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
This communication is responsive to Application # 18437423 filed 02/09/2024. Claims 1-2, 9-10, and 15-20 amended. Claims 1-20 are subject to examination.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 9-11, and 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by PAN et al. (PAN hereafter) (WO 2018204351 A1, submitted in IDS).
Regarding claim 1 and claim 15, PAN teaches, A communication method, comprising:
determining a first physical resource, wherein the first physical resource is a physical resource occupied by a first physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and a first PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) in a first synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) (PAN; Fig. 4B, Table 2; For mapping a PBCH and a DMRS within an SS/PBCH block, a WTRU may assume ... The mapping to resource elements ... within one SS/PBCH block and may be given by Table 1 and Table 2, Par. 0110-0111); and
receiving the first PBCH and the first PBCH DMRS on the first physical resource (PAN; Fig. 10 illustrates a flow diagram showing how a WTRU acquires a set of SS/PBCH blocks, Par. 0169), wherein
the first SSB occupies four symbols in time domain and occupies X subcarriers in frequency domain, wherein X is a positive integer greater than 127 and less than 240 (PAN; Fig. 4B, Table 2; the SS/PBCH blocks in FIG. 4B may also comprise 4 OFDM symbols ... Within the SS/PBCH block, the PSS, the SSS, or the PBCH, which are associated with PBCH-specific DMRS, may occupy different symbols shown in Table 2 below … In the frequency domain, an SS/PBCH block in FIG. 4B may comprise 216 contiguous subcarriers with the subcarriers numbered in increasing order from 0 to 215 within the SS/PBCH block, Par. 0105-0106).
Specifically for claim 15, PAN teaches, A communication apparatus, comprising: one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising (PAN; a WTRU, Par. 0110).
Regarding claim 9, PAN teaches, A communication method, comprising:
mapping a first physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and a first PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) to a first physical resource, wherein the first physical resource is a physical resource occupied by the first PBCH and the first PBCH DMRS in a first synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) (PAN; Fig. 4B, Table 2; For mapping a PBCH and a DMRS within an SS/PBCH block, a WTRU may assume ... The mapping to resource elements ... within one SS/PBCH block and may be given by Table 1 and Table 2, Par. 0110-0111); and
sending the first PBCH and the first PBCH DMRS, wherein the first PBCH is located in the first physical resource (PAN; Fig. 10 illustrates a flow diagram showing how a WTRU acquires a set of SS/PBCH blocks, Par. 0169), and
the first SSB occupies four symbols in time domain and occupies X subcarriers in frequency domain, wherein X is a positive integer greater than 127 and less than 240 (PAN; Fig. 4B, Table 2; the SS/PBCH blocks in FIG. 4B may also comprise 4 OFDM symbols ... Within the SS/PBCH block, the PSS, the SSS, or the PBCH, which are associated with PBCH-specific DMRS, may occupy different symbols shown in Table 2 below … In the frequency domain, an SS/PBCH block in FIG. 4B may comprise 216 contiguous subcarriers with the subcarriers numbered in increasing order from 0 to 215 within the SS/PBCH block, Par. 0105-0106).
Regarding claim 2 and claim 16, PAN teaches, The method according to claim 1 and The method according to claim 15 respectively, wherein the first physical resource comprises:
all resource elements (REs) in a 2nd symbol and a 4th symbol in the four symbols (PAN; Fig. 4B); and
Y REs in a 3rd symbol in the four symbols, wherein Y is a positive integer less than 96 (PAN; Table 2 [Note that Table 2 shows Y is 72]);
Regarding claim 3 and claim 17, PAN teaches, The method according to claim 1 and The method according to claim 15 respectively, wherein X is 144, 150, 180, 192, or 216 (PAN; In the frequency domain, an SS/PBCH block in FIG. 4B may comprise 216 contiguous subcarriers with the subcarriers numbered in increasing order from 0 to 215 within the SS/PBCH block, Par. 0106).
Regarding claim 10, PAN teaches, The method according to claim 9 respectively, wherein the first physical resource comprises:
all resource elements (REs) in a 2nd symbol and a 4th symbol in the four symbols (PAN; Fig. 4B); and
Y REs in a 3rd symbol in the four symbols, wherein Y is a positive integer less than 96 (PAN; Table 2 [Note that Table 2 shows Y is 72]);
Regarding claim 11, PAN teaches, The method according to claim 9, wherein X is 144, 150, 180, 192, or 216 (PAN; In the frequency domain, an SS/PBCH block in FIG. 4B may comprise 216 contiguous subcarriers with the subcarriers numbered in increasing order from 0 to 215 within the SS/PBCH block, Par. 0106).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 4, 12, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PAN in view of Harada et al. (Harada hereafter) (US 20200260299 A1).
Regarding claim 4 and claim 18, PAN teaches, The method according to claim 1 and The method according to claim 15 respectively, wherein the determining a first physical
resource comprises:
determining the first physical resource based on a first frequency domain pattern (PAN; FIG. 4B may comprise 216 contiguous subcarriers, Par. 0106), wherein the first frequency domain pattern is a part of patterns comprised in a second frequency domain pattern (PAN; FIG. 4A … may comprise 240 contiguous subcarriers, Par. 0104); and
the second frequency domain pattern is a frequency domain resource pattern in a second resource area, and the second resource area occupies four consecutive symbols in time domain and occupies 240 consecutive subcarriers in frequency domain (PAN; FIG. 4A).
Although PAN describes Fig. 4A and 4B, but fails to explicitly teach that Fig. 4B pattern is part of Fig. 4A pattern.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Harada teaches in Fig. 3 that PBCH bandwidth is reduced from 24 PRB to 18 PRB.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN to include the use of reducing PBCH bandwidth as taught by Harada in order to reduce SS raster (Harada; Par. 0043).
Regarding claim 12, PAN teaches, The method according to claim 9, wherein the mapping a first PBCH and a first PBCH DMRS to a first physical resource comprises:
determining the first physical resource based on a first frequency domain pattern (PAN; FIG. 4B may comprise 216 contiguous subcarriers, Par. 0106), wherein the first frequency domain pattern is a part of patterns comprised in a second frequency domain pattern (PAN; FIG. 4A … may comprise 240 contiguous subcarriers, Par. 0104); and
the second frequency domain pattern is a frequency domain resource pattern in a second resource area, and the second resource area occupies four consecutive symbols in time domain and occupies 240 consecutive subcarriers in frequency domain (PAN; FIG. 4A).
Although PAN describes Fig. 4A and 4B, but fails to explicitly teach that Fig. 4B pattern is part of Fig. 4A pattern.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Harada teaches in Fig. 3 that PBCH bandwidth is reduced from 24 PRB to 18 PRB.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN to include the use of reducing PBCH bandwidth as taught by Harada in order to reduce SS raster (Harada; Par. 0043).
Claim 5, 13, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PAN- Harada in view of Kumar et al. (Kumar hereafter) (US 20230037028 A1).
Regarding claim 5, claim 13, and claim 19, PAN- Harada teaches, The method according to claim 4, The method according to claim 12, and The method according to claim 18 respectively,
wherein the second frequency domain pattern comprises:
in a 2nd symbol and a 4th symbol in the second resource area, a frequency domain resource is the 240 subcarriers (PAN; FIG. 4A); and
in a 3rd symbol in the second resource area, a frequency domain resource is the first 48 subcarriers and the last 48 subcarriers in the 240 subcarriers (PAN; Table 1).
Although PAN- Harada teaches PBCH is part of 1-4th symbol, but failed to explicitly teach that it is not part of the 1st symbol. However, in the same field of endeavor, Kumar teaches in Fig. 3 that PBCH is part of 2-4th symbols.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN- Harada to include the use of PBCH pattern as taught by Kumar in order to include it in 3 symbols (Kumar; Fig. 3).
Claim 6, 14, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PAN- Harada in view of BALDEMAIR et al. (BALDEMAIR hereafter) (US 20230155731 A1).
Regarding claim 6 and claim 20, PAN- Harada teaches, The method according to claim 4 and The apparatus according to claim 18 respectively.
wherein the first PBCH are determined based on the first or second frequency domain pattern (Harada; In PBCH (MIB), the information that is necessary to receive … is set forth using predetermined bits, Par. 0030).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN to include the use of number of bit of PBCH as taught by Harada in order to send downlink configuration information (Harada; Par. 0030).
Although PAN- Harada teaches narrow band PBCH and PBCH bits, but failed to explicitly teach,
coded bits of the first PBCH.
However, in the same field of endeavor, BALDEMAIR teaches,
coded bits of the first PBCH (BALDEMAIR; a 1-1 mapping between size in bits and resource elements, Par. 0015; the number of bits made available for transmission, e.g. based on a modulation scheme and/or modulation and coding scheme, Par. 0013).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN- Harada to include the use of coded bits of PBCH as taught by BALDEMAIR in order to map them on available resources (BALDEMAIR; Par. 0015).
Regarding claim 14, PAN- Harada teaches, The method according to claim 12,
wherein before the mapping a first PBCH and a first PBCH DMRS to a first physical resource, the method further comprises:
based on the first frequency domain pattern, system information carried by the first PBCH (Harada; In PBCH (MIB), the information that is necessary to receive … is set forth using predetermined bits, Par. 0030).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN to include the use of number of bit of PBCH as taught by Harada in order to send downlink configuration information (Harada; Par. 0030).
Although PAN- Harada teaches narrow band PBCH and PBCH bits, but failed to explicitly teach,
coding, based on the first frequency domain pattern.
However, in the same field of endeavor, BALDEMAIR teaches,
coding, based on the first frequency domain pattern (BALDEMAIR; a 1-1 mapping between size in bits and resource elements, Par. 0015; the number of bits made available for transmission, e.g. based on a modulation scheme and/or modulation and coding scheme, Par. 0013).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN- Harada to include the use of coded bits of PBCH as taught by BALDEMAIR in order to map them on available resources (BALDEMAIR; Par. 0015).
Claim 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PAN in view of Kumar and in further view of BALDEMAIR.
Regarding claim 7, PAN teaches, The method according to claim 1, wherein after the receiving the first PBCH, the method further comprises.
obtaining system information carried by the first PBCH (PAN; the WTRU decodes the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) ... acquire the Master Information Block (MIB), Par. 0078).
PAN fails to explicitly teach,
wherein a quantity of bits of the system information is less than 32.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Kumar teaches,
wherein a quantity of bits of the system information is 32 (Kumar; a PBCH payload may include a number of bits (e.g., 32 bits), Par. 0082)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN to include the use of PBCH payload as taught by Kumar in order to determine number of bits (Kumar; Fig. 4).
Although PAN teaches that PBCH of Fig. 4B has less resource elements, but PAN-Kumar fail to explicitly teach,
a quantity of bits less than 32.
However, in the same field of endeavor, BALDEMAIR teaches,
a quantity of bits less than 32 (BALDEMAIR; a 1-1 mapping between size in bits and resource elements, Par. 0015; the number of bits made available for transmission, e.g. based on a modulation scheme and/or modulation and coding scheme, Par. 0013).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN- Kumar to include the use of 1-1 relationship as taught by BALDEMAIR in order to determine less than 32 bits (BALDEMAIR; Par. 0015).
Claim 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PAN- Kumar- BALDEMAIR and in further view of BAKER et al. (BAKER hereafter) (US 20240291613 A1).
Regarding claim 8, PAN- Kumar- BALDEMAIR teaches, The method according to claim 7.
PAN- Kumar- BALDEMAIR fail to explicitly teach,
wherein the system information does not comprise common subcarrier spacing information;
a quantity of bits of physical downlink control channel configuration information comprised in the system information is less than 8; or
a quantity of bits of physical layer information comprised in the system information is less than 8.
However, in the same field of endeavor, BAKER teaches,
wherein the system information does not comprise common subcarrier spacing information (BAKER; the information element “subCarrierSpacingCommon” may also be omitted, Par. 0044).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of PAN- Kumar- BALDEMAIR to include the use of modified payload content of MIB as taught by BAKER in order to exclude common subcarrier spacing (BAKER; Par. 0044).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Prior art US 20200245279 A1 teaches reduced bandwidth PBCH in Fig. 3.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARMIN CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-6419. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/SHARMIN CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416