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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/08/2024, 12/26/2024 and 01/22/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Mucke et al. (US 2013/0331077).
Regarding Claim 1, Mucke teaches a method, applied to a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device, the method comprising:
receiving configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information configures a first carrier or a first carrier group ([0022] modern wireless communication devices configured to operate over such RATs support carrier aggregation techniques in which communication between a device and a network can be conveyed over multiple component carriers ... The example of FIG. 1 can support communication via component carriers within frequency band A 102 and frequency band B 104. In this regard, component carrier #1 106, component carrier #2 108, and component carrier #3 110 are within frequency band A 102, while component carrier #4 112 is within frequency band B 104. As such, depending on the combination of component carriers that are used in a given carrier aggregation configuration, carrier aggregation can make use of intra-band aggregation and/or inter-band aggregation; [0025] some LTE-A systems support aggregation of up to 5 CCs, and a transceiver configuration on a device configured to operate on such LTE-A systems can include at least 5 RF chains to support the use of 5 CCs; [0037] The number of RF chains included in the transceiver(s) 416 in some example embodiments can correspond to a number of component carriers that the apparatus 400 and/or serving network can be configured to support for aggregation; [0057] The network can be configured to activate the secondary component carrier in response to the request, and can respond with an activation confirmation, which can be received by the wireless communication device 302; [0005] relying on the network to initiate activation/deactivation of component carriers as in prior systems); and
sending first information to the network device, wherein the first information requests to suppress activation of the first carrier or the first carrier group ([0044] The deactivation message of some example embodiments can be a deactivation request message requesting that the network deactivate a component carrier; [0050] Operation 510 can include the wireless communication device 302 formatting a deactivation message configured to trigger deactivation of the second component carrier ... the wireless communication device 302 waits for network permission before discontinuing usage of a component carrier, the deactivation message can be a deactivation request message. The deactivation message can, for example, be a MAC CE including a deactivation indication for the second component carrier; [0064] the wireless communication device 302 sending a deactivation message to the network to trigger deactivation of the active secondary component carrier).
Regarding Claim 2, Mucke teaches requesting to suppress the activation of the first carrier or the first carrier group comprises: when the first carrier or the first carrier group is activated, the first information requests to deactivate the first carrier or the first carrier group; or when the first carrier or the first carrier group is deactivated, the first information requests to keep a deactivated state of the first carrier or the first carrier group or requests not to activate the first carrier or the first carrier group ([0044] The deactivation message of some example embodiments can be a deactivation request message requesting that the network deactivate a component carrier; [0050] Operation 510 can include the wireless communication device 302 formatting a deactivation message configured to trigger deactivation of the second component carrier ... the wireless communication device 302 waits for network permission before discontinuing usage of a component carrier, the deactivation message can be a deactivation request message. The deactivation message can, for example, be a MAC CE including a deactivation indication for the second component carrier; [0064] the wireless communication device 302 sending a deactivation message to the network to trigger deactivation of the active secondary component carrier).
Regarding Claim 3, Mucke teaches suppressing activation of the first carrier or the first carrier group when first response information from the network device is received; or suppressing activation of the first carrier or the first carrier group when first response information from the network device is not received within a first duration after the first information is sent ([0045] the RF chain controller 418 can wait to receive an ACK from the network acknowledging receipt of the deactivation notification message before discontinuing usage of the RF chain to support the connection to the network via the component carrier being deactivated).
Regarding Claim 12, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 1, in addition to the claimed at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program that is executable by the at least one processor ([0035] the processor 412 can be configured to execute instructions that can be stored in the memory).
Regarding Claim 13, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 2.
Regarding Claim 14, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 3.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 6 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mucke et al. in view of Lee et al. (US 2022/0337360).
Regarding Claim 6, Mucke does not teach sending second information to the network device, wherein the second information indicates a maximum quantity of activated carriers expected by the terminal device, and the maximum quantity of activated carriers is less than or equal to a quantity of configured carriers supported by the terminal device.
In an analogous art, Lee teaches sending second information to the network device, wherein the second information indicates a maximum quantity of activated carriers expected by the terminal device, and the maximum quantity of activated carriers is less than or equal to a quantity of configured carriers supported by the terminal device ([0059] In method 300, where the maximum number of CCs is (or may be) exceeded at Block 306, at Block 308 assistance information to indicate a threshold amount of CCs can be transmitted to at least one of the multiple cells. In an aspect, envelope mode component 254, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, UE communicating component 242, etc., can transmit, to at least one of the multiple cells, the assistance information to indicate the threshold amount of CCs. In one example, the assistance information can indicate a reduction in the maximum number of CCs supported by the UE 104 to cause a reduction in the number of CCs on one or more subscriptions to allow meeting (e.g., not exceeding) the previously indicated maximum number of CCs when using both subscriptions).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Lee’s method with Mucke’s method so that sending assistance information and/or CQI to modify the envelope mode for multiple subscriptions in this regard can be more efficient than using a radio capability update procedure in that it may use less signaling by only using RAN signals, may reduce complexity in device or network implementation by using existing messages or signaling, etc. The decrease in signaling and in device complexity can save baseband or RF resources of the device, which can improve device efficiency, power consumption, avoid service interruption, and/or improve user experience in wireless communications using such devices and/or networks (Lee [0024]).
Regarding Claim 17, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 6.
Claims 9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mucke et al. in view of Sunell et al. (US 2024/0196477, relying on the provisional application 63/168,707).
Regarding Claim 9, Mucke does not teach before sending the first information to the network device, the method further comprises: receiving a configuration message from the network device, wherein the configuration message indicates at least one of the following: allowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of a quantity of carriers; allowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of a carrier; allowing or disallowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of a carrier group; or allowing or disallowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of the carrier.
In an analogous art, Sunell teaches before sending the first information to the network device, the method further comprises: receiving a configuration message from the network device, wherein the configuration message indicates at least one of the following: allowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of a quantity of carriers; allowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of a carrier; allowing or disallowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of a carrier group; or allowing or disallowing the terminal device to request to suppress activation of the carrier ([0119] If UE information may be requested by the network, the UE sends UE information response message including SCG deactivation information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Sunell’s method with Mucke’s method so that it improves the decision making at the network side by using assistance information from the UE (Sunell [0132]).
Regarding Claim 20, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 9.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mucke et al. in view of Kim et al. (US 2020/0351638).
Regarding Claim 10, Mucke does not teach requesting to suppress activation of the first carrier or the first carrier group comprises: requesting to suppress activation of a downlink direction of the first carrier or the first carrier group, or requesting to suppress activation of an uplink direction of the first carrier or the first carrier group.
In an analogous art, Kim teaches requesting to suppress activation of the first carrier or the first carrier group comprises: requesting to suppress activation of a downlink direction of the first carrier or the first carrier group, or requesting to suppress activation of an uplink direction of the first carrier or the first carrier group ([0142] The following assistance information related to CA for NR may be included in the LTE UEAI. [0143] Reduced component carriers (CCs) DL/UL NR (adjust the number of DL/UL CCs for NR)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kim’s method with Mucke’s method so that UE processing load may be reduced and accordingly heating may also be reduced (Kim [0143]).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mucke et al. in view of Li et al. (US 2020/0084011).
Regarding Claim 11, Mucke teaches an apparatus, wherein the apparatus is a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device, and the apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program that is executable by the at least one processor, the program including instructions for ([0035] the processor 412 can be configured to execute instructions that can be stored in the memory):
receiving frequency configuration information from a network device, wherein the frequency configuration information configures a first frequency ([0022] modern wireless communication devices configured to operate over such RATs support carrier aggregation techniques in which communication between a device and a network can be conveyed over multiple component carriers ... The example of FIG. 1 can support communication via component carriers within frequency band A 102 and frequency band B 104. In this regard, component carrier #1 106, component carrier #2 108, and component carrier #3 110 are within frequency band A 102, while component carrier #4 112 is within frequency band B 104. As such, depending on the combination of component carriers that are used in a given carrier aggregation configuration, carrier aggregation can make use of intra-band aggregation and/or inter-band aggregation; [0025] some LTE-A systems support aggregation of up to 5 CCs, and a transceiver configuration on a device configured to operate on such LTE-A systems can include at least 5 RF chains to support the use of 5 CCs; [0037] The number of RF chains included in the transceiver(s) 416 in some example embodiments can correspond to a number of component carriers that the apparatus 400 and/or serving network can be configured to support for aggregation; [0057] The network can be configured to activate the secondary component carrier in response to the request, and can respond with an activation confirmation, which can be received by the wireless communication device 302; [0005] relying on the network to initiate activation/deactivation of component carriers as in prior systems); and
sending indication information to the network device, wherein the indication information indicates at least one of the following: skipping configuring the first frequency as a secondary carrier component (SCC); or skipping activating the SCC configured based on the first frequency ([0044] The deactivation message of some example embodiments can be a deactivation request message requesting that the network deactivate a component carrier; [0050] Operation 510 can include the wireless communication device 302 formatting a deactivation message configured to trigger deactivation of the second component carrier ... the wireless communication device 302 waits for network permission before discontinuing usage of a component carrier, the deactivation message can be a deactivation request message. The deactivation message can, for example, be a MAC CE including a deactivation indication for the second component carrier; [0064] the wireless communication device 302 sending a deactivation message to the network to trigger deactivation of the active secondary component carrier).
However, Mucke does not teach wherein the first frequency is allowed to be configured as only a primary carrier component (PCC).
In an analogous art, Li teaches wherein the first frequency is allowed to be configured as only a primary carrier component (PCC) ([0070] The first information includes a plurality of information bits. Each information bit corresponds to one CC, and is used to instruct to activate or deactivate the CC corresponding to the information bit. A quantity of the information bits may be equal to a quantity of configured SCCs, in other words, equal to a quantity of configured CCs minus 1. To be specific, a primary carrier is not to be activated or deactivated).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Li’s method with Mucke’s method so that the terminal can initially access a cell of a RAN node. The cell is responsible for radio resource control (RRC) communication with the terminal, and is a PCell. A corresponding carrier is a PCC (Li [0044]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5, 7-8, 15-16 and 18-19 are 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shrivastava et al. (US 2024/0196195) teaches method for managing link for a MUSIM UE in a wireless communication system.
Raghavan et al. (US 2019/0342843) teaches method of indicating energy and thermal constraints in a wireless communication system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YU-WEN CHANG whose telephone number is (408)918-7645. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00am-5:00pm PT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Un Cho can be reached at 571-272-7919. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YU-WEN CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413