DETAILED ACTION
Claims status
In response to the restricted application filed on 12/08/2025, claims 7-19 were cancelled, and claims 1-6, and 20-41 are currently pending for the examination. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/31/2023 has been placed in the application file, and the information referred therein has been considered as to the merits.
Drawings
Drawing figures submitted on 08/31/2023 have been reviewed and accepted.
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.
Claims 1, 5, 20, 23, 28, 29, 33, 35, and 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by TANG (US 2020/0229188 A1).
Regarding claim 1; Tang teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to:
transmit capability information that indicates a first quantity of carriers that the UE is capable of using simultaneously (See Fig. 4: at step 210, the first information is transmitted to the network device; the first information may include capability information which is configured to indicate a capability in simultaneous transmission on multiple carriers. ¶ [0142]);
receive a configuration for a second quantity of activated carriers (See Fig. 4: at step 230, second information transmitted by the network device is received, the second information being for indicating a first transmission resource, allocated by the network device, for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier (i.e., activated carriers) and for indicating a valid time of the first transmission resource. ¶ [0149]). and
switch one carrier used for multi-carrier transmission based on the configuration and the capability information (See Fig. 6: In the operation 620, a second transmission resource is determined based on the first transmission resource. The terminal device may determine/switch the second transmission resource from the first transmission resource…In the operation 630, data may be transmitted on the second transmission resource (i.e., the second transmission resource or carrier is selected or switched for transmission. ¶ [0239] – ¶ [0142]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “one or more of”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 5; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein the capability information indicates whether the UE supports for carrier aggregation (Tang: the terminal device may determine a resource for aggregated data transmission on the multiple carriers. ¶ [0035]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 20; Tang teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to:
receive capability information that indicates a first quantity of carriers that the UE is capable of using simultaneously (See Fig. 4: at step 210, the first information is transmitted to the network device; the first information may include capability information which is configured to indicate a capability in simultaneous transmission on multiple carriers. ¶ [0142]);
transmit a configuration for a second quantity of activated carriers (See Fig. 4: at step 230, second information transmitted by the network device is received, the second information being for indicating a first transmission resource, allocated by the network device, for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier (i.e., activated carriers) and for indicating a valid time of the first transmission resource. ¶ [0149]). and
schedule communications for multi-carriers (See Figs. 3-4: the network device may simultaneously schedule the resource for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier and allocate the resource for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier to the terminal device ¶ [0010]) based on the configuration and the capability information (See Fig. 3: a network device may directly indicate the first transmission resource for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier, and then the terminal device may determine a second transmission resource for transmitting data based on the first transmission resource and may further achieve the purpose of aggregated transmission on the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier, so that data transmission efficiency is improved. ¶ [0091]).
Regarding claim 23; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein the capability information indicates whether the UE supports for carrier aggregation (Tang: the terminal device may determine a resource for aggregated data transmission on the multiple carriers. ¶ [0035]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 28; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the network entity to select one or more control resource sets and one or more PDCCH physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) search space sets on multiple carriers within a multi-carrier switching window, based at least in part on the capability information (Re#1: the network device allocates the first transmission resource for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier and the valid time of the first transmission resource, so that the terminal device may determine a resource for aggregated data transmission on the multiple carriers. ¶ [0195]).
Regarding claim 29; Tang teaches a method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
transmitting capability information that indicates a first quantity of carriers that the UE is capable of using simultaneously (See Fig. 4: at step 210, the first information is transmitted to the network device; the first information may include capability information which is configured to indicate a capability in simultaneous transmission on multiple carriers. ¶ [0142]);
receiving a configuration for a second quantity of activated carriers (See Fig. 4: at step 230, second information transmitted by the network device is received, the second information being for indicating a first transmission resource, allocated by the network device, for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier (i.e., activated carriers) and for indicating a valid time of the first transmission resource. ¶ [0149]). and
switching one carrier used for multi-carrier transmission based on the configuration and the capability information (See Fig. 6: In the operation 620, a second transmission resource is determined based on the first transmission resource. The terminal device may determine/switch the second transmission resource from the first transmission resource…In the operation 630, data may be transmitted on the second transmission resource (i.e., the second transmission resource or carrier is selected or switched for transmission. ¶ [0239] – ¶ [0142]).
Regarding claim 33; Tang teaches the method wherein the capability information indicates whether the UE supports for carrier aggregation (Tang: the terminal device may determine a resource for aggregated data transmission on the multiple carriers. ¶ [0035]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 35; Tang teaches a method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:
receiving capability information that indicates a first quantity of carriers that the UE is capable of using simultaneously (See Fig. 4: at step 210, the first information is transmitted to the network device; the first information may include capability information which is configured to indicate a capability in simultaneous transmission on multiple carriers. ¶ [0142]);
transmitting a configuration for a second quantity of activated carriers (See Fig. 4: at step 230, second information transmitted by the network device is received, the second information being for indicating a first transmission resource, allocated by the network device, for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier (i.e., activated carriers) and for indicating a valid time of the first transmission resource. ¶ [0149]). and
scheduling communications for multi-carriers (See Figs. 3-4: the network device may simultaneously schedule the resource for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier and allocate the resource for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier to the terminal device ¶ [0010]) based on the configuration and the capability information (See Fig. 3: a network device may directly indicate the first transmission resource for the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier, and then the terminal device may determine a second transmission resource for transmitting data based on the first transmission resource and may further achieve the purpose of aggregated transmission on the first-type carrier and the second-type carrier, so that data transmission efficiency is improved. ¶ [0091]).
Regarding claim 38; Tang teaches the method wherein the capability information indicates whether the UE supports for carrier aggregation (Tang: the terminal device may determine a resource for aggregated data transmission on the multiple carriers. ¶ [0035]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 2, 3, 21, 30, 31 and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TANG (US 2020/0229188 A1) in view of Cozzo et al. (US 2025/0016818 A1).
Regarding claim 2; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein the first quantity of carriers and the second quantity of activated carriers are for DL, UL and/or SL (Tang: a second-type carrier, the first-type carrier is configured to transmit data on a Sidelink (SL) and the second-type carrier is configured to transmit data on at least one of a Uplink (UL), a Downlink (DL) and the SL. ¶ [0149]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly describe both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL).
However, Cozzo discloses both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL) (Cozzo: Subject to a UE capability, the UE may receive simultaneously on different carriers (i.e., receiving in DL directions) ¶ [0071]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide using multi-carriers for DL as taught by Cozzo to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide Resource allocation enhancements that reduce power consumption, and Enhanced reliability and reduced latency. Cozzo: ¶ [0187].
Regarding claim 3; Tang in view of Cozzo teaches the apparatus wherein the first quantity of carriers and the second quantity of activated carriers are for uplink (Cozzo: Subject to a UE capability, the UE may transmit (i.e., UL directions) and receive simultaneously on different carriers, or the UE may transmit simultaneously on different carriers, or the UE may receive simultaneously on different carriers. ¶ [0072]).
Regarding claim 21; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein the first quantity of carriers and the second quantity of activated carriers are for DL, UL and/or SL (Tang: a second-type carrier, the first-type carrier is configured to transmit data on a Sidelink (SL) and the second-type carrier is configured to transmit data on at least one of a Uplink (UL), a Downlink (DL) and the SL. ¶ [0149]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly describe both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL).
However, Cozzo discloses both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL) (Cozzo: Subject to a UE capability, the UE may receive simultaneously on different carriers (i.e., receiving in DL directions) ¶ [0071]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide using multi-carriers for DL as taught by Cozzo to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide Resource allocation enhancements that reduce power consumption, and Enhanced reliability and reduced latency. Cozzo: ¶ [0187].
Regarding claim 30; Tang teaches the method wherein the first quantity of carriers and the second quantity of activated carriers are for DL, UL and/or SL (Tang: a second-type carrier, the first-type carrier is configured to transmit data on a Sidelink (SL) and the second-type carrier is configured to transmit data on at least one of a Uplink (UL), a Downlink (DL) and the SL. ¶ [0149]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly describe both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL).
However, Cozzo discloses both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL) (Cozzo: Subject to a UE capability, the UE may receive simultaneously on different carriers (i.e., receiving in DL directions) ¶ [0071]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide using multi-carriers for DL as taught by Cozzo to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide Resource allocation enhancements that reduce power consumption, and Enhanced reliability and reduced latency. Cozzo: ¶ [0187].
Regarding claim 31; Tang in view of Cozzo teaches the apparatus wherein the first quantity of carriers and the second quantity of activated carriers are for uplink (Cozzo: Subject to a UE capability, the UE may transmit (i.e., UL directions) and receive simultaneously on different carriers, or the UE may transmit simultaneously on different carriers, or the UE may receive simultaneously on different carriers. ¶ [0072]).
Regarding claim 36; Tang teaches the method wherein the first quantity of carriers and the second quantity of activated carriers are for DL, UL and/or SL (Tang: a second-type carrier, the first-type carrier is configured to transmit data on a Sidelink (SL) and the second-type carrier is configured to transmit data on at least one of a Uplink (UL), a Downlink (DL) and the SL. ¶ [0149]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly describe both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL).
However, Cozzo discloses both first and second activated carriers for downlink (DL) (Cozzo: Subject to a UE capability, the UE may receive simultaneously on different carriers (i.e., receiving in DL directions) ¶ [0071]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide using multi-carriers for DL as taught by Cozzo to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide Resource allocation enhancements that reduce power consumption, and Enhanced reliability and reduced latency. Cozzo: ¶ [0187].
Claims 4, 22, 32, and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TANG (US 2020/0229188 A1) in view of SUN et al. (US 2025/0212135 A1).
Regarding claim 4; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein transmitting the second quantity of activated carriers and the first quantity of carriers (Tang: ¶ [0142]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly provide the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers.
However, Sun teaches the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers (Sun: determining whether a number of currently selected PSFCHs plus one (i.e., first quantity carriers) is smaller than or equal to the maximum number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions (i.e., second quantity carriers) of the UE on all carriers. ¶ [0009]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers as taught by Sun to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide improved solutions of PSFCH transmission in sidelink CA operation, which provides some alternative schemes on PSFCH selection for actual transmission under sidelink CA scenario when the PSFCHs overlap in the time domain. Sun: ¶ [0081].
Regarding claim 22; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein transmitting the second quantity of activated carriers and the first quantity of carriers (Tang: ¶ [0142]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly provide the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers.
However, Sun teaches the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers (Sun: determining whether a number of currently selected PSFCHs plus one (i.e., first quantity carriers) is smaller than or equal to the maximum number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions (i.e., second quantity carriers) of the UE on all carriers. ¶ [0009]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers as taught by Sun to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide improved solutions of PSFCH transmission in sidelink CA operation, which provides some alternative schemes on PSFCH selection for actual transmission under sidelink CA scenario when the PSFCHs overlap in the time domain. Sun: ¶ [0081].
Regarding claim 32; Tang teaches the method wherein transmitting the second quantity of activated carriers and the first quantity of carriers (Tang: ¶ [0142]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly provide the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers.
However, Sun teaches the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers (Sun: determining whether a number of currently selected PSFCHs plus one (i.e., first quantity carriers) is smaller than or equal to the maximum number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions (i.e., second quantity carriers) of the UE on all carriers. ¶ [0009]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers as taught by Sun to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide improved solutions of PSFCH transmission in sidelink CA operation, which provides some alternative schemes on PSFCH selection for actual transmission under sidelink CA scenario when the PSFCHs overlap in the time domain. Sun: ¶ [0081].
Regarding claim 37; Tang teaches the method wherein transmitting the second quantity of activated carriers and the first quantity of carriers (Tang: ¶ [0142]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly provide the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers.
However, Sun teaches the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers (Sun: determining whether a number of currently selected PSFCHs plus one (i.e., first quantity carriers) is smaller than or equal to the maximum number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions (i.e., second quantity carriers) of the UE on all carriers. ¶ [0009]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the second quantity of activated carriers is greater than the first quantity of carriers as taught by Sun to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide improved solutions of PSFCH transmission in sidelink CA operation, which provides some alternative schemes on PSFCH selection for actual transmission under sidelink CA scenario when the PSFCHs overlap in the time domain. Sun: ¶ [0081].
Claims 24-26 and 39-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TANG (US 2020/0229188 A1) in view of LEI et al. (US 2025/0081219 A1).
Regarding claim 24; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the network entity to transmit a configuration of an initial DL and a configuration of an initial UL on a carrier (Tang: the multiple carriers including a first-type carrier and a second-type carrier, the first-type carrier being configured to transmit data on an SL and the second-type carrier being configured to transmit data on at least one of a UL, a DL and the SL. ¶ [0033]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly provide a configuration of a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and a configuration of an uplink BWP on one or more carriers.
However, Lei further teaches a configuration of a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and a configuration of an uplink BWP on one or more carriers (Lei: the network entity 710 may configure multiple pairs of initial DL/UL BWPs. ¶ [0121]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide a configuration of a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and a configuration of an uplink BWP on one or more carriers as taught by Lei to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide to improve the coverage, the latency, and/or the throughput of a UE and improve the resource utilization efficiency of unpaired spectrum.. LEI: ¶ [0045].
Regarding claim 25; Tang in view of Lei teaches the apparatus wherein the configuration indicates control resource sets and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) search space sets associated with the first quantity of carriers (Lei: receiving, for an RRC connected mode, a configuration for control resource sets and PDCCH search space sets associated with multiple carriers that are used simultaneously and switched periodically. ¶ [0021]).
Regarding claim 26; Tang teaches the apparatus wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the network entity to schedule a communication for the UE based at least in part on one or more of a UE capability (See Fig. 4: at step 210, the first information is transmitted to the network device; the first information may include capability information which is configured to indicate a capability in simultaneous transmission on multiple carriers. ¶ [0142]).
Regarding claim 27; Tang in view of Lei teaches the apparatus wherein the configuration specifies a reference carrier associated with active PDCCH physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring (Lei: the network entity 710 may indicate a reference CC (or a set of reference CCs) associated with active PDCCH monitoring for the UE 720. The UE 720 may not be expect to monitor the PDCCH on the reference CC when the PDCCH monitoring occasions (MOs) (partially) overlap with DL switching of the reference CC. If no reference CC is configured, the UE 720 may skip PDCCH MOs in a slot overlapping with the DL switching. ¶ [0151]).
Regarding claim 39; Tang teaches the method wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the network entity to transmit a configuration of an initial DL and a configuration of an initial UL on a carrier (Tang: the multiple carriers including a first-type carrier and a second-type carrier, the first-type carrier being configured to transmit data on an SL and the second-type carrier being configured to transmit data on at least one of a UL, a DL and the SL. ¶ [0033]).
Tang doesn’t explicitly provide a configuration of a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and a configuration of an uplink BWP on one or more carriers.
However, Lei further teaches a configuration of a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and a configuration of an uplink BWP on one or more carriers (Lei: the network entity 710 may configure multiple pairs of initial DL/UL BWPs. ¶ [0121]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide a configuration of a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and a configuration of an uplink BWP on one or more carriers as taught by Lei to have incorporated in the system of Tang, so that it would provide to improve the coverage, the latency, and/or the throughput of a UE and improve the resource utilization efficiency of unpaired spectrum.. LEI: ¶ [0045].
Regarding claim 40; Tang in view of Lei teaches the method wherein the configuration indicates control resource sets and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) search space sets associated with the first quantity of carriers (Lei: receiving, for an RRC connected mode, a configuration for control resource sets and PDCCH search space sets associated with multiple carriers that are used simultaneously and switched periodically. ¶ [0021]).
Regarding claim 41; Tang teaches the method wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the network entity to schedule a communication for the UE based at least in part on one or more of a UE capability (See Fig. 4: at step 210, the first information is transmitted to the network device; the first information may include capability information which is configured to indicate a capability in simultaneous transmission on multiple carriers. ¶ [0142]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 34 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claims but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
CHOI et al. (US 2025/0310953 A1 to discuss Method For Transmitting Uplink Signal, User Equipment, Processing Device, Storage Medium, And Method And Base Station For Receiving Uplink Signal ).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAI AUNG whose telephone number is (571)272-3507. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, Alt Fridays, 7:30 AM- 5:00 PM (EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAI AUNG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416