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 .
Priorities and Examiner Remarks
This application is a Division of application 17/153,474 (filed 01/20/2021, now patent# 11751150B2), which claims priority from provisional application 62978656 (filed 02/19/2020).
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/19/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation 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 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph:
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.
Claims 36 and 37 are 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 pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 36, after careful review of applicant’s specification, the examiner cannot find supports for the newly amended limitation “…wherein the set of SSBs comprise two SSBs in every 0.25 millisecond time period of the DRS transmission window”, as currently recited in new claim 36. To be more specific, while the Remarks filed on 11/19/2025 does not mention any supports, there is no mention in any portion of the specification nor in any figures “...the set of SSBs comprise two SSBs in every 0.25 millisecond time period of the DRS transmission window”. Clarification is respectfully requested. In particular, the examiner respectfully requests for understanding in which figure(s) and/or section of paragraphs that disclose “two SSBs in every 0.25 millisecond time period”, in order to determine whether rejection can be withdrawn.
Claim 37, after careful review of applicant’s specification, the examiner cannot find supports for the newly amended limitation “…wherein the DRS transmission window has a duration of 5 milliseconds and includes at least 80 SSB candidate positions”, as currently recited in new claim 37. To be more specific, while the Remarks filed on 11/19/2025 does not mention any supports, there is no mention in any portion of the specification nor in any figures “...the DRS transmission window has a duration of 5 milliseconds and includes at least 80 SSB candidate positions”. Clarification is respectfully requested. In particular, the examiner respectfully requests for understanding in which figure(s) and/or section of paragraphs that disclose “has a duration of 5 milliseconds and includes at least 80 SSB candidate positions”, in order to determine whether rejection can be withdrawn.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 1-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 20200404601 A1, hereinafter Lin), in view of Li et al. (US 20210136800 A1, hereinafter Li).
Regarding claim 1, Lin teaches a base station for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories (see at least fig. 2, e.g. components of an gNB),
the one or more processors configured to (in general, see fig. 11-12 and at least their paragraphs 105-109, in view of fig. 10 and its paragraphs 96-104):
determine an index value of a synchronization signal block (SSB), included in a transmission window
[(x)] that includes more than 64 candidate SSB positions (Lin, see at least fig. 11 in view of para. 106-107, for one non-limiting example, when “the time unit can be extended to 20 ms”, the example of “30kHz L_SSB=8” would have 80 potential SSB locations, i.e. more than 64 candidate SSB positions)
and
[(y)] that includes candidate SSB positions in each slot gap of a set of slot gaps configured in the transmission window, based at least in part on an indexing scheme for SSBs that are included in the transmission window (Lin, see at least fig. 11 in view of para. 106-107, following the same non-limiting example above, when “the time unit can be extended to 20 ms” and utilizing the example of “30kHz L_SSB=8”, each slot of this first set of 6 slots can be used for potential SSB locations in this 5ms half frame, note that this merely one non-limiting example, as any one or more of the “30kHz L_SSB=4”, “120kHz L_SSB=64”, “240kHz L_SSB=64”, etc. may also applied)
wherein the indexing scheme includes one of:
[(i)] a consecutive indexing scheme in which all of the SSBs are indexed from earlier positions in the transmission window to later positions in the transmission window,
or
[(ii)] a non-consecutive indexing scheme in which a first subset of the SSBs are indexed in ascending order from earlier positions in the transmission window to later positions in the transmission window and a second subset of the SSBs are indexed in ascending order from earlier positions in the transmission window to later positions in the transmission window, wherein an earliest SSB included in the second subset occurs prior to at least one SSB in the first subset and has a higher index value than all SSBs in the first subset (Lin, for condition(i), see at least fig. 9 and para. 94 in view of fig. 21-22 and at least para. 224, e.g. symbols mapped for SS/PBCH blocks with different index); and
transmit the SSB and an indication of the index value in a candidate SSB position of the DRS transmission window (Lin, see at least para. 234 along with para. 160, e.g. UE can acquire the timing information within the time-domain unit by detecting the index of SSB).
Lin does not specifically teach (a) [SSB within a] discovery reference signal (DRS) transmission window, and (b) [SSBs are indexed] consecutively in ascending order.
Li teaches (a) [SSB within a] discovery reference signal (DRS) transmission window (see at least para. 30, e.g. DRS measurement timing configuration (DMTC) window is defined to provide multiple times of transmission for an SSB), as well as (b) [SSBs are indexed] consecutively in ascending order (see at least fig. 2 and para. 65 in addition to fig. 3, e.g. as an example, 9 consecutive SSB indexes in the interlace are allocated starting from SSB index 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Li into the apparatus of Lin for improving the reliability for SSB transmissions.
Regarding claim 2, Lin in view of Li teaches the DRS transmission window includes a set of SSBs in every 0.25 millisecond time period of the DRS transmission window. (Lin, see at least fig. 11, e.g. either the 120kHz L=64 or 240kHz L=64 has set of SSBs in every 0.25ms)
Regarding claim 3, Lin in view of Li teaches the DRS transmission window has a duration of 5 milliseconds. (Lin, see at least fig. 11, e.g. half frame in 5ms; Li, see at least fig. 1B, e.g. 5ms DMTC)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Li into the apparatus of Lin for improving the reliability for SSB transmissions.
Regarding claim 4, Lin in view of Li teaches the SSBs are positioned within the DRS transmission window with a sub-carrier spacing of 120 kilohertz. (Lin, see at least fig. 11, e.g. 120kHz L=64)
Regarding claim 5, Lin in view of Li teaches the DRS transmission window includes 80 candidate SSB positions. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with para. 106-107, e.g. an embodiment of 30kHz L=8 in extended potential SSB locations, hence 80 positions)
Regarding claim 6, Lin in view of Li teaches the earliest SSB included in the second subset has an index value of 64. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with para. 106-107, e.g. either embodiment of 120kHz L=64 or 240kHz L=64 which would have a next extended index value of 64, Li, see at least fig. 2, e.g. ascending indexing)
Regarding claim 7, Lin in view of Li teaches the earliest SSB included in the second subset has an index value of 128. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with para. 106-107, e.g. either embodiment of 120kHz L=64 or 240kHz L=64 which would have a next extended index value of 128, Li, see at least fig. 2, e.g. ascending indexing)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Li into the apparatus of Lin for improving the reliability for SSB transmissions.
Regarding claim 8, Lin in view of Li teaches the SSBs are positioned within the DRS transmission window with a sub-carrier spacing of 240 kilohertz. (Lin, see at least fig. 11, e.g. embodiment of 240kHz L=64)
Regarding claim 9, Lin in view of Li teaches a portion of the SSBs are positioned in a second half of the DRS transmission window. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with para. 106-107, e.g. some of the remaining slots within a half frame can be utilized for extended potential SSB locations, such as to double the number of totally potential SSB locations)
Regarding claim 10, Lin in view of Li teaches the DRS transmission window includes 128 candidate SSBs positions. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with para. 106-107, e.g. embodiment of 240kHz L=64, hence 128 candidate SSBs positions)
Regarding claim 11, Lin in view of Li teaches the DRS transmission window includes 160 candidate SSBs positions. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with para. 106-107, e.g. embodiment of 240kHz L=64, when some of the remaining slots within a half frame can be utilized for extended potential SSB locations, hence 160 candidate SSBs positions)
Regarding claims 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, these claims are rejected for the same reasoning as claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, respectively, except each of these claims is in method claim format.
Regarding claims 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30, these claims are rejected for the same reasoning as claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, respectively, except each of these claims is in computer-readable medium claim format.
To be more specific, Lin in view of Li also teaches a same or similar apparatus comprising computer-readable medium (Lin, see at least fig. 2), which is well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 31, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1 except this claim is in apparatus claim format.
To be more specific, Lin in view of Li also teaches a same or similar apparatus comprising means for performing various functions (Lin, see at least fig. 2), which are well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 32, Lin in view of Li teaches at least one slot gap of the set of slot gaps is between a first set of candidate SSB positions in the DRS transmission window and a second set of SSB candidate positions in the DRS transmission window. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 in view of para. 106-107 and claim 1 rejection above, e.g. for one example, but not limited to, the one or more embodiments shown in fig. 11)
Regarding claim 33, Lin in view of Li teaches each slot gap, of the set of slot gaps, comprises two slots, wherein the DRS transmission window is configured to include each slot gap, of set of slot gaps, after a set of slots that includes the candidate SSB positions. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 in view of para. 106-107 and claim 1 rejection above, e.g. for one example, but not limited to, the one or more embodiments shown in fig. 11)
Regarding claim 34, Lin in view of Li teaches the set of slots comprises at least eight slots. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 in view of para. 106-107 and claim 1 rejection above, e.g. for one example, but not limited to, the one or more embodiments shown in fig. 11)
Regarding claim 35, Lin in view of Li teaches the set of slots gaps comprise four total slot gaps in the DRS transmissions window. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 in view of para. 106-107 and claim 1 rejection above, e.g. for one example, but not limited to, the one or more embodiments shown in fig. 11)
Regarding claim 36, Lin in view of Li teaches the set of SSBs comprise two SSBs in every 0.25 millisecond time period of the DRS transmission window. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with at least fig. 25 and/or fig. 26, e.g. either example of the 120kHz L=64 or 240kHz L=64 may apply, in which either example has set of SSBs comprise two SSBs set in every 0.25ms)
Regarding claim 37, Lin in view of Li teaches the DRS transmission window has a duration of 5 milliseconds and includes at least 80 SSB candidate positions. (Lin, see at least fig. 11 along with para. 106-107, e.g. an embodiment of 30kHz L=8 in extended potential SSB locations, hence at least 80 positions)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/19/2025 have been fully considered. Regarding independent claims 1, 12, and 23, since applicant's amendment necessitated new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action, previous Office action's rejections are moot. Accordingly, corresponding dependent claims have also been rejected in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEE F LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7577. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman Abaza can be reached on 571-270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YEE F LAM/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465