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 .
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cirik et al. (US Publication 2022/0264688 A1).
In regards to claim 1, Cirik et al. (US Publication 2022/0264688 A1) teaches, a method of frequency band switching performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: acquiring a configuration of one or more first frequency bands and one or more second frequency bands (see paragraph 354; A base station may configure one SR resource per BWP); performing switching between the first frequency band and the second frequency band (see paragraph 434; Configuration of multiple BWPs may be used to reduce a wireless device power consumption. A wireless device configured to use an active BWP and a default BWP may switch to the default BWP, for example, if there is no activity on the active BWP. A default BWP may be configured to use a narrow bandwidth, and/or an active BWP may be configured to use a wide bandwidth. If there is no signal transmitting on or receiving from an active BWP, the wireless device may switch the BWP to the default BWP, which may reduce power consumption).
In regards to claim 2, Cirik teaches, wherein the first frequency band and the second frequency band have at least one of the following relationships: a ratio of a bandwidth of the first frequency band to a bandwidth of the second frequency band is greater than a first preset threshold; the frequency bands of the first frequency band and the second frequency band are not overlapped (see figure 27, BWP2 and BWP3 are not overlapped); the first frequency band and the second frequency band belong to a same bandwidth part BWP (see figure 27, BWP1)); the first frequency band and the second frequency band are two different bandwidth parts BWPs (see figure 27, BWP2 and BWP3); the first frequency band and the second frequency band have a same central frequency point; the first frequency band and the second frequency band share a same downlink physical control channel configuration; or the first frequency band and the second frequency band include both an uplink frequency band and a downlink frequency band or include only a downlink frequency band.
In regards to claim 3, Cirik teaches, wherein performing switching between the first frequency band and the second frequency band includes at least one of the following: based on a received first signaling, switching from the first frequency band to the second frequency band and/or switching from the second frequency band to the first frequency band; or when a first timer expires, performing switching from the first frequency band to the second frequency band (see paragraph 365; A BWP inactivity timer may be introduced to switch from an active BWP to the default BWP; see paragraph 265; A new timer (e.g., BWPDeactivationTimer) may be defined to deactivate the original BWP and/or switch to the default BWP); or when a physical downlink control channel PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission corresponding to traffic with a large amount of data is received on the second frequency band, performing switching from the second frequency band to the first frequency band (see paragraph 308; The BWP inactive timer may start, for example, if the wireless device switches to a new DL BWP. The timer may restart, for example, if a wireless device-specific PDCCH is successfully decoded, wherein the wireless device-specific PDCCH may be associated with a new transmission); or periodically switching between the first frequency band and the second frequency band (see paragraph 273; A semi-static pattern of BWP switching to default BWP may be performed, for example, if the configured BWP is associated with a different numerology from a default BWP. Switching to a default BWP may be performed, for example, to check RMSI at least periodically. Switching to a default BWP may be necessary particularly if BWPs use different numerologies).
In regards to claim 4, Cirik teaches, wherein the first timer is started or restarted when at least one of the following conditions is met: receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission (see paragraph 308; The timer may restart, for example, if a wireless device-specific PDCCH is successfully decoded indicating a new transmission); receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission and scrambled using a specific radio network temporary identifier RNTI value, the specific RNTI value corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data; receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission and in a specific PDCCH search space, the specific PDCCH search space corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data; receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission and in a specific control resource set CORESET, and the specific CORESET corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data; receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission and using a specific downlink control information DCI format, the specific DCI format corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data; receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission and with a scheduled transport block size TBS value exceeding a preset threshold; receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission and with the number of the allocated frequency domain resource blocks exceeding a preset threshold; or receiving, on the first frequency band, the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission and with the carried downlink control information DCI containing relevant information indicating that a traffic type is traffic with a large amount of data.
In regards to claim 5, Cirik teaches, wherein the PDCCH for scheduling new data transmission corresponding to traffic with a large amount of data includes at least one of the following: a PDCCH scrambled using a specific radio network temporary identifier RNTI value, the specific RNTI value corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data (see paragraph 429; A base station may perform CRC scrambling on a DCI, for example, before transmitting the DCI via a PDCCH. The base station may perform CRC scrambling, for example, by bit-wise addition (or, e.g., modulo-2 addition or exclusive OR (XOR) operation) of multiple bits of at least one wireless device identifier (e.g., C-RNTI, TC-RNTI, SI-RNTI, RA-RNTI, and the like) with the CRC bits of the DCI); a PDCCH in a specific PDCCH search space, the specific PDCCH search space corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data; a PDCCH in a specific control resource set CORESET, the specific CORESET corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data; a PDCCH using a specific downlink control information DCI format, and the specific DCI format corresponds to traffic with a large amount of data; a PDCCH with a scheduled transport block size TBS value exceeding a preset threshold; a PDCCH with the number of the scheduled frequency domain resource blocks exceeding a preset threshold; or a PDCCH with the carried downlink control information DCI containing relevant information indicating that a traffic type is traffic with a large amount of data.
In regards to claim 6, Cirik teaches, wherein if the user equipment is configured with a plurality of first frequency bands and/or a plurality of second frequency bands, performing switching of the first frequency bands and the second frequency bands includes: switching among the plurality of first frequency bands by the user equipment during a first frequency band active time; and/or switching among the plurality of second frequency bands by the user equipment during a second frequency band active time (see paragraph 305; Scheduling DCI for BWP switching may be configured per BWP group, in which an active BWP in the group may be switched to any other BWP in the group).
In regards to claim 7, Cirik teaches, wherein the periodically switching between the first frequency band and the second frequency band includes at least one of the following operations: no matter whether the current frequency band is the first frequency band or the second frequency band, when the corresponding active time ends, even if there is still unfinished data transmission on the current frequency band, immediately switching to another frequency band (see paragraph 350; For a logical channel and/or logical channel group that triggers a SR transmission while the wireless device operates in one active BWP, the corresponding SR may remain triggered based on BWP switching); or if the current frequency band is the second frequency band, when the corresponding second frequency band active time ends, even if there is still unfinished data transmission on the current frequency band, immediately switching to the first frequency band; or if the current frequency band is the first frequency band, when the corresponding first frequency band active time ends, if there is still unfinished data transmission on the first frequency band, determining whether to perform switching based on the priority of data transmission; or no matter whether the current frequency band is the first frequency band or the second frequency band, when the corresponding active time ends, if there is still unfinished data transmission on the current frequency band, determining whether to perform switching based on the priority of data transmission.
In regards to claim 9, Cirik teaches, the periodically switching between the first frequency band and the second frequency band further comprises: performing the corresponding switching between the first frequency band and the second frequency band based on a second signaling received in the first frequency band active time or the second frequency band active time of one frequency band cycle (see paragraph 437; The wireless device may start the BWP inactive timer and/or restart the sCellDeactivationTimer (e.g., if the wireless device receives a DCI indicating switching a BWP from BWP 1 to BWP 2), at the (n+8+k).sup.th subframe) , or adjusting at least one of the first frequency band active time and the second frequency band active time of the next frequency band cycle based on a third signaling received in the previous frequency band cycle (see paragraph 438; The wireless device may start the timer if the wireless devices switches its active DL BWP to a DL BWP other than the default DL BWP. The wireless device may restart the timer to the initial value if it successfully decodes a DCI to schedule PDSCH(s) in its active DL BWP. The wireless device may switch its active DL BWP to the default DL BWP if the BWP timer expires), or further introducing the first frequency band active time for a period of time in the current frequency band cycle based on a fourth signaling received in the second frequency band active time of the current frequency band cycle (see paragraph 435; If the wireless device receives a DCI indicating UL BWP switching from an active BWP to a new BWP, the wireless device may transmit PUCCH (e.g., if configured) and/or PUSCH on the new BWP, for example, after or in in response to receiving the DCI).
In regards to claim 10, Cirik teaches, wherein the second instruction is used to indicate at least one of the following: indicating the user equipment to switch from the first frequency band to the second frequency band immediately or after a first preset time (see paragraph 437; The wireless device may start the BWP inactive timer and/or restart the sCellDeactivationTimer (e.g., if the wireless device receives a DCI indicating switching a BWP from BWP 1 to BWP 2), at the (n+8+k).sup.th subframe); indicating the user equipment to switch from the second frequency band to the first frequency band immediately or after a second preset time; indicating the user equipment to postpone the next periodically switching point from the first frequency band to the second frequency band for a third preset time; indicating the user equipment to postpone the next periodically switching point from the second frequency band to the first frequency band for a fourth preset time.
In regards to claim 11, Cirik teaches, wherein the third signaling is used to indicate at least one of the following: indicating that at least one of the first frequency band active time and the second frequency band active time of the next frequency band cycle is extended by a fifth preset time (see paragraph 438; The wireless device may restart the timer to the initial value if it successfully decodes a DCI to schedule PDSCH(s) in its active DL BWP. The wireless device may switch its active DL BWP to the default DL BWP if the BWP timer expires), indicating that at least one of the first frequency band active time and the second frequency band active time of the next frequency band cycle is shortened by a sixth preset time.
In regards to claim 12, Cirik teaches,, wherein the fourth signaling is used to indicate the user equipment to switch from the second frequency band to the first frequency band immediately or after a seventh preset time, and switch back to the second frequency band after staying at the first frequency band for an eighth preset time (see paragraph 436; The wireless device may restart the timer to the initial value, for example, if it successfully decodes a DCI to schedule PDSCH(s) in its active DL BWP. The wireless device may switch its active DL BWP to the default DL BWP, for example, if the BWP timer expires).
In regards to claim 13, Cirik teaches,, further comprising: receiving downlink control information DCI before the starting position of the active time of each discontinuous reception DRX cycle, and determining an operation of the user equipment at the corresponding starting position of the active time based on the DCI, wherein the starting position of the active time is the position at which the user equipment periodically starts (see paragraph 301; Single scheduling a DCI to trigger active BWP switching may provide dynamic BWP adaptation for wireless device power saving during active state. Wireless device power saving during active state may occur for an ON duration, and/or if an inactivity timer is running and/or if C-DRX is configured. A wireless device may consume a significant amount of power monitoring PDCCH, without decoding any grant, for example if a C-DRX is enabled), and the downlink control information DCI includes an indication field for indicating at least one of the following: indicating that the user equipment does not need to start a discontinuous reception on- duration timer at the starting position of the active time; indicating the user equipment to start the discontinuous reception on-duration timer at the starting position of the active time, and monitor the physical downlink control channel PDCCH on the first frequency band (see paragraph 308; An on-duration of the BWP inactive timer may be configured and/or the timer may start, for example, if a wireless device-specific PDCCH is successfully decoded indicating a new transmission during the on-duration. The timer may restart, for example, if a wireless device-specific PDCCH is successfully decoded indicating a new transmission. The timer may stop, for example, if the wireless device is scheduled to switch to the default DL BWP. The BWP inactive timer may start, for example, if the wireless device switches to a new DL BWP); indicating the user equipment to start the discontinuous reception on-duration timer at the starting position of the active time, and monitor the physical downlink control channel PDCCH on the second frequency band.
In regards to claim 14, Cirik teaches,, further comprising: receiving discontinuous reception DRX configuration parameters carried by a higher layer signaling, and performing corresponding DRX operations according to the DRX configuration parameters (see paragraph 241; Either or both of a master base station and a secondary base station may know the SFN and subframe offset of each other by OAM, (e.g., for the purpose of DRX alignment and identification of a measurement gap). If a new SCG SCell is added, dedicated RRC signaling may be used for sending required system information of the cell, such as for CA, except, for example, for the SFN acquired from an MIB of the PSCell of an SCG), wherein the DRX configuration parameters include at least one of the following parameters: a duration T3 of one DRX cycle (see paragraph 312; The DRX inactivity timer may be set to a large value of 100-200 milliseconds for a C-DRX cycle of 320 milliseconds, which may be larger than the ON duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds)), a duration T4 of a high power consumption state of monitoring the downlink physical control channel PDCCH and transmitting data on the first frequency band, a duration T5 of a moderate power consumption state of monitoring the PDCCH and transmitting data on the second frequency band, or a duration T6 of a low power consumption state of stopping PDCCH monitoring.
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.
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cirik further in view of Lee et al. (US Publication 2022/0279527 A1.
In regards to claim 8, Cirik teaches the limitations of the parent claims as stated above.
Cirik also teaches in paragraph 359, “A logical channel/logical channel group mapped to a SR configuration in an active BWP may also be mapped to the SR configuration in another BWP to imply same or different information, such as numerology and/or TTI and priority. A MAC entity can be configured with a plurality of SR configurations within the same BWP. The plurality of the SR configurations may be on the same BWP, on different BWPs, or on different carriers. The numerology of the SR transmission may differ from the numerology that the logical channel/logical channel group that triggered the SR may be mapped to”.
Cirik however fails to teach, determining whether to perform switching based on the priority of data transmission. Thus, Cirik also fails to teach, wherein determining whether to perform switching based on the priority of data transmission includes: if the priority of data transmission is lower than or equal to a preset priority threshold, performing the frequency band switching; if the priority of data transmission is higher than the preset priority threshold, the user equipment performs the frequency band switching after finishing data transmission; or if the priority of data transmission is higher than the preset priority threshold, the user equipment skips this frequency band switching.
Lee et al. (US Publication 2022/0279527 A1) teaches, determining whether to perform switching based on the priority of data transmission and wherein determining whether to perform switching based on the priority of data transmission includes if the priority of data transmission is higher than the preset priority threshold, the user equipment skips this frequency band switching (see paragraph 390; it may be determined not to switch to the specific UL BWP based on that 1) a value of the UL priority is higher than a UL threshold and a value of the SL priority, and 2) the value of the SL priority is lower than or equal to a SL threshold).
Cirik and Lee and both related to BWP switching.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the use of priority to determine BWP switching as taught by Lee into the teachings of Cirik. The motivation to do would to implement QoS for an UL transmission that has priority but hasn’t had a chance to be finished before the expiration of the BWP switching timer.
Response to Amendment
Prior art Lal et al. (US Publication 2023/0276416 A1) teaches with respect to the switching, “switching the active BWP includes switching, such as by BWP control unit 28 in processing circuitry 42, processor 44, communication interface 34, radio interface 36, the active BWP using downlink control information, DCI. In another embodiment of this aspect, selecting a next BWP is further based on at least a trigger threshold predefined, such as by BWP control unit 28 in processing circuitry 42, processor 44, communication interface 34, radio interface 36, in the selected at least one use case. In yet another embodiment of this aspect, selecting at least one use case is further based on a use case priority. The use case priority includes at least one of a predefined importance of the at least one use case and a quality of service, QoS, threshold” (see paragraph 85).
Prior art Chen et al. (US Publication 2024/0292328 A1) teaches with respect to figure 6, “In Block 620, if at least one SDT related timer is not running on the first SDT BWP, the UE switches from the first SDT BWP to a second SDT BWP for receiving at least one of updated system information (SI) or public warning system (PWS) information from the network. If at least one SDT related timer is not running on a current SDT BWP, it means it is likely that the UE may not need the SDT for data transmission any more, and meanwhile the UE may switch to a SDT BWP that occupies less frequency/time-domain resources to receive the updated SI or the PWS information” (see paragraph 64).
Conclusion
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/JAY P PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466