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 Amendment
This communication is considered fully responsive to the amendment filed on 12/22/2025.
Claims 1-8, 10-11, and 15-20 have been amended.
Claims 21, 22, 23, and 24 have been added.
Claims 5, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 have been canceled.
Objection to the Specification is withdrawn since it has been amended accordingly.
Response to Arguments
(I) Applicant’s arguments filed 12/22/2025, regarding the rejection to the claims 10-12 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered but are moot because the arguments related solely to newly added limitations addressed in the instant Office Action with previously identified prior arts by mapping the relevant teachings for more clarification thereof that read on said added features, thus rendering Applicant’s arguments moot
(II) Applicant’s arguments filed 12/22/2025 regarding the rejection of claims 1-3, 9, and 15-19 under 35 U.S.C. 103 has been fully considered, but they are moot because the applicant’s arguments were drawn to newly added features to independent claims, which have been addressed in the instant office action with newly identified prior art, Ma et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220303975, hereinafter “Ma”), thus rendering Applicant’s arguments moot.
For example, Ma teaches the limitation “the UE capability request message indicating an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network.” (para [0093] of Ma: An access network device (for example, the eNB 211) in the access network 210 may send a UE capability enquiry request message (for example, a UECapabilityEnquiry message) to the UE 221 in a coverage area of the access network device, to indicate the UE 221 to report the UE capability information of the UE 221.) (para [0109] of Ma: On one hand, a maximum quantity of band combinations reported by the UE is limited, to avoid an excessive information amount of the UE capability information; on the other hand, the UE capability enquiry request message sent by the access network device generally carries a UE capability request condition. For example, an E-UTRA request condition (for example, requestedFrequencyBands) (interpreted as “… a plurality of carriers by a network”) is used to obtain, through filtering, a band combination that is reported by the UE and supported in E-UTRA. For example, an MRDC band combination request condition (or referred to as a multi-RAT request condition, for example, requestedFreqBandsNR-MRDC) is used to obtain, through filtering, an MRDC band combination that is reported by the UE and supported in E-UTRA and NR.) (para [0110] of Ma: It is assumed that a multi-RAT request condition carried in the UE capability enquiry request message sent by the eNB 211 to the UE 221 is: The band 1, the band 3, the band 7, and the band 78 are supported (interpreted as “… a plurality of carriers by a network”), a maximum quantity of E-UTRA band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2, and a maximum quantity of MRDC band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2.) (paragraphs [0097-0101] of Ma: In an example, for two complete bands, namely, the band 1 (downlink 2110 MHz to 2170 MHz) and the band 3 (downlink 1805 MHz to 1880 MHz), CA band combinations allowed by a protocol may include types indicated by the following indexes: CA_1C: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth (interpreted as “an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network”), two carriers, and contiguous CA in the band 1; CA_1A-1A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and non-contiguous CA in the band 1; CA_3B: a maximum of 10 MHz bandwidth, and contiguous CA in the band 3; CA_3C: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth(also interpreted as “an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network”), two carriers, and contiguous CA in the band 3; CA_3A-3A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and non-contiguous CA in the band 3) (Examiner’s note: The maximum bandwidth in each band of the plurality of carriers (for example, band 1, band 2, band 3, and band 78 as indicated in UE capability enquiry request message discussed in para [0110] of Ma is interpreted as “an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network.” See para [0050] of the Specification of the instant application: The actual or deployed CBW may indicate the actual BW base station 322 is using for the band, which may be the same or different than either the minimum or maximum CBW.)
Ma further teaches the limitation “a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers, the CA combination bandwidth being a sum of the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the CA combination.” (paragraph [0102-0106] of Ma: CA_1A-3A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3; CA_1A-1A-3A: a maximum of 60 MHz bandwidth, three carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are non-contiguous in the band 1; CA_1A-3A-3A: a maximum of 60 MHz bandwidth, three carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are non-contiguous in the band 3; CA_1A-3C: a maximum of 60 MHz bandwidth, three carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are contiguous in the band 3; and CA_1A-1A-3C: a maximum of 80 MHz bandwidth, four carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are non-contiguous in the band 1, and two carriers are contiguous in the band 3.) (Examiner’s note: The maximum bandwidth of two bands (for example, the maximum of 80Mhz of the band 1 and the band 3 discussed in para [0106] of Ma) is interpreted as “a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers, the CA combination bandwidth being a sum of the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the CA combination.” See Fig. 7 and para [0056] of the Specification of the instant application: examples 1 and 2 of data structure 700 may include CA combinations (e.g., CA_n25A-n41C-n66A-n77A and CA_n41(2A)-n66A-n71A-n77A) an aggregated minimum BW (e.g., 40 MHz) and an aggregated maximum BW (e.g., 380 MHz and 375 MHz.)
Ma, therefore, clearly teaches the claimed limitations “the UE capability request message indicating an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network” and “a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers, the CA combination bandwidth being a sum of the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the CA combination” as recited in amended claim 1.
Thus the rejection of claims 1-3, 9, and 15-19 is sustained.
(III) Applicant’s arguments filed 12/22/2025 regarding the rejection of claims 4-5 under 35 U.S.C. 103 has been considered. Arguments regarding the feature “the indicated actual CBWs is less than a pre-determined maximum channel bandwidth for a corresponding carrier of the plurality of carriers” in claims 4-5 have been fully considered and deemed persuasive. Therefore, the rejections in the previous Office Action mailed 09/30/2025 have been withdrawn hereby.
Claim Objections
Claims 4, 18, and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 4 and 18 recites “wherein at least one of the the indicated actual CBWs…” It should be “wherein at least one of the [[the]] indicated actual CBWs…”, and
Claim 19 recites “wherein the UE capability request message indicates the actual CBWs deployed on a per-band basis for the plurality of carriers..” It should be “wherein the UE capability request message indicates the actual CBWs deployed on a per-band basis for the plurality of carriers[[.]].”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 10-12 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Venkataraman et a. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20180070250, hereinafter “Venkataraman”).
Regarding claim 10, Venkataraman teaches A baseband processor, configured to, when executing instructions stored in one or more memories, cause a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1 and para [0020] of Venkataraman: Accordingly, the UE 105 may include components that enable different radio access technologies. As shown in FIG. 1, the UE 105 may include a processor 110, a memory arrangement 115, and a transceiver 120.)(para [0023] of Venkataraman: The memory arrangement 115 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 105. Specifically, the memory arrangement 115 may store measurements or qualities associated with different CA combinations.) to:
determine, during an attach procedure, a geographic location of the UE (para [0033] of Venkataraman: When the UE 105 is disposed at a first location, the UE 105 may utilize (interpreted as “determine, during an attach procedure, a geographic location of the UE” because the UE select a list based on the disposed location) a first list of UE RFBs. However, when the UE 105 is disposed at a second location (e.g., a significant distance from the first location), the UE 105 may utilize a second list of UE RFBs that is different from the first list of UE RFBs.)(para [0051] of Venkataraman: when the UE 105 detects that a registration procedure on a particular network is consistently failing, the UE 105 may restrict the advertisement of CA combinations to only those UE RFBs present in the order 415 (the ‘registration procedure’ is interpreted as “an attach procedure”). For example, the registration procedure may fail due to a relatively large size UE capability message (e.g., inclusion of all CA combinations in the UE capability message may increase the size of the UE capability message).);
determine whether the geographic location is associated with an optimized carrier aggregation (CA) list (para [0033] of Venkataraman: It is noted that the list of UE RFBs may be dependent on a variety of factors. the factor may be a location.)(Fig. 4, Zone A (405); para [0037] of Venkataraman: The example is illustrated in FIG. 4 which shows a table 400 listing prioritized carrier aggregation combinations for advertisement according to the exemplary embodiments. Initially, it may be assumed that the UE 105 is in a particular area to which the table 400 may be utilized. As shown, a location 405 is indicated for the table 400 which is to be used while the UE 105 is in the location 405) (para [0037] of Venkataraman: The example is illustrated in FIG. 4 which shows a table 400 listing prioritized carrier aggregation combinations for advertisement according to the exemplary embodiments.)(Examiner’s note: The ‘table 400 listing prioritized carrier aggregation combinations’ is interpreted as “an optimized carrier aggregation (CA) list”).);
in response to the geographic location being associated with the optimized CA list (Fig. 4, Zone A (405); para [0037] of Venkataraman: Initially, it may be assumed that the UE 105 is in a particular area to which the table 400 may be utilized.),
update, based on the optimized CA list, channel bandwidths (CBWs) for bands of at least one CA combination (para [0033] of Venkataraman: In fact, the location may change while the UE 105 is connected to the network. As the list of UE RFBs may change from this movement (e.g., a new neighbor being added, an old neighbor being deleted, etc.), the UE 105 may set a flag such as in a tracking area update. When the network initiates a tracking area update for the UE 105, the flag may indicate that the UE 105 should update the CA combinations to be advertised.)(para [0024] of Venkataraman: As illustrated in FIG. 2, two component carriers each having a bandwidth of 10 MHz may be combined for a total bandwidth of 20 MHz.)(Examiner’s note: the CA combinations discussed in para [0033] are interpreted as “channel bandwidths (CBWs) for bands of at least one CA combination”) based on the discussion in para [0017, 0024] of Venkataraman), the at least one CA combination having an aggregate bandwidth that exceeds a maximum aggregated bandwidth supported by the UE, wherein the optimized CA list includes, for the at least one CA combination, an optimized setting indicating CBWs for one or more bands (Fig. 4 and para [0047] of Venkataraman: It is also noted that the UE 105 that utilizes the table 400 may be capable of utilizing all of the LTE bands and CA combinations thereof. Thus, the above description for the different CA combinations lists each possible combination. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the UE 105 may not be capable of supporting selected LTE bands and/or selected CA combinations (interpreted as “the at least one CA combination having an aggregate bandwidth that exceeds a maximum aggregated bandwidth supported by the UE”). For example, if the LTE bands 8, 9, and 10 are not supported by the UE 105, the table 400 may have a different set of CA combinations 445, 450, 455, 480, 485, 490, in which any CA combination that includes any of the LTE bands 8, 9, and 10 are removed (the ‘different set of CA combinations’ is interpreted as “wherein the optimized CA list includes, for the at least one CA combination, an optimized setting indicating CBWs for one or more bands”). In another example, the UE 105 may have been notified that a select LTE band (e.g., LTE band 4) may be unavailable for any number of reasons. Accordingly, the table 400 may be updated in which the set of CA combinations 430, 435, 440, remove any CA combination that includes the LTE band 4 while the set of CA combinations 465-490 are entirely removed as the selected PCC 460 is the LTE band 4.); and
signal, to a base station, support for the at least one CA combination (para [0033] of Venkataraman: When the network initiates a tracking area update for the UE 105, the flag may indicate that the UE 105 should update the CA combinations to be advertised. Accordingly, the UE 105 may advertise the LTE bands prioritized in the new, updated, or different UE RFBs (interpreted as “signal, to a base station, support for the at least one CA combination”)).
Regarding claim 11, Venkataraman teaches The baseband processor of claim 10, wherein the optimized CA list comprises entries that associate a CA combination with an optimized CBW per band. (Fig. 4 and para [0047] of Venkataraman: It is also noted that the UE 105 that utilizes the table 400 may be capable of utilizing all of the LTE bands and CA combinations thereof. Thus, the above description for the different CA combinations lists each possible combination. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the UE 105 may not be capable of supporting selected LTE bands and/or selected CA combinations. For example, if the LTE bands 8, 9, and 10 are not supported by the UE 105, the table 400 may have a different set of CA combinations 445, 450, 455, 480, 485, 490, in which any CA combination that includes any of the LTE bands 8, 9, and 10 are removed (the ‘different set of CA combinations’ is interpreted as “the optimized CA list comprises entries that associate a CA combination with an optimized CBW per band”, see Fig. 4, a different set of CA combinations 445, 450, 455, 480, 485, 490). In another example, the UE 105 may have been notified that a select LTE band (e.g., LTE band 4) may be unavailable for any number of reasons. Accordingly, the table 400 may be updated in which the set of CA combinations 430, 435, 440, remove any CA combination that includes the LTE band 4 while the set of CA combinations 465-490 are entirely removed as the selected PCC 460 is the LTE band 4.).).
Regarding claim 12, Venkataraman teaches The baseband processor of claim 10, wherein the optimized CA list is stored locally in the UE (para [0033] of Venkataraman: It is noted that the list of UE RFBs may be dependent on a variety of factors. For example, the list may be dynamic or different based on the current factors experienced by the UE 105. Thus, the UE 105 may store a plurality of UE RFBs that may be utilized dependent on these factors.).
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, 9, and 15-17 and 19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (U.S. Patent No. 11071111, hereinafter “Kim”) in view of Ma et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220303975, hereinafter “Ma”).
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches A user equipment (UE) (Fig. 7 of Kim, UE 405; Fig. 10 of Kim, UE), comprising:
a memory; and
one or more processors (Fig. 10 of Kim, controller 1010) configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the UE to:
receive, during an attach procedure with a network (Fig. 7 of Kim, ATTACH REQUEST 730; Col. 9 of Kim, lines 37-38: a control message ATTACH REQUEST that requests registration to the MME), a UE capability request message , the UE capability request message (Col. 16 of Kim, lines 28-34: Like in steps 420 to 435 of FIG. 4, after steps 720 to 735 are performed, the eNB transmits a control message called UE CAPABILITY ENQUIRY (interpreted as “a UE capability request message”) to the UE in step 740. … The control message may further include capability report restriction information that indicates that only a predetermined capability will be reported in order to restrict the size of UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION.) (Col. 16 of Kim, lines 35-64: In the eNB, or a mobile communication network that currently provides a service to the UE, capability report restriction information 1 is information that indicates that capability information related to an actually used frequency band and includes an E-UTRA frequency list (interpreted as “a plurality of carriers by a network”)…) (The missing/crossed out limitations will be discussed in view of Ma);
determine, (Col. 17 of Kim, lines 30-40: <When Capability Report Restriction Information 1 is Used> SupportedBandListEUTRA: includes all E-UTRA bands supported by the UE. SupportedBandCombinationList: a band combination including one band (or a band entry) of band combinations supported by the UE includes all E-UTRA bands supported by the UE, and a band combination including two or more bands (or band entries) includes only a band combination associated with the bands indicated by capability report restriction information 1 (interpreted as “determine, …, a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers”).), (The missing/crossed out limitations will be discussed in view of Ma); and
in response to the CA combination bandwidth being less than or equal to a maximum bandwidth capacity of the UE (Col. 9 of Kim, lines 10-21: For example, the fact that a bandwidth class for a certain frequency band is A means that a maximum of one carrier (or one serving cell) may be set for the frequency band and the total sum of the bandwidths of the serving cells set in the frequency band is a maximum of 20 MHz.
When two or more bandwidth classes are supported in any one frequency band in a frequency band combination, they may be included in the same Information Element (hereinafter, IE). Then, frequency band combination information should be configured such that all combinations of the bandwidth classes recorded in one frequency band combination are supported by a terminal (interpreted as “the CA combination bandwidth being less than or equal to a maximum bandwidth capacity of the UE”).)(Examiner’s note: In Table 1 of Kim, the CA bandwidth class “C” notes that the added bandwidth is less than or equal to a maximum bandwidth (“40 MHz”) supported by the terminal),
signal to the network that the CA combination is supported by the UE (Col. 9 of Kim, line 67-Col. 10 of Kim, line 10: The UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION may include one or more band combination information elements for the band combinations supported by the UE. The band combination information elements are information elements that represent which CA combination is supported, and the eNB may set a suitable CA in the UE using the band combination information elements. The UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION also may include information related to a TDD-FDD CA capability of the UE. The UE transmits, in step 445, the UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION message to the eNB.) (Col. 22 of Kim, lines 50-63: In step 940, the UE selectively records only a band combination selected by the capability report restriction information for a band combination including multiple bands in SupportedBandCombinationList. … In step 950, the UE generates a UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION message that recorded the information recorded in steps 930 to 945 to transmit the generated UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION message to the eNB.).
Kim does not specifically teach about “a memory; and one or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the UE to…”, “the UE capability request message indicating an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network”, and “determine, based on the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the plurality of carriers, a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers, the CA combination bandwidth being a sum of the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the CA combination.”
It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Ma.
Ma, in analogous art, teaches the limitation “a memory; and one or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the UE to…”(paragraphs [0053-0054] of Ma: The UE capability reporting apparatus may be implemented in a form of a computer device. A third aspect provides a computer device. The computer device includes a processor and a memory. When running computer instructions stored in the memory, the processor performs the method in any one of the first aspect or the possible implementations of the first aspect.)
Ma teaches the limitation “the UE capability request message indicating an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network.” (para [0093] of Ma: An access network device (for example, the eNB 211) in the access network 210 may send a UE capability enquiry request message (for example, a UECapabilityEnquiry message) to the UE 221 in a coverage area of the access network device, to indicate the UE 221 to report the UE capability information of the UE 221.) (para [0109] of Ma: On one hand, a maximum quantity of band combinations reported by the UE is limited, to avoid an excessive information amount of the UE capability information; on the other hand, the UE capability enquiry request message sent by the access network device generally carries a UE capability request condition. For example, an E-UTRA request condition (for example, requestedFrequencyBands) (interpreted as “… a plurality of carriers by a network”) is used to obtain, through filtering, a band combination that is reported by the UE and supported in E-UTRA. For example, an MRDC band combination request condition (or referred to as a multi-RAT request condition, for example, requestedFreqBandsNR-MRDC) is used to obtain, through filtering, an MRDC band combination that is reported by the UE and supported in E-UTRA and NR.) (para [0110] of Ma: It is assumed that a multi-RAT request condition carried in the UE capability enquiry request message sent by the eNB 211 to the UE 221 is: The band 1, the band 3, the band 7, and the band 78 are supported (interpreted as “… a plurality of carriers by a network”), a maximum quantity of E-UTRA band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2, and a maximum quantity of MRDC band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2.) (paragraphs [0097-0101] of Ma: In an example, for two complete bands, namely, the band 1 (downlink 2110 MHz to 2170 MHz) and the band 3 (downlink 1805 MHz to 1880 MHz), CA band combinations allowed by a protocol may include types indicated by the following indexes: CA_1C: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth (interpreted as “an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network”), two carriers, and contiguous CA in the band 1; CA_1A-1A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and non-contiguous CA in the band 1; CA_3B: a maximum of 10 MHz bandwidth, and contiguous CA in the band 3; CA_3C: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth (also interpreted as “an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network”), two carriers, and contiguous CA in the band 3; CA_3A-3A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and non-contiguous CA in the band 3) (Examiner’s note: The maximum bandwidth in each band of the plurality of carriers (for example, band 1, band 2, band 3, and band 78 as indicated in UE capability enquiry request message discussed in para [0110] of Ma is interpreted as “an actual channel bandwidth (CBW) respectively deployed for a plurality of carriers by a network.” See para [0050] of the Specification of the instant application: The actual or deployed CBW may indicate the actual BW base station 322 is using for the band, which may be the same or different than either the minimum or maximum CBW.)
Ma further teaches the limitation “a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers, the CA combination bandwidth being a sum of the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the CA combination.” (paragraph [0102-0106] of Ma: CA_1A-3A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3; CA_1A-1A-3A: a maximum of 60 MHz bandwidth, three carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are non-contiguous in the band 1; CA_1A-3A-3A: a maximum of 60 MHz bandwidth, three carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are non-contiguous in the band 3; CA_1A-3C: a maximum of 60 MHz bandwidth, three carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are contiguous in the band 3; and CA_1A-1A-3C: a maximum of 80 MHz bandwidth, four carriers, and inter-band CA of the band 1 and the band 3, where two carriers are non-contiguous in the band 1, and two carriers are contiguous in the band 3.) (Examiner’s note: The maximum bandwidth of two bands (for example, the maximum of 80Mhz of the band 1 and the band 3 discussed in para [0106] of Ma) is interpreted as “a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers, the CA combination bandwidth being a sum of the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the CA combination.” See Fig. 7 and para [0056] of the Specification of the instant application: examples 1 and 2 of data structure 700 may include CA combinations (e.g., CA_n25A-n41C-n66A-n77A and CA_n41(2A)-n66A-n71A-n77A) an aggregated minimum BW (e.g., 40 MHz) and an aggregated maximum BW (e.g., 380 MHz and 375 MHz.) (para [0110] of Ma: By way of example, it is assumed that CA band combinations supported by the UE 221 include CA_1A-3A, CA_1A-4A, CA_1A-5A, CA_3A-4A, and CA_3A-4C, and MRDC band combinations of E-UTRA and NR supported by the UE 221 include MRDC_1A-3A-78A, MRDC_1A-4A-77A, MRDC_3A-7A-78A, and MRDC_1A-7A-78A. A band 77 and the band 78 are bands in NR. It is assumed that a multi-RAT request condition carried in the UE capability enquiry request message sent by the eNB 211 to the UE 221 is: The band 1, the band 3, the band 7, and the band 78 are supported, a maximum quantity of E-UTRA band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2, and a maximum quantity of MRDC band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2 (interpreted as “determine, based on the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the plurality of carriers, a carrier aggregation (CA) combination bandwidth for a CA combination comprising two or more of the plurality of carriers, the CA combination bandwidth being a sum of the indicated actual CBWs deployed for the CA combination.”).)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Kim's method by using the teaching (a maximum bandwidth respectively deployed for the requested band by a network) of MA in order to report the UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION. Doing so would optimize a process of reporting UE capability information, to improve a success rate of UE rollback configuration to a CA mode, thereby helping improve transmission bandwidth of UE (see para [0007] of Ma).
Regarding claim 15, it is a method claim corresponding to the user equipment claim 1, and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claim 2, Kim and Ma teach The UE of claim 1, Kim further teaches wherein, in response the CA combination bandwidth being not less than or equal to the maximum bandwidth capacity of the UE, the one or more processors are configured to:
determine another CA combination;
determine a CA combination bandwidth for the another CA combination; and
determine whether the CA combination bandwidth is less than or equal to the maximum BW capacity of the UE.
As disclosed in Col. 10 of Kim, lines 41-60 and Fig. 5C, Kim discloses the SupportedBandCombinationList including one or more band combination parameters (BandCombinationParameters, BCPs hereafter) 510, 515, 520, and 525. The BCP is information on band combinations supported by the UE. For example, bandwidth class A may represent a capability by which one serving cell of a maximum entire bandwidth of 20 MHz may be set, bandwidth class B may represent a capability by which two serving cells may be set and a total entire bandwidth is a maximum of 20 MHz , and bandwidth class C may represent a capability by which two serving cells may be set and a total entire bandwidth is a maximum of 40 MHz). Examiner’s note: Based on the Kim’s discussion in Col. 10 and Col 22, and Fig. 9, the ‘UE selectively records only a band combination selected by the capability report restriction information for a band combination including multiple bands in SupportedBandCombinationList’ discussed in Col. 22 of Kim is interpreted as the claimed languages “in response the CA combination bandwidth being not less than or equal to the maximum bandwidth capacity of the UE … determine another CA combination; determine a CA combination bandwidth for the another CA combination; and determine whether the CA combination bandwidth is less than or equal to a maximum CBW capacity of the UE”).
Regarding claim 3, Kim and Ma teach The UE of claim 1, Kim further teaches wherein, in response to no CA combinations, of the plurality of carriers, being supported by the UE, the one or more processors are configured to:
proceed with the attach procedure without signaling support for any of the CA combinations (Col. 6 of Kim, lines 35-41: Referring to FIG. 3, one eNB generally transmits and receives multiple carriers through various frequency bandwidths. For example, when an eNB 305 transmits a carrier 315, the central frequency of which is f1, and a carrier 310, the central frequency of which is f3, a UE that does not have carrier aggregation capability can transmit and receive data using one of the two carriers 310 and 315 (interpreted as “proceed with the attach procedure without signaling support for any of the CA combinations”).
Regarding claim 9, Kim and Ma teach The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE capability request message is received from a base station of the network, and the UE is configured to proceed with the attach procedure after signaling, to the base station, the CA combination supported by the UE (Fig. 7 of Kim, Step 730 “ATTACH REQUEST” to Step 750 “UE CAPABILITY INFO INDICATION” to Step 760 “TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE DATA”).
Regarding claim 16, Claim 16 has similar limitation as of Claim(s) 2, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 2.
Regarding claim 17, Claim 17 has similar limitation as of Claim(s) 3, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 3.
Regarding claim 19, Kim and Ma teach The method of claim 1, Ma teaches wherein the UE capability request message indicates the actual CBWs deployed on a per-band basis for the plurality of carriers (para [0110] of Ma: It is assumed that a multi-RAT request condition carried in the UE capability enquiry request message sent by the eNB 211 to the UE 221 is: The band 1, the band 3, the band 7, and the band 78 are supported, a maximum quantity of E-UTRA band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2, and a maximum quantity of MRDC band combinations that are allowed to be reported by the UE is 2.) (paragraphs [0097-0101] of Ma: In an example, for two complete bands, namely, the band 1 (downlink 2110 MHz to 2170 MHz) and the band 3 (downlink 1805 MHz to 1880 MHz), CA band combinations allowed by a protocol may include types indicated by the following indexes: CA_1C: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and contiguous CA in the band 1 (interpreted as “the actual CBWs deployed on a per-band basis for the plurality of carriers”); CA_1A-1A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and non-contiguous CA in the band 1; CA_3B: a maximum of 10 MHz bandwidth, and contiguous CA in the band 3; CA_3C: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and contiguous CA in the band 3 (also interpreted as “the actual CBWs deployed on a per-band basis for the plurality of carriers”); CA_3A-3A: a maximum of 40 MHz bandwidth, two carriers, and non-contiguous CA in the band 3).
Claim(s) 13-14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Venkataraman in view of Jain et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20230012704, hereinafter “Jain”).
Regarding claim 13, Venkataraman teaches The baseband processor of claim 10, Venkataraman does not explicitly teach wherein the optimized CA list is received from a centralized data repository comprising frequency band information collected from multiple UEs.
In analogous art, Jain teaches wherein the optimized CA list is received from a centralized data repository comprising frequency band information collected from multiple UEs (para [0103] of Jain: The network device may receive, from each of a group of UEs, a network configured frequency band combination and corresponding UE location (interpreted as “frequency band information collected from multiple UEs”), and determine the selected network configured frequency band combination based on each of the received network configured frequency band combinations.) (para [0104] of Jain: At block 1204, the network device transmits, to the UE, a prioritized list of frequency band combinations (interpreted as “optimized CA list”) for the location of the UE, the prioritized list based on a selected network configured frequency band combination associated with the location of the UE.).
Venkataraman and Jain are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Venkataraman to incorporate the teachings of Jain and provide Network RFBs (RequestedFrequencyBands)(interpreted as “the optimized CA list”) comprising frequency band information collected from multiple UEs.
Doing so would prioritize the band combinations according to the list returned by the network and enhance UE coverage and reduce the size of the UECapabilityInformation message.
Regarding claim 14, Venkataraman and Jain teach The baseband processor of claim 13, further configured to cause the UE to: Jain further teaches
collect frequency band information and a cell ID from the base station (para [0104] of Jain: At block 1204, the network device transmits, to the UE, a prioritized list of frequency band combinations) (para [0108] of Jain: retrieving, from a server, a prioritized list of frequency band combinations (interpreted as “frequency band information”) based on a location of the UE)(para [0095] of Jain: The database 900 may store band combinations 904, 906 based on different types of locations 902, such as cell ID, PLMN, TAC, GPS coordinates, history of GPS, etc.); and
communicate the frequency band information to the centralized data repository (para [0101] of Jain: At block 1106, the user equipment (UE) transmit, to the network, the prioritized list adjusted based on the frequency band filter(interpreted as “the frequency band information”), in response to the capability request.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-8, 18, and 20 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The claims contain the following underlined features which, when combined with other features of the claim, prior art of record failed to anticipate or render obvious before the effective filing date of the instant application was filed:
Claims 4-5 and 18 recite;
Wherein at least one of the indicated actual maximum CBWs is less than a pre-determined channel bandwidth for a corresponding carrier of the plurality of carriers.
Claims 6-8 and 20 recite;
“wherein, in response to the CA combination bandwidth being less than or equal to the maximum bandwidth capacity of the UE, the one or more processors are configured to:
determine a deficit β by subtracting the CA combination bandwidth from the maximum bandwidth capacity;
reduce, based on the deficit β, a bandwidth of lower priority bands until the deficit β is equal to or less than 0; and
signal to the network that the CA combination is supported by the UE.”
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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/WON JUN CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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