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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 8-17, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mahama et al. (US 2024/0284208).
Regarding claims 1 and 20, Mahama et al. disclose An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (Figure 2, UE 250), comprising:
a memory (Figure 2, memory 260); and
one or more processors, coupled to the memory (Figure 2, controller/processor 259 coupled to memory 260), configured to:
receive a cross-link interference measurement resource configuration that indicates a granularity for measuring one or more reference signals (Paragraphs 105-106, UE receives CLI-RSSI measurement resources configuration from base station for CLI measurement. The configuration allows for a granularity of multiple of 4 Resource Blocks (RBs) and up to 14 symbols…The configuration includes the granularity of resource blocks and symbols, as well as the periodicity and offset for the measurements; Paragraph 107, UE 704 may receive the CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 from an information element MeasObjectCLI which provides RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI and RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI provides CLI-RSSI resources to be used for CLI measurement);
receive cross-link interference associated with a transmission by another UE within an uplink sub-band of a sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) resource (Paragraph 105, the UE 704, which is configured as a downlink-centric device, is equipped with CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 to assess the interference levels in the UL subband 731 during SBFD operation; Paragraph 110, UE 704 utilizes the unused UL subband 731 for interference measurement while receiving downlink data. By measuring interference on specific groups of RBs within the UL subband 731, denoted as RB groups 970, 980, and 990, the UE 704 can now assess the interference emanating from other UEs transmitting in these groups); and
measure, in accordance with the granularity, at least one of a reference signal strength indicator (RSSI) within a downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…), an RSSI within an uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraph 105, the UE 704, which is configured as a downlink-centric device, is equipped with CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 to assess the interference levels in the UL subband 731 during SBFD operation; Paragraphs 110-112, CLI-RSSI measurements with uplink subband 731 of the SBFD resource based on granularity configuration), or a reference signal received power (RSRP) within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD.
Regarding claim 2, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the SBFD resource includes two downlink sub-bands and an uplink sub-band that is between the two downlink sub-bands (Figure 7 and paragraph 64, the SBFD subband is configured with a DUD pattern. More specifically, a SBFD slot 730 includes an UL subband 731 at the center of the channel bandwidth, two DL subbands 732 and 733 on either side of the channel bandwidth, and GB subbands 734 and 735 separating the DL subbands 732 and 733 from the UL subband 731), wherein measuring the RSSI within the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource comprises measuring the RSSI for each downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…), and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to report the RSSI for each downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Figure 9 measurement reporting 940).
Regarding claim 3, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the SBFD resource includes two downlink sub-bands and an uplink sub-band that is between the two downlink sub-bands (Figure 7 and paragraph 64, the SBFD subband is configured with a DUD pattern. More specifically, a SBFD slot 730 includes an UL subband 731 at the center of the channel bandwidth, two DL subbands 732 and 733 on either side of the channel bandwidth, and GB subbands 734 and 735 separating the DL subbands 732 and 733 from the UL subband 731), wherein measuring the RSSI within the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource comprises measuring the RSSI across the two downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…), and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to report the RSSI across the two downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Figure 9 measurement reporting 940).
Regarding claim 4, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors, to measure the RSSI within the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…), are configured to perform, in accordance with the granularity, a first RSSI measurement within a first frequency resource portion of the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource and a second RSSI measurement within a second frequency resource portion of the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…; Paragraphs 105-106, granularity configuration received from base station by the UE and CLI-RSSI measurements perform in accordance with granularity).
Regarding claim 5, Mahama et al. disclose wherein measuring the RSSI within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource comprises performing, in accordance with the granularity, a first RSSI measurement within a first frequency resource portion of the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource and a second RSSI measurement within a second frequency resource portion of the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraph 110, the UE 704 utilizes the unused UL subband 731 for interference measurement while receiving downlink data. By measuring interference on specific groups of RBs within the UL subband 731, denoted as RB groups 970, 980, and 990 [frequency resource portions], the UE 704 can now assess the interference emanating from other UEs transmitting in these groups; Paragraph 111, The base station 702 assigns specific RB groups to specific UEs for their uplink transmissions during SBFD slots 721, 722, and 723. For example, the UE 706 may be allocated RB group 970, and UE 708 may be allocated RB group 990. When UE 704 reports the interference measurements using the report configuration 930, it includes the index of the RB groups where high levels of interference were measured, as detailed in the measurement report 940), or wherein measuring the RSRP within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource comprises performing, in accordance with the granularity, a first RSRP measurement within the first frequency resource portion of the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource and a second RSRP measurement within the second frequency resource portion of the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource.
Regarding claim 8, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a cross-link interference measurement resource for all uplink sub-bands in any SBFD resource of a plurality of SBFD resources (Paragraph 116, in the SBFD slots 721, 722 and 723, the UE 704 can be configured by the base station 702 to measure cross link interference (CLI) over RB groups 970, 980 and 990 within its UL subband 731. These RB groups for CLI measurement follow an RBG or resource block group level configuration. In one configuration, each RB group consists of multiples of 4 RBs. As such, in this example, the RB groups 970, 980 and 990 over which the UE 704 measures CLI are made up of multiples of 4 RBs. For example, each group could contain 4 RBs, 8 RBs, 12 RBs etc. This allows frequency differentiation so that CLI can be measured separately on each group).
Regarding claim 9, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to obtain a rule or a configuration that enables cross-link interference measurement resource reception within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraph 116, These RB groups for CLI measurement follow an RBG or resource block group level configuration. In one configuration, each RB group consists of multiples of 4 RBs; Paragraph 92, To inform the UE 706/708 about when to skip the SRS transmissions, the base station 702 uses a higher layer parameter. This parameter is communicated to the UEs via control signaling, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. The parameter indicates the specific sets of slots where SRS transmissions should not occur; Paragraph 125, the UE 704 may be configured to skip the CLI measurements to prevent inaccurate interference assessments. To facilitate this, the base station 702 would indicate to UE 704 when to skip the CLI measurements. This indication is provided by a higher layer parameter, which is a control message sent from the base station 702 to the UE 704, informing it of the specific slots where measurements should not be taken).
Regarding claim 10, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to drop one or more other uplink transmissions in accordance with the rule or the configuration (Paragraph 92, To inform the UE 706/708 about when to skip the SRS transmissions, the base station 702 uses a higher layer parameter. This parameter is communicated to the UEs via control signaling, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. The parameter indicates the specific sets of slots where SRS transmissions should not occur; Paragraph 125, the UE 704 may be configured to skip the CLI measurements to prevent inaccurate interference assessments. To facilitate this, the base station 702 would indicate to UE 704 when to skip the CLI measurements. This indication is provided by a higher layer parameter, which is a control message sent from the base station 702 to the UE 704, informing it of the specific slots where measurements should not be taken).
Regarding claim 11, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a cross-link interference measurement resource for all uplink sub-bands in one or more select SBFD resources of a plurality of SBFD resources (Paragraph 116, in the SBFD slots 721, 722 and 723, the UE 704 can be configured by the base station 702 to measure cross link interference (CLI) over RB groups 970, 980 and 990 within its UL subband 731. These RB groups for CLI measurement follow an RBG or resource block group level configuration. In one configuration, each RB group consists of multiples of 4 RBs. As such, in this example, the RB groups 970, 980 and 990 over which the UE 704 measures CLI are made up of multiples of 4 RBs. For example, each group could contain 4 RBs, 8 RBs, 12 RBs etc. This allows frequency differentiation so that CLI can be measured separately on each group; Paragraph 110, the base station 702 re configures the CLI-RSSI measurement resources to uplink resources during the UE 704's downlink reception phase. More specifically, the UE 704 utilizes the unused UL subband 731 for interference measurement while receiving downlink data).
Regarding claim 12, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to obtain a rule or configuration that enables cross-link interference measurement resource reception within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource without a configured sounding reference signal transmission, a configured physical uplink control channel transmission, or a higher priority uplink transmission (Paragraph 92, To inform the UE 706/708 about when to skip the SRS transmissions, the base station 702 uses a higher layer parameter. This parameter is communicated to the UEs via control signaling, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. The parameter indicates the specific sets of slots where SRS transmissions should not occur; Paragraph 125, the UE 704 may be configured to skip the CLI measurements to prevent inaccurate interference assessments. To facilitate this, the base station 702 would indicate to UE 704 when to skip the CLI measurements. This indication is provided by a higher layer parameter, which is a control message sent from the base station 702 to the UE 704, informing it of the specific slots where measurements should not be taken).
Regarding claim 13, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to drop one or more lower priority uplink transmissions in accordance with the rule or the configuration (Paragraphs 92 and 125, skipping SRS transmissions based on RRC message from base station).
Regarding claim 14, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the SBFD resource includes an uplink sub-band that is between two other sub-bands that are outside of the uplink sub-band (Figure 7-9 and paragraph 64, the SBFD subband is configured with a DUD pattern. More specifically, a SBFD slot 730 includes an UL subband 731 at the center of the channel bandwidth, two DL subbands 732 and 733 on either side of the channel bandwidth, and GB subbands 734 and 735 separating the DL subbands 732 and 733 from the UL subband 731), and wherein the transmission by the other UE is performed within at least one other sub-band of the two other sub-bands that are outside of the uplink sub-band (Paragraph 109, Therefore, when UE 704 is engaged in downlink reception within the DL subbands 732, 733, the corresponding uplink part of the frequency resource, specifically the UL subband 731, remains unused; Figure 7-9, SBFD slots 721, 722, 723 being partitioned slots [paragraphs 69, 81] each having other subbands as F(D) and F(U)).
Regarding claim 15, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the two other sub-bands that are outside of the uplink sub-band are flexible sub-bands that can be used for uplink transmissions or downlink receptions (Figure 7-9, SBFD slots 721, 722, 723 being partitioned slots [paragraphs 69, 81] each having other subbands as F(D) and F(U)).
Regarding claim 16, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors, to measure the RSSI within the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…), the RSSI within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraph 105, the UE 704, which is configured as a downlink-centric device, is equipped with CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 to assess the interference levels in the UL subband 731 during SBFD operation; Paragraphs 110-112, CLI-RSSI measurements with uplink subband 731 of the SBFD resource based on granularity configuration), or the RSRP within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource, are configured to measure the RSSI within the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…), the RSSI within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraph 105, the UE 704, which is configured as a downlink-centric device, is equipped with CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 to assess the interference levels in the UL subband 731 during SBFD operation; Paragraphs 110-112, CLI-RSSI measurements with uplink subband 731 of the SBFD resource based on granularity configuration), or the RSRP within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource based at least in part on the cross-link interference being associated with a Layer 1, Layer 2, or Layer 3 reporting framework (Paragraph 43, RRC layer functionality associated with…measurement reporting; Paragraph 39, Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer).
Regarding claim 17, Mahama et al. disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a radio resource control (RRC) parameter that indicates whether the UE is to measure the RSSI (Paragraph 71, The base station 702 determines an SRS configuration 810 and notifies the SRS configuration 810 to the UEs 706 and/or 708 via, e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages; Paragraph 105, The UE 704, which is configured as a downlink-centric device, is equipped with CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 to assess the interference levels in the UL subband 731 during SBFD operation. These resources are allocated by the base station 702 and are defined by an information element called MeasObjectCLI, which provides the RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI. The configuration allows for a granularity; Paragraph 110, In a second approach, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources, the base station 702 re configures the CLI-RSSI measurement resources to uplink resources during the UE 704's downlink reception phase) within the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 107-109 disclose CLI-RSSI measurement during downlink subbands 732 and 733 of the SBFD resource without the ability to differentiate between different sources of interference and their respective interference levels; Paragraph 110, instead of configuring the CLI-RSSI measurement resources on downlink resources…), the RSSI within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraph 105, the UE 704, which is configured as a downlink-centric device, is equipped with CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 to assess the interference levels in the UL subband 731 during SBFD operation; Paragraphs 110-112, CLI-RSSI measurements with uplink subband 731 of the SBFD resource based on granularity configuration), or the RSRP within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource.
Regarding claim 19, Mahama et al. disclose an apparatus for wireless communication at a network node (Figure 2, base station 210), comprising:
a memory (Figure 2, memory 276); and
one or more processors, coupled to the memory (Figure 2, controller/processor 275 coupled to memory 276), configured to:
transmit a cross-link interference measurement resource configuration that indicates a granularity for measuring one or more reference signals (Paragraphs 105-106, UE receives CLI-RSSI measurement resources configuration from base station for CLI measurement. The configuration allows for a granularity of multiple of 4 Resource Blocks (RBs) and up to 14 symbols…The configuration includes the granularity of resource blocks and symbols, as well as the periodicity and offset for the measurements; Paragraph 107, UE 704 may receive the CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 from an information element MeasObjectCLI which provides RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI and RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI provides CLI-RSSI resources to be used for CLI measurement) and that indicates for a user equipment to measure, in accordance with the granularity, at least one of a reference signal strength indicator (RSSI) within a downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource, an RSSI within an uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraph 105, the UE 704, which is configured as a downlink-centric device, is equipped with CLI-RSSI measurement resources 910 to assess the interference levels in the UL subband 731 during SBFD operation; Paragraphs 106-112, CLI-RSSI measurements with uplink during SBFD based on granularity configuration), or a reference signal received power (RSRP) within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Paragraphs 132-136, measurement configuration received from the base station and UE performs SRS-RSRP measurements within a guard band during SBFD time unit based on configuration).
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) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahama et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ibrahim et al. (US 2022/0014954).
Regarding claim 6, Mahama et al. disclose the claimed invention above but do not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Ibrahim et al.: wherein the one or more processors, to receive the cross-link interference measurement resource configuration, are configured to receive a single cross-link interference measurement resource configuration that indicates to measure the RSSI across all uplink sub-bands and all downlink sub-bands of the SBFD resource (Ibrahim et al., Paragraph 87, For full-duplex communication, the base station may configure the CSI-IM resources to extend in both the uplink and downlink portions of DL BWP in a full-duplex slot. The CSI-IM resources may enable the UE 2, which is full-duplex aware or full-duplex capable, to measure different components of interference; Paragraph 90, In the SBFD example 1210, the CSI-IM resources 1215 may include downlink portions 1217 and 1218 that may be subject to self-interference from the CLI leakage and an uplink portion 1216 that may mainly include the CLI of self-interference… For full-duplex communication, a base station may configure CSI-IM resources to extend in both the uplink and downlink portions of DL BWP in a full-duplex slot. The CSI-IM resources may enable a full-duplex UE1 to measure different components of interference) and to report a total RSSI measurement across all uplink sub-bands and all downlink sub-bands of the SBFD resource (Ibrahim et al., Paragraph 95, the victim UE2 may measure the interference in the two configured CSI-IM resources 1410 and 1420 and report, to the base station, the one or two CLI reports including the RSSI values measured in the two configured CSI-IM resources 1410 and 1420).
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 Mahama et al. with the cited disclosure from Ibrahim et al. in order to measure different components of interference (Ibrahim et al., Paragraph 87).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahama et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pedersen et al. (US 2022/0140959).
Regarding claim 18, Mahama et al. disclose the claimed invention above but do not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Pedersen et al.: wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform a wideband cross-link interference measurement based at least in part on not being configured with a radio resource control parameter that indicates whether the UE is to measure the RSSI within the downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource, the RSSI within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource, or the RSRP within the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource (Pedersen et al., Paragraph 38, the at least one CLI measurement framework object may be associated with RRC signaling according to 3GPP TS 38.331 (RRC signaling). For example, RRC signaling may define at least one PHY/MAC procedure for CLI reporting. Such information may define whether the UE shall use implicit or explicit signaling of UE CLI measurements/information back to the network, as well as whether UE CLI measurements should be wideband or per subband; Paragraph 42, At 401, NE 410 may transmit at least one message to UE 420. In some example embodiments, the at least one message may configure UE 420 to measure CLI (such as RSSI or SRS-RSRP) and/or UE interference measurements, such as those based on CSI-IM resource or NZP CSI-RS resources for interference measurement. For example, such measurements may be configured to be wideband or frequency selective, such as per sub-band).
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 Mahama et al. with the cited disclosure from Pedersen et al. in order to provide semi-dynamic information of the UE CLI experience to the network with limited complexity (Pedersen et al., Paragraph 31) and to avoid scheduling UEs in subbands where they experience harmful UE-2-UE CLI conditions (Pedersen et al, Paragraph 32).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: regarding claim 7, the prior art does not disclose or adequately suggest receiving RSSI measurements within first and second frequency resource portions of the uplink sub-band of the SBFD resource, receiving RSSI measurements within first and second frequency resource portions of each downlink sub-band of the SBFD resource, and then reporting the RSSI measurements across all uplink sub-band and all downlink sub-bands of the SBFD resource.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OTIS L THOMPSON, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-1953. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 6:30am - 7:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chirag G. Shah can be reached at (571)272-3144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OTIS L THOMPSON, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
January 27, 2026