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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim 20 recites “means for monitoring…” and “means for receiving or transmitting…” invoking 112(f). Accordingly, claim 20 will be interpreted according to FIG. 12.
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 9 and 7 are rejected under 112(b) for claiming a self-contradicting method. Claim 9 recites:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the uplink format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources, the one or more processors, individually or in any combination, are operable to cause the apparatus to:
refrain from receiving or transmitting SBFD-specific data in the SBFD symbol;
and transmit only uplink data in the SBFD symbol.
The claim states the limitations of “refraining from transmitting SBFD-specific data in the SBFD symbol” and “transmitting only uplink data in the SBFD symbol” need to both be true. However, the limitations of “refrain from receiving or transmitting SBFD-specific data in the SBFD symbol; and “transmit only uplink data in the SBFD symbol” contradict each other because transmitting only uplink data in the SBFD symbol includes transmitting SBFD-specific data in the SBFD symbol. In other words, the claim states refraining from transmitting in a narrower limitation and allowing transmitting in a broader limitation. The applicant needs to either remove one the limitations of “refrain from receiving or transmitting SBFD-specific data in the SBFD symbol;” or “transmit only uplink data in the SBFD symbol” or may replace the “and” with an exclusive or to render one of the limitations being true and not both. Similar application to claim 7 with “receive only downlink data in the SBFD symbol.”
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.
Claims 1, 2, 14, 15, 16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (WO 2023211352 A1) or Liu in view of Seok et al. (US 20250294538 A1) or Seok.
Claim 1
Liu teaches,
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and
one or more processors each communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more memories,
(See Liu paragraph 0103, The UE 200 includes processing circuitry 202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 204 to an input/output interface 206, a power source 208, a memory 210,...)
the one or more processors, individually or in any combination,
(See Liu paragraph 0103, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.)
operable to cause the apparatus to:
(See Liu paragraph 0104, The processing circuitry 202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 210.)
monitor for downlink control information (DCI) including a slot format indication (SFI) for a set of sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols in a slot,
(See Lui paragraph 0088, ...a new SBFD-capable UE monitors new DCI 2 0, which indicates multiple SFI values for each serving cell, one for each configured radio band set.)
Shows the monitoring for DCI including SFI
(See Liu paragraph 0082, SFI carried in DCI format 2 0 may dynamically indicate transmission direction for a symbol, wherein the indicated transmission direction is applicable to any radio band set that is RRC configured flexible (‘F’) in the symbol. More specifically, for a SBFD symbol, the slot format identified by SFI indicates transmission direction for the symbol, which is applicable to any radio band sets in the symbol configured as flexible (‘F’) by RRC.)
Shows the SFI indicates the transmission direction for the SBFD symbols
the set of SBFD symbols respectively being associated with flexible resources in at least one flexible sub-band and uplink resources in an uplink (UL) sub-band,
(See Liu paragraph 0083, Three radio band sets are configured in the SBFD symbols where the central radio band set is set to flexible (‘F’). In other words, the radio band set configuration is ‘D-F-D’. The central radio band set for the SBFD symbols is further indicated as uplink (‘U’) by the slot formats identified from the detected SFI, dynamically converting the radio band set configuration to ‘D-U-D’, for the time duration of the indicated SFI.)
Shows the flexible resources in at least one flexible sub-band and uplink resources in an UL sub-band
(See Liu paragraph 0081, ...semi-static TDD patern configuration procedure may be extended to configure SBFD capable UE with enhanced TDD patern wherein some or all of the flexible (‘F’) symbols are further indicated as SBFD symbols.)
Shows the association between the SBFD symbols and the flexible symbols
and the SFI being configured to indicate a downlink format, an uplink format, or a flexible format for one of:
(See Liu paragraph 0081, ...semi-static TDD patern configuration procedure may be extended to configure SBFD capable UE with enhanced TDD patern wherein some or all of the flexible (‘F’) symbols are further indicated as SBFD symbols. For these SBFD symbols, a radio band set configuration is provided to indicate the partitioning of the carrier into multiple radio band sets (subbands) with different transmission directions. The transmission direction of each radio band set may be set to ‘D’, ‘U’ or ‘F’.)
only the flexible resources associated with a SBFD symbol of the set of SBFD symbols, or the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources; and...
(See Liu paragraph 0083, Three radio band sets are configured in the SBFD symbols where the central radio band set is set to flexible (‘F’). In other words, the radio band set configuration is ‘D-F-D’. The central radio band set for the SBFD symbols is further indicated as uplink (‘U’) by the slot formats identified from the detected SFI, dynamically converting the radio band set configuration to ‘D-U-D’, for the time duration of the indicated SFI.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach,
…receive or transmit, or refrain from receiving or transmitting, data in the SBFD symbol according to at least one of a plurality of behaviors respectively based on a detected presence or a detected absence of the DCI.
Nevertheless, Seok, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…receive or transmit, or refrain from receiving or transmitting, data in the SBFD symbol according to at least one of a plurality of behaviors respectively based on a detected presence or a detected absence of the DCI.
(See Seok paragraph 0279, When the UE is configured to periodically monitor a CORESET for reception of DCI format 2_0 of GC-PDCCH in a semi-statically configured SBFD-downlink symbol or SBFD-flexible symbol, and when the UE detects DCI format 2_0 indicating a slot format having a slot format value other than 255, UE operations are as follows.)
Shows an operation occurs upon the detection of DCI for SBFD symbol
(See Seok paragraph 0281, When slot format information in DCI format 2_0 indicates a symbol set in a slot as flexible symbols, and when the UE detects a DCI format indicating the reception of PDSCH or CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot, the UE may receive the PDSCH or the CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot.)
Shows the reception of PDSCH or CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine monitoring for downlink control information or DCI including slot formation indication or SFI for a set of sub-band full duplex pr SBFD symbols with the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources and the SFI being able to format downlink, uplink or flexible format and the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources as disclosed by Liu with the detecting of DCI and transmitting data in SBFD symbol as disclosed by Seok to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to increase the amount of transmissions or receptions completed in a certain amount of time).
Claim 2
Liu teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the flexible format for the only the flexible resources,
(See Liu paragraph 0025, If the SFI indicates ‘F’ for symbols already classified as ‘F’, and PDCCH does not schedule any data or trigger reference signals in those symbols, then the UE shall neither transmit nor receive on those symbols.)
the plurality of behaviors based on the detected presence of the DCI includes:
(See Liu paragraph 0026, SFI is carried by DCI format 2 0 and includes slot format indicator 1, slot format indicator 2, ... , slot format indicator N. Each of the “Slot format indicators” or “SFI-index” field in DCI format 2 0 indicates to a UE a slot format for each slot for a period of transmission for each DL bandwidth part (BWP) or each UL BWP starting from a slot where the UE detects the DCI format 2 0.)
…refrained reception in the flexible resources of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),…
(See Liu paragraph 0025, If the SFI indicates ‘F’ for symbols already classified as ‘F’, and PDCCH does not schedule any data or trigger reference signals in those symbols, then the UE shall neither transmit nor receive on those symbols.)
The motivation to combine Liu and Seok in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1.
Claim 14
Liu teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein whether the SFI indicates a slot format for only the flexible resources, or whether the SFI indicates the slot format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources, is based on a radio resource control (RRC) configuration parameter or a field in the DCI.
(See Lui paragraph 0021, ...the DL/UL direction for some or all of the 'F' symbols in a particular slot can be provided to the UE in a semi-static manner by Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuring the UE with TDD-DL-UL-ConflgDedicated.)
Shows the RRC configuration parameter of TDD-DL-UL-ConflgDedicated
(See Lui paragraph 0022, The key behavior is that the UE-specific IE TDD-DL-UL-ConflgDedicated can only override (i.e., specify 'D' or 'U') for symbols that are configured as 'F' by the cell-specific IE TDD-DL-UL-ConflgCommon.)
Shows the TDD-DL-UL-ConflgCommon overriding the flexible resources
The motivation to combine Liu and Seok in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1.
Claim 15
Liu teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DCI is monitored in the set of SBFD symbols, and the SFI is configured to indicate the downlink format, the uplink format, or the flexible format for a subset of the set of SBFD symbols, the subset including the SBFD symbol.
(See Lui paragraph 0085, According to some embodiments, when SBFD operation is enabled, multiple SFIs may be indicated for a serving cell by DCI format 2 0, wherein each SFI explicitly indicates the transmission direction for a particular configured radio band set.)
Shows the DCI montitored in the set of SBFD symbols
(See Lui paragraph 0083, Three radio band sets are configured in the SBFD symbols where the central radio band set is set to flexible (‘F’). In other words, the radio band set configuration is ‘D-F-D’. The central radio band set for the SBFD symbols is further indicated as uplink (‘U’) by the slot formats identified from the detected SFI, dynamically converting the radio band set configuration to ‘D-U-D’, for the time duration of the indicated SFI.)
Shows the set of SBFD symbols as D-F-D and the SFI indicating a uplink format for the subset symbol of “F” to indicate to “U” with the complete set as D-U-D
The motivation to combine Liu and Seok in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1.
Claim 16
Liu teaches,
A method of wireless communication performable at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
monitoring for downlink control information (DCI) including a slot format indication (SFI) for a set of sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols in a slot,
(See Lui paragraph 0088, ...a new SBFD-capable UE monitors new DCI 2 0, which indicates multiple SFI values for each serving cell, one for each configured radio band set.)
Shows the monitoring for DCI including SFI
(See Liu paragraph 0082, SFI carried in DCI format 2 0 may dynamically indicate transmission direction for a symbol, wherein the indicated transmission direction is applicable to any radio band set that is RRC configured flexible (‘F’) in the symbol. More specifically, for a SBFD symbol, the slot format identified by SFI indicates transmission direction for the symbol, which is applicable to any radio band sets in the symbol configured as flexible (‘F’) by RRC.)
Shows the SFI indicates the transmission direction for the SBFD symbols
the set of SBFD symbols respectively being associated with flexible resources in at least one flexible sub-band and uplink resources in an uplink (UL) sub-band,
(See Liu paragraph 0083, Three radio band sets are configured in the SBFD symbols where the central radio band set is set to flexible (‘F’). In other words, the radio band set configuration is ‘D-F-D’. The central radio band set for the SBFD symbols is further indicated as uplink (‘U’) by the slot formats identified from the detected SFI, dynamically converting the radio band set configuration to ‘D-U-D’, for the time duration of the indicated SFI.)
Shows the flexible resources in at least one flexible sub-band and uplink resources in an UL sub-band
(See Liu paragraph 0081, ...semi-static TDD patern configuration procedure may be extended to configure SBFD capable UE with enhanced TDD patern wherein some or all of the flexible (‘F’) symbols are further indicated as SBFD symbols.)
Shows the association between the SBFD symbols and the flexible symbols
and the SFI being configured to indicate a downlink format, an uplink format, or a flexible format for one of:
(See Liu paragraph 0081, ...semi-static TDD patern configuration procedure may be extended to configure SBFD capable UE with enhanced TDD patern wherein some or all of the flexible (‘F’) symbols are further indicated as SBFD symbols. For these SBFD symbols, a radio band set configuration is provided to indicate the partitioning of the carrier into multiple radio band sets (subbands) with different transmission directions. The transmission direction of each radio band set may be set to ‘D’, ‘U’ or ‘F’.)
only the flexible resources associated with a SBFD symbol of the set of SBFD symbols, or the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources; and…
(See Liu paragraph 0083, Three radio band sets are configured in the SBFD symbols where the central radio band set is set to flexible (‘F’). In other words, the radio band set configuration is ‘D-F-D’. The central radio band set for the SBFD symbols is further indicated as uplink (‘U’) by the slot formats identified from the detected SFI, dynamically converting the radio band set configuration to ‘D-U-D’, for the time duration of the indicated SFI.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach,
…receiving or transmitting, or refraining from receiving or transmitting, data in the SBFD symbol according to at least one of a plurality of behaviors respectively based on a detected presence or a detected absence of the DCI.
Nevertheless, Seok, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…receiving or transmitting, or refraining from receiving or transmitting, data in the SBFD symbol according to at least one of a plurality of behaviors respectively based on a detected presence or a detected absence of the DCI.
(See Seok paragraph 0279, When the UE is configured to periodically monitor a CORESET for reception of DCI format 2_0 of GC-PDCCH in a semi-statically configured SBFD-downlink symbol or SBFD-flexible symbol, and when the UE detects DCI format 2_0 indicating a slot format having a slot format value other than 255, UE operations are as follows.)
Shows an operation occurs upon the detection of DCI for SBFD symbol
(See Seok paragraph 0281, When slot format information in DCI format 2_0 indicates a symbol set in a slot as flexible symbols, and when the UE detects a DCI format indicating the reception of PDSCH or CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot, the UE may receive the PDSCH or the CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot.)
Shows the reception of PDSCH or CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot
The motivation to combine Liu and Seok in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1.
Claim 18
Liu teaches limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 14. The motivation to combine Liu and Seok in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1.
Claim 19
Liu teaches limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 15. The motivation to combine Liu and Seok in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1.
Claim 20
Liu teaches,
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
(See Liu paragraph 0103, The UE 200 includes processing circuitry 202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 204 to an input/output interface 206, a power source 208, a memory 210,...)
means for monitoring for downlink control information (DCI) including a slot format indication (SFI) for a set of sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbols in a slot,
(See Lui paragraph 0088, ...a new SBFD-capable UE monitors new DCI 2 0, which indicates multiple SFI values for each serving cell, one for each configured radio band set.)
Shows the monitoring for DCI including SFI
(See Liu paragraph 0082, SFI carried in DCI format 2 0 may dynamically indicate transmission direction for a symbol, wherein the indicated transmission direction is applicable to any radio band set that is RRC configured flexible (‘F’) in the symbol. More specifically, for a SBFD symbol, the slot format identified by SFI indicates transmission direction for the symbol, which is applicable to any radio band sets in the symbol configured as flexible (‘F’) by RRC.)
Shows the SFI indicates the transmission direction for the SBFD symbols
the set of SBFD symbols respectively being associated with flexible resources in at least one flexible sub-band and uplink resources in an uplink (UL) sub-band,
(See Liu paragraph 0083, Three radio band sets are configured in the SBFD symbols where the central radio band set is set to flexible (‘F’). In other words, the radio band set configuration is ‘D-F-D’. The central radio band set for the SBFD symbols is further indicated as uplink (‘U’) by the slot formats identified from the detected SFI, dynamically converting the radio band set configuration to ‘D-U-D’, for the time duration of the indicated SFI.)
Shows the flexible resources in at least one flexible sub-band and uplink resources in an UL sub-band
(See Liu paragraph 0081, ...semi-static TDD patern configuration procedure may be extended to configure SBFD capable UE with enhanced TDD patern wherein some or all of the flexible (‘F’) symbols are further indicated as SBFD symbols.)
Shows the association between the SBFD symbols and the flexible symbols
and the SFI being configured to indicate a downlink format, an uplink format, or a flexible format for one of:
(See Liu paragraph 0081, ...semi-static TDD patern configuration procedure may be extended to configure SBFD capable UE with enhanced TDD patern wherein some or all of the flexible (‘F’) symbols are further indicated as SBFD symbols. For these SBFD symbols, a radio band set configuration is provided to indicate the partitioning of the carrier into multiple radio band sets (subbands) with different transmission directions. The transmission direction of each radio band set may be set to ‘D’, ‘U’ or ‘F’.)
only the flexible resources associated with a SBFD symbol of the set of SBFD symbols, or the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources; and…
(See Liu paragraph 0083, Three radio band sets are configured in the SBFD symbols where the central radio band set is set to flexible (‘F’). In other words, the radio band set configuration is ‘D-F-D’. The central radio band set for the SBFD symbols is further indicated as uplink (‘U’) by the slot formats identified from the detected SFI, dynamically converting the radio band set configuration to ‘D-U-D’, for the time duration of the indicated SFI.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach,
…means for receiving or transmitting, or for refraining from receiving or transmitting, data in the SBFD symbol according to at least one of a plurality of behaviors respectively based on a detected presence or a detected absence of the DCI.
Nevertheless, Seok, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…means for receiving or transmitting, or for refraining from receiving or transmitting, data in the SBFD symbol according to at least one of a plurality of behaviors respectively based on a detected presence or a detected absence of the DCI.
(See Seok paragraph 0279, When the UE is configured to periodically monitor a CORESET for reception of DCI format 2_0 of GC-PDCCH in a semi-statically configured SBFD-downlink symbol or SBFD-flexible symbol, and when the UE detects DCI format 2_0 indicating a slot format having a slot format value other than 255, UE operations are as follows.)
Shows an operation occurs upon the detection of DCI for SBFD symbol
(See Seok paragraph 0281, When slot format information in DCI format 2_0 indicates a symbol set in a slot as flexible symbols, and when the UE detects a DCI format indicating the reception of PDSCH or CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot, the UE may receive the PDSCH or the CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot.)
Shows the reception of PDSCH or CSI-RS in the symbol set in the slot
The motivation to combine Liu and Seok in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1.
Claims 3, 4, 11, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (WO 2023211352 A1) or Liu in view of Seok et al. (US 20250294538 A1) or Seok in further view of Chen et al. (US 20230354283 A1) or Chen and Lee.
Claim 3
Liu teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the downlink format for the only the flexible resources,
(See Liu paragraph 0025, Each SFI indicates which symbols in a slot are classified as ‘D’, ‘U’, or ‘F’. The indicated SFI(s) cannot override symbols that are already semi-statically configured as ‘D’ or ‘U’ as described previously; however, an SFI can indicate the direction (‘D’ or ‘U’) for symbols classified as flexible (‘F’).)
the plurality of behaviors based on the detected presence of the DCI includes:…
(See Liu paragraph 0026, SFI is carried by DCI format 2 0 and includes slot format indicator 1, slot format indicator 2, ... , slot format indicator N. Each of the “Slot format indicators” or “SFI-index” field in DCI format 2 0 indicates to a UE a slot format for each slot for a period of transmission for each DL bandwidth part (BWP) or each UL BWP starting from a slot where the UE detects the DCI format 2 0.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach,
…reception in the flexible resources of downlink data triggered by a downlink DCI,…
Nevertheless, Seok, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…reception in the flexible resources of downlink data triggered by a downlink DCI,…
(See Seok paragraph 0244, When the UE detects (receives) a DCI format indicating whether to receive PDSCH or CSI-RS, the UE may receive the PDSCH or the CSI-RS in an RB set of a semi-statically configured cell-specific flexible subband.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach,
…reception in the flexible resources of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS),…
Nevertheless, Chen and Lee, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…reception in the flexible resources of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS),…
(See Chen and Lee paragraph 0150, ...and the UE may detect a DCI format 2_0 (i.e., the second configuration) indicating a resource as a flexible resource, and the UE is configured by higher layers to receive DL PRS in the flexible resource.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine monitoring for downlink control information or DCI including slot formation indication or SFI for a set of sub-band full duplex pr SBFD symbols with the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources and the SFI being able to format downlink, uplink or flexible format and the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources as disclosed by Liu with receiving in flexible resources downlink positioning reference signal or DL-PRS as disclosed by Seok to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to reduce the likelihood of a reference signal transmission colliding with a different signal).
Claim 4
Liu teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the uplink format for the only the flexible resources,
(See Liu paragraph 0025, Each SFI indicates which symbols in a slot are classified as ‘D’, ‘U’, or ‘F’. The indicated SFI(s) cannot override symbols that are already semi-statically configured as ‘D’ or ‘U’ as described previously; however, an SFI can indicate the direction (‘D’ or ‘U’) for symbols classified as flexible (‘F’).)
the plurality of behaviors based on the detected presence of the DCI includes:
(See Liu paragraph 0026, SFI is carried by DCI format 2 0 and includes slot format indicator 1, slot format indicator 2, ... , slot format indicator N. Each of the “Slot format indicators” or “SFI-index” field in DCI format 2 0 indicates to a UE a slot format for each slot for a period of transmission for each DL bandwidth part (BWP) or each UL BWP starting from a slot where the UE detects the DCI format 2 0.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach,
…refrained reception in the flexible resources of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),…
Nevertheless, Chen and Lee, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…refrained reception in the flexible resources of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),…
(See Chen and Lee paragraphs 069-0070, FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram that illustrates reception limitations of a flexible resource at DL part with detecting DCI format 2_0. Referring to FIG. 7A, the reception limitations for DL may be:
[0070] The UE may not receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the flexible resource.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Chen and Lee in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3.
Claim 11
Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 11. Nevertheless, Chen and Lee, in the same field of endeavor, teach,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of behaviors based on the detected absence of the DCI includes:…
…reception in the flexible resources of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),…
(See Chen and Lee paragraphs 0077-078, the UE may not detect a DCI format 2_0 providing slot format for the flexible resource, then [0078] The UE may receive PDCCH in the flexible resource.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Chen and Lee in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3.
Claim 12
Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 12. Nevertheless, Seok, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of behaviors based on the detected absence of the DCI includes:…
(See Seok paragraph 0240, When the UE does not detect DCI format 2_0 indicating that a symbol set in a slot is uplink symbols and the UE does not detect a DCI format instructing the UE to transmit SRS, PUSCH, PUCCH, or PRACH in the symbol set, the UE may assume that a flexible symbol in a CORESET configured to the UE for PDCCH monitoring is a downlink symbol.)
Chen and Lee, in the same field of endeavor, teach,
…reception in the flexible resources of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS),…
(See Chen and Lee paragraph 0079, If the UE is configured by higher layers to receive DL PRS in the flexible resource, the UE may receive the DL PRS in the flexible resource.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Chen and Lee in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3.
Claim 13
Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 13. Nevertheless, Chen and Lee, in the same field of endeavor, teach,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of behaviors based on the detected absence of the DCI includes:
refrained reception or transmission of data in the flexible resources,…
(See Chen and Lee paragraph 0152, ...the UE may not detect a DCI format 2_0 providing slot format for the flexible resource. The UE may not receive PDCCH in the flexible resource if the UE is configured with duplex_mode.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Chen and Lee in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3.
Claims 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (WO 2023211352 A1) or Liu in view of Seok et al. (US 20250294538 A1) or Seok in further view of Park et al. (WO 2024147698 A1) or Park in further view of Rudolf et al. (US 20240267932 A1) or Rudolf. (EP 4648523 A1) will serve as an English translation for Park et al. (WO 2024147698 A1).
Claim 5
Liu teaches,
…the one or more processors, individually or in any combination,
(See Liu paragraph 0103, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.)
are operable to cause the apparatus to:…
(See Liu paragraph 0104, The processing circuitry 202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 210.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 5. Nevertheless, Park, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the flexible format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources,
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE. In this case, the DCI format may indicate SBFD-DL, SBFD-UL, or SBFD-flexible for all the symbols constituting the corresponding SBFD slot or SBFD symbols for all the SBFD slots in the corresponding period.)
…SBFD-specific data…
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE.)
Shows the SBFD specific data
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine monitoring for downlink control information or DCI including slot formation indication or SFI for a set of sub-band full duplex pr SBFD symbols with the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources and the SFI being able to format downlink, uplink or flexible format and the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources as disclosed by Liu with the SFI configured to indicate the flexible format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible and uplink resources as disclosed by Park to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to increase the ability of the user equipment to utilize downlink or uplink resources).
Rudolf, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…refrain from receiving or transmitting… …in the SBFD symbol.
(See Rudolf paragraph 0142, If the value indicates skipping PDCCH monitoring, in 950, the UE 116 skips PDCCH for a duration in SBFD symbol or in SBFD subband.)
Shows if the UE fails to monitor the SBFD symbol, then the UE refrains from both receiving and transmitting
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine monitoring for downlink control information or DCI including slot formation indication or SFI for a set of sub-band full duplex pr SBFD symbols with the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources and the SFI being able to format downlink, uplink or flexible format and the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources as disclosed by Liu with the refraining from transmitting and receiving SBFD data in the SBFD symbol as disclosed by Rudolf to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to reduce the possibility of collisions among transmissions and receptions on the same frequency).
Claim 6
Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 6. Nevertheless, Park, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the flexible format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources, the plurality of behaviors based on the detected presence of the DCI includes:
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE. In this case, the DCI format may indicate SBFD-DL, SBFD-UL, or SBFD-flexible for all the symbols constituting the corresponding SBFD slot or SBFD symbols for all the SBFD slots in the corresponding period.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Park in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Rudolf, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…refrained reception in the SBFD symbol of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),…
(See Rudolf paragraph 0159, The UE 116 then skips PDCCH receptions for the duration on symbols with same type as the symbols where the UE 116 received the PDCCH, e.g., on SBFD symbol(s),...)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Rudolf, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Claim 7
Liu teaches,
…the one or more processors, individually or in any combination,
(See Liu paragraph 0103, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.)
are operable to cause the apparatus to:…
(See Liu paragraph 0104, The processing circuitry 202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 210.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 7. Nevertheless, Park, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the downlink format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources,
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE. In this case, the DCI format may indicate SBFD-DL, SBFD-UL, or SBFD-flexible for all the symbols constituting the corresponding SBFD slot or SBFD symbols for all the SBFD slots in the corresponding period.)
…SBFD-specific data…
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE.)
Shows the SBFD specific data
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Park, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Rudolf, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…refrain from receiving or transmitting… …in the SBFD symbol; and
(See Rudolf paragraph 0142, If the value indicates skipping PDCCH monitoring, in 950, the UE 116 skips PDCCH for a duration in SBFD symbol or in SBFD subband.)
Shows if the UE fails to monitor the SBFD symbol, then the UE refrains from both receiving and transmitting
…receive only downlink data in the SBFD symbol.
(See Rudolf paragraph 0129, interference levels experienced by the UE 116 receiver may differ between receptions in a normal DL slot or symbol and receptions in a SBFD slot or symbol.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Rudolf, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Claim 8
Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 9. Nevertheless, Park, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the downlink format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources, the plurality of behaviors based on the detected presence of the DCI includes:
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE. In this case, the DCI format may indicate SBFD-DL, SBFD-UL, or SBFD-flexible for all the symbols constituting the corresponding SBFD slot or SBFD symbols for all the SBFD slots in the corresponding period.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Park, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Rudolf, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…reception in the SBFD symbol of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),…
(See Rudolf paragraph 0159, In an example, the gNB 102 transmits to the UE 116 a PDCCH with a DCI that includes a PDCCH monitoring adaptation field on a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) symbol or slot where a value of the field, e.g., a codepoint of the field, indicates a duration for PDCCH skipping from the set of durations.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Rudolf, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Claim 9
Liu teaches,
…the one or more processors, individually or in any combination,
(See Liu paragraph 0103, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.)
are operable to cause the apparatus to:…
(See Liu paragraph 0104, The processing circuitry 202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 210.)
However, Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 9. Nevertheless, Park, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the uplink format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources,…
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE. In this case, the DCI format may indicate SBFD-DL, SBFD-UL, or SBFD-flexible for all the symbols constituting the corresponding SBFD slot or SBFD symbols for all the SBFD slots in the corresponding period.)
…SBFD-specific data…
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE.)
Shows the SBFD specific data
…transmit only uplink data in the SBFD symbol.
(See Park page 14 paragraph 7, ...when transmission direction link configuration information set as SBFD-UL is transmitted in the SBFD slot or SBFD symbol,...)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Park, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Rudolf, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…refrain from receiving or transmitting… …in the SBFD symbol; and…
(See Rudolf paragraph 0142, If the value indicates skipping PDCCH monitoring, in 950, the UE 116 skips PDCCH for a duration in SBFD symbol or in SBFD subband.)
Shows if the UE fails to monitor the SBFD symbol, then the UE refrains from both receiving and transmitting
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Rudolf, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Claim 17
Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 17 as stated in claim 9. Nevertheless, Park and Rudolf, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 17 as stated in claim 9. The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, Park, and Rudolf, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (WO 2023211352 A1) or Liu in view of Seok et al. (US 20250294538 A1) or Seok in further view of Park et al. (WO 2024147698 A1) or Park in further view of Sandlund et al. (WO 2024085789 A1) or Sandlund. (EP 4648523 A1) will serve as an English translation for Park et al. (WO 2024147698 A1).
Claim 10
Liu fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 10. Nevertheless, Park, in the same field of endeavor, teach,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response to the SFI being configured to indicate the uplink format for the SBFD symbol including both the flexible resources and the uplink resources, the plurality of behaviors based on the detected presence of the DCI includes:
(See Park page 12 paragraph 1 ...the DCI format for indicating the SBFD slot format may be transmitted by the base station on a subband configuration period basis and monitored by the UE. In this case, the DCI format may indicate SBFD-DL, SBFD-UL, or SBFD-flexible for all the symbols constituting the corresponding SBFD slot or SBFD symbols for all the SBFD slots in the corresponding period.)
The motivation to combine Liu, Seok, and Rudolf, in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 5.
Sandlund, in the same field of endeavor, teaches,
…transmission in the uplink resources of uplink data triggered by an uplink DCI,…
(See Sandlund Claim 4, the first DCI triggers a transmission of traffic data to the UE (140) on a Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH, or when the first DCI is an uplink grant, the transmission that the first DCI instructs the UE (140) to send in the first uplink resource is a transmission of traffic data from the UE to the network node...)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine monitoring for downlink control information or DCI including slot formation indication or SFI for a set of sub-band full duplex pr SBFD symbols with the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources and the SFI being able to format downlink, uplink or flexible format and the SBFD symbols associated with flexible resources as disclosed by Liu with transmitting in the uplink resources uplink data triggered by an uplink DCI as disclosed by Sandlund to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to increase the accuracy of transmitting data according to a DCI).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Rudolf et al. (US 20250038909 A1) or Rudolf and Farag teach operating a user equipment or UE in half duplex mode with the base station operating in full duplex mode.
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/SAMUEL ROBERGE BETTENDORF/Examiner, Art Unit 2414
/EDAN ORGAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2414