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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments with respect to claims 13, 16, 24 and 33 has been fully considered. The objection of claim 13, 16, 24 and 33 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendments with respect to claim 31 has been fully considered. The rejection of claim 31 under 35 35 U.S.C. 101 has been withdrawn.
Claim 32, 33 has been cancelled. The rejection of claim 32 and 33 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 11, 20 and 22 have been fully considered, a new ground for rejection has been made in view of amendment. Claims 1, 11, 20 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 (See 103 rejection of claims 1 and 11 below).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9-16, 18-27, 29-31 and 34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220361220 A1 (hereinafter Zewail) (priority document us-provisional-application US 63186701 20210510, hereinafter prov), in view of US 20240012095 A1 (hereinafter Ali) (priority document us-provisional-application US 63115508 20201118, hereinafter prov5508).
Regarding claim 1, Zewail teaches A communication method, comprising (Zewail [0008] a
method, ... are provided for wireless communication at a base station (prov [0007])):
sending downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device (Zewail 406 in Fig. 4; [0087]
FIG. 4 illustrates an example communication flow 400 between a UE 402 and a base station 404 including a single DCI that schedules multi-PDSCH. The base station transmits DCI 406 to the UE 402 scheduling resources for multiple PDSCH having non-contiguous resources between PDSCH (prov Fig. 4, [0081]).),
wherein the DCI indicates a first time domain resource in a first slot, the first time domain
resource comprises M time domain sub-resources, at least two adjacent time domain sub-resources in the M time domain sub-resources are at an interval of a first time period so that the at least two adjacent time domain sub-resources are discontinuous, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (Zewail Fig. 5; [0087] FIG. 5 illustrates an example time resource diagram 500 showing a DCI 502 that is transmitted from the base station to the UE in a first symbol of a slot. The DCI 502 may correspond to the DCI 406 or 414 in FIG. 4. The DCI 502 may indicate a TDRA row index for a row having K.sub.0=0 and SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) and SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5). K.sub.0=0 means that the PDSCH resources are allocated based on the slot in which the DCI is received. The SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the first PDSCH from symbol 2 to symbol 6 (e.g., having a length L=5 symbols). The SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the second PDSCH from symbol 9 for a length of 5 contiguous symbols to symbol 13 of the slot (prov Fig. 5, [0081]).
[0089] FIG. 5 illustrates symbols 7 and 8 of the slot as providing a time gap between the PDSCH transmissions (prov [0083]).
[0082] The time domain resource allocation for the multiple PDSCH may be non-contiguous and may include a gap in time between different PDSCH allocations granted by the same DCI (prov [0077]).
[0084] For a DCI that can schedule multiple PDSCHs, the TDRA may include entries such that each row indicates up to 8 multiple PDSCHs (that may be non-continuous in a time-domain) (prov [0078]).
Note: The first PDSCH resource and the second PDSCH resource in Fig. 5 are two adjacent time domain sub-resources per adjacent definition in the instant application (See [0117]). The time gap is the interval.); and
Although Zewail teaches sending a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) on the first time domain resource (Zewail 410 and 412 in Fig. 4; [0087] The UE 402 receives the PDSCH 1 410 based on the first SLIV of the TDRA table row and receives the PDSCH 2 412 based on the second SLIV of the TDRA table row (prov Fig.4, [0081]).), Zewail does not explicitly teach wherein the PDSCH or a signal carried on the PDSCH is used as a sensing signal to sense a first target.
Ali in the same or similar field of endeavor teaches wherein the PDSCH or a signal carried on the PDSCH is used as a sensing signal to sense a first target (Ali [0011] FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of DL radar sensing for full-duplex system using multiple narrow beams (prov5508 Fig. 4, [0011]).
[0080] FIG. 3B depicts a system 350 for monostatic radar sensing in a RAN, according to embodiments of the first solution. The system 350 involves the UE 305 served by the gNB 310, with the blockage 315 existing within a coverage area of the RAN. The gNB 310 sends a DL data signal 355 and also sends a DL radar signal 360 using a multiple beams (e.g., utilizing multiple narrow beams). Because the gNB 310 is a full-duplex device, the gNB 310 receives/senses the reflected DL radar signal(s) 365 (prov5508 Fig. 4, [0097]).
[0087] According to embodiments of the first solution, a gNB (serving or neighboring) equipped with a full-duplex transceiver utilizes its own DL transmission to perform radar sensing on the DL echo/backscattered signal from a certain geographical area/zone of interest. A first implementation may correspond to a monostatic radar sensing feature, where the full-duplex transmitter and receiver are collocated at the gNB and the DL transmitted signal and DL echo/backscatter signal are used to determine the location information (e.g., range, absolute positioning, 2D/3D size/dimension) of the blockage(s) within a specified geographical area (prov5508 [0097]).
[0092] the gNB may utilize the backscattered signal of downlink channel transmission (e.g.,Physical Downlink Shared Channel (“PDSCH”)) for measuring the channel and identifying the blockages (prov5508 [0102])).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zewail with Ali’s above teachings. The motivation is enhancing beam management by identifying and localizing radio blockages via radar sensing (Ali [0002] (prov5508 [0001])).
Regarding claim 11, Zewail teaches A communication method, comprising (Zewail [0007] a
method, ... are provided for wireless communication at a UE (prov [0005]).):
receiving downlink control information (DCI) (Zewail406 in Fig. 4; [0087] FIG. 4 illustrates an
example communication flow 400 between a UE 402 and a base station 404 including a single DCI that schedules multi-PDSCH.The base station transmits DCI 406 to the UE 402 scheduling resources for multiple PDSCH having non-contiguous resources between PDSCH. The UE 402 receives the DCI and determines the non-contiguous resource allocation for the multiple PDSCHs (prov Fig. 4, [0081]).),
wherein the DCI indicates a first time domain resource in a first slot, the first time domain
resource comprises M time domain sub-resources, at least two adjacent time domain sub-resources in the M time domain sub-resources are at an interval of a first time period so that the at least two adjacent time domain sub-resources are discontinuous, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (Zewail Fig. 5; [0087] FIG. 5 illustrates an example time resource diagram 500 showing a DCI 502 that is transmitted from the base station to the UE in a first symbol of a slot. The DCI 502 may correspond to the DCI 406 or 414 in FIG. 4. The DCI 502 may indicate a TDRA row index for a row having K.sub.0=0 and SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) and SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5). K.sub.0=0 means that the PDSCH resources are allocated based on the slot in which the DCI is received. The SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the first PDSCH from symbol 2 to symbol 6 (e.g., having a length L=5 symbols). The SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the second PDSCH from symbol 9 for a length of 5 contiguous symbols to symbol 13 of the slot (prov Fig. 5, [0081]).
[0089] FIG. 5 illustrates symbols 7 and 8 of the slot as providing a time gap between the PDSCH transmissions (prov [0083]).
[0082] The time domain resource allocation for the multiple PDSCH may be non-contiguous and may include a gap in time between different PDSCH allocations granted by the same DCI (prov [0077]).
[0084] For a DCI that can schedule multiple PDSCHs, the TDRA may include entries such that each row indicates up to 8 multiple PDSCHs (that may be non-continuous in a time-domain) (prov [0078]).
Note: The first PDSCH resource and the second PDSCH resource in Fig. 5 are two adjacent time domain sub-resources per adjacent definition in the instant application (See [0117]). The time gap is the interval.); and
Although Zewail teaches receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) on the first time domain resource (Zewail 410 and 412 in Fig. 4; [0087] The UE 402 receives the PDSCH 1 410 based on the first SLIV of the TDRA table row and receives the PDSCH 2 412 based on the second SLIV of the TDRA table row (prov Fig.4, [0081]).), Zewail does not explicitly teach wherein the PDSCH or a signal carried on the PDSCH is used as a sensing signal to sense a first target.
Ali in the same or similar field of endeavor teaches wherein the PDSCH or a signal carried on the PDSCH is used as a sensing signal to sense a first target (Ali [0011] FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of DL radar sensing for full-duplex system using multiple narrow beams (prov5508 Fig. 4, [0011]).
[0080] FIG. 3B depicts a system 350 for monostatic radar sensing in a RAN, according to embodiments of the first solution. The system 350 involves the UE 305 served by the gNB 310, with the blockage 315 existing within a coverage area of the RAN. The gNB 310 sends a DL data signal 355 and also sends a DL radar signal 360 using a multiple beams (e.g., utilizing multiple narrow beams). Because the gNB 310 is a full-duplex device, the gNB 310 receives/senses the reflected DL radar signal(s) 365 (prov5508 Fig. 4, [0097]).
[0087] According to embodiments of the first solution, a gNB (serving or neighboring) equipped with a full-duplex transceiver utilizes its own DL transmission to perform radar sensing on the DL echo/backscattered signal from a certain geographical area/zone of interest. A first implementation may correspond to a monostatic radar sensing feature, where the full-duplex transmitter and receiver are collocated at the gNB and the DL transmitted signal and DL echo/backscatter signal are used to determine the location information (e.g., range, absolute positioning, 2D/3D size/dimension) of the blockage(s) within a specified geographical area (prov5508 [0097]).
[0092] the gNB may utilize the backscattered signal of downlink channel transmission (e.g.,Physical Downlink Shared Channel (“PDSCH”)) for measuring the channel and identifying the blockages (prov5508 [0102])).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zewail with Ali’s above teachings. The motivation is enhancing beam management by identifying and localizing radio blockages via radar sensing (Ali [0002] (prov5508 [0001])).
Claims 20 and 22 recite similar limitations of claims 1 and 11 respectively, are thus rejected under similar rational.
Regarding claim 2, Zewail in view of Ali (hereinafter combination) teaches The method
according to claim 1.
Zewail does not explicitly teach wherein the method further comprises: receiving all or some
echo signals of the PDSCH, wherein the echo signals are used to sense the first target.
Ali teaches wherein the method further comprises: receiving all or some echo signals of the PDSCH, wherein the echo signals are used to sense the first target (Ali [0011] FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of DL radar sensing for full-duplex system using multiple narrow beams (prov5508 Fig. 4, [0011])
[0080] FIG. 3B depicts a system 350 for monostatic radar sensing in a RAN, according to embodiments of the first solution. The system 350 involves the UE 305 served by the gNB 310, with the blockage 315 existing within a coverage area of the RAN. The gNB 310 sends a DL data signal 355 and also sends a DL radar signal 360 using a multiple beams (e.g., utilizing multiple narrow beams). Because the gNB 310 is a full-duplex device, the gNB 310 receives/senses the reflected DL radar signal(s) 365 (prov5508 Fig. 4, [0097]).
[0092] the gNB may utilize the backscattered signal of downlink channel transmission (e.g., Physical Downlink Shared Channel (“PDSCH”)) for measuring the channel and identifying the blockages. In this implementation, a copy of the transmitted PDSCH signal needs to be kept at gNB after the DL transmission to perform channel measurement with respect to the DL echo/backscatter signal to determine the location-related information of the blockage (prov5508 0102)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination with Ali’s above teachings. The motivation is enhancing beam management by identifying and localizing radio blockages via radar sensing (Ali [0002] (prov5508 [0001])).
Claim 21 recites similar limitations of claim 2, is thus rejected under similar rational.
Regarding claim 3, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource comprises: the DCI
comprises start position information of each of the M time domain sub-resources, and/or duration information of each of the M time domain sub-resources (Zewail Fig. 5; [0087] FIG. 5 illustrates an example time resource diagram 500 showing a DCI 502 that is transmitted from the base station to the UE in a first symbol of a slot. the DCI may indicate a row of a TDRA table that corresponds to a single K.sub.0 value for each of the PDSCHs and that includes multiple SLIVs. For example, the indicated row may have K.sub.0=0 and SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) and SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5). K.sub.0 indicates a slot of the resource allocation relative to the DCI scheduling the PDSCH. S corresponds to a starting symbol of the resource allocation relative to a first symbol of the slot indicate by K.sub.0 and L corresponds to a length of the resource allocation in symbols. The SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the first PDSCH from symbol 2 to symbol 6 (e.g., having a length L=5 symbols). The SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the second PDSCH from symbol 9 for a length of 5 contiguous symbols to symbol 13 of the slot (prov Fig. 5, [0081]).).
Claims 12 and 23 recite similar limitations of claim 3 respectively, are thus rejected under similar rational.
Regarding claim 4, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource comprises: the DCI
comprises at least one of start position information S.sub.1 of a first time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources, duration information L.sub.1 of the first time domain sub-resource, and an offset O.sub.1 of the first time domain sub-resource, wherein there is a first association relationship between start position information S.sub.i of an i.sup.th time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources and at least one of S.sub.1, L.sub.1, and O.sub.1, and duration information L.sub.1 of the i.sup.th time domain sub-resource satisfies L.sub.i=L.sub.1, wherein i is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M (Zewail Fig. 5; [0087]FIG. 5 illustrates an example time resource diagram 500 showing a DCI 502 that is transmitted from the base station to the UE in a first symbol of a slot. the DCI may indicate a row of a TDRA table that corresponds to a single K.sub.0 value for each of the PDSCHs and that includes multiple SLIVs. The SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the first PDSCH from symbol 2 to symbol 6 (e.g., having a length L=5 symbols). The SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the second PDSCH from symbol 9 for a length of 5 contiguous symbols to symbol 13 of the slot (prov Fig. 5, [0081]).
Note: S1 = 2, L1 = 5, M = 2, i = 2;
Si = S2 = 9, Li = L2 = 5;
Si = S1 + L1 + time gap (=2) and Li = L1).
Claims 13 and 24 recite similar limitations of claim 4 respectively, are thus rejected under similar
rational.
Regarding claim 5, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource comprises: the DCI
comprises at least one of start position information S.sub.1 of a first time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources, duration information L.sub.i of an i.sup.th time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources, and an offset O.sub.1 of the first time domain sub-resource, wherein there is a second association relationship between start position information S.sub.i of the i.sup.th time domain sub-resource and at least one of S.sub.1, L.sub.i, and O.sub.1, wherein i is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M (Zewail Fig. 5; [0087]FIG. 5 illustrates an example time resource diagram 500 showing a DCI 502 that is transmitted from the base station to the UE in a first symbol of a slot. the DCI may indicate a row of a TDRA table that corresponds to a single K.sub.0 value for each of the PDSCHs and that includes multiple SLIVs. The SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the first PDSCH from symbol 2 to symbol 6 (e.g., having a length L=5 symbols). The SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the second PDSCH from symbol 9 for a length of 5 contiguous symbols to symbol 13 of the slot (prov Fig. 5, [0081]).
Note: S1 =2, M = 2, i = 2, Li = L2 = 5;
Si = S2 =9;
Si = S1 + Li + time gap (=2) ).
Claims 14 and 25 recite similar limitations of claim 5 respectively, are thus rejected under similar
rational.
Regarding claim 6, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource comprises: the DCI
comprises at least one of start position information S.sub.1 of a first time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources, duration information L.sub.1 of the first time domain sub-resource, and an offset O.sub.i of an i.sup.th time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources, wherein there is a third association relationship between start position information S.sub.i of the i.sup.th time domain sub-resource and at least one of S.sub.1, L.sub.1, and O.sub.i, and duration information L.sub.i of the i.sup.th time domain sub-resource satisfies L.sub.i=L.sub.1, wherein i is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M (Zewail Fig. 5; [0087]FIG. 5 illustrates an example time resource diagram 500 showing a DCI 502 that is transmitted from the base station to the UE in a first symbol of a slot. the DCI may indicate a row of a TDRA table that corresponds to a single K.sub.0 value for each of the PDSCHs and that includes multiple SLIVs. The SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the first PDSCH from symbol 2 to symbol 6 (e.g., having a length L=5 symbols). The SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the second PDSCH from symbol 9 for a length of 5 contiguous symbols to symbol 13 of the slot (prov Fig. 5, [0081]).
Note: S1 = 2, L1 = 5, M = 2, i = 2;
Si = S2 = 9, Li = L2 = 5;
Si = S1 + L1 + time gap (=2) and Li = L1).
Claims 15 and 26 recite similar limitations of claim 6 respectively, are thus rejected under similar
rational.
Regarding claim 7, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource comprises: the DCI
comprises at least one of start position information S.sub.1 of a first time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources, duration information L of the first time domain sub-resource, and first indication information, wherein when the first indication information is a first value, the first indication information indicates that there is a fourth association relationship between start position information S.sub.i of an i.sup.th time domain sub-resource in the M time domain sub-resources and at least one of S.sub.1 and L, and duration information L.sub.i of the i.sup.th time domain sub-resource satisfies L.sub.i=L, wherein i is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M (Zewail Fig. 5; [0087]FIG. 5 illustrates an example time resource diagram 500 showing a DCI 502 that is transmitted from the base station to the UE in a first symbol of a slot. the DCI may indicate a row of a TDRA table that corresponds to a single K.sub.0 value for each of the PDSCHs and that includes multiple SLIVs. The SLIV 1 of (S, L)=(2, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the first PDSCH from symbol 2 to symbol 6 (e.g., having a length L=5 symbols). The SLIV 2 of (S, L)=(9, 5) indicates a resource allocation for the second PDSCH from symbol 9 for a length of 5 contiguous symbols to symbol 13 of the slot (prov Fig. 5, [0081]).
Note: S1 = 2, L = L1 = 5, M = 2, i = 2;
Si = S2 = 9, Li = L2 = 5;
Si = S1 + L + time gap (=2) and Li = L).
Claims 16 and 27 recite similar limitations of claim 7 respectively, are thus rejected under similar
rational.
Regarding claim 9, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches wherein before the sending the DCI to the terminal device, the method further
comprises: sending radio resource control (RRC) signaling to the terminal device, wherein the RRC signaling indicates at least one candidate time domain resource, each candidate time domain resource is corresponding to one index, and the at least one candidate time domain resource comprises the first time domain resource; and wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource comprises: the DCI comprises an index corresponding to the first time domain resource (Zewail [0083] The multi-PDSCH DCI may indicate the allocated resources based on a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) table (prov [0077]).
[0084] For a DCI that can schedule multiple PDSCHs, the TDRA may include entries such that each row indicates up to 8 multiple PDSCHs (that may be non-continuous in a time-domain). Each PDSCH may have a separate SLIV and mapping type. The number of scheduled PDSCHs may be implicitly indicated by the number of indicated valid SLIVs in the row of the TDRA table signalled in DCI. The DCI may indicate multiple PDSCH grants that are continuous resource in a time-domain or that are non-continuous in the time domain. The multiple SLIVs for a particular index of the TDRA table may be indicated in various ways. For example, each row may use S, L columns or may use SLIV values. Regardless of the way in which the multiple SLIVs are indicated, one row index may correspond to multiple SLIVs (prov [0078]).
[0093] the TDRA table referenced in the DCI may include multiple K.sub.0/K.sub.2 values and multiple SLIVs. ...The information in the TDRA table ... may be configured for the UE, e.g., in RRC signaling from the base station 804 (prov [0087]).).
Claims 18 and 29 recite similar limitations of claim 9 respectively, are thus rejected under similar
rational.
Regarding claim 10, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches wherein the first time period has a length of X symbols, and X is an integer
greater than or equal to 1; or the first time period is Y ms, and Y is greater than 0; or the first time period is Z slots, and Z is greater than 0 (Zewail time gap in Fig. 5; [0089] The example in FIG. 5 illustrates symbols 7 and 8 of the slot as providing a time gap between the PDSCH transmissions.
Note: X = 2).
Claims 19 and 30 recite similar limitations of claim 10 respectively, are thus rejected under
similar rational.
Regarding claim 31, the combination teaches perform the method according to claim 1.
Zewail teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, configured to store
instructions, wherein when the instructions are run by a computer, the computer is caused to (Zewail [0008] a computer-readable medium, ... provided for wireless communication at a base station (prov [0007]).
[0038] the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer (prov [0035]).
[0272] Aspect 93 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code, the code when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform the method of any of aspects 41-59. (prov [0228])).
Regarding claim 34, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail does not explicitly teach wherein the signal carried on the PDSCH is a demodulation reference signal.
Ali teaches wherein the signal carried on the PDSCH is a demodulation reference signal (Ali [0041] Radar sensing can be performed on the DL reference signal (“RS”) resources such as demodulation RS (“DMRS”) that are used for data transmission, or on dedicated radar sensing RS (prov5508 [0040])
[0087] According to embodiments of the first solution, a gNB (serving or neighboring) equipped with a full-duplex transceiver utilizes its own DL transmission to perform radar sensing on the DL echo/backscattered signal from a certain geographical area/zone of interest. A first implementation may correspond to a monostatic radar sensing feature, where the full-duplex transmitter and receiver are collocated at the gNB and the DL transmitted signal and DL echo/backscatter signal are used to determine the location information (e.g., range, absolute positioning, 2D/3D size/dimension) of the blockage(s) within a specified geographical area (prov5508 [0097]).
[0092] the gNB may utilize the backscattered signal of downlink channel transmission (e.g.,Physical Downlink Shared Channel (“PDSCH”)) for measuring the channel and identifying the blockages (prov5508 [0102])).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination with Ali’s above teachings. The motivation is enhancing beam management by identifying and localizing radio blockages via radar sensing (Ali [0002] (prov5508 [0001])).
Claim(s) 8, 17 and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zewail in view of Ali as applied to claims 1, 11 and 20 above, and further in view of US 20200100223 A1 (hereinafter Park).
Regarding claim 8, the combination teaches The method according to claim 1.
Zewail does not explicitly teach wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource
comprises: the DCI comprises bitmap information, the bitmap information comprises N bits that are in a one-to-one correspondence with N time units in the first slot, and the M time domain sub-resources comprise a time unit corresponding to a bit whose value is “1”, and do not comprise a time unit corresponding to a bit whose value is “0”.
Park in the same or similar field of endeavor teaches wherein that the DCI indicates the first time domain resource comprises: the DCI comprises bitmap information, the bitmap information comprises N bits that are in a one-to-one correspondence with N time units in the first slot, and the M time domain sub-resources comprise a time unit corresponding to a bit whose value is “1”, and do not comprise a time unit corresponding to a bit whose value is “0” (Park [0290] Method 2: Bitmap-Based Time Domain Resource Assignment
[0293] time domain resource assignment bitmap field in DCI.
[0292] For example, in FIG. 11, the UE may notify whether PDSCH is assigned for each symbol via a time domain resource assignment bitmap 1124 having 14 bits. When 1 denotes PDSCH assignment and 0 denotes PDSCH unassignment, PDSCH is assigned only to symbols corresponding to a bit set to 1.
Note: As shown in Fig. 11, bitmap 1124 = 00001100110000, N= 14, M = 4, time unit =1 symbol.).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination with Park’s above teachings. The motivation is supporting data resource assignment for low latency and high reliability data transmission in a wireless communication system (Park [0002]).
Claims 17 and 28 recite similar limitations of claim 8 respectively, are thus rejected under similar
rational.
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 David Z Sun whose telephone number is (571)270-0750. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 0800am-0500pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Moo Jeong can be reached at 571-272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/D.Z.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2418
/Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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