DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present U.S. non-provisional application is being examined under the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the AIA . The present U.S. non-provisional application, filed on November 21, 2023, is the U.S. national stage of an international PCT application, filed on July 5, 2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on November 21, 2023 was filed before the mailing date of a first Office action in the present U.S. non-provisional application, in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10, 13, 24 and 27 would be considered as allowable if rewritten into independent form to include all of the limitations of the respective base claim and any intervening claims, and if made to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112 set forth in this Office action. The claimed invention is neither anticipated by the prior art of record, nor considered as obvious in view thereof to a person having ordinary skill in the art.
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.
Claims 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26 and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Islam et al. (US 2020/0037396 A1) in view of Cox et al. (US 2020/0029302 A1).
1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured (Islam, FIG. 1) to:
receive, from a base station or a second UE, a reservation reserving a set of time-domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources around a wakeup signal (WUS) for a low-power UE (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], “The resource set configured for WUS occasion may be comprised of a set of Y basic WUS sequences allocated in continuous time and/or frequency domain. […] As described above, the WURESET configuration includes the time-frequency resources for WUS candidates, e.g., RBs and symbols within the WUS occasion slot(s). Since UE can be configured with multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs) with possibly different bandwidths, with C-DRX, UE can operate in any active BWP other than the default BWP based on the state of bwp-inactivityTimer. As such, the momentary/active WURESET configuration shall be defined in the current active BWP. In one option, WURESET can be configured per-BWP, and the WURESET in the active BWP shall be used for a given WUS transmission occasion. As a result, the BWP switching won't be required during the transition from PSM to NAM. In another option, WURESET can be configured per MAC entity, in this case, the actual start RB index of WURESET shall be in the valid range of the active BWP. For example, the WURESET-Config can be defined in MAC-Config as follows:”); and
refrain from transmitting in the reserved resources (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id. It is noted that the UE receiving WUS in the configured WUS occasion slots corresponds to the UE refraining from transmitting in the reserved resources.)
Islam et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Cox et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as a reservation (Cox, paras. [0106], [0123], “At operation 702, the eNB may configure the UE. The configuration may occur via RRC messages during initial attachment or later. The configuration may include timers for idle mode DRX and cDRX, as well as WUS. In some embodiments, the WUS resource allocation may also be configured. The eNB may also configure by sending information using system information messages (SI) by using System Information Blocks (SIBs). […] Alternatively, different sequences can be applied dependent on the UE capability, which may be provided in a UE capability information element in RRC signaling during attachment. For example, different sequences may be applied to eMTC and NB-IoT, where the sequence can have up to 6 PRBs for the efeMTC and 1 PRB for the feNB-IoT. The control region, which can be indicated by a system information broadcast (SIB) or predefined, e.g. to 3 symbols, can be reserved for the efeMTC and feNB-IoT in-band mode. This is to say that in this embodiment, the sequence in the WUS does not occupy the RE in the LTE control region.”) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Cox et al. are for reasons of more efficient use of network resources (Cox, paras. [0002], [0003], “…The number of MTC UEs and NB-IOT UEs in use is expected to be massive, thus leading to further development as networks attempt to accommodate for the disparate requirements of the different types of UEs. Work is ongoing to introduce enhancements to achieve even lower power consumption, to make more efficient use of network resources.”) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of more efficient use of network resources.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of time domain resources is represented by a starting symbol and one or more reserved symbol numbers representing reserved symbols (Islam, paras. [0203], [0207], “…Start-OSIndex: the first OS index of WURESET within the first slot of WUS occasion [ ] Num-OSs: the number of OSs in WURESET”)
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of frequency domain resources comprises an active bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.)
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reservation reserves a defined set of resources associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.)
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the defined set of resources comprises one or more defined symbols of a slot associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.)
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reservation is received from the second UE via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (MPEP 2143, It is noted that PSCCH is considered as a simple substitution of one known control channel for another that yields predictable results. cf. Balasubramanian, para. [0066], “…The PSCCH 515 may be used to communicate control information, similar to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and/or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used for cellular communications with a base station 110 via an access link or an access channel…”)
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reservation is received from the base station via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (MPEP 2143, Id. It is noted that PDCCH is considered as a simple substitution of one known control channel for another that yields predictable results. cf. Balasubramanian, para. [0066], Id.)
14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver (Islam, FIG. 1, Id.)
15. An apparatus for wireless communication at a relaying user equipment (UE) or a base station, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured (Islam, FIG. 1, Id.) to:
receive, from a low-power UE, a UE capability report indicating at least radio frequency (RF) capability associated with the low-power UE (Cox, paras. [0106], [0123], Id.);
transmit, to one or more UEs, a reservation reserving a set of time-domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources around a wakeup signal (WUS) for the low-power UE (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.); and
transmit the WUS to the low-power UE (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.)
Islam et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Cox et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as a reservation (Cox, paras. [0106], [0123], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Cox et al. are for reasons of more efficient use of network resources (Cox, paras. [0002], [0003], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of more efficient use of network resources.
19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the set of time domain resources is represented by a starting symbol and one or more reserved symbol numbers representing reserved symbols (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id. cf. Claim 5).
20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the set of frequency domain resources comprises an active bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id. cf. Claim 6).
22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the reservation reserves a defined set of resources associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id. cf. Claim 8).
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the defined set of resources comprises one or more defined symbols of a slot associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id. cf. Claim 9).
25. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the reservation is transmitted via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (MPEP 2143, Id. cf. Balasubramanian, para. [0066], Id. cf. Claim 11).
26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the reservation is transmitted via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (MPEP 2143, Id. cf. Balasubramanian, para. [0066], Id. cf. Claim 12).
28. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a transceiver (Islam, FIG. 1, Id. cf. Claim 14).
29. A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (Islam, FIG. 1, Id.), comprising:
receiving, from a base station or a second UE, a reservation reserving a set of time-domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources around a wakeup signal (WUS) for a low-power UE (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.); and
refraining from transmitting in the reserved resources (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Islam et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Cox et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as a reservation (Cox, paras. [0106], [0123], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Cox et al. are for reasons of more efficient use of network resources (Cox, paras. [0002], [0003], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of more efficient use of network resources.
30. A method of wireless communication at a base station (Islam, FIG. 1, Id.), comprising:
receiving, from a low-power UE, a UE capability report indicating at least radio frequency (RF) capability associated with the low-power UE (Cox, paras. [0106], [0123], Id.);
transmitting, to one or more UEs, a reservation reserving a set of time-domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources around a wakeup signal (WUS) for the low-power UE (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.); and
transmitting the WUS to the low-power UE (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id. cf. Claim 15).
Islam et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Cox et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as a reservation (Cox, paras. [0106], [0123], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Cox et al. are for reasons of more efficient use of network resources (Cox, paras. [0002], [0003], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of more efficient use of network resources.
Claims 2-4, 7, 16-18 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Islam et al. (US 2020/0037396 A1) in view of Cox et al. (US 2020/0029302 A1) further in view of Ratasuk et al. (US 2021/0314851 A1).
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of time domain resources is represented by a bitmap in the reservation (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], “…With this invention report a method for stand-alone eMTC deployment is proposed. An eNB in eMTC will broadcast a System Information Block (SIB1-BR) indicating whether the unused symbols and PRBs are available for use by Rel-16 UE. They can be used for SIB-NR, enhanced wake-up signal, enhanced synchronization signals, or MPDCCH/PDSCH extension. A bitmap can be used to broadcast which subframes/symbols/PRBs are reserved for which purpose.”) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Ratasuk et al. are for reasons of maintaining support for eMTC (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], “It is expected that eMTC UEs will be around for a long time (e.g. water/power meters can have a lifetime of 10-15 years or more). As LTE systems are re-farmed to NR, there would be no need to support broadband LTE UEs. However, since eMTC LTE UEs would still need to be supported, the current invention moves beyond current techniques in order to maintain support for eMTC user equipment (UE)…” Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of maintaining support for eMTC.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bitmap comprises one or more pre-emption indication (PI), each PI comprising X number of bits, X being a positive integer, each bit representing one symbol (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], Id.)
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bitmap comprises one or more bits, each bit of the one or more bits representing X symbols, X being an integer greater than or equal to one (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], Id.)
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of frequency domain resources comprises one or more sub-bands in an active bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.), and the one or more sub-bands represented by a bitmap in the reservation (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], Id.)
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the set of time domain resources is represented by a bitmap in the reservation (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], Id. cf. Claim 2).
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the bitmap comprises one or more pre-emption indication (PI), each PI comprising X number of bits, X being a positive integer, each bit representing one symbol (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], Id. cf. Claim 3).
18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the bitmap comprises one or more bits, each bit of the one or more bits representing X symbols, X being an integer greater than or equal to one (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], Id. cf. Claim 4).
21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the set of frequency domain resources comprises one or more sub-bands in an active bandwidth part (BWP) associated with the WUS (Islam, paras. [0201], [0203], Id.), and the one or more sub-bands represented by a bitmap in the reservation (Ratasuk, paras. [0004], [0085], Id. cf. Claim 7).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112 that forms the basis for all indefiniteness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite because they fail to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “receive, from a base station or a second UE, a reservation reserving a set of time-domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources around a wakeup signal (WUS) for a low-power UE” (l. 4-6) however the grammar is loose to an extent that multiple plausible constructions exist. In a first interpretation, both a set of time-domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources are around a WUS. In a second interpretation, only a set of frequency domain resources are around a WUS. Accordingly, the claim is considered as indefinite because multiple plausible claim constructions exist. Claims 15, 29 and 30 recite substantially similar limitations. Claims 2-14 and 16-28 are dependent.
Claim 1 recites “receive, from a base station or a second UE, a reservation reserving a set of time-domain resources and a set of frequency domain resources around a wakeup signal (WUS) for a low-power UE” (l. 4-6) however “around” is construed as a term of degree and/or a subjective term that is considered as indefinite. MPEP 2173.05(b). In the case that the term is construed as a term of degree, the specification does not provide objective boundaries of the term for those of skill in the art. The claims, when read in light of the specification and the prosecution history, must provide objective boundaries for those of skill in the art. Interval Licensing LLC v. AOL, Inc., 766 F.3d 1364, 1371-72, 112 USPQ2d 1188, 1193 (Fed. Cir. 2014). In the case that the term is construed as a subjective term, the specification does not supply any standard for measuring the scope of the term. A claim that requires the exercise of subjective judgment without restriction may render the claim indefinite. In re Musgrave, 431 F.2d 882, 893, 167 USPQ 280, 289 (CCPA 1970). Claims 15, 29 and 30 recite substantially similar limitations. Claims 2-14 and 16-28 are dependent.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record (PTO-1449, PTO-892) and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the subject matter of the present U.S. non-provisional application.
Balasubramanian et al. (US 2021/0204217 A1) provides prior art considered as relevant to the subject matter of the claimed invention (Balasubramanian, Abstract, “Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may obtain one or more measurements associated with a sidelink resource pool that includes one or more time and frequency resources allocated to sidelink transmissions to or from the UE. The UE may transmit, to an assisted UE, sidelink signaling that includes signaling to wake up the assisted UE and resource assistance information indicating the one or more measurements associated with the sidelink resource pool…”)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Timothy J. Weidner whose telephone number is (571) 270-1825. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time.
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/TIMOTHY J WEIDNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476