a first carrier of the source cell, the first carrier of the source cell includes at least one of a first supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier and a first uplink carrier,; (interpreted as transmitting on a normal uplink (NUL) to the source cell or source MCG in an active bandwidth part (BWP) for a NUL carrier, transmitting on a supplementary uplink (SUL) to the source cell or source MCG in an active BWP for a SUL carrier, see para [0007])
receiving a dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover message from the source cell, wherein the DAPS handover message includes information, associated with a target cell, indicating a carrier of the target cell, (interpreted as shown by reference number 325, the gNB-CU may provide a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration message shown by reference number 325 may reconfigure a cell group configuration of the UE and may indicate that the UE is to perform a DAPS handover from a source MCG (such as associated with the source gNB-DU) to the target MCG (such as associated with the target gNB-DU), see para [0132]) the carrier of the target cell includes at least one of a second SUL carrier or a second uplink carrier; (interpreted as the method may include establishing a SUL to the target cell or target MCG in the active uplink BWP that is within one or more of the active BWP for the SUL carrier or the active BWP for the NUL carrier, see para [0011])
and initiating a random access procedure on a second carrier of the target cell. (interpreted as For example, the UE may continue communication with the source gNB-DU as synchronization and a random access channel (RACH) procedure are performed for the target gNB-DU, see para [0134])
However, Ly does not teach using cell identifiers associated with the first carrier and second carrier;
Molavianjazi teaches the cell is associated with a cell identifier shared by the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier (interpreted as According to a possible implementation, the cell ID can also indicate a Normal or Non-supplementary Uplink (NUL)/Supplementary Uplink (SUL) carrier index in which the spatial relation RS is located, see para [0090
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the SUL carrier and NUL carrier taught by Ly with the cell identifier for SUL carrier and NUL carrier as taught by Molavianjazi with the motivation being to distinguish between different carriers for transmissions by using the associated carrier identifiers.
However, Ly in view of Molavianjazi do not teach in response to the first carrier of the source cell including the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier, sending an uplink signal only on a second carrier, of the source cell, on which a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is configured between the SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier; and
Nangia teaches in response to the first carrier of the source cell including the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier, sending an uplink signal only on a second carrier, of the source cell, on which a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is configured between the SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier; and (interpreted as The second solution applies when a UE is configured for CA operation with a number of serving cells, among which there is at least one serving cell with two uplink carriers configured to the UE, namely, NUL and SUL carriers, and when the UE reports a UE capability (e.g., denoted by the UE capability parameter simultaneousTxSUL-NonSUL in 5G NR Rel-15) that indicates whether UE supports simultaneous transmission of only SRS on one of NUL or SUL carrier of that serving cell and PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS/PRACH on the other UL carrier in the same serving cell, see para [0093])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the SUL carrier and NUL carrier taught by Ly in view of Molavianjazi with the transmitting on the PUCCH for the SUL and NUL carrier as taught by Nangia with the motivation being to transmit control information for the designated carrier.
Regarding claim 3 and 13,
Ly teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein in response to the carrier of the source cell including the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier, sending the uplink signal on the second carrier of the source cell comprises: sending the uplink signal only on the first SUL carrier. (interpreted as In some implementations, the configuration or the instruction indicates to the UE that the UE is to maintain, during the DAPS handover, uplink transmission on one of the SUL carrier or the NUL carrier, see para [0040])
Regarding claim 4 and 14,
Ly teaches The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving first downlink control information (DCI) from the source cell; (interpreted as In some implementations, the instruction is transmitted in downlink control information (DCI), see para [0040]) parsing the first DCI based on expectations of the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier. (interpreted as decoded control information para [0107]. Also see in some implementations, the one or more of a configuration or an instruction indicates that the UE is able to switch uplink transmission to the source cell or source MCG between the SUL carrier and the NUL carrier, see para [0040])
Regarding claim 5 and 15,
Ly teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein in association with the carrier of the target cell including the second SUL carrier and the second uplink carrier, and after the target cell is accessed, the carrier on which the PUCCH is configured is the second SUL carrier or the second uplink carrier (interpreted as UE 420 may establish the SUL after receiving a handover command indicating that the UE 420 is to establish the SUL to the target cell. The UE 420 may use an active SUL BWP 455 for the SUL. FIG. 4 shows that the block for the active SUL BWP 455 represents another portion of the frequency band to use for uplink transmissions, see para [0140])
Regarding claim 6 and 16,
Ly teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein when the carrier of the target cell includes the second SUL carrier and the second uplink carrier, and after the target cell is accessed, the method further comprises: sending the uplink signal only on the second SUL carrier. (interpreted as the UE 420 may establish an active UL BWP 485 for a SUL to the target BS 430. As shown by reference number 490, the UE 420 may transmit on the SUL to the target cell or target MCG. The UE 420 may use an active SUL BWP 455 for the SUL, see para [0146])
Regarding claim 7 and 17,
Ly teaches The method according to claim 5, further comprising: receiving second downlink control information (DCI) from the target cell; (interpreted as In some implementations, the instruction is transmitted in downlink control information (DCI), see para [0040]) and parsing the second DCI based on expectations of the second SUL carrier and the second uplink carrier. (interpreted as decoded control information para [0107]. Also see in some implementations, the one or more of a configuration or an instruction indicates that the UE is able to switch uplink transmission to the source cell or source MCG between the SUL carrier and the NUL carrier, see para [0040])
Regarding claim 8 and 18,
Ly teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier of the source cell includes the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier; and before receiving the DAPS handover message, the method further comprises: receiving configuration information from the source cell; and releasing one of the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier using the configuration information. (interpreted as This may involve releasing the SUL carrier to the source cell or source MCG before DAPS handover, see para [0149] The UE 420 may release the SUL carrier or the NUL carrier to the sources cell or source MCG based on receiving an indication in a handover command or a dedicated RRC message, see para [0149])
Regarding claim 10,
Ly teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein before receiving the first information, the method further comprises: sending a first capability message to the source cell, wherein the first capability message includes indication information indicating that DAPS handover is supported in an SUL scenario. (interpreted as he method may include determining or receiving an indication that a UE supports DAPS handover for intra-frequency handover of the UE and determining or selecting, for the UE, an active uplink BWP to use for a target cell or a target MCG, see para [0038])
Regarding claim 21 and 22,
Ly does teaches the method according to claim 1, however does not teach wherein the second carrier of the source cell is selected from the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier, and the second carrier of the target cell is selected from the second SUL carrier and the second uplink carrier.
Nangia teaches wherein the second carrier of the source cell is selected from the first SUL carrier and the first uplink carrier, and the second carrier of the target cell is selected from the second SUL carrier and the second uplink carrier. (interpreted as The second solution applies when a UE is configured for CA operation with a number of serving cells, among which there is at least one serving cell with two uplink carriers configured to the UE, namely, NUL and SUL carriers, and when the UE reports a UE capability (e.g., denoted by the UE capability parameter simultaneousTxSUL-NonSUL in 5G NR Rel-15) that indicates whether UE supports simultaneous transmission of only SRS on one of NUL or SUL carrier of that serving cell and PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS/PRACH on the other UL carrier in the same serving cell, see para [0093])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the SUL carrier and NUL carrier taught by Ly in view of Molavianjazi with the transmitting on the PUCCH for the SUL and NUL carrier as taught by Nangia with the motivation being to transmit control information for the designated carrier.
Claim(s) 9, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ly (Pub No 20210185571) further in view of Molavianjazi (Pub No 20190349867), Nangia (Pub No 20200100194), and Shih (Pub No 20210014899)
Regarding claim 9,
Ly in view of Molavianjazi and Nangia teaches The method according to claim 1, however does not teach wherein after the target cell is accessed, the method further comprises: receiving second information, from the target cell, indicating a third carrier of the target cell; and sending the uplink signal on one of the carriers indicated by the information associated with the target cell and the second information.
Shih teaches wherein after the target cell is accessed, the method further comprises: receiving second information, from the target cell, indicating a third carrier of the target cell; (interpreted as The EDT-related configuration may be provided by a network node, see para [0481]) and sending the uplink signal on one of the carriers indicated by the information associated with the target cell and the second information. (interpreted as The UE may determine whether to select a carrier (e.g., a SUL carrier or a NUL carrier) for EDT from amongst one or more SUL carriers and one or more NUL carriers based on whether an EDT-related configuration is available on the carrier(s), see para [0385])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the carriers taught by Ly in view of Molavianjazi and Nangia with the carrier selection as taught by Shih with the motivation of being able to select the most optimal carrier for transmissions.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO G NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7732. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10pm - 6:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BAO G NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2461
/HUY D VU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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