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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/22/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1,4-10,13-18 and 21-26 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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, 4, 10, 13, 18 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan et al. (“Kho”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2020/0336892) in view of Zhou et al. (“Zhou”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2015/0141028).
In regards to claim 1, Kho teaches a method, comprising:
obtaining, by a first communication apparatus, first configuration information (“receiving a carrier aggregation configuration indicating component carriers designated for the separate operations; and receiving or transmitting transmissions based on the carrier aggregation configuration,” - ¶0008), wherein the first configuration information indicates to the first communication apparatus to perform carrier aggregation communication on at least two receive carriers, the at least two receive carriers comprise a first receive carrier and a second receive carrier (See ¶0046-0052 and 0091-0101 wherein multiple component carriers may be involved with the reception and transmission of information between devices, particularly “the UE 402 may receive the carrier aggregation configuration from the first TRP 404. For example, the carrier aggregation configuration may assign multiple component carriers to the first TRP 404 and multiple component carriers to the second TRP 406,” - ¶0052, and “the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a Node B (NB) and/or a NB subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In NR systems, the term “cell” and BS, next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), access point (AP), distributed unit (DU), carrier, or transmission reception point (TRP) may be used interchangeably,” - ¶0094); and
performing, by the first communication apparatus, carrier aggregation communication on the at least two receive carriers based on the first configuration information (See ¶0008 and 0046-0052, particularly “and receiving or transmitting transmissions based on the carrier aggregation configuration,” - ¶0008); and
wherein the first configuration information comprises:
Kho, however, fails to teach the first configuration information comprises identification information and standard information of each of the at least two receive carriers, wherein the standard information of each of the at least two receive carriers indicates a communication standard of the receive carrier corresponding to the identification information that corresponds to the respective standard information.
In a similar endeavor Zhou teaches the first configuration information comprises identification information and standard information of each of the at least two receive carriers, wherein the standard information of each of the at least two receive carriers indicates a communication standard of the receive carrier corresponding to the identification information that corresponds to the respective standard information (See ¶0050 and 0081 wherein cell identification information is provided for the carrier, as well as it being identified that the carrier is related to the 3GPP standard as such a process is done as per this standard [specified as the related 3GPP standard of the corresponding cell], this is taken in view of Kho’s teaching seen above in ¶0046-0052 and 0091-0101 wherein multiple component carriers may be involved with the reception and transmission of information between devices).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Zhou into Kho because it allows for the cell identification of the corresponding carrier with the specific type as seen in at least ¶0050 and 0081, while also providing such correspondences with the 3GPP standard, thus allowing for proper alignment of data and its identification.
In regards to claim 4, Kho teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising:
sending, by the first communication apparatus, capability information of the first communication apparatus, wherein the capability information of the first communication apparatus indicates one or more of the following capabilities:
a capability indicating that the first communication apparatus supports inter-radio access technology carrier aggregation (RAT CA) (See ¶0097), a capability indicating that the first communication apparatus supports cross-carrier scheduling of inter-RAT CA (See ¶0097), or a capability indicating that the first communication apparatus supports cross-carrier scheduling between different receive standard carrier groups (See ¶0038, 0040, 0043 and 0103-0104); and
wherein the cross-carrier scheduling between different receive standard carrier groups indicates cross-carrier scheduling between at least two receive carriers corresponding to different receive standard carrier groups (See ¶0038, 0040, 0043 and 0103-0104).
In regards to claim 10, the claim is rejected under the same basis as claim 1 by Kho in view of Zhou.
In regards to claim 13, the claim is rejected under the same basis as claim 4 by Kho in view of Zhou.
In regards to claim 18, the claim is rejected under the same basis as claim 1 by Kho in view of Zhou, wherein the transceiver and processor are taught as seen in ¶0012-0013, 0088 and 0109-0116.
In regards to claim 25, Kho teaches the first communication apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
send capability information of the first communication apparatus, wherein the capability information of the first communication apparatus indicates one or more of the following capabilities:
a capability indicating that the first communication apparatus supports inter-radio access technology carrier aggregation (RAT CA) (See ¶0097), a capability indicating that the first communication apparatus supports cross-carrier scheduling of inter-RAT CA (See ¶0097), or
a capability indicating that the first communication apparatus supports cross- carrier scheduling between different receive standard carrier groups (See ¶0038, 0040, 0043 and 0103-0104); and
wherein the cross-carrier scheduling between different receive standard carrier groups indicates cross-carrier scheduling between at least two receive carriers corresponding to different receive standard carrier groups (See ¶0038, 0040, 0043 and 0103-0104).
Claim(s) 5-9, 14-17, 21, 22, 24 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan et al. (“Kho”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2020/0336892) in view of Zhou et al. (“Zhou”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2015/0141028) and Marinier et al. (“Marin”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2020/0154436).
In regards to claim 5, Kho fails to teach the method according to claim 1, further comprising: obtaining, by the first communication apparatus, second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information comprises one or more of the following information: configuration information of a control resource set corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard, or configuration information of a search space corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard.
In a similar endeavor Marin teaches obtaining, by the first communication apparatus, second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information comprises one or more of the following information:
configuration information of a control resource set corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard, or configuration information of a search space corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard (See ¶0178).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claim 6, Kho fails to teach the method according to claim 5, wherein: the first communication standard corresponds to a first control resource set, and the second communication standard corresponds to a second control resource set; or the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third control resource set, the first communication standard corresponds to a first search space of the third control resource set, and the second communication standard corresponds to a second search space of the third control resource set; or the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third search space.
In a similar endeavor Marin teaches the first communication standard corresponds to a first control resource set, and the second communication standard corresponds to a second control resource set; or
the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third control resource set, the first communication standard corresponds to a first search space of the third control resource set, and the second communication standard corresponds to a second search space of the third control resource set; or
the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third search space (See ¶0178).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claim 7, Kho fails to teach the method according to claim 5, further comprising: detecting, by the first communication apparatus, control information corresponding to the second communication standard on the first receive carrier based on one or more of the following information corresponding to the first communication standard: a blind detection capability, a control resource set, or a search space, wherein the control information is control information for scheduling data transmission; or detecting, by the first communication apparatus, control information corresponding to the second communication standard on the first receive carrier based on one or more of the following information corresponding to the second communication standard: a blind detection capability, a control resource set, or a search space, wherein the control information is control information for scheduling data transmission; and parsing, by the first communication apparatus, the control information based on the second communication standard.
That is, although Kho teaches in ¶0045-0055 that the UE may monitor the PDCCH(s) in one or more CORESETs in multiple groups from one or more TRPs, and in ¶0075-0080 that the UE may proceed to a control information mapping onto or splitting from physical channels on a first TRP or a second TRP, Marin further teaches in ¶0025-0030 and 0175-0185 that the control signaling may be received on the physical data transport channel of the first RAT and the scheduling may be received on the PDCCH of a CC configured by RRC for cross-carrier scheduling of the concerned CC of the second RAT, while also indicating that the Downlink Control Information (DCI) may be used to schedule transmissions and that the DCI format may be received in a WTRU-specific search space of the PDCCH of a CC of the first RAT and a search space may be specific to at least one CC of the second RAT, thus showing how the UE may detect one or more control information (DCI[s]) in a carrier aggregation network.
Therefore, in a similar endeavor Marin teaches detecting, by the first communication apparatus, control information corresponding to the second communication standard on the first receive carrier based on one or more of the following information corresponding to the first communication standard:
a blind detection capability, a control resource set, or a search space (See ¶0178), wherein the control information is control information for scheduling data transmission (See ¶0177-0179); and
parsing, by the first communication apparatus, the control information based on the second communication standard (See ¶0174-0179 in view of ¶0104, 0152, 0157-0158).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claim 8, Kho fails to teach the method according to claim 7, wherein: the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a first control information format; the control information corresponds to the first control information format, the control information comprises first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a corresponding communication standard; and the first communication apparatus parses the control information based on the corresponding communication standard indicated by the first indication information.
In a similar endeavor Marin teaches the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a first control information format (See ¶0102, 0104, 0178, 0217-0218 and 0260 wherein the system may select an appropriate transport format and resource for the data to be transmitted);
the control information corresponds to the first control information format, the control information comprises first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a corresponding communication standard (See ¶0025-0030 and 0175-0185 as described above, wherein further such standards such as LTE are taken into consideration); and
the first communication apparatus parses the control information based on the corresponding communication standard indicated by the first indication information (See ¶0025-0030 and 0175-0185 as described above, also see ¶0003-0004, 0008-0009 and 0016-0017).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claim 9, Kho fails to teach the method according to claim 7, wherein:
the first communication standard corresponds to a second control information format, and the second communication standard corresponds to a third control information format.
That is, although Kho teaches in ¶0045-0055 that the UE may monitor the PDCCH(s) in one or more CORESETs in multiple groups from one or more TRPs, and in ¶0075-0080 that the UE may proceed to a control information mapping onto or splitting from physical channels on a first TRP or a second TRP, Marin further teaches in ¶0025-0030 and 0175-0185 that the control signaling may be received on the physical data transport channel of the first RAT and the scheduling may be received on the PDCCH of a CC configured by RRC for cross-carrier scheduling of the concerned CC of the second RAT, while also indicating that the Downlink Control Information (DCI) may be used to schedule transmissions and that the DCI format may be received in a WTRU-specific search space of the PDCCH of a CC of the first RAT and a search space may be specific to at least one CC of the second RAT, thus showing how the UE may detect one or more control information (DCI[s]) in a carrier aggregation network.
Therefore, in a similar endeavor Marin teaches the first communication standard corresponds to a second control information format, and the second communication standard corresponds to a third control information format (See ¶0025-0030 and 0175-0185 as described above).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claims 14-17, the claims are rejected under the same basis as claims 5-9 by Kho in view of Zhou and Marin.
In regards to claim 21, Kho fails to teach detecting, by the first communication apparatus, control information corresponding to the second communication standard on the first receive carrier based on one or more of the following information corresponding to the second communication standard: a blind detection capability, a control resource set, or a search space, wherein the control information is control information for scheduling data transmission; and parsing, by the first communication apparatus, the control information based on the second communication standard.
That is, although Kho teaches in ¶0045-0055 that the UE may monitor the PDCCH(s) in one or more CORESETs in multiple groups from one or more TRPs, and in ¶0075-0080 that the UE may proceed to a control information mapping onto or splitting from physical channels on a first TRP or a second TRP, Marin further teaches in ¶0025-0030 and 0175-0185 that the control signaling may be received on the physical data transport channel of the first RAT and the scheduling may be received on the PDCCH of a CC configured by RRC for cross-carrier scheduling of the concerned CC of the second RAT, while also indicating that the Downlink Control Information (DCI) may be used to schedule transmissions and that the DCI format may be received in a WTRU-specific search space of the PDCCH of a CC of the first RAT and a search space may be specific to at least one CC of the second RAT, thus showing how the UE may detect one or more control information (DCI[s]) in a carrier aggregation network.
Therefore, in a similar endeavor Marin teaches detecting, by the first communication apparatus, control information corresponding to the second communication standard on the first receive carrier based on one or more of the following information corresponding to the second communication standard: a blind detection capability, a control resource set, or a search space (See ¶0178), wherein the control information is control information for scheduling data transmission (See ¶0177-0179); and
parsing, by the first communication apparatus, the control information based on the second communication standard (See ¶0174-0179 in view of ¶0104, 0152, 0157-0158).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claim 22, Kho teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein the second control information format, and the third control information format are different formats.
In a similar endeavor Marin teaches wherein the second control information format, and the third control information format are different formats (See ¶0102, 0104, 0178, 0217-0218 and 0260 wherein the system may select an appropriate transport format and resource for the data to be transmitted, and as noted the system may provide differing formats/standards).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claim 24, Kho fails to teach the method according to claim 14, wherein:
the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third search space.
In a similar endeavor Marin teaches the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third search space (See ¶0178).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
In regards to claim 26, Kho teaches the first communication apparatus according to claim i8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information comprises one or more of the following information: configuration information of a control resource set corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard, or configuration information of a search space corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard.
In a similar endeavor Marin teaches obtain second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information comprises one or more of the following information: configuration information of a control resource set corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard, or
configuration information of a search space corresponding to each of the first communication standard and the second communication standard (See ¶0178).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Marin into Kho because it allows for the enhancement of multi-radio technologies carrier aggregation through the use of concurrently allocation information on two carriers using RAT as taught by Marin.
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan et al. (“Kho”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2020/0336892) in view of Marinier et al. (“Marin”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2020/0154436) and Marinier et al. (“Marin”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2020/0154436), in further view of Saber et al. (“Saber”) (U.S. PG Publication No. 2022/0116981).
In regards to claim 23, Kho teaches the method according to claim 14, wherein:
the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third control resource set, the first communication standard corresponds to a first search space of the third control resource set, and the second communication standard corresponds to a second search space of the third control resource set.
In a similar endeavor Saber teaches the first communication standard and the second communication standard correspond to a third control resource set, the first communication standard corresponds to a first search space of the third control resource set, and the second communication standard corresponds to a second search space of the third control resource set (See ¶0180 in view of 0003 and 0274 wherein a CORESET [control resource set] may correspond to one or more search spaces associated with it, this is taken in view of Marin’s teachings with regards to differing standards for the first and second communication standards).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the teaching of Saber into Kho because it allows for one or more search spaces to be associated with one CORESET as described in ¶0180 as one of the settings by which a UE is configured, thus allowing for adaptability in how a UE may be operated.
Conclusion
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EDEMIO NAVAS JR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2483
/EDEMIO NAVAS JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483
