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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pu et al. (US 2024/0098720 A1) hereinafter Pu .
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Regarding claim 1 – Pu discloses receiving, from the base station via a second BWP configuration, a downlink control information (DCI) message that includes an indication for the wireless device to communicate with the base station via a first BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0057] - The reference information signaling may include configuration information identifying capabilities of at least one terminal a reference signal. The reference information may be a UE device-specific information that may be used to configure communication capabilities in the UE device (e.g., indicated via parameters such as UE-Capability as defined in TS 38.306 of the 3GPP standard). The synchronization information signaling may include synchronization information relating to allocation of resources for at least one synchronization signal exchanged in the specific BWP. (The examiner interprets the specific BWP as the second BWP.), also, paragraph [0072] - In this case, the network may trigger the UE device to switch UL BWP or DL BWP using a DCI field, also, paragraph [0076] - BWP switching may be performed using a dedicated RRC signaling; over a PDCCH/DCI UL Grant and/or DL Scheduling, also, paragraph [0081] - Once the UE device is configured with multiple BWPs, the network may command the UE device to switch from an original BWP to a target BWP using the DCI in the PDCCH. (The examiner interprets the target BWP as the second BWP.)
detecting, based on content of the DCI message, a BWP mismatch between the second BWP configuration presently used by the wireless device and the first BWP configuration presently used by the base station, refer to Figure 5 and paragraph [0118] - the BWP mismatch occurs when the BWP configured for the network 510 and the BWP configured for the terminal 520 are different. The BWP mismatch may occur when the terminal 520 detects a DCI indicating a BWP switch from the original BWP to the target BWP, while the network 510 does not schedule any DL/UL signaling on the target BWP.
responsive to the BWP mismatch detection, transitioning to use the first BWP configuration without waiting to complete a predetermined BWP switching delay time period for switching BWP configurations, refer to paragraph [0123] - In the BMRA 580, the terminal 520 attempts to recover the BWP connection back to the original BWP. At 585, after the BWP alignment 560, the network 510 and the terminal 520 may confirm network and terminal alignment back in the original BWP based on the confirmation of DL/UL signaling, also, Figures 6A, 6B and paragraph [0125] - In the BMRA 580, the terminal 520 attempts to recover the BWP connection back to the original BWP. At 585, after the BWP alignment 560, the network 510 and the terminal 520 may confirm network and terminal alignment back in the original BWP based on the confirmation of DL/UL signaling, also, paragraph [0135] - At 645, the terminal 520 determines whether any following DCI is detected before the function F(t)=n*T_detection expires. The terminal 520 waits for a DCI to be received using the target BWP. The function F(t) is a dynamic algorithm to evaluate the BWP mismatch in ms (e.g., T_detection=1 ms), also, paragraph [0144] - If any additional DCI is detected, the flowchart ends at 690, where the terminal 520 confirms that the BWP recovery succeeded. Specifically, the terminal 520 confirms that the DL signaling is received in reception signaling using the original BWP. As a result, the terminal 520 may determine that a BWP recovery has been completed.
Regarding claim 2 – Pu discloses claim 1. Pu discloses determining the content of the DCI message includes, for the wireless device, a scheduled downlink (DL) resource or a granted uplink (UL) resource that is inconsistent with switching BWP configurations, refer to Figure 6A and paragraph [0130] - At 620, if the DCI format is determined to be DCI format 0_1, the terminal 520 determines a BWP mismatch detection operation corresponding to this format. At this stage, because the DCI format 0_1 is used for uplink resource allocation (i.e., scheduling grants) for PUSCH
Regarding claim 3 – Pu discloses claim 2. Pu discloses wherein the scheduled DL resource or the granted UL resource occurs before completion of the predetermined BWP switching delay time period for switching BWP configurations, refer to Figure 6B and paragraph [0139] - The recovery window may be defined as a function X(t)=m*T_recovery, where T_recovery is the time for the recovery window in milliseconds (ms) and the value m is a scale factor based for the T_recovery timer based on a given service type. In the event of a BWP recovery, the terminal 520 may determine whether the downlink signals include the DCI before the recovery window expires.
Regarding claim 4 – Pu discloses claim 1. Pu discloses decoding, while configured in accordance with the first BWP configuration, a second DCI message that includes a second indication for the wireless device to communicate with the base station using the second BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0146] - The network 510 configures specific resources including the information element SR-Resource and the rach-ConfigCommon before a BWP mismatch can be detected. In this scenario, when a BWP switch is detected, the terminal 520 starts a BWP mismatch detection algorithm (BMDA) in a detection window. The BMDA may include triggering SR/RACH on the target BWP to detect the BWP mismatch. (The examiner interprets the target BWPas the second BWP.), also, paragraph [0147] and Figures 7A-7D.
switching, after completion of the predetermined BWP switching delay time period after receipt of the second DCI message, from the first BWP configuration to the second BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0168] - At 772, if the specific service is not indicated, the flowchart continues where the terminal 520 triggers a RACH to recover service in the original BWP. The terminal 520 uses the RACH to determine an acknowledgement in the original BWP, also, Figure 7D and paragraph [0172] - At this point, the terminal 520 compares the values of m_RACH_Count and m_RACH_Max_Count to determine whether the maximum number has been reached. If the number has been reached, then the flowchart ends at 792. Otherwise, the flowchart returns to 772 to trigger another RACH for recovery on the original BWP.
Regarding claim 5 – Pu discloses claim 4. Pu discloses wherein the second DCI message includes a scheduled DL resource or a granted UL resource that occurs after completion of the predetermined BWP switching delay time period, refer to paragraph [0022] - the terminal may determine whether a core network (also referred to as the network) has sent a UL grant in the target BWP when the terminal has UL data for transmission. The lack of the UL grant in the target BWP may indicate that BWP switching was not successful, also, paragraph [0172] - At this point, the terminal 520 compares the values of m_RACH_Count and m_RACH_Max_Count to determine whether the maximum number has been reached. If the number has been reached, then the flowchart ends at 792. Otherwise, the flowchart returns to 772 to trigger another RACH for recovery on the original BWP, also, paragraph [0173] - The reestablishment procedure attempts to connect the terminal 520 with the original BWP. The reestablishment procedure may be implemented as described in TS 38.331 of the 3GPP standard. This may occur in response to the decision at 770 where the terminal 520 may determine that a specific service is indicated in the downlink signals, and may trigger a reestablishment procedure directly based on an indication of the specific service.
Regarding claim 6 – Pu discloses claim 4. Pu discloses monitoring, based on the first BWP configuration for a predetermined monitoring time period after switching to the second BWP configuration, for DCI messages, refer to paragraph [0021] - the terminal may be configured to monitor and detect when a mismatch occurs. Upon identifying a mismatch, the terminal may implement a recovery operation to return to the original BWP, also, paragraph [0073] - The search space is an area within a CORESET that the UE device monitors to detect a specific PDCCH/DCI, also, paragraph [0159] - the terminal 520 may monitor whether the SR procedure counter is equal to a first predetermined number, and trigger a RACH procedure configured for detection when the SR procedure counter is equal to the first predetermined number. The first predetermined number may be the maximum number of SRs.
Regrading claim 7 – Pu discloses claim 6. Pu discloses the first BWP configuration and the second BWP configuration use a same bandwidth region of a carrier, refer to paragraph [0019] - the BWP is a contiguous set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) in a radio transmission, selected from a contiguous subset of common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology (μ) on a given carrier configured for a specific communication procedure.
the first BWP configuration monitors for DCI messages more frequently than the second BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0063] - To improve a reliability of the BWP transmissions, a dynamic grant DCI may provide resources for one or multiple transmissions of a transport block. These configured grants may be transmissions in a specific BWP configured to be immediately used by a UE device, (the examiner interprets dynamic grant DCI to be more frequent in the first BWP.), also, paragraph [0072] - The BWP-ID=0 may be associated with the initial BWP and may hence not be used in other BWPs. In this case, the network may trigger the UE device to switch UL BWP or DL BWP using a DCI field, also, paragraph [0073] - In a primary carrier, at least one of the configured DL BWPs may include one CORESET with common search space (CSS). The search space is an area within a CORESET that the UE device monitors to detect a specific PDCCH/DCI, also, paragraph [0077] - there is an initial active BWP for a UE device during an initial access until the UE device is explicitly configured with BWPs during or after RRC connection establishment. The initial active BWP may be the default BWP, unless configured otherwise, also, paragraph [0141] - At 675, the flowchart continues to determine whether any additional DCI is detected. The terminal 520 may determine whether any following DCI is detected before the function X(t)=m*T_recovery expires. The terminal 520 waits for a DCI to be received using the original BWP.
Regarding claim 8 – Pu discloses claim 6. Pu discloses the first BWP configuration and the second BWP configuration each monitor for DCI messages on all DL time slots, refer to paragraph [0062] - BWP transmissions may be organized into radio frames with a duration of T.sub.f, each consisting of 20 slots of duration T.sub.slot, also, paragraph [0065] - The BWP may define parameters common to all the resources that are contained within it, namely a number of symbols and starting symbol used for all slots,
the first BWP configuration uses a wider bandwidth region of a carrier than the second BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0017] - The procedures may include adjusting an operational bandwidth for the terminal based on one or more configuration parameters received via higher layer signaling, also, paragraph [0018] - The configuration parameters may cause the terminal to change into a specific BWP based on an activity level (e.g., shrink during a period of low activity to save power),
Regarding claim 9 – Pu discloses claim 6. Pu discloses receiving, from the base station during the predetermined monitoring time period while configured to use the second BWP configuration and monitoring based on the first BWP configuration, a third DCI message including a third indication for the wireless device to communicate with the base station using the first BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0066] - The number and locations of those slots may be based on a predefined configuration. Slots that are not allocated for UL (e.g., in the case of Time Division Multiplexing (TDD)) or do not have all the symbols available (as per a predetermined BWP configuration) may also be excluded from usage, also, refer to paragraph [0057] - The reference information signaling may include configuration information identifying capabilities of at least one terminal a reference signal. The reference information may be a UE device-specific information that may be used to configure communication capabilities in the UE device (e.g., indicated via parameters such as UE-Capability as defined in TS 38.306 of the 3GPP standard). The synchronization information signaling may include synchronization information relating to allocation of resources for at least one synchronization signal exchanged in the specific BWP. (The examiner interprets the specific BWP as the second BWP.), also, paragraph [0072] - In this case, the network may trigger the UE device to switch UL BWP or DL BWP using a DCI field, (examiner interprets this as the second DCI.), also, paragraph [0076] - BWP switching may be performed using a dedicated RRC signaling; over a PDCCH/DCI UL Grant and/or DL Scheduling ….. In this mechanism, to help to recover from DCI lost scenarios (third DCI), … the UE device switches its active DL BWP (or DL/UL BWP pair) to a default one (first BWP), also, paragraph [0081] - Once the UE device is configured with multiple BWPs, the network may command the UE device to switch from an original BWP to a target BWP using the DCI in the PDCCH. (The examiner interprets the target BWP as the second BWP.)
determining the previously decoded second DCI message was errant, refer to Figure 5 and paragraph [0118] - the BWP mismatch occurs when the BWP configured for the network 510 and the BWP configured for the terminal 520 are different. The BWP mismatch may occur when the terminal 520 detects a DCI indicating a BWP switch from the original BWP to the target BWP, while the network 510 does not schedule any DL/UL signaling on the target BWP.
switching from using the second BWP configuration to using the first BWP configuration without waiting to complete the predetermined BWP switching delay time period for switching BWP configurations, refer to paragraph [0123] - In the BMRA 580, the terminal 520 attempts to recover the BWP connection back to the original BWP. At 585, after the BWP alignment 560, the network 510 and the terminal 520 may confirm network and terminal alignment back in the original BWP based on the confirmation of DL/UL signaling, also, Figures 6A, 6B and paragraph [0125] - In the BMRA 580, the terminal 520 attempts to recover the BWP connection back to the original BWP. At 585, after the BWP alignment 560, the network 510 and the terminal 520 may confirm network and terminal alignment back in the original BWP based on the confirmation of DL/UL signaling, also, paragraph [0135] - At 645, the terminal 520 determines whether any following DCI is detected before the function F(t)=n*T_detection expires. The terminal 520 waits for a DCI to be received using the target BWP. The function F(t) is a dynamic algorithm to evaluate the BWP mismatch in ms (e.g., T_detection=1 ms), also, paragraph [0144] - If any additional DCI is detected, the flowchart ends at 690, where the terminal 520 confirms that the BWP recovery succeeded. Specifically, the terminal 520 confirms that the DL signaling is received in reception signaling using the original BWP. As a result, the terminal 520 may determine that a BWP recovery has been completed.
Regarding claim 10 - Pu discloses one or more antennas, refer to Figure 2 and paragraph [0092] - The wireless communication circuitry 230 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antenna(s) 235 as shown, also, paragraph [0093] - To help address this attenuating, mmWave systems often utilize beamforming and include more antennas as compared LTE systems. These antennas may be organized into antenna arrays or panels made up of individual antenna elements. These antenna arrays may be coupled to the radio chains.
a baseband processor communicatively coupled to the one or more antennas and a memory storing instructions that when executed configure the wireless device to: refer to Figure 2 and paragraphs [0090] and [0091].
For the elements below please see claim 1.
receive, from the base station via a second BWP configuration, a downlink control information (DCI) message that includes an indication for the wireless device to communicate with the base station using a first BWP configuration;
detect, based on content of the DCI message, a BWP mismatch between the second BWP configuration presently used by the wireless device and the first BWP configuration presently used by the base station; and
responsive to detecting the BWP mismatch, transition to use the first BWP configuration without waiting to complete a predetermined BWP switching delay time period for switching BWP configurations.
Regarding claim 11 – Please refer to claim 2.
Regarding claim 12 – Please refer to claim 3.
Regarding claim 13 – Please refer to claim 4.
Regarding claim 14 – Please refer to claim 5.
Regarding claim 15 – Please refer to claim 6.
Regarding claim 16 – Please refer to claim 7.
Regarding claim 17 – Please refer to claim 8.
Regarding claim 18 – Please refer to claim 9.
Regarding claim 19 – Pu discloses - A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for bandwidth part (BWP) mismatch detection for a cellular wireless connection between a wireless device and a base station of a cellular wireless network, the instructions comprising: refer to Figure 4 and paragraph [0114] - by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium, such as implementing the logic to allow the cellular communication circuitry 230 to help UEs recover from BWP out-of-sync scenarios (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium).
instructions for decoding, while configured to use a first BWP configuration, a downlink control information (DCI) message that indicates to communicate with the base station using a second BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0072] - In this case, the network may trigger the UE device to switch UL BWP or DL BWP using a DCI field, also, paragraph [0076] - BWP switching may be performed using a dedicated RRC signaling; over a PDCCH/DCI UL Grant and/or DL Scheduling, also, paragraph [0081] - Once the UE device is configured with multiple BWPs, the network may command the UE device to switch from an original BWP to a target BWP using the DCI in the PDCCH. (The examiner interprets the target BWP as the second BWP.)
instructions for responsive to decoding the DCI message, transitioning to use the second BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0081] - Once the UE device is configured with multiple BWPs, the network may command the UE device to switch from an original BWP to a target BWP using the DCI in the PDCCH. (The examiner interprets the target BWP as the second BWP.)
instructions for monitoring, while configured to use the second BWP configuration, for DCI messages in accordance with the first BWP configuration for a predetermined monitoring time period, refer to Figure 5 and refer to paragraph [0118] - The BWP mismatch may occur when the terminal 520 detects a DCI indicating a BWP switch from the original BWP to the target BWP, while the network 510 does not schedule any DL/UL signaling on the target BWP. The terminal 520 may be considered to be out-of-sync when the BWP mismatch occurs, also, refer to Figure 6A and paragraph [0128] - As described above, in one or more embodiments, BWP switching may be performed using a dedicated RRC signaling; over a PDCCH/DCI UL Grant and/or DL Scheduling; based on a bwp-inactivityTimer
instructions for transitioning back to the first BWP configuration, without waiting to complete a predetermined BWP switching delay time period for switching BWP, refer to paragraph [0123] - In the BMRA 580, the terminal 520 attempts to recover the BWP connection back to the original BWP. At 585, after the BWP alignment 560, the network 510 and the terminal 520 may confirm network and terminal alignment back in the original BWP based on the confirmation of DL/UL signaling, also, Figures 6A, 6B and paragraph [0125] - In the BMRA 580, the terminal 520 attempts to recover the BWP connection back to the original BWP. At 585, after the BWP alignment 560, the network 510 and the terminal 520 may confirm network and terminal alignment back in the original BWP based on the confirmation of DL/UL signaling, also, paragraph [0135] - At 645, the terminal 520 determines whether any following DCI is detected before the function F(t)=n*T_detection expires. The terminal 520 waits for a DCI to be received using the target BWP. The function F(t) is a dynamic algorithm to evaluate the BWP mismatch in ms (e.g., T_detection=1 ms), also, paragraph [0144] - If any additional DCI is detected, the flowchart ends at 690, where the terminal 520 confirms that the BWP recovery succeeded. Specifically, the terminal 520 confirms that the DL signaling is received in reception signaling using the original BWP. As a result, the terminal 520 may determine that a BWP recovery has been completed.
Regarding claim 20 - instructions for decoding, while monitoring in accordance with the first BWP configuration, a second DCI message that indicates to communicate with the base station using the first BWP configuration, refer to paragraph [0117] - The network 510 and the terminal 520 may be exchanging transmission/reception signaling on the original BWP before the BWP switching is started. The original BWP may be an initial BWP configured during an initialization of the terminal 520 in the manner described above.
instructions for detecting, based on content of the second DCI message, the BWP mismatch between the second BWP configuration used by the wireless device and the first BWP configuration used by the base station, refer to Figure 5 and paragraph [0118] - the BWP mismatch occurs when the BWP configured for the network 510 and the BWP configured for the terminal 520 are different. The BWP mismatch may occur when the terminal 520 detects a DCI indicating a BWP switch from the original BWP to the target BWP, while the network 510 does not schedule any DL/UL signaling on the target BWP.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Xie et al. (US 2024/0389107 A1) discloses detection of BWP switch failure.
Wang et al. (US 2023/0105766 A1) discloses SL BWP mismatch.
Kanamarlapudi et al. (US 2021/0251033 A1) discloses data inactivity indication and expected recovery action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John Pezzlo whose telephone number is (571) 272-3090. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman A. Abaza, can be reached at telephone number (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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John Pezzlo
22 January 2026
/John Pezzlo/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465B