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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-16 have been examined and are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
An initialed and dated copy of Applicant’s IDS form 1449 submitted 01/26/2025 is attached to the instant office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “…the plurality of first BWPs comprise at least two second BWPs with a same SCS, and the SCS of the second BWP is the same as the SCS corresponding to the second channel bandwidth.”
For the claim limitation “the second BWP”, it is vague and unclear which second BWP is being referred to, as there are at least two second BWPs.
Claims 2-4 are rejected for having the same limitations as claim 1 above.
Claims 5-8 are method claims in the network device perspective, and are rejected for having similar claim language issues as recited in Claims 1-4 above.
Claims 9-12 are apparatus claims, and are rejected for having similar claim language issues as recited in method Claims 1-4 above.
Claims 13-16 are apparatus claims in the network device perspective, and are rejected for having similar claim language issues as recited in Claims 1-4 above.
Claim 4 recites “…each frequency domain location of the at least two frequency domain locations indicates a location of the first channel bandwidth.” For the claim limitation “the first channel bandwidth”, it is vague and unclear which first channel bandwidth is being referred to, as there are a plurality of first channel bandwidths as defined in Claim 1.
Claims 8, 12, and 16 are rejected for having similar claim language as Claim 4 above.
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.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2025/0133566 A1 (foreign priority date of Jun 30, 2021) to Liu et al. (hereinafter “Liu”) in view of US 2021/0314994 A1 to Ang et al. (Hereinafter “Ang”)
Regarding Claims 1 and 9, Liu teaches A configuration method and communication apparatus, comprising: (Figure 14, illustrates UE)
An interface circuit; a memory storing instructions, and at least one processor in communication with the interface circuit and the memory, the at least one processor configured, upon execution of the instructions, to perform the following steps: (Figure 14, illustrates UE comprising processor and memory interconnected via interfacing bus 1487)
receiving, by a terminal device, first configuration information from a network device, ([0122]-[0123], discloses a base station may transmit an RRC message to configure a UE. [0127], discloses RRC message including SCS-SpecificCarrier IE (i.e. first configuration information) for configuring a carrier)
the first configuration information being used to configure a plurality of first channel bandwidths, the plurality of first channel bandwidths comprise at least two second channel bandwidths ([0133], discloses SCS-SpecificCarrier provides parameters determining the location and width of the carrier bandwidth or the actual carrier. [0140], discloses One or more carrier are determined by respective SCS-SpecificCarrier IEs (i.e. plurality of first channel bandwidths including at least two second channel bandwidths), respectively. Figure 3, illustrates different carrier bandwidths 304 and 314)
receiving, by the terminal device, second configuration information from the network device, wherein the second configuration information being used to configure a plurality of first bandwidth parts (BWPs), ([0136]-[0137], discloses a BWP can be identified (or defined) at least by a subcarrier spacing μ indicated by the RRC parameter subcarrierSpacing, a cyclic prefix determined by the RRC parameter cyclicPrefix, a frequency domain location, a bandwidth, an BWP index indicated by bwp-Id and so on. A UE 102 configured to operation in BWPs of a serving cell, is configured (i.e. second configuration information) by higher layers for the serving cell a set of at most four BWPs in the downlink for reception.)
the plurality of first BWPs comprise at least two second BWPs with a same SCS, and the SCS of the second BWP is the same as the SCS corresponding to the second channel bandwidth. (Figure 3 and [0141], discloses a BWP configuration in which BWP A 306 and BWP B 308 share the same subcarrier spacing configuration u=0 (i.e. at least two second BWPs with a same SCS), which is also the same as carrier bandwidth 304 with subcarrier spacing configuration u=0 (i.e. SCS of second BWP is same as SCS of second channel bandwidth))
Liu does not explicitly teach the plurality of first channel bandwidths comprise at least two second channel bandwidths with a same subcarrier spacing (SCS);
However, the concept of different channel bandwidths having the same subcarrier spacing is well known in the art. For example, in a similar field of endeavor, Ang discloses in [0011]-[0014], discloses a base station transmitting a carrier aggregation configuration message to a UE indicating a set of carriers (i.e. channel bandwidths) configured for communications with the UE, grouping the set of carriers into one or more groups, the one or more groups representing groupings of carriers that are to be scheduled for communications with the UE on at least partially overlapping time resources, and scheduling communications with the UE on the set of carriers based on the grouping. [0013], further discloses a group of the one or more groups includes carriers associated with a same numerology (i.e. same subcarrier spacing). [0072], discloses numerology characterized by subcarrier spacing.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Liu to include the above limitations as suggested by Ang, to synchronize communications with a UE on carriers in a group to maximize the opportunities for the UE to transition to a sleep mode and save power as indicated in [0005] of Ang.
Regarding Claim 2, Liu/Ang teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein:
Ang further teaches the first configuration information comprises first sub-configuration information, [0011]-[0014], discloses a base station transmitting a carrier aggregation configuration message (i.e. including first configuration information) to a UE indicating a set of carriers (i.e. channel bandwidths including second channel bandwidths) configured for communications with the UE, grouping the set of carriers into one or more groups (i.e. first sub-configuration information used to configured two second channel bandwidths with the same SCS), the one or more groups representing groupings of carriers that are to be scheduled for communications with the UE on at least partially overlapping time resources, and scheduling communications with the UE on the set of carriers based on the grouping. [0013], further discloses a group of the one or more groups includes carriers associated with a same numerology (i.e. same subcarrier spacing). [0072], discloses numerology characterized by subcarrier spacing) Examiner maintains same motivation to combine as indicated in Claim 1 above.
Regarding Claim 3, Liu/Ang teaches The method according to claim 2, wherein:
Liu further teaches the first sub-configuration information comprises one or more of: at least two frequency domain locations, at least two frequency domain starting locations, or at least two frequency domain offsets corresponding to the at least two second channel bandwidths with the same SCS. ([0140], discloses One or more carrier are determined by respective SCS-SpecificCarrier IEs (i.e. plurality of first channel bandwidths including at least two second channel bandwidths), respectively. Figure 3, illustrates different carrier bandwidths 304 and 314. [0127], discloses each SCS-SpecificCarrierIE including a higher-layer parameter offsetToCarrier indicating the starting position and frequency location)
Regarding Claim 4, Liu/Ang teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein:
Liu further teaches the first configuration information comprises at least two frequency domain locations, and each frequency domain location of the at least two frequency domain locations indicates a location of the first channel bandwidth. ([0140], discloses One or more carrier are determined by respective SCS-SpecificCarrier IEs (i.e. plurality of first channel bandwidths including at least two second channel bandwidths), respectively. Figure 3, illustrates different carrier bandwidths 304 and 314. [0127], discloses each SCS-SpecificCarrierIE including a higher-layer parameter offsetToCarrier indicating the starting position and frequency location)
Regarding Claim 5 and 13, Liu teaches A configuration method and communication apparatus, comprising: (Figure 15, illustrates base station)
An interface circuit; a memory storing instructions, and at least one processor in communication with the interface circuit and the memory, the at least one processor configured, upon execution of the instructions, to perform the following steps: (Figure 15, illustrates base station comprising processor and memory interconnected via interfacing bus 1587)
sending, by a network device, first configuration information to a terminal device, ([0122]-[0123], discloses a base station may transmit an RRC message to configure a UE. [0127], discloses RRC message including SCS-SpecificCarrier IE (i.e. first configuration information) for configuring a carrier)
the first configuration information being used to configure a plurality of first channel bandwidths, and the plurality of first channel bandwidths comprise at least two second channel bandwidths with a same subcarrier spacing SCS; ([0133], discloses SCS-SpecificCarrier provides parameters determining the location and width of the carrier bandwidth or the actual carrier. [0140], discloses One or more carrier are determined by respective SCS-SpecificCarrier IEs (i.e. plurality of first channel bandwidths including at least two second channel bandwidths), respectively. Figure 3, illustrates different carrier bandwidths 304 and 314) and
sending, by the network device, second configuration information to the terminal device, the second configuration information being used to configure a plurality of first bandwidth parts BWPs, ([0136]-[0137], discloses a BWP can be identified (or defined) at least by a subcarrier spacing μ indicated by the RRC parameter subcarrierSpacing, a cyclic prefix determined by the RRC parameter cyclicPrefix, a frequency domain location, a bandwidth, an BWP index indicated by bwp-Id and so on. A UE 102 configured to operation in BWPs of a serving cell, is configured (i.e. second configuration information) by higher layers for the serving cell a set of at most four BWPs in the downlink for reception.)
the plurality of first BWPs comprise at least two second BWPs with a same SCS, and the SCS of the second BWP is the same as the SCS corresponding to the second channel bandwidth. (Figure 3 and [0141], discloses a BWP configuration in which BWP A 306 and BWP B 308 share the same subcarrier spacing configuration u=0 (i.e. at least two second BWPs with a same SCS), which is also the same as carrier bandwidth 304 with subcarrier spacing configuration u=0 (i.e. SCS of second BWP is same as SCS of second channel bandwidth))
Liu does not explicitly teach the plurality of first channel bandwidths comprise at least two second channel bandwidths with a same subcarrier spacing (SCS);
However, the concept of different channel bandwidths having the same subcarrier spacing is well known in the art. For example, in a similar field of endeavor, Ang discloses in [0011]-[0014], discloses a base station transmitting a carrier aggregation configuration message to a UE indicating a set of carriers (i.e. channel bandwidths) configured for communications with the UE, grouping the set of carriers into one or more groups, the one or more groups representing groupings of carriers that are to be scheduled for communications with the UE on at least partially overlapping time resources, and scheduling communications with the UE on the set of carriers based on the grouping. [0013], further discloses a group of the one or more groups includes carriers associated with a same numerology (i.e. same subcarrier spacing). [0072], discloses numerology characterized by subcarrier spacing.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Liu to include the above limitations as suggested by Ang, to synchronize communications with a UE on carriers in a group to maximize the opportunities for the UE to transition to a sleep mode and save power as indicated in [0005] of Ang.
Claims 6-8 are rejected for having the same limitations as claims 2-4 above, respectively, except the claims are written in network device method perspective.
Claims 10-12 are rejected for having the same limitations as claims 2-4 above, respectively, except the claims are written in terminal apparatus format.
Claims 14-16 are rejected for having the same limitations as claims 2-4 above, respectively, except the claims are written in network device apparatus perspective format.
Conclusion
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/JENKEY VAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477