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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/26/2023 and 06/06/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
In 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 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 factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-4, 6, 9-12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yan et al (U.S. PGPUB 2021/0067282), Yan hereinafter, in view of Liberg et al (U.S. PGPUB 2022/0278785), Liberg hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, Yan teaches a data transmission method, performed by a terminal, comprising: determining, a location of a non-anchor carrier of a serving cell in a frequency band, wherein the serving cell is configured with an anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier; and (Paragraph 0083 - ... '“11” means that the NB-SIB1 is transmitted in subframe #0 (in the condition that the cell ID is even) or subframe #5 (in the condition that the cell ID is odd) of the non-anchor carrier. The non-anchor carrier is lower than the anchor carrier by X. I.e. the center frequency of the anchor carrier—the center frequency of the non-anchor carrier=X (X is an absolute number of subcarriers (15 KHz) in this embodiment).
Yet, Yan does not expressly teach performing data transmission using the non-anchor carrier.
However, in the analogous art, Liberg explicitly discloses performing data transmission using the non-anchor carrier (paragraphs 0065 discloses data transmission using non-anchor carrier).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Yan’s non-anchor carrier frequency offset indication to include Liberg 's data transmission on non-anchor to improve capacity (paragraph 0062 Liberg).
Regarding Claim 11, Yan teaches a data transmission method, performed by a network device, comprising: indicating a location of a non-anchor carrier of a serving cell of a terminal in a frequency band, wherein the serving cell is configured with an anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier; and (Paragraph 0083 - ... '“11” means that the NB-SIB1 is transmitted in subframe #0 (in the condition that the cell ID is even) or subframe #5 (in the condition that the cell ID is odd) of the non-anchor carrier. The non-anchor carrier is lower than the anchor carrier by X. I.e. the center frequency of the anchor carrier—the center frequency of the non-anchor carrier=X (X is an absolute number of subcarriers (15 KHz) in this embodiment).
Yet, Yan does not expressly teach performing data transmission using the non-anchor carrier.
However, in the analogous art, Liberg explicitly discloses performing data transmission using the non-anchor carrier (paragraphs 0065 discloses data transmission using non-anchor carrier).
The motivation regarding to the obviousness of claim 1 is also applied to claim 11.
Regarding Claim 2, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 1.
Yan further teaches wherein determining the location of the non-anchor carrier of the serving cell in the frequency band comprises: receiving indication information on using the anchor carrier, wherein the indication information indicates the location of the non-anchor carrier in the frequency band; (paragraphs 0065 to 0067 discloses transmition and reception of indication of frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier - [0065] ... the receiver 212 may be used to receive the broadcast signal one the anchor carrier and the system information on the non-anchor carrier, wherein the broadcast signal includes a frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier ... [0067] In various embodiments, the transmitter 310 is used to transmit a broadcast signal on an anchor carrier and transmit a system information on a non-anchor carrier, wherein the broadcast signal includes a frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier. ...)
or receiving a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, wherein the RRC signaling indicates the location of the non-anchor carrier in the frequency band. (Alternative)
Regarding Claim 3, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 2.
Yan further teaches wherein the indication information is carried by a master information block (MIB) or system information (SI) (paragraph 0073 - In different operation modes, the indications of the frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier in the NB-MIB are different.)
Regarding Claims 4 and 14, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claims 1 and 11.
Yan further teaches wherein at least one of: a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, a physical broadcast channel, a physical downlink shared channel, a paging message, or a physical downlink control channel is transmitted using the anchor carrier. (fig. 4 shows NB-PBCH on the anchor carrier. Paragraph 0069 - The anchor carrier is the carrier carrying at least synchronization signal and broadcast signal. The remote unit is always able to identify the anchor carrier and receive signals transmitted on the anchor carrier. …)
Regarding Claims 6 and 16, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claims 1 and 11.
Liberg further teaches further comprising: receiving timing information on the anchor carrier, wherein the timing information indicates a timing mapping relation between the non-anchor carrier and the anchor carrier; (paragraphs 0065 to 0067 discloses timing mapping and coordinated scheduling of data transmission between anchor and non-anchor)
wherein performing the data transmission using the non-anchor carrier comprises:
performing the data transmission using the non-anchor carrier according to the timing information (paragraphs 0065 to 0067 discloses timing mapping and coordinated scheduling of data transmission between anchor and non-anchor).
The motivation regarding to the obviousness of claim 1 is also applied to claims 6 and 16.
Regarding Claims 9 and 18, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claims 1 and 11.
Yan further teaches wherein the anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier are new radio (NR) carriers (paragraph 0054 - The base units 104 may be distributed over a geographic region. In certain embodiments, a base unit 104 may also be referred to as an access point, an access terminal, a base, a base station, a Node-B, an eNB, a gNB, a Home Node-B …). The gNB indicates that it can be new radio.
Regarding Claims 10 and 19, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 1 and 11.
Yan further teaches wherein a central frequency of the anchor carrier is less than a central frequency of the non-anchor carrier. (paragraphs 0078 and 0088 discloses design that includes less or higher frequency for the non-anchor carrier - '[0088] In the solution indicated in the Tables 2 and 3, the frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier is represented by (1) whether the non-anchor carrier has a higher or lower frequency than the anchor carrier and (2) an absolute frequency offset value of the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier. On the other hand, in the solution indicated in Table 4, the frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier is represented by a relative frequency offset, which may be a positive or a negative value. ... [0083] ...The non-anchor carrier is lower than the anchor carrier by X. I.e. the center frequency of the anchor carrier—the center frequency of the non-anchor carrier=X (X is an absolute number of subcarriers (15 KHz) in this embodiment).)
Regarding Claim 12, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 11.
Yan further teaches wherein indicating the location of the non-anchor carrier of the serving cell of the terminal in the frequency band comprises: sending indication information to the terminal using the anchor carrier, wherein the indication information indicates the location of the non-anchor carrier in the frequency band; (paragraphs 0065 to 0067 discloses transmition and reception of indication of frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier - [0065] ... the receiver 212 may be used to receive the broadcast signal one the anchor carrier and the system information on the non-anchor carrier, wherein the broadcast signal includes a frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier ... [0067] In various embodiments, the transmitter 310 is used to transmit a broadcast signal on an anchor carrier and transmit a system information on a non-anchor carrier, wherein the broadcast signal includes a frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier. ...)
or sending a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, wherein the RRC signaling indicates the location of the non-anchor carrier in the frequency band; (Alternative)
wherein the indication information is carried by a master information block (MIB) or system information (SI) (paragraph 0073 - In different operation modes, the indications of the frequency offset of the non-anchor carrier in the NB-MIB are different.).
Regarding Claim 22, Yan teaches a terminal, comprising: an antenna;
a memory; and a processor, connected to the antenna and the memory respectively, the memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to; (fig. 2, fig. 3 and paragraphs 0059 to 0060 and 0066 to 0067)
determine a location of a non-anchor carrier of a serving cell in a frequency band, wherein the serving cell is configured with an anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier; and (Paragraph 0083 - ... '“11” means that the NB-SIB1 is transmitted in subframe #0 (in the condition that the cell ID is even) or subframe #5 (in the condition that the cell ID is odd) of the non-anchor carrier. The non-anchor carrier is lower than the anchor carrier by X. I.e. the center frequency of the anchor carrier—the center frequency of the non-anchor carrier=X (X is an absolute number of subcarriers (15 KHz) in this embodiment).
Yet, Yan does not expressly teach performing data transmission using the non-anchor carrier.
However, in the analogous art, Liberg explicitly discloses performing data transmission using the non-anchor carrier (paragraphs 0065 discloses data transmission using non-anchor carrier).
The motivation regarding to the obviousness of claim 1 and 11 is also applied to claim 22.
Regarding Claim 24, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 11.
Yan further teaches a network device, comprising: an antenna (fig. 3); a memory (fig. 3 and paragraph 0059 - may include a processor 202, a memory 204, an input device 206, a display 208, a transmitter 210, and a receiver 212. ); and a processor, connected to the antenna and the memory respectively, the memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor (fig. 3 and paragraph 0060 - In some embodiments, the processor 202 executes instructions stored in the memory 204 to perform the methods and routines described herein. The processor 202 is communicatively coupled to the memory 204, the input device 206, the display 208, the transmitter 210, and the receiver 212.), cause the network device to perform the data transmission method of claim 11 (refer to the rejection of claim 11).
Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yan et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2021/0067282), Yan hereinafter, in view of Liberg et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2022/0278785), Liberg hereinafter, and further in view of Pant et al. (U.S. PGPUB ), Pant hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 5 Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 1.
Yet, Yan in view of Liberg does not expressly teach before determining the location of the non-anchor carrier of the serving cell in the frequency band, further comprising: sending capacity information to a network device, wherein the capacity information instructs the network device to configure the anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier for the serving cell according to a maximum number of carriers supported by the terminal.
However, in the analogous art, Pant explicitly discloses before determining the location of the non-anchor carrier of the serving cell in the frequency band, further comprising: sending capacity information to a network device, wherein the capacity information instructs the network device to configure the anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier for the serving cell according to a maximum number of carriers supported by the terminal (paragraph 0111 discloses configuration of more secondary component carriers according to capability indication received from the UE – [0111] … The UE may report capability information indicating what kind of CA can be configured for the UE, such as particular band combinations supported by the UE. A band combination is a group of two or more bands on which component carriers can be configured. For example, E-UTRAN may initiate the UE capability transfer procedure described with regard to FIG. 3 in an RRC_CONNECTED state. Some wireless communication specifications may impose a limit on the number of band combinations that can be reported by the UE. Examples of limits on the number of band combinations include 128 band combinations, 256 band combinations, or 384 band combinations. In some cases, a band combination may be referred to herein as a band configuration. The number of band combinations to be reported by the UE may be indicated by a capability inquiry. …).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Yan’s non-anchor carrier frequency offset indication to include Pant 's configuration of more secondary component carriers to achieve optimum throughput based on UE capability.
Regarding Claim 15, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 11.
Yet, Yan in view of Liberg does not expressly teach before indicating the location of the non-anchor carrier of the serving cell of the terminal in the frequency band, further comprising: configuring the anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier for the serving cell according to capacity information reported by the terminal, wherein the capacity information indicates a maximum number of carriers supported by the terminal.
However, in the analogous art, Pant explicitly discloses before indicating the location of the non-anchor carrier of the serving cell of the terminal in the frequency band, further comprising: configuring the anchor carrier and the non-anchor carrier for the serving cell according to capacity information reported by the terminal, wherein the capacity information indicates a maximum number of carriers supported by the terminal (paragraph 0111 discloses configuration of more secondary component carriers according to capability indication received from the UE – [0111] … The UE may report capability information indicating what kind of CA can be configured for the UE, such as particular band combinations supported by the UE. A band combination is a group of two or more bands on which component carriers can be configured. For example, E-UTRAN may initiate the UE capability transfer procedure described with regard to FIG. 3 in an RRC_CONNECTED state. Some wireless communication specifications may impose a limit on the number of band combinations that can be reported by the UE. Examples of limits on the number of band combinations include 128 band combinations, 256 band combinations, or 384 band combinations. In some cases, a band combination may be referred to herein as a band configuration. The number of band combinations to be reported by the UE may be indicated by a capability inquiry. …).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Yan’s non-anchor carrier frequency offset indication to include Pant 's configuration of more secondary component carriers to achieve optimum throughput based on UE capability.
Claims 7, 8 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yan et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2021/0067282), Yan hereinafter, in view of Liberg et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2022/0278785), Liberg hereinafter, and further in view of Rico et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2020/0029256), Rico hereinafter.
Regarding Claims 7 and 17, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 1 and 11.
Yet, Yan in view of Liberg does not expressly teach wherein performing the data transmission on the non-anchor carrier comprises one of: performing, random access on the non-anchor carrier, receiving a paging message on the non-anchor carrier, or receiving downlink data on the non-anchor carrier.
However, in the analogous art, Rico explicitly discloses wherein performing the data transmission on the non-anchor carrier comprises one of: performing, random access on the non-anchor carrier, receiving a paging message on the non-anchor carrier, or receiving downlink data on the non-anchor carrier (paragraph 0028 - FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of RRM for paging in a non-anchor carrier, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. ... ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Yan’s non-anchor carrier frequency offset indication to include Rico 's paging on non-anchor carrier to add more paging capacity and diversity.
Regarding Claim 8, Yan in view of Liberg teaches claim 1.
Yet, Yan in view of Liberg does not expressly teach further comprising: performing at least one of, radio resource management measurement, radio link monitoring measurement or beam management measurement using the non-anchor carrier.
However, in the analogous art, Rico explicitly discloses further comprising: performing at least one of, radio resource management measurement, radio link monitoring measurement or beam management measurement using the non-anchor carrier (paragraph 0064 - In some aspects, UE 120 may include means for receiving information indicating whether measurement is permitted on a non-anchor carrier; means for selectively performing a measurement on at least one of the non-anchor carrier).
The motivation regarding to the obviousness of claims 7 and 17 is also applied to claim 8.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. This includes:
U.S. PGPUB 2019/0363843 which describes next generation radio technologies
U.S. PGPUB 2020/0275289 which describes performing measurements in multicarrier operation
U.S. PGPUB 2022/0022222 which describes UE capabilities for supporting complementary bandwidth part operations in wireless communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE AYODELE OLUBODUN whose telephone number is (571)270-5462. The examiner can normally be reached 8.00am - 5pm.
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, Nicholas A. Jensen can be reached at 571-270-5443. 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.
/A.L.O./Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/ANDREW W CHRISS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472