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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed , with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-5,7-9 and 11-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446).
Regarding claim 1,
Applicant argues that the IAB parent node is not a base station and the IAB child node is not a UE.
The examiner relies on newly cited portions of Liu to teach the limitation. Liu teaches the IAB parent being a IAB node which is a base station and the IAB child node being a UE.
Liu states:
[0071] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the parent node may include a parent IAB node or an IAB donor, and the child node may include a child IAB node or a UE. The operating band may include at least one of an uplink operating band or a downlink operating band. The indication information may include at least one BWP index corresponding to the at least one frequency domain resource. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the indication information indicates the at least one frequency domain resource for the child link. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the indication information indicates the at least one frequency domain resource for the parent link.
[0033] Referring to FIG. 1B, the BS (e.g., IAB donor 140) may include at least one DU to support UEs and MTs of downstream IAB nodes. A centralized unit (CU) 141 included in the IAB donor 140 controls the DUs of all IAB nodes (e.g., IAB node 150A and IAB node 150B) and the DU(s) (e.g., DU 142) resided in the IAB donor 140. The DU(s) and the CU of an IAB donor may be co-located or may be located in different positions. The DU(s) and the CU of the IAB donor are connected via F1 interface. In other words, the F1 interface provides means for interconnecting the CU and the DU(s) of an IAB donor. The F1 Application Protocol (F1AP) supports the functions of F1 interface by certain F1AP signaling procedures.
Regarding claim 1,
Applicant argues that the prior art does not teach time-invariant resource rules.
The examiner relies on newly cited Zhao (WO 2020087446) to teach the limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 7-8, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446)
Regarding claim 1 and 8,
Liu teaches a user equipment (UE) device device, comprising:
radio circuitry; and a processor operably coupled to the radio circuitry; (see processor and circuitry para [0076])
wherein the UE device is configured to:
receive, from a base station of a cellular network, BS (interpreted as the parent node may include a parent IAB node or an IAB donor, and the child node may include a child IAB node or a UE.), see para [0071]. Also see e.g., IAB donor 140, para [0033]) an uplink grant that provides a set of time domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources on which to perform a first uplink transmission from the UE device to the base station; (interpreted as a parent node (e.g., IAB node 120D in FIG. 1) of an IAB node (e.g., IAB node 120C in FIG. 1) may dynamically configure a set of frequency domain resources for a link (e.g., link 180D in FIG. 1) between the parent node and the IAB node, i.e., a parent link of the IAB node, via downlink control information (DCI) signaling (e.g., signaling for a downlink assignment or uplink grant) to the IAB node, see para [0035]. Also see the parent node may explicitly signal the time domain resource(s) on which the dynamic signaling is applied. For example, the parent node may signal slot index(s) in a periodicity where the dynamic signaling is applied, see para [0066])
select a subset of frequency domain resources from the set of frequency domain resources; and (interpreted as such that the IAB node can select frequency domain resource(s) from the configured set of frequency domain resources, see para [0035])
transmit, to the base station, the first uplink transmission using the set of time domain resources and the selected subset of frequency domain resources. (interpreted as to perform at least one of uplink transmission and downlink reception on the parent link, see para [0035]. Also see fig. 2 different frequency resources on the same time domain resource.)
However does not teach based at least in part on a time-invariant resource adjustment rule.
Zhao teaches based at least in part on a time-invariant resource adjustment rule (interpreted as terminal device determines based on configuration information to perform sidelink transmission and uplink transmission on the same time-domain resource, the terminal device can also select certain rules to simultaneously perform sidelink transmission and uplink transmission on different frequency domain resources within the same time domain resource, see para [0069])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the resource scheduling as taught by Liu with the time-invariant resources as taught by Zhao with the motivation being to use different frequency domain resources to avoid conflicts.
Regarding claim 14,
Liu teaches a non-transitory memory element storing instructions executable by a processor to: (see processor and circuitry para [0076])
provide, from a base station of a cellular network, to a first UE device, (interpreted as the parent node may include a parent IAB node or an IAB donor, and the child node may include a child IAB node or a UE.), see para [0071]. Also see e.g., IAB donor 140, para [0033]) a first uplink grant that provides a first set of time domain resources and a first set of frequency domain resources on which to perform a first uplink transmission from the UE device to the base station; and (interpreted as a parent node (e.g., IAB node 120D in FIG. 1) of an IAB node (e.g., IAB node 120C in FIG. 1) may dynamically configure a set of frequency domain resources for a link (e.g., link 180D in FIG. 1) between the parent node and the IAB node, i.e., a parent link of the IAB node, via downlink control information (DCI) signaling (e.g., signaling for a downlink assignment or uplink grant) to the IAB node, see para [0035])
receive the first uplink transmission using the first set of time domain resources and a subset of the first set of frequency domain resources. (interpreted as to perform at least one of uplink transmission and downlink reception on the parent link, see para [0035]. Also see fig. 2 different frequency resources on the same time domain resource.)
However does not teach based at least in part on a time-invariant resource adjustment rule.
Zhao teaches based at least in part on a time-invariant resource adjustment rule (interpreted as terminal device determines based on configuration information to perform sidelink transmission and uplink transmission on the same time-domain resource, the terminal device can also select certain rules to simultaneously perform sidelink transmission and uplink transmission on different frequency domain resources within the same time domain resource, see para [0069])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the resource scheduling as taught by Liu with the time-invariant resources as taught by Zhao with the motivation being to use different frequency domain resources to avoid conflicts.
Regarding claim 7,
Liu teaches The UE device of claim 1, wherein the UE device is further configured to: provide an indication of the selected subset of frequency domain resources to a cellular base station. (interpreted as to perform at least one of uplink transmission and downlink reception on the parent link, see para [0035]. Also see fig. 2 different frequency resources on the same time domain resource.)
Claim(s) 2, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446) and Hou (CN 202210972966 A).
Regarding claim 2,
Liu teaches the UE device of claim 1, however does not teach wherein the set of frequency domain resources is indicated using a resource block group (RBG) bitmap, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources selected includes one or more resource block groups (RBGs) marked as “1” in the RBG bitmap.
Hou teaches wherein the set of frequency domain resources is indicated using a resource block group (RBG) bitmap, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources selected includes one or more resource block groups (RBGs) marked as “1” in the RBG bitmap. (interpreted as if the value of one bit in the bit bitmap is 1, the resource block group corresponding to the bit belongs to the frequency domain resource of the control resource set, see pg 9 line 3-8)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Liu with the bitmap for resources as taught by Hou with the motivation being a format for indicating which resources are selected/used.
Regarding claim 15,
Liu teaches the non-transitory memory element of claim 14, however does not teach wherein the first set of frequency domain resources is indicated using one of: a resource block group (RBG) bitmap; or resource indication value (RIV) signaling.
Hou teaches wherein the first set of frequency domain resources is indicated using one of: a resource block group (RBG) bitmap; or resource indication value (RIV) signaling. (interpreted as if the value of one bit in the bit bitmap is 1, the resource block group corresponding to the bit belongs to the frequency domain resource of the control resource set, see pg 9 line 3-8)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Liu with the bitmap for resources as taught by Hou with the motivation being a format for indicating which resources are selected/used.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446) and Oh (Pub No 20220369372)
Regarding claim 3,
Liu teaches the UE device of claim 1, however does not teach wherein the set of frequency domain resources is indicated using resource indication value (RIV) signaling, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources selected includes one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) indicated by the RIV signaling.
Oh teaches wherein the set of frequency domain resources is indicated using resource indication value (RIV) signaling, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources selected includes one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) indicated by the RIV signaling. (interpreted as transmission frequency resource region 730 may include physical resource block (PRB), see para [0118]. Also see one DCI format of the uplink grant, for example, DCI format 0_0 transmitted in a UE specific common search space (USS), the size or the number of the bits of the frequency resource allocation information of the uplink grant is determined based on… the RIV value, see para [0138])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Liu with the RIV for resources as taught by Oh with the motivation being a format for indicating which resources are selected/used.
Claim(s) 4-5, 11, 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446) and Kang (Pub No 20100111014)
Regarding claim 4 and 16,
Liu teaches the UE device of claim 1, however does not teach wherein the set of frequency domain resources includes multiple sets of interlaced frequency resources, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources selected includes one or more of the sets of interlaced frequency resources.
Kang teaches wherein the set of frequency domain resources includes multiple sets of interlaced frequency resources, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources selected includes one or more of the sets of interlaced frequency resources. (interpreted as Therefore, when data is transmitted using a plurality of frequency resources by a plurality of time resources, the transmitter may be able to mix and distribute resources for data transmission in the frequency domain in a time-variant form. Then the transmitter may transmit data through the interleaved resources to the receiver in step S1140, see para [0079])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Liu with the interlacing as taught by Kang with the motivation being to increase frequency diversity gain.
Regarding claim 5,
Liu teaches the wireless device of claim 1, however does not teach wherein the wireless device is further configured to: select the subset of frequency domain resources from the set of frequency domain resources based at least in part on a time-variant resource adjustment rule.
Kang teaches wherein the wireless device is further configured to: select the subset of frequency domain resources from the set of frequency domain resources based at least in part on a time-variant resource adjustment rule. (interpreted as Therefore, when data is transmitted using a plurality of frequency resources by a plurality of time resources, the transmitter may be able to mix and distribute resources for data transmission in the frequency domain in a time-variant form. Then the transmitter may transmit data through the interleaved resources to the receiver in step S1140, see para [0079])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Liu with the time-variant as taught by Kang with the motivation being to increase frequency diversity gain.
Regarding claim 11,
Liu teaches the method of claim 8, however does not teach further comprising: receiving an indication of the resource adjustment rule from a cellular base station.
Kang teaches further comprising: receiving an indication of the resource adjustment rule from a cellular base station. (interpreted as For example, a time parameter-based permutation may be carried out by use of at least one of time-variant intra-row permutation and time-variant intra-column permutation. Therefore, when data is transmitted using one or more PRUs in a plurality of successive subframes, the transmitter may be able to mix and distribute tiles for data transmission in the frequency domain, in a time-variant form. transmitter may configure uplink subchannels using the interleaved tiles in step S1420, see para [0094])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Liu with the time-variant as taught by Kang with the motivation being to increase frequency diversity gain.
Regarding claim 17,
Liu teaches the non-transitory memory element of claim 14, however does not teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: provide an indication of a resource adjustment rule to the first UE device, wherein the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources is selected by the first UE device based on the resource adjustment rule.
Kang teaches herein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: provide an indication of a resource adjustment rule to the first UE device, wherein the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources is selected by the first UE device based on the resource adjustment rule. (interpreted as For example, a time parameter-based permutation may be carried out by use of at least one of time-variant intra-row permutation and time-variant intra-column permutation. Therefore, when data is transmitted using one or more PRUs in a plurality of successive subframes, the transmitter may be able to mix and distribute tiles for data transmission in the frequency domain, in a time-variant form. transmitter may configure uplink subchannels using the interleaved tiles in step S1420, see para [0094])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Liu with the time-variant as taught by Kang with the motivation being to increase frequency diversity gain.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446) and Sibel (Pub No 20240089758 )
Regarding claim 9,
Liu teaches the method of claim 8, however does not teach further comprising: selecting the subset of frequency domain resources from the set of frequency domain resources based at least in part on one or more of: uplink data buffer size for an uplink data buffer of the UE device; or reliability target information for uplink data stored in the uplink data buffer of the UE device.
Sibel further comprising: selecting the subset of frequency domain resources from the set of frequency domain resources based at least in part on one or more of: uplink data buffer size for an uplink data buffer of the UE device; or reliability target information for uplink data stored in the uplink data buffer of the UE device. (interpreted as For instance, the first communication device 20-1 may select the radio frequency resource which, according to the reliability indicators, has the most reliable DB channel information, see para [0106])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the frequency resource as taught by Oh with the reliability as taught by Sibel with the motivation being to meet the QoS standard.
Claim(s) 12-13, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446) and Lin (US 20210359887 A1)
Regarding claim 12,
Liu teaches the method of claim 8, however does not teach wherein the uplink grant includes a dynamic grant.
Lin teaches wherein the uplink grant includes a dynamic grant. (interpreted as [0093] There are two types of transmission without dynamic grant: [0094] configured grant Type 1 where an uplink grant is provided by RRC, and stored as configured uplink grant, see para [0093])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the grants taught by Liu with the grants taught by Lin with the motivation being to allocate resources for transmissions.
Regarding claim 13,
Liu teaches the method of claim 8, however does not teach wherein the uplink grant includes a configured grant.
Lin teaches wherein the uplink grant includes a configured grant. (interpreted as [0093] There are two types of transmission without dynamic grant: [0094] configured grant Type 1 where an uplink grant is provided by RRC, and stored as configured uplink grant, see para [0093])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the grants taught by Liu with the grants taught by Lin with the motivation being to allocate resources for transmissions.
Regarding claim 18,
Liu teaches the non-transitory memory element of claim 14, however does not teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: perform blind detection on the first set of time domain resources and the first set of frequency domain resources to determine that the first uplink transmission is performed using the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources.
Lin teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: perform blind detection on the first set of time domain resources and the first set of frequency domain resources to determine that the first uplink transmission is performed using the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources. (interpreted as In an embodiment, the cyclic shift value may be randomly selected by User Equipment, UE, from more than one cyclic shift candidate values. This means the network needs to do blind detection, but could randomize collisions of DMRSs between UEs, see para [0120])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the grants taught by Liu with the blind detection taught by Lin with the motivation being to receive and decode the data.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446) and Maamari (Pub No 20240040561)
Regarding claim 19,
Liu teaches the non-transitory memory element of claim 14, however does not teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: receive uplink control information for the first uplink transmission, wherein the uplink control information for the first uplink transmission indicates that the first uplink transmission is performed using the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources.
Maamari teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: receive uplink control information for the first uplink transmission, wherein the uplink control information for the first uplink transmission indicates that the first uplink transmission is performed using the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources. (interpreted as UCI component 1040 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for selecting a second subset of the first set of frequency resources for transmitting the uplink message, where the uplink message may be transmitted within the second subset of the first set of frequency resources, and where the UCI may further indicate that the UE has selected the second subset for transmitting the uplink message, see para [0178])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system taught by Liu with the UCI taught by Maamari with the motivation being to select the frequency to be used for uplink.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (Pub No 20230156682) in view of Zhao (WO 2020087446), Hosseini (Pub No 20210227574) and Bharadwaj (Pub No 20200229144)
Regarding claim 20,
Liu teaches the non-transitory memory element of claim 14, however does not teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: provide a second uplink grant to a second UE device, wherein the second uplink grant provides a second set of time domain resources and a second set of frequency domain resources on which to perform a second uplink transmission, wherein the first set of time domain resources and the first set of frequency domain resources overlap at least partially with the second set of time domain resources and the second set of frequency domain resources; and receive the second uplink transmission using the second set of time domain resources and a subset of the second set of frequency domain resources, wherein the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources and the subset of the second set of frequency domain resources are selected based on different resource adjustment rules.
Hosseini teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: provide a second uplink grant to a second UE device, wherein the second uplink grant provides a second set of time domain resources and a second set of frequency domain resources on which to perform a second uplink transmission, wherein the first set of time domain resources and the first set of frequency domain resources overlap at least partially with the second set of time domain resources and the second set of frequency domain resources; and receive the second uplink transmission using the second set of time domain resources and a subset of the second set of frequency domain resources, wherein the subset of the first set of frequency domain resources and the subset of the second set of frequency domain resources are selected (interpreted as In addition, the second uplink grant may indicate frequency resources over a period of time during which the UE 104 can transmit second uplink communication, where the resources of the second uplink grant may at least partially overlap the resources of the first uplink grant (e.g., in frequency and/or in one or more associated periods of time), see para [0061])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system taught by Liu with the second grant taught by Hosseini with the motivation being allocate more resources for transmission.
However Liu in view of Hosseini does not teach based on different resource adjustment rules
Bharadwaj teaches based on different resource adjustment rules (interpreted as UE 115-a may only select frequency resources (e.g., subchannels) on predefined subchannel indices, and may additionally only select frequency resources according to a priority (e.g., in order to minimize collisions among data packets employing FDM).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system taught by Liu with collision prevention rules taught by Bharadwaj with the motivation being to lower collision.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO G NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7732. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10pm - 6:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BAO G NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2461
/JASON E MATTIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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