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 Amendment
The Examiner acknowledges the receipt of the Applicant’s amendment filed on 07/28/2026. Claims 1-2, 6, 9, and 15-16 have been amended. Claim 21 has been previously cancelled. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the present application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 07/28/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-20 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Ostman et al. (US 2021/0266899 A1 herein Ostman).
After further search and consideration, claims 6-20 are considered novel and non-obvious over the prior art and are allowed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ostman et al. (US 2021/0266899 A1 herein Ostman).
Regarding claim 1, Ostman teaches a semiconductor device comprising: processing circuitry configured to, determine a carrier band and reference signal bands based on a data signal received from a network (read as radio receiver device may then determine whether or not the network is suitable for connection and determine whether to calibrate for the other narrowband frequencies or whether to take no further action; in a system that uses 20 MHz of bandwidth and thus provides sixteen narrowbands, by only initially calibrating the synthesizer for four narrowbands, the quality of the network can be determined before calibration of the other twelve narrowband frequencies is carried out, thus saving time and power compared to calibrating for all sixteen narrowband frequencies immediately) (Ostman – [0040]), the carrier band and reference signal bands being allocated by the network (read as reference frequency must generally be of the same frequency as the frequency of the narrowband currently in use) (Ostman – [0010]), the reference signal bands corresponding to a reference signal for channel estimation (read as in order to obtain a suitable channel estimate, i.e. an estimate of the characteristics of the channel such as attenuation, phase shifts, and noise) (Ostman – [0076]), and the reference signal being within the carrier band, and output a control signal (read as the signal 136 produced by the VCO 118 is divided by the frequency divider 122, where the factor by which the signal 136 is divided depends on a control signal 138 supplied by the AFC module 124; calibration unit 126 varies a control signal 144 that is supplied to the VCO 118, where the value of the control signal 144 changes the configuration of the capacitor matrix 120, which changes the capacitance of the capacitor matrix 120 presented to the VCO 118) (Ostman – [0068], [0071]) causing a local oscillator (LO) to change a LO frequency (read as LO frequency may be synthesized using a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO); the UE is expected to change the LO frequency during the OFDM symbols 38) (Ostman – [0010]-[0011], [0082]-[0083]) to a value that does not overlap the reference signal bands (read as total bandwidth is divided into a number of non-overlapping sub-bands, each having its own sub-carrier frequency) (Ostman – [0005]).
Regarding claim 2 as applied to claim 1, Ostman further teaches wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: generate the reference signal, and modulate the reference signal to have a frequency included in one of the reference signal bands, and output the modulated reference signal (read as LTE receiver uses a local oscillator (LO) to produce a reference signal that is used in order to receive and demodulate incoming radio signals; this reference signal must generally be of the same frequency as the frequency of the narrowband currently in use) (Ostman – [0010]).
Regarding claim 3 as applied to claim 1, Ostman further teaches wherein the reference signal bands are a portion of a plurality of subcarrier bands included in the carrier band (read as a multiplexing scheme in which the total bandwidth is divided into a number of non-overlapping sub-bands, each having its own sub-carrier frequency) (Ostman – [0005]); and the processing circuitry outputs the control signal causing the LO to change the LO frequency (read as the LO frequency may be synthesized using a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO); the UE may be expected, in continuous reception mode, to change the LO frequency during the OFDM symbols that are typically used by legacy LTE for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) (Ostman – [0010]-[0010], [0082]) such that the LO frequency is spaced apart from a center frequency of the carrier band by at least 0.5 times a subcarrier spacing (SCS) (read as spacing between the sub-carriers is commonly referred to as the subcarrier spacing; the subcarrier spacing is typically 15kHz) (Ostman – [0006]).
Regarding claim 4 as applied to claim 1, Ostman further teaches wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: set a radio frequency (RF) band corresponding to a frequency band of an RF signal to be transmitted (read as the total number of frequencies that the receiver needs to calibrate the synthesiser for depends on the system bandwidth, i.e. the number of narrowbands being used; LTE system using 10 MHz of bandwidth provides eight narrowbands while a system using 20 MHz of bandwidth provides sixteen narrowbands) (Ostman – [0039]), and control the LO frequency to have a first value within the carrier band (read as the LO frequency may be synthesized using a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO); the UE may be expected, in continuous reception mode, to change the LO frequency during the OFDM symbols that are typically used by legacy LTE for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) (Ostman – [0010]-[0010], [0082]) in response to an RF bandwidth of the RF band being less than or equal to a threshold value (read as each sub-frame depends on the bandwidth configuration of the radio communication system; the LTE radio channel may have a bandwidth of 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, where the channel is divided up into narrowbands of 1.4 MHz width) (Ostman – [0008]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
Claims 6-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 6, the best prior art of record found during the examination of the present application, Ostman et al. (US 2021/0266899 A1 herein Ostman), fails to specifically teach, suggest, or disclose a communication device comprising: processing circuitry; a radio frequency (RF) circuit configured to convert a baseband signal into a carrier signal, the carrier signal including a plurality of subcarrier signals; and an antenna module configured to transmit the carrier signal to a network, wherein the RF circuit is configured to, generate a local oscillator (LO) signal having an LO frequency, generate a first signal in which a difference between a target center frequency of the carrier signal and the LO frequency is compensated when the baseband signal is input, and output the carrier signal having the target center frequency by mixing the first signal and the LO signal, and the processing circuitry is configured to control the LO frequency to avoid reference signal bands among subcarrier bands included in a carrier band, the reference signal bands being allocated for transmitting a reference signal for channel estimation.
Ostman teaches a multiplexing scheme in which the total bandwidth is divided into a number of non-overlapping sub-bands, each having its own sub-carrier frequency. Each of these sub-carriers are orthogonal to one another such that cross-talk between sub-bands is ideally eliminated and removing the need for inter-carrier guard bands (Ostman – [0005]). Ostman further teaches LTE receiver (e.g. a UE) uses a local oscillator (LO) to produce a reference signal that is used in order to receive and demodulate incoming radio signals. This reference signal must generally be of the same frequency as the frequency of the narrowband currently in use. The LO frequency may be synthesized using a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) (Ostman – [0010]). These teachings of Ostman differ and fall short of the limitations of claim 6, therefore claim 6 is considered novel and non-obvious over the prior art and therefore claim 6 is allowed.
Claims 7-15 depend upon allowable claim 6, therefore these claims are also allowed for the same reasons explained above.
Regarding claim 16, the best prior art of record found during the examination of the present application, Ostman et al. (US 2021/0266899 A1 herein Ostman), fails to specifically teach, suggest, or disclose a method of setting a local oscillator (LO) frequency of an LO signal, the LO signal being for converting a baseband signal into a carrier signal, and the method comprising: setting a radio frequency (RF) band of a band pass filter for passing the carrier signal; determining a carrier band and a reference signal band, the reference signal band being allocated to a reference signal for channel estimation from among a plurality of subcarrier bands included in the carrier band; and controlling the LO frequency to have a value that does not overlap the reference signal band in response to an RF bandwidth of the RF band being less than or equal to a threshold value, a difference between the LO frequency and a target center frequency of the carrier band being compensated.
Ostman teaches a multiplexing scheme in which the total bandwidth is divided into a number of non-overlapping sub-bands, each having its own sub-carrier frequency. Each of these sub-carriers are orthogonal to one another such that cross-talk between sub-bands is ideally eliminated and removing the need for inter-carrier guard bands (Ostman – [0005]). Ostman further teaches LTE receiver (e.g. a UE) uses a local oscillator (LO) to produce a reference signal that is used in order to receive and demodulate incoming radio signals. This reference signal must generally be of the same frequency as the frequency of the narrowband currently in use. The LO frequency may be synthesized using a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) (Ostman – [0010]). These teachings of Ostman differ and fall short of the limitations of claim 16, therefore claim 16 is considered novel and non-obvious over the prior art and therefore claim 16 is allowed.
Claims 17-20 depend upon allowable claim 16, therefore these claims are also allowed for the same reasons explained above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to APRIL GUZMAN GONZALES whose telephone number is (571)270-1101. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm EST. The examiner’s email address is april.guzman@uspto.gov.
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/APRIL G GONZALES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
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