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
The amendment filed on October 31, 2025 has been accepted and entered. Accordingly, claims 1, 3, 8, 10, 15 and 17 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on October 31, 2025 regarding claims 1, 8, and 15 have been fully considered but the arguments are essentially directed towards the newly introduced limitations and they are addressed in this Office Action, below.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 5-10, 12-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YI et al. (US 20170070312 A1), hereinafter Yi, in view of Kazmi et al. (US 20180192300 A1), hereinafter Kazmi, Kim et al. (US 20180192355 A1), hereinafter Kim and further in view of CHO et al. (WO 2018031644 A1), hereinafter Cho.
Regarding Claim 1, Yi discloses A user equipment (UE) (¶0041 FIG. 1 UE 10) in a wireless communication system (¶0040 FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system), the UE comprising:
a transceiver (Yi [0328] FIG. 19 transmitter receiver part of UE 1900) configured to receive a set of configurations for a discovery signal, (Yi ¶0179, Fig. 11, the UE can be configured to measure the PSS, SSS, CRS, and CSI-RS during a certain measurement duration based on the “DRS configurations” delivered via an RRC message) wherein:
the discovery signal is used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell), (Yi ¶0179 FIG. 11 shows an example of UE measurement performed on the DRS. ¶¶0125, 0126 Discovery signal should support time and frequency synchronization. FIGS. 7 to 9, ¶0100 discloses base station carries out signal transmission. ¶0333 The BS may be PCell or SCell, indicates the UE can receive the discovery signal from the SCell.)
the discovery signal includes a first signal as a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a second signal as a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a third signal, (Yi ¶011 the UE is configured for receiving measurement configuration for a discovery signal, wherein the discovery signal includes a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS) (i.e. first signal), and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) (i.e. second signal). ¶0337 In detail, the UE may receive measurement configuration for a discovery signal (e.g., DRS). The DRS candidates may include CRS, PSS, and SSS. Further, depending on configuration of CSI-RS, the DRS may further include CSI-RS. The CRS or CSI-RS indicates a third signal as part of DRS).
a processor operably coupled to the transceiver, ([0330] FIG. 19 processor 1910 coupled with the RF unit for transmit/receive) the processor configured to:
determine, based on the set of configurations:
a frequency location of the discovery signal,
ii) a time domain information of the discovery signal,
iii) a subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal, and
iv) a quasi-co- location (QCL) assumption of the discovery signal, (Yi Fig. 11, ¶0203 when discovery signal (i.e., the DRS) consists of multiple signals, QCL relationship among signals can be considered. Explicit signaling of QCL relationship or behavior (such as QCL behavior A or B) can be considered to a UE via higher layer signaling, indicates the UE can determine the QCL assumption based on the configuration)
wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive the discovery signal from a secondary cell (SCell) based on the frequency location, the time domain information, the subcarrier spacing, and the QCL assumption of the discovery signal. (Yi FIGS. 7 to 9, ¶0100 discloses base station carries out signal transmission. ¶0333 The BS may be PCell or SCell, indicates the UE can receive the discovery signal from the SCell. (¶0110 for data offloading). Fig. 11, ¶0203 when discovery signal (i.e., the DRS) consists of multiple signals, QCL relationship among signals can be considered. Explicit signaling of QCL relationship or behavior (such as QCL behavior A or B) can be considered to a UE via higher layer signaling, indicates the UE can determine the QCL assumption based on the configuration)
Though Yi discloses the DRS signal for measurement and synchronization (¶¶0179,0125, 0126), Yi does not explicitly disclose DRS usage on activating SCell:
the discovery signal is used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell),
Kazmi, however, discloses:
the discovery signal is used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell), (Kazmi ¶0103 UE uses DRS (e.g., PSS/SSS/CRS) for activating the SCell. The UE can use the DRS for activating the SCell during the occasions when the DRS are available on the SCell being activated. During the activation procedure the UE acquires for instance timing of the SCell. Therefore, the DRS enables the UE to acquire synchronization on the SCell to be activated)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi with the ability to use DRS for activating SCell as taught by Kazmi. Doing so ensures that the UE is able to accurately activate an SCell such that the SCell can be used for scheduled transmissions, while meeting activation delay requirements for the SCell. (Kazmi, ¶0039)
Though Yi discloses the discovery signal includes PSS/SSS and a third signal (CRS/CSI-RS), Yi and Kazmi do not explicitly disclose the mapping the signals to different symbols:
the first, second, and third signals are mapped to different orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols,
and the OFDM symbols are time division multiplexed (TDMed);
Kim, however, discloses:
the first, second, and third signals are mapped to different orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, (Kim ¶0387 FIG. 29 is a view illustrating an exemplary DRS transmission pattern including PSS/SSS/CRS mapped to different OFDM symbols. ¶0396 FIGS. 30 to 32, also discloses a solid line represents actual allocation of a PSS/SSS/CRS included in a DRS. ¶0391 While DRS illustrates PSS/SSS/CRS in the Figs, the DRS may be configured to selectively include a CSI-RS, like the legacy DRS.)
and the OFDM symbols are time division multiplexed (TDMed); (Kim ¶¶0387, 0396 FIG. 29-32 discloses the OFDM symbols carrying the PSS/SSS/CRS are separate in time within the subframe (SF), thus TDMed.) and
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi and Kazmi with the DRS signals mapped to different symbols as taught by Kim. Doing so allows efficient data transmission/reception supporting an unlicensed band and reduced probability of dropping a DRS in a DRS occasion. (Kim, ¶¶0019, 0022)
Though Yi discloses each set of DRS configurations is defined per frequency (¶0181) and receiving involves determining frequency and time domain information, Yi, Kazmi, and Kim do not specifically disclose:
a processor operably coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to:
determine, based on the set of configurations:
a frequency location of the discovery signal,
ii) a time domain information of the discovery signal,
iii) a subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal, and
wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive the discovery signal from a secondary cell (SCell) based on the frequency location, the time domain information, the subcarrier spacing, and the QCL assumption of the discovery signal.
Cho, however, discloses:
a processor operably coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to: (Fig. 12, ¶0058, At 1240, based on the UE capability, the NR eNB 1204 may configure a set of discovery signals to be monitored by the UE 1202)
determine, based on the set of configurations:
a frequency location of the discovery signal, (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements (indicates frequency location) of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
ii) a time domain information of the discovery signal, (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements (indicates time domain information) of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
iii) a subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal, and (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive the discovery signal from a secondary cell (SCell) based on the frequency location, the time domain information, the subcarrier spacing, and the QCL assumption of the discovery signal. (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, and Kim with DRS configuration as taught by Cho. Doing so allows to support a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometime conflicting performance dimensions and services by enabling system operation comprised of several non-continuous frequency spectrum parts for the diverse requirements, applications, services, multiple frequency bands, licensed and unlicensed frequency and multiple partitions that may be used to support various 5G features. (Cho, ¶0003, ¶0024-0025)
Regarding Claim 2, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 1. Yi further discloses:
wherein: the PSS and the SSS are mapped to two consecutive orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, respectively; (¶0212 Fig. 13, example, discloses DRS-PSS and DRS-SSS utilizing OFDM symbols 2 and 3 (consecutive) respectively in the second slot.)
the PSS is mapped to a first OFDM symbol within the two consecutive OFDM symbols; (¶0212 Fig. 13, example, discloses DRS-PSS utilizing OFDM symbol 2 (first within the two symbols 2 and 3) in the second slot) and
the SSS is mapped to a second OFDM symbol within the two consecutive OFDM symbols. (¶0212 Fig. 13, example, discloses DRS-SSS utilizing OFDM symbol 3 (second within the two symbols 2 and 3) in the second slot)
Regarding Claim 3, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 1. Yi further discloses:
wherein the third signal is a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). (Fig. 10 ¶0118, ¶0123 DRS (discovery signal) may further comprise CSI-RS depending on the CSI-RS configuration (e.g., interval, offset of the CSI-RS).
Regarding Claim 5, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 1. Yi further discloses:
wherein the time domain information includes a periodicity of transmission occasions for the discovery signal (¶0274] discovery signal transmission location can be either fixed in a specification or configurable by higher layer. As it is designed to allow higher multiplexing/orthogonality, it is desirable to be able to configure the periodicity and/or offset of discovery signal transmission) and
a time domain pattern of the discovery signal in each transmission occasion. (¶0225-0227 FIG. 15, when transmitting the DRS, the number of antenna ports which may determine the RE density of DRS signal may be determined regardless of actual antenna ports indicated by PBCH antenna ports. To allow dense DRS transmission, it would be desirable to fix 4 antenna ports (only for RE mapping) where actual transmission may be done via single antenna ports or multiple antenna ports. In terms of computing RSRP, a UE may assume that it is transmitted from single antenna such that all REs can be used for measurement. FIG. 15 shows a DRS RS pattern ¶0107 resource elements (RE) resource elements corresponds to subcarrier (subcarrier index) and OFDM symbol (OFDM symbol index) of a slot, indicates both time and frequency domain. )
Regarding Claim 6, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 1. Yi and Cho further disclose:
wherein the processor is further configured to determine a set of configurations for radio resource management (RRM) measurement based on the discovery signal. (Yi [0179] FIG. 11 shows an example of UE measurement performed on the DRS. It is preferable that the period of the DRS is aligned with the measurement gap, and thus the UE can be configured to measure the DRS within the measurement gap. The UE can be configured to measure the PSS, SSS, and CSI-RS during a certain measurement duration based on the “DRS configurations” delivered via an RRC message. Cho also discloses ¶0058 eNB 1204 may configure a set of discovery signals to be monitored by the UE 1202. The UE 1202 may also be further requested to provide the measurement results of the configured discovery signals. For example, a reference signal received power RSRP) measurement may be reported. The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and or a time-frequency resource elements of configured downlink reference signal (DRS) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, and Kim with DRS configuration as taught by Cho. Doing so allows to support a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometime conflicting performance dimensions and services by enabling system operation comprised of several non-continuous frequency spectrum parts for the diverse requirements, applications, services, multiple frequency bands, licensed and unlicensed frequency and multiple partitions that may be used to support various 5G features. (Cho, ¶0003, ¶0024-0025)
Regarding Claim 7, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 6. Yi and Cho further disclose:
wherein the processor is further configured to determine a reference signal receive power (RSRP) or a reference signal receive quality (RSRQ) based on the discovery signal. (Yi [0179] FIG. 11 discloses the UE can be configured to measure the PSS, SSS, and CSI-RS during a certain measurement duration based on the “DRS configurations” delivered via an RRC message. Cho discloses ¶0058, 0059 At 1240, UE 1202 may be requested to provide the measurement results of the configured discovery signals. At 1250, the UE 1202 reports its measurement results of the configured discovery signals to the NR eNB 1204. The measurement results may include a RSRP and/or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) result)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, and Kim with DRS configuration as taught by Cho. Doing so allows to support a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometime conflicting performance dimensions and services by enabling system operation comprised of several non-continuous frequency spectrum parts for the diverse requirements, applications, services, multiple frequency bands, licensed and unlicensed frequency and multiple partitions that may be used to support various 5G features. (Cho, ¶0003, ¶0024-0025)
Regarding Claim 8, Yi discloses A base station (BS) (¶0041 FIG. 1 BS 20) in a wireless communication system (¶0040 FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system), the BS comprising:
a processor ([0333] FIG. 19 processor 2010), configured to:
determine a frequency location of a discovery signal used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell), (Yi ¶0285 the location of DRS RSs can be assisted by giving configuration information about the location of either ‘SSS’ or ‘PSS’ or additional ‘SSS’ or additional PSS' in terms of OFDM symbol or frequency. Yi ¶0179] FIG. 11 shows an example of UE measurement performed on the DRS. ¶¶0125, 0126 Discovery signal should support time and frequency synchronization. FIGS. 7 to 9, ¶0100 discloses base station carries out signal transmission. ¶0333 The BS may be PCell or SCell, indicates the UE can receive the discovery signal from the SCell.)
determine a quasi-co-location (QCL) assumption of the discovery signal; (Yi Fig. 11, ¶0203 when discovery signal (i.e., the DRS) consists of multiple signals, QCL relationship among signals can be considered. Explicit signaling of QCL relationship or behavior (such as QCL behavior A or B) can be considered to a UE via higher layer signaling, indicates the BS can determine the QCL assumption in the configuration) and
a transceiver ([0328] FIG. 19 transmitter receiver part of BS 2000), operably coupled to the processor ([0333] FIG. 19 processor 2010), the transceiver configured to:
transmit a set of configurations for the discovery signal, (¶0179, Fig. 11, the UE can be configured to measure the PSS, SSS, CRS, and CSI-RS during a certain measurement duration based on the “DRS configurations” delivered via an RRC message, indicates transmitted by the base station to the UE)
wherein the discovery signal includes a first signal as a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a second signal as a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and a third signal, (Yi ¶011 the UE is configured for receiving measurement configuration for a discovery signal, wherein the discovery signal includes a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS) (i.e. first signal), and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) (i.e. second signal). ¶0337 In detail, the UE may receive measurement configuration for a discovery signal (e.g., DRS). The DRS candidates may include CRS, PSS, and SSS. Further, depending on configuration of CSI-RS, the DRS may further include CSI-RS. The CRS or CSI-RS indicates a third signal as part of DRS).
wherein i) the frequency location of the discovery signal, ii) the time domain information of the discovery signal, iii) the subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal, and iv) the QCL assumption of the discovery signal are determined based on the set of configurations, (Fig. 11, ¶0203 when discovery signal (i.e., the DRS) consists of multiple signals, QCL relationship among signals can be considered. Explicit signaling of QCL relationship or behavior (such as QCL behavior A or B) can be considered to a UE via higher layer signaling, indicates the UE can determine the QCL assumption based on the configuration)
transmit the discovery signal on a secondary cell (SCell) based on the frequency location, the time domain information, the subcarrier spacing, and the QCL assumption of the discovery signal. (FIGS. 7 to 9, ¶0100 discloses base station carries out signal transmission. ¶0333 The BS may be PCell or SCell, indicates the UE can receive the discovery signal from the SCell. (¶0110 for data offloading). Fig. 11, ¶0203 when discovery signal (i.e., the DRS) consists of multiple signals, QCL relationship among signals can be considered. Explicit signaling of QCL relationship or behavior (such as QCL behavior A or B) can be considered to a UE via higher layer signaling, indicates the UE can determine the QCL assumption based on the configuration)
Though Yi discloses the DRS signal for measurement and synchronization (¶¶0179,0125, 0126), Yi does not explicitly disclose DRS usage on activating SCell:
determine a frequency location of a discovery signal used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell),
Kazmi, however, discloses:
determine a frequency location of a discovery signal used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell), (Kazmi ¶0103 UE uses DRS (e.g., PSS/SSS/CRS) for activating the SCell. The UE can use the DRS for activating the SCell during the occasions when the DRS are available on the SCell being activated. During the activation procedure the UE acquires for instance timing of the SCell. Therefore, the DRS enables the UE to acquire synchronization on the SCell to be activated)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi with the ability to use DRS for activating SCell as taught by Kazmi. Doing so ensures that the UE is able to accurately activate an SCell such that the SCell can be used for scheduled transmissions, while meeting activation delay requirements for the SCell. (Kazmi, ¶0039)
Though Yi discloses the discovery signal includes PSS/SSS and a third signal (CRS/CSI-RS), Yi and Kazmi do not explicitly disclose the mapping the signals to different symbols:
wherein the first, second, and third signals are mapped to different orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and
the OFDM symbols are time division multiplexed (TDMed),
Kim, however, discloses:
wherein the first, second, and third signals are mapped to different orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (Kim ¶0387 FIG. 29 is a view illustrating an exemplary DRS transmission pattern including PSS/SSS/CRS mapped to different OFDM symbols. ¶0396 FIGS. 30 to 32, also discloses a solid line represents actual allocation of a PSS/SSS/CRS included in a DRS. ¶0391 While DRS illustrates PSS/SSS/CRS in the Figs, the DRS may be configured to selectively include a CSI-RS, like the legacy DRS.) and
the OFDM symbols are time division multiplexed (TDMed), (Kim ¶¶0387, 0396 FIG. 29-32 discloses the OFDM symbols carrying the PSS/SSS/CRS are separate in time within the subframe (SF), thus TDMed.) and
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi and Kazmi with the DRS signals mapped to different symbols as taught by Kim. Doing so allows efficient data transmission/reception supporting an unlicensed band and reduced probability of dropping a DRS in a DRS occasion. (Kim, ¶¶0019, 0022)
Though Yi discloses each set of DRS configurations is defined per frequency (¶0181) and receiving involves determining frequency and time domain information, Yi, Kazmi, and Kim do not specifically disclose:
a processor ([0333] FIG. 19 processor 2010), configured to:
determine a frequency location of a discovery signal used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell),
determine a time domain information of the discovery signal,
determine a subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal, and
wherein i) the frequency location of the discovery signal, ii) the time domain information of the discovery signal, iii) the subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal, and iv) the QCL assumption of the discovery signal are determined based on the set of configurations,
transmit the discovery signal on a secondary cell (SCell) based on the frequency location, the time domain information, the subcarrier spacing, and the QCL assumption of the discovery signal.
Cho, however, discloses:
determine a frequency location of a discovery signal used for measurement, synchronization, and activation of a secondary cell (SCell); (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements (indicates frequency location) of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
determine a time domain information of the discovery signal, (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements (indicates time domain information) of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
determine a subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal; and (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
wherein i) the frequency location of the discovery signal, ii) the time domain information of the discovery signal, iii) the subcarrier spacing of the discovery signal, and iv) the QCL assumption of the discovery signal are determined based on the set of configurations, (Cho ¶0058 discloses the particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements for the discovery signals may be configured)
transmit the discovery signal on a secondary cell (SCell) based on the frequency location, the time domain information, the subcarrier spacing, and the QCL assumption of the discovery signal. (Cho ¶0058 The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and/or a time-frequency resource elements of configured downlink reference signal (DRS))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, and Kim with DRS configuration as taught by Cho. Doing so allows to support a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometime conflicting performance dimensions and services by enabling system operation comprised of several non-continuous frequency spectrum parts for the diverse requirements, applications, services, multiple frequency bands, licensed and unlicensed frequency and multiple partitions that may be used to support various 5G features. (Cho, ¶0003, ¶0024-0025)
Regarding Claim 9, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 8. Yi further discloses:
the PSS and the SSS are mapped to two consecutive orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, respectively; (¶0212 Fig. 13, example, discloses DRS-PSS and DRS-SSS utilizing OFDM symbols 2 and 3 (consecutive) respectively in the second slot.)
the PSS is mapped to a first OFDM symbol within the two consecutive OFDM symbols; (¶0212 Fig. 13, example, discloses DRS-PSS utilizing OFDM symbol 2 (first within the two symbols 2 and 3) in the second slot) and
the SSS is mapped to a second OFDM symbol within the two consecutive OFDM symbols. (¶0212 Fig. 13, example, discloses DRS-SSS utilizing OFDM symbol 3 (second within the two symbols 2 and 3) in the second slot)
Regarding Claim 10, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 8. Yi further discloses:
wherein the third signal is a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). (Fig. 10 ¶0118, ¶0123 DRS (discovery signal) may further comprise CSI-RS depending on the CSI-RS configuration (e.g., interval, offset of the CSI-RS).
Regarding Claim 12, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 8. Yi further discloses:
wherein the time domain information includes a periodicity of transmission occasions for the discovery signal (¶0274 discovery signal transmission location can be either fixed in a specification or configurable by higher layer. As it is designed to allow higher multiplexing/orthogonality, it is desirable to be able to configure the periodicity and/or offset of discovery signal transmission) and
a time domain pattern of the discovery signal in each transmission occasion. (¶0225-0227 FIG. 15, when transmitting the DRS, the number of antenna ports which may determine the RE density of DRS signal may be determined regardless of actual antenna ports indicated by PBCH antenna ports. To allow dense DRS transmission, it would be desirable to fix 4 antenna ports (only for RE mapping) where actual transmission may be done via single antenna ports or multiple antenna ports. In terms of computing RSRP, a UE may assume that it is transmitted from single antenna such that all REs can be used for measurement. FIG. 15 shows a DRS RS pattern ¶0107 resource elements (RE) resource elements corresponds to subcarrier (subcarrier index) and OFDM symbol (OFDM symbol index) of a slot, indicates both time and frequency domain. )
Regarding Claim 13, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 8. Yi and Cho further disclose:
wherein a set of configurations for radio resource management (RRM) measurement are based on the discovery signal. (Yi [0179] FIG. 11 shows an example of UE measurement performed on the DRS. It is preferable that the period of the DRS is aligned with the measurement gap, and thus the UE can be configured to measure the DRS within the measurement gap. The UE can be configured to measure the PSS, SSS, and CSI-RS during a certain measurement duration based on the “DRS configurations” delivered via an RRC message. Cho also discloses ¶0058 eNB 1204 may configure a set of discovery signals to be monitored by the UE 1202. The UE 1202 may also be further requested to provide the measurement results of the configured discovery signals. For example, a reference signal received power RSRP) measurement may be reported. The discovery signals may be configured to use a particular subcarrier spacing, e.g., numerology, and or a time-frequency resource elements of configured downlink reference signal (DRS) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, and Kim with DRS configuration as taught by Cho. Doing so allows to support a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometime conflicting performance dimensions and services by enabling system operation comprised of several non-continuous frequency spectrum parts for the diverse requirements, applications, services, multiple frequency bands, licensed and unlicensed frequency and multiple partitions that may be used to support various 5G features. (Cho, ¶0003, ¶0024-0025)
Regarding Claim 14, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 13. Yi and Cho further disclose:
wherein a reference signal receive power (RSRP) or a reference signal receive quality (RSRQ) is based on the discovery signal. (Yi [0179] FIG. 11 discloses the UE can be configured to measure the PSS, SSS, and CSI-RS during a certain measurement duration based on the “DRS configurations” delivered via an RRC message. Cho discloses ¶0058, 0059 At 1240, UE 1202 may be requested to provide the measurement results of the configured discovery signals. At 1250, the UE 1202 reports its measurement results of the configured discovery signals to the NR eNB 1204. The measurement results may include a RSRP and/or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) result)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, and Kim with DRS configuration as taught by Cho. Doing so allows to support a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometime conflicting performance dimensions and services by enabling system operation comprised of several non-continuous frequency spectrum parts for the diverse requirements, applications, services, multiple frequency bands, licensed and unlicensed frequency and multiple partitions that may be used to support various 5G features. (Cho, ¶0003, ¶0024-0025)
Regarding Claims 15-17, 19-20, Claims 15-17, 19-20 are directed to method claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claims 1-3, 5-7. Therefore, claims 15-17, 19-20 are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claims 1-3, 5-7.
Claims 4, 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YI et al. (US 20170070312 A1), hereinafter Yi, in view of Kazmi et al. (US 20180192300 A1), hereinafter Kazmi, Kim et al. (US 20180192355 A1), hereinafter Kim, in view of CHO et al. (WO 2018031644 A1), hereinafter Cho and further in view of SUN et al. (US 20230007462 A1), hereinafter Sun.
Regarding Claim 4, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 1. Though Yi discloses [¶0146 a QCL relationship DRS-CSI-RS (or DRS-CRS) and PSS/SSS can be configured where DRS-CSI-RS can be used for PSS/SSS, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho do not disclose:
wherein the QCL assumption indicates that the discovery signal is QCLed with a synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block from a primary cell (PCell).
Sun, however, discloses:
wherein the QCL assumption indicates that the discovery signal is QCLed with a synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block from a primary cell (PCell). (Fig. 4, ¶0097 discloses first sidelink UE 415a (can be replaced with BS) transmits the discovery signal 420 such that it is quasi co-located (QCL) with the synchronization communication, indicates the discovery signal QCLed with the primary SS/PBCH (see fig. 4))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho with the feature of discovery signal QCLed with SS/PBCH as taught by Sun. Doing so allows providing a lower latency, a higher bandwidth or a higher throughput, and a higher reliability operating across different spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to opportunistically aggregate spectrums to dynamically support high-bandwidth services. Spectrum sharing can extend the benefit of NR technologies to operating entities that may not have access to a licensed spectrum. (Sun ¶0003).
Regarding Claim 11, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho disclose claim 8. Though Yi discloses [¶0146 a QCL relationship DRS-CSI-RS (or DRS-CRS) and PSS/SSS can be configured where DRS-CSI-RS can be used for PSS/SSS, Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho do not disclose:
wherein the QCL assumption indicates that the discovery signal is QCLed with a synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block from a primary cell (PCell).
Sun, however, discloses:
wherein the QCL assumption indicates that the discovery signal is QCLed with a synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block from a primary cell (PCell). (Fig. 4, ¶0097 discloses first sidelink UE 415a (can be replaced with BS) transmits the discovery signal 420 such that it is quasi co-located (QCL) with the synchronization communication, indicates the discovery signal QCLed with the primary SS/PBCH (see fig. 4))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Yi, Kazmi, Kim, and Cho with the feature of discovery signal QCLed with SS/PBCH as taught by Sun. Doing so allows providing a lower latency, a higher bandwidth or a higher throughput, and a higher reliability operating across different spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to opportunistically aggregate spectrums to dynamically support high-bandwidth services. Spectrum sharing can extend the benefit of NR technologies to operating entities that may not have access to a licensed spectrum. (Sun ¶0003).
Regarding Claim 18, Claim 18 is directed to method claim and it does not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim 4. Therefore, claim 18 is also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim 4.
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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/M.N.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417