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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 27 November 2023 was filed after the mailing date of the patent application on 27 November 2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings, received on 27 November 2023, are acceptable for examination.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 6, 9, and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: Said claims recites “the first or a third end point (24, 26)”. Here, the recitation is not supported by antecedent basis. Examiner respectfully suggests amending to “the first end point (24, 26) and a third end point (24, 26)”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 2 and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities: Said claims recites “the first and/or second data packet (fu1, fu2, fd1, fd2)”. Here, the recitation is not supported by antecedent basis. Examiner respectfully suggests amending to “the first data packet (fu1, fu2) and/or the second data packet (fd1, fd2)”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Said claim recites “the first and/or second communication channel”. Here, the recitation is not supported by antecedent basis. Examiner respectfully suggests amending to “the first communication channel and/or the second communication channel”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pezeshki et al. (US 20210266940 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Pezeshki”).
Regarding Claim 1, Pezeshki discloses a method (100) for scheduling (150) a data packet (fu1, fu2, fd1, fd2) for a cyclic wireless communication in a communication system (10) (¶78 & ¶80 & Fig. 4 (430) & ¶2, Pezeshki discloses scheduling downlink communication and uplink communication in a communication system), the method comprising:
a cycle of communication (¶66-88 & Fig. 4, Pezeshki discloses a method of communication between a user equipment (404) and a base station (402). Examiner correlates the downlink communication and the uplink communication to “a cycle of communication”) including transferring a first data packet (fu1, fu2) on a first communication channel (38, 42) from a first end point (24, 26) to a second end point (20, 22) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (436) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring an uplink communication on the channel/medium from the UE (404) to the BS (402). Examiner correlates "an uplink communication" to "a first data packet". Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a first communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point") and transferring a second data packet (fd1, fd2) on a second communication channel (40, 44) from the second end point (20, 22) to the first or a third end point (24, 26) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring a downlink communication on a channel/medium from the base station (402) to the UE (404). Examiner correlates a downlink communication to “the second data packet”. Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a second communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point"), and
the scheduling (150) of the second data packet (fd1, fd2) as a function of a cycle information (ICy1) relating to the cycle and a first channel information relating to the first communication channel (38,42) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the scheduling of the downlink communication is based on silencing instruction and a duration of time corresponding to downlink communication and further based on channel conditions. Examiner correlates the silencing instruction and the corresponding duration(s) to "a cycle information". Examiner correlates information about channel conditions to "a first channel information") and/or
the scheduling (150) of the first data packet (fu1, fu2) is performed as a function of the cycle information (ICy1) and a second channel information relating to the second communication channel (40,44) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (426->434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the scheduling of the uplink communication is based on the silencing instruction including a duration of time corresponding to uplink communication and further based upon channel conditions. Examiner correlates the silencing instruction and the corresponding duration(s) of time to "a cycle information". Examiner correlates information about channel conditions to "a second channel information").
Regarding Claim 2, Pezeshki discloses the method (100) according to claim 1.
Pezeshki further discloses wherein the scheduling (150) of the first and/or second data packet (fu1, fu2, fd1, fd2) is carried out as a function of the first channel information relating to the first communication channel and the second channel information relating to the second communication channel (40, 44) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the scheduling of the uplink communication and/or the downlink communication is based on the channel conditions corresponding to uplink communication and channel conditions corresponding to downlink communication).
Regarding Claim 3, Pezeshki discloses the method (100) according to claim 1.
Pezeshki further discloses wherein the cycle information (ICy1) comprises a time specification with regard to receiving the second data packet (fd1, fd2) at the first or third end point (24, 26) (¶70, Pezeshki discloses that the silencing instruction includes a duration that affects the receipt of the downlink communication at the UE) and,
depending on the time specification,
either the scheduling (150) comprises selecting a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or increasing the priority for transferring the second data packet (fd1, fd2), or
during scheduling (150), no resources are allocated for the second data packet (fd1, fd2) (¶70, Pezeshki discloses that the silencing instruction causes the UE not to receive on any resources during a duration that affects the receipt of the downlink communication at the UE), or already allocated resources are related again on the respective communication channel (38, 40, 42, 44) (Examiner notes that the use of “or” and “and/or” has a broadest reasonable interpretation of any element in the list that follows or any of those elements taken together. See Ex Parte Gross, Appeal 2011-004811, Application No. 11/565,411. Thus, Examiner has not treated all limitations separated by “and/or” and “or”).
Regarding Claim 4, Pezeshki discloses the method (100) according to claim 1.
Pezeshki further discloses wherein the first and/or second channel information represent a current or expected transfer quality on the first and/or second communication channel (38, 40, 42, 44), respectively (¶71-72, Pezeshki discloses that information corresponding to channel conditions represent a number of consecutive unsuccessfully received messages for the channel or channel quality transmitted in an uplink message), and
depending on the transfer quality on the first and/or second communication channel (38, 40, 42, 44),
either the scheduling (150) comprises selecting a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or increasing the priority for transferring the second data packet (fd1, fd2) (Examiner notes that the use of “or” and “and/or” has a broadest reasonable interpretation of any element in the list that follows or any of those elements taken together. See Ex Parte Gross, Appeal 2011-004811, Application No. 11/565,411. Thus, Examiner has not treated all limitations separated by “and/or” and “or”), or
during scheduling (150), no resources are allocated for the second data packet (fd1, fd2) (¶71-72 & ¶83 & Fig. 4 (426->410), Pezeshki discloses that the duration of time in which the UE does not communicate with the BS is based upon information corresponding to channel conditions such as a number of consecutive unsuccessfully received messages for the channel), or
already allocated resources are related again on the respective communication channel (38, 40, 42, 44) (Examiner notes that the use of “or” and “and/or” has a broadest reasonable interpretation of any element in the list that follows or any of those elements taken together. See Ex Parte Gross, Appeal 2011-004811, Application No. 11/565,411. Thus, Examiner has not treated all limitations separated by “and/or” and “or”).
Regarding Claim 5, Pezeshki discloses the method (100) according to claim 1.
Pezeshki further discloses wherein during scheduling (150), no resources are allocated for the second data packet (fd1, fd2) (¶70, Pezeshki discloses that the silencing instruction causes the UE not to receive on a downlink communication on any resources during the duration), or
already allocated resources are released again on the second communication channel (40, 44) if the first data packet (fu1,fu2) is not successfully transferred to the second end point (20, 22) within a predefined time interval (Examiner notes that the use of “or” and “and/or” has a broadest reasonable interpretation of any element in the list that follows or any of those elements taken together. See Ex Parte Gross, Appeal 2011-004811, Application No. 11/565,411. Thus, Examiner has not treated all limitations separated by “and/or” and “or”).
Regarding Claim 6, Pezeshki discloses a computing unit having a scheduling module (54) (¶111 & Fig. 8, Pezeshki discloses a base station (BS) comprising a communication manager 832) for scheduling (150) a data packet (fu1, fu2, fd1, fd2) for cyclic wireless communication in a communication system (10) (¶66-88 & Fig. 4 & ¶2, Pezeshki discloses the BS scheduling an uplink communication and a downlink communication in a communication system), wherein
a cycle of communication (¶78 & ¶80 & Fig. 4 (430) & ¶2, Pezeshki discloses scheduling downlink and uplink traffic in a communication system) including transferring a first data packet (fu1, fu2) on a first communication channel (38, 42) from a first end point (24, 26) to a second end point (20, 22) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (436) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring an uplink communication on the channel/medium from the UE (404) to the BS (402). Examiner correlates "an uplink communication" to "a first data packet". Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a first communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point") and transferring a second data packet (fd1, fd2) on a second communication channel (40, 44) from the second end point (20, 22) to the first or a third end point (24, 26) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring a downlink communication on a channel/medium from the base station (402) to the UE (404). Examiner correlates the second data packet to "a downlink communication". Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a second communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point"), and
the scheduling module (54) (¶111 & Fig. 8, Pezeshki discloses the BS comprising a communication manager 832) is configured for scheduling (15) the second data packet (fd1, fd2) as a function of a cycle information (ICy1) relating to the cycle and a first channel information relating to the first communication channel (38, 42) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the scheduling of the downlink communication is based on silencing instruction and a duration of time corresponding to downlink communication and further based on channel conditions. Examiner correlates the silencing instruction and the corresponding duration(s) to "a cycle information". Examiner correlates information about channel conditions to "a first channel information") and/or
the scheduling module (54) (¶111 & Fig. 8, Pezeshki discloses the BS comprising a communication manager 832) is configured for scheduling (15) the first data packet (fu1, fu2) as a function of the cycle information (ICy1) and a second channel information relating to the second communication channel (40, 44) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (426->434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the scheduling of the uplink communication is based on the silencing instruction including a duration of time corresponding to uplink communication and further based upon channel conditions. Examiner correlates the silencing instruction to "a cycle information". Examiner correlates information about channel conditions to "a second channel information").
Regarding Claim 7, Pezeshki discloses the computing unit according to claim 6.
Pezeshki further discloses wherein the scheduling module (54) comprises an uplink scheduling module (58) and a downlink scheduling module (56) (¶111 & Fig. 8, Pezeshki discloses the BS comprising a communication manager 832. Here, the communication manager schedules both uplink communication and downlink communication), which are interconnected by means of a coordination layer (60) (¶111 & Fig. 8, Pezeshki discloses that the communication manager 832 is further composed of hardware and/or components).
Regarding Claim 8, Pezeshki discloses a base station (40), with a computing unit according to claim 6 (¶111 & Fig. 8, Pezeshki discloses the BS comprising a communication manager 832).
Regarding Claim 9, Pezeshki discloses a user device (16, 18) for cyclic wireless communication in a communication system (1), wherein
a cycle of the communication (¶78 & ¶80 & Fig. 4 (430) & ¶2, Pezeshki discloses scheduling downlink and uplink traffic in a communication system) comprises transferring a first data packet (fu1, fu2) on a first communication channel (38, 42) from a first end point (24, 26) to a second end point (20, 22) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (436) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring an uplink communication on the channel/medium from the UE (404) to the BS (402). Examiner correlates "an uplink communication" to "a first data packet". Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a first communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point") and transferring a second data packet (fd1, fd2) on a second communication channel (40, 44) from the second end point (20, 22) to the first or a third end point (24, 26) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring a downlink communication on a channel/medium from the base station (402) to the UE (404). Examiner correlates the second data packet to "a downlink communication". Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a second communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point"), and
the first or second end point (24, 26) is assigned to the user device (16, 18) (¶66-88 & Fig. 4, Pezeshki discloses the UE (404) is an endpoint of the downlink communication),
the user device (16, 18) is configured to provide a base station (14) with cycle information (ICy1) relating to the cycle of the communication and to transfer the first and/or second data packet (fu1, fu2, fd1, fd2) based on the scheduling (150) performed by the base station (14) (¶67 & Fig. 4 (424), Pezeshki discloses the UE (404) is configured to provide channel quality information (CQI) and/or acknowledgment/negative acknowledgment (ACK/NACK) where the information relates to the cycle of uplink communication and/or downlink communication).
Regarding Claim 11, Pezeshki discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer (¶98 & Fig. 6 & ¶111 & Fig. 8, Pezeshki discloses a medium containing software that when executed by a controller/processor cause the device to perform a method) to schedule (150) a data packet (fu1, fu2, fd1, fd2) for a cyclic wireless communication in a communication system (10) (¶66-88 & Fig. 4 & ¶2, Pezeshki discloses the BS scheduling an uplink communication and a downlink communication in a communication system), by:
performing a cycle of communication (¶66-88 & Fig. 4, Pezeshki discloses a performing communication between a user equipment (404) and a base station (402)) that includes transferring a first data packet (fu1, fu2) on a first communication channel (38, 42) from a first end point (24, 26) to a second end point (20, 22) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (436) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring an uplink communication on the channel/medium from the UE (404) to the BS (402). Examiner correlates "an uplink communication" to "a first data packet". Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a first communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point") and transferring a second data packet (fd1, fd2) on a second communication channel (40, 44) from the second end point (20, 22) to the first or a third end point (24, 26) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the method includes transferring a downlink communication on a channel/medium from the base station (402) to the UE (404). Examiner correlates the second data packet to "a downlink communication". Examiner correlates the channel/medium to "a second communication channel". Examiner correlates the UE (404) to "the first end point". Examiner correlates the BS to "the second end point"), and
the scheduling (150) of the second data packet (fd1, fd2) as a function of a cycle information (ICy1) relating to the cycle and a first channel information relating to the first communication channel (38,42) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the scheduling of the downlink communication is based on silencing instruction and a duration of time corresponding to downlink communication and further based on channel conditions. Examiner correlates the silencing instruction to "a cycle information". Examiner correlates information about channel conditions to "a first channel information") and/or
the scheduling (150) of the first data packet (fu1, fu2) is performed as a function of the cycle information (ICy1) and a second channel information relating to the second communication channel (40, 44) (¶87-88 & Fig. 4 (426->434) & ¶71, Pezeshki discloses that the scheduling of the uplink communication is based on the silencing instruction including a duration of time corresponding to uplink communication and further based upon channel conditions. Examiner correlates the silencing instruction and the corresponding duration(s) of time to "a cycle information". Examiner correlates information about channel conditions to "a second channel information").
Internet Communications
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC NOWLIN whose telephone number is (313)446-6544. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12:00PM-10:00PM.
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/ERIC NOWLIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2474