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
This action is in response to the application filed on May 12, 2026
Claims 1-20 are under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BHAMRI et al (US 2020/0382157 A1) in view of Liu et al. (US 2017/0063503 A1).
As per Claim 1BHAMRI teaches a communication method, comprising:
receiving first indication information from a network device, wherein the first indication information indicates a first time interval (Paragraph 0005 receives, from the base station, a hopping pattern indicator specifying a hopping pattern, a hopping pattern being an order of the plurality of bandwidth parts by which the signal is to be received or transmitted in a plurality of transmission time intervals, TTIs. ), the first time interval is an interval between an end time point of a first signal and a start time point of a second signal, the first signal and the second signal are both sent in a bandwidth part (BWP) (Paragraph 0033, 0034 TTI (Transmission Time Interval) determines the timing granularity for scheduling assignment. One TTI is the time interval in which given signals is mapped to the physical layer. The TTI length can vary from 14-symbols (slot-based scheduling) to up to 2-symbols (non-slot based scheduling). Downlink and uplink transmissions are specified to be organized into frames (10 ms duration) consisting of 10 subframes (1 ms duration). The size of a BWP can vary from a minimum of 1 PRB to the maximum size of system bandwidth. Currently, up to four BWPs can be configured by higher layer parameters for each DL (downlink) and UL (uplink), with a single active downlink and uplink BWP in a given TTI (transmission time interval). ), the first signal corresponds to a first filter parameter, the second signal corresponds to a second filter parameter, the first filter parameter is different from the second filter parameter (Paragraph 0030, 0033, 0037, 0051 Currently, up to four BWPs can be configured by higher layer parameters for each DL (downlink) and UL (uplink), with a single active downlink and uplink BWP in a given TTI (transmission time interval). A DCI carries transmission parameters such as MCS, redundancy version or HARQ process number. A DCI consists of several field (e.g., bit fields/bitmaps) carrying different types of control information or control parameters. The location of a certain parameter, and the number of bits coding the respective parameter are known to the base station transmitting the DCI and the UE receiving the DCI. ), the first time interval is related to a switching duration of a terminal device, and the switching duration is a duration needed for a filter of the terminal device to switch from the first filter parameter to the second filter parameter(Paragraph 0028, 0030, 0034, It is proposed to use bandwidth part switching, e.g., for retransmission and repetition of data and control channels, to achieve frequency diversity gains and consequently improve reliability. Especially, when the BWP is narrow, the diversity gains within the BWP could be very limited. In such cases, it can be quite useful to increase the diversity gains by allowing hopping between BWPs. TTI (Transmission Time Interval) determines the timing granularity for scheduling assignment. One TTI is the time interval in which given signals is mapped to the physical layer. The TTI length can vary from 14-symbols (slot-based scheduling) to up to 2-symbols (non-slot based scheduling). Downlink and uplink transmissions are specified to be organized into frames (10 ms duration) consisting of 10 subframes (1 ms duration).)
determining a first bandwidth of the filter based on at least two subbands comprising uplink and downlink transmission directions, the first bandwidth being less than an active BWP or component carrier (CC) (Paragraph 0032, 0033, 0036, 0037 A resource block is generally defined as 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Physical resource blocks (PRB) are numbered within a BWP, the PRB numbering of for the BWP starting from 0. The size of a BWP can vary from a minimum of 1 PRB to the maximum size of system bandwidth. Currently, up to four BWPs can be configured by higher layer parameters for each DL (downlink) and UL (uplink), with a single active downlink and uplink BWP in a given TTI (transmission time interval). However, the disclosure is not limited to the case defined in TS 38.211 of a UE being configured with up to four bandwidth parts. The number of bandwidth parts may be greater than 4 in the uplink and/or downlink. For example, a UE may be configured with 8 BWPs.); sending third indication information to the terminal device, wherein the third indication
information indicates the first bandwidth (Paragraph 0033, 0034, 0042Currently, up to four BWPs can be configured by higher layer parameters for each DL (downlink) and UL (uplink), with a single active downlink and uplink BWP in a given TTI (transmission time interval). ).
However BHAMRI does not explicitly disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal.
Liu disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and (Paragraph 0038, 0041, 0053 The network may use reconfiguration signals to configure the UE to adapt the filter according to environment changes. A network component may often adapt its activity or go through transitions. UE actions may include resetting filter states for interference estimation, CSI measurements, and RSRQ measurements, and adjusting estimation and/or filtering parameters to adapt to an interference condition change. ) receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal (Paragraph 0094, 0095, 0106 When the UE receives a first starting time trigger, the UE starts the measurement. When the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting, and the UE resets the measurement process accordingly. With either one or multiple time intervals, the UE generates one or more measurement reports according to the measurement process configuration and reporting configuration. The periodicity signaling may be sent at the starting time of the first time interval so that the UE can obtain both the periodicity and starting time from one signaling. In time division duplex (TDD) systems, probing may be used similarly, but the timing and/or latency may be different from frequency division duplex (FDD). The reporting may be periodic reporting, aperiodic reporting based on a probing trigger, subband reporting. Probing resources may be configured differently from different subbands to experiment with different configurations at the same time. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify BHAMRI with the teachings of Liu in order to the make the system more efficient. Because when the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting.. (see Liu Paragraph 0095).
As per Claim 2 BHAMRI-Liu teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the first time interval is greater than or equal to the switching duration; or the first time interval is greater than or equal to a sum T′ of the switching duration and first duration (Paragraph 0028 0037 The active bandwidth part for a user equipment (e.g., the bandwidth part to be used by a UE for transmission and reception of signals in a TTI), can be switched among the configured BWPs. For instance, depending on current needs, the active BWP may be switched to a larger BWP, or, in order to save battery power for the UE, to a smaller BWP. utilization of frequency/time diversity for retransmission/repetition of DL/UL data to improve the reliability in NR is considered. It is proposed to use bandwidth part switching, e.g., for retransmission and repetition of data and control channels, to achieve frequency diversity gains and consequently improve reliability. Especially, when the BWP is narrow, the diversity gains within the BWP could be very limited. In such cases, it can be quite useful to increase the diversity gains by allowing hopping between BWPs. ).
However BHAMRI does not explicitly disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal.
Liu disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and (Paragraph 0038, 0041, 0053 The network may use reconfiguration signals to configure the UE to adapt the filter according to environment changes. A network component may often adapt its activity or go through transitions. UE actions may include resetting filter states for interference estimation, CSI measurements, and RSRQ measurements, and adjusting estimation and/or filtering parameters to adapt to an interference condition change. ) receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal (Paragraph 0094, 0095, 0106 When the UE receives a first starting time trigger, the UE starts the measurement. When the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting, and the UE resets the measurement process accordingly. With either one or multiple time intervals, the UE generates one or more measurement reports according to the measurement process configuration and reporting configuration. The periodicity signaling may be sent at the starting time of the first time interval so that the UE can obtain both the periodicity and starting time from one signaling. In time division duplex (TDD) systems, probing may be used similarly, but the timing and/or latency may be different from frequency division duplex (FDD). The reporting may be periodic reporting, aperiodic reporting based on a probing trigger, subband reporting. Probing resources may be configured differently from different subbands to experiment with different configurations at the same time. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify BHAMRI with the teachings of Liu in order to the make the system more efficient. Because when the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting.. (see Liu Paragraph 0095).
As per Claim 3 BHAMRI-Liu teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the filter is configured to filter a signal on a first time-frequency resource, the first time-frequency resource belongs to a second time-frequency resource, a time domain resource corresponding to the first time-frequency resource is the same as a time domain resource corresponding to the second time-frequency resource, a frequency domain resource corresponding to the second time-frequency resource comprises at least two subbands, a frequency domain resource corresponding to the first time-frequency resource is a first subband in the at least two subbands, wherein the first bandwidth is greater than or equal to a bandwidth occupied by the first subband in the bandwidth part (BWP), and the method further comprises filtering the first time-frequency resource through the filter (Paragraph 0046, 0075, 0078 Moreover at least one of the BWPs to which TTIs are mapped in the second hopping pattern may be different from the bandwidth parts to which TTIs are mapped by the first hopping pattern, according to this disclosure, the TTIs of a BWP hopping pattern, e.g., the TTIs to which BWPs are mapped by the hopping pattern, need not be adjacent TTIs in the time domain. From a previous TTI to a next/subsequent TTI to which BWPs are assigned by the BWP hopping pattern, the active BWP is switched from the previous BWP to the next TTI. Subsequent TTIs in which the signal is transmitted according to the BWP hopping pattern need not be temporally consecutive, e.g., the TTIs of a BWP hopping pattern, e.g., the TTIs to which BWPs are mapped by the hopping pattern, need not be adjacent (e.g., consecutive) TTIs in the time domain. ).
However BHAMRI does not explicitly disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal.
Liu disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and (Paragraph 0038, 0041, 0053 The network may use reconfiguration signals to configure the UE to adapt the filter according to environment changes. A network component may often adapt its activity or go through transitions. UE actions may include resetting filter states for interference estimation, CSI measurements, and RSRQ measurements, and adjusting estimation and/or filtering parameters to adapt to an interference condition change. ) receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal (Paragraph 0094, 0095, 0106 When the UE receives a first starting time trigger, the UE starts the measurement. When the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting, and the UE resets the measurement process accordingly. With either one or multiple time intervals, the UE generates one or more measurement reports according to the measurement process configuration and reporting configuration. The periodicity signaling may be sent at the starting time of the first time interval so that the UE can obtain both the periodicity and starting time from one signaling. In time division duplex (TDD) systems, probing may be used similarly, but the timing and/or latency may be different from frequency division duplex (FDD). The reporting may be periodic reporting, aperiodic reporting based on a probing trigger, subband reporting. Probing resources may be configured differently from different subbands to experiment with different configurations at the same time. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify BHAMRI with the teachings of Liu in order to the make the system more efficient. Because when the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting.. (see Liu Paragraph 0095).
As per Claim 4 BHAMRI-Liu teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the first bandwidth is a minimum filter bandwidth that is in a filter bandwidth supported by the terminal device and that is greater than or equal to the bandwidth occupied by the first subband in the BWP (Paragraph 0049, 0053, 0085 As shown in FIG. 5, there is a BWP hopping time (or BWP switching time) between two subsequent TTIs. Such a hopping time is not present in LTE systems. However, a hopping time is required for the recalibration of the communication device (e.g., the hardware such as filters and oscillators) to another BWP. For example, if the bandwidth is 100 MHz, and the BWP to or from which the communication device is switched. On the other hand the narrower BWPs may also be used for the more previous transmissions, in order to require a larger bandwidth for a process only in the case that several retransmissions or repetitions are needed., in order to exploit the frequency diversity, BWPs to be used in two subsequent TTIs should be spaced sufficiently apart from each other, e.g., they should have a sufficiently large bandwidth interval between each other.).
However BHAMRI does not explicitly disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal.
Liu disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and (Paragraph 0038, 0041, 0053 The network may use reconfiguration signals to configure the UE to adapt the filter according to environment changes. A network component may often adapt its activity or go through transitions. UE actions may include resetting filter states for interference estimation, CSI measurements, and RSRQ measurements, and adjusting estimation and/or filtering parameters to adapt to an interference condition change. ) receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal (Paragraph 0094, 0095, 0106 When the UE receives a first starting time trigger, the UE starts the measurement. When the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting, and the UE resets the measurement process accordingly. With either one or multiple time intervals, the UE generates one or more measurement reports according to the measurement process configuration and reporting configuration. The periodicity signaling may be sent at the starting time of the first time interval so that the UE can obtain both the periodicity and starting time from one signaling. In time division duplex (TDD) systems, probing may be used similarly, but the timing and/or latency may be different from frequency division duplex (FDD). The reporting may be periodic reporting, aperiodic reporting based on a probing trigger, subband reporting. Probing resources may be configured differently from different subbands to experiment with different configurations at the same time. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify BHAMRI with the teachings of Liu in order to the make the system more efficient. Because when the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting.. (see Liu Paragraph 0095).
As per Claim 5 BHAMRI-Liu teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises: receiving second indication information from the network device, wherein the second indication information indicates a first filtering mode in a plurality of filtering modes, and the first filtering mode is for triggering the terminal device to determine the first bandwidth; or using configuration information from the network device, wherein the configuration information comprises a time division duplexing configuration configured by the network device for the terminal device, the time division duplexing configuration corresponds to the first filtering mode, and the first filtering mode is for triggering the terminal device to determine the first bandwidth (Paragraph 0005, 0049, the techniques disclosed here feature a communication device for receiving or transmitting a signal from/to a base station in a wireless communication system in at least one of a plurality of bandwidth parts, a bandwidth part being formed by at least one physical resource block. The communication device comprises a transceiver which, in operation, receives, from the base station, a hopping pattern indicator specifying a hopping pattern, a hopping pattern being an order of the plurality of bandwidth parts by which the signal is to be received or transmitted in a plurality of transmission time intervals, TTIs. However, a hopping time is required for the recalibration of the communication device (e.g., the hardware such as filters and oscillators) to another BWP. For example, if the bandwidth is 100 MHz, and the BWP to or from which the communication device is switched, the hopping time or switching time may be one or a few hundred microseconds. Depending, for example, on the resolution of the filters, different communication devices/user equipments may allow for different hopping/switching times. Accordingly, a base station may define the hopping time in dependent on the communication devices which are currently registered in the cell which is served by the base station.).
However BHAMRI does not explicitly disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal.
Liu disclose and for the terminal device to adapt to the second filter parameter and (Paragraph 0038, 0041, 0053 The network may use reconfiguration signals to configure the UE to adapt the filter according to environment changes. A network component may often adapt its activity or go through transitions. UE actions may include resetting filter states for interference estimation, CSI measurements, and RSRQ measurements, and adjusting estimation and/or filtering parameters to adapt to an interference condition change.) receiving or sending the second signal at least after the first time interval elapses after the first signal (Paragraph 0094, 0095, 0106 When the UE receives a first starting time trigger, the UE starts the measurement. When the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting, and the UE resets the measurement process accordingly. With either one or multiple time intervals, the UE generates one or more measurement reports according to the measurement process configuration and reporting configuration. The periodicity signaling may be sent at the starting time of the first time interval so that the UE can obtain both the periodicity and starting time from one signaling. In time division duplex (TDD) systems, probing may be used similarly, but the timing and/or latency may be different from frequency division duplex (FDD). The reporting may be periodic reporting, aperiodic reporting based on a probing trigger, subband reporting. Probing resources may be configured differently from different subbands to experiment with different configurations at the same time. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify BHAMRI with the teachings of Liu in order to the make the system more efficient. Because when the UE receives a second starting time trigger, the UE understands that the first time interval is ending and the second time interval is starting.. (see Liu Paragraph 0095).
Claims 6-20 are the methods and apparatus claims corresponding to the method claims 1-5 that have been rejected above. Applicant attention is directed to the rejection of claims 1-5. Claims 6-20 are rejected under the same rational as claims 1-5.
Response to Argument(s)
Applicant's argument(s) filed on May 12, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Therefore, the rejection is maintained.
In the remarks, at page 11-12 the Applicant argues in substance that:
(A) " Bhamri does state that "a base station may define the hopping time in dependent on the communication devices which are currently registered in the cell," but this addresses how a base station internally accounts for hopping time when designing the hopping pattern - it does not teach that the base station indicates a time interval to the terminal device, or that such an indicated interval is deliberately tied to the
terminal's filter switching duration. Bhamri's hopping pattern indicator communicates BWP sequencing information, which is fundamentally different from the claimed first indication information that communicates a time interval related to the terminal's switching duration, and the Office Action's mapping conflates these two distinct concepts. The Office Action does not indicate that Liu cures the deficiencies of Bhamri discussed above and, indeed, Liu does not cure the deficiencies of Bhamri. Therefore, Bhamri in view of Liu does not teach or suggest "wherein the first indication information indicates a first time interval.., the first time interval is related to a switching duration of a terminal device" as recited in claim 1. Regarding the feature "determining a first bandwidth of the filter based on at least two subbands comprising uplink and downlink transmission directions, the first bandwidth being less than an active BWP or component carrier", this limitation requires two elements that are absent
from Bhamri: (1) at least two subbands whose transmission directions comprise both uplink and downlink - the hallmark of subband full duplex (SBFD) - and (2) a filter bandwidth less than the active BWP or component carrier. Bhamri is directed to BWP hopping, in which a terminal sequentially switches its active BWP from one to another across different TTIs. In Bhamri's system, only a single active BWP is used in any given TTI; the concept of dividing a single time slot's frequency domain into subbands that simultaneously carry uplink and downlink traffic does not appear anywhere.
(B) Therefore, Bhamri in view of Liu does not teach or suggest "wherein the first indication information indicates a first time interval..
Response
In response, Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant’s representative’s assertions. The Examiner has thoroughly reviewed Applicants' arguments but firmly believes that the cited references teaches claim limitation. Bhamri and Liu explicitly discloses bandwidth part which includes different transmission directions. BWP used for uplink transmission is referred to as an uplink BWP, a BWP used for downlink transmission is referred to as a downlink BWP, a subband used for uplink transmission is referred to as an uplink subband, and a subband used for downlink transmission is referred to as a downlink subband. An uplink subband used for uplink transmission and a downlink subband used for downlink transmission, so that frequency ranges that can be used for uplink transmission at different moments may be different. .. An example from Liu (Paragraph 0074, 0114 Probing resources may be configured differently from different subbands to experiment with different configurations at the same time. The signaling may indicate to a UE the RBs, subbands, RBGs, and/or virtual component carriers (CCs) on which the UE is to perform probing measurements based on the P-RS. (Paragraph 0117 The frequency unit may be RBs, subbands, RBGs, or virtual CCs. The following description is for RB bundling but may apply to more generic cases. In RB bundling, a few RBs (e.g., 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, or more) may be bundled as one pre-scheduling unit and scheduling unit. .).
An example from Bhamri (Paragraph 0018, 0028, 0033 for retransmission and repetition of data and control channels, to achieve frequency diversity gains and consequently improve reliability. Especially, when the BWP is narrow, the diversity gains within the BWP could be very limited. In such cases, it can be quite useful to increase the diversity gains by allowing hopping between BWPs. A new DCI (downlink control information) format (or new DCI formats) that has a smaller DCI payload size than DCI format 0-0 and DCI format 1-0 unicast data; second, for a given carrier, PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) repetitions over same or multiple PDCCH monitoring occasion(s) of the same or multiple CORESET (Configuration Resource Set) and search space, and, third, handling of UL (uplink) multiplexing of transmission with different reliability requirements (including the potential need for UL UE (user equipment) pre-emption). The size of a BWP can vary from a minimum of 1 PRB to the maximum size of system bandwidth. Currently, up to four BWPs can be configured by higher layer parameters for each DL (downlink) and UL (uplink), with a single active downlink and uplink BWP in a given TTI (transmission time interval). However, the disclosure is not limited to the case defined in TS 38.211 of a UE being configured with up to four bandwidth parts. The number of bandwidth parts may be greater than 4 in the uplink and/or downlink. For example, a UE may be configured with 8 BWPs.
(B) Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant’s representative’s assertions. Bhamri discloses the communication device comprises a transceiver which, in operation, receives, from the base station, a hopping pattern indicator specifying a hopping pattern, a hopping pattern being an order of the plurality of bandwidth parts by which the signal is to be received or transmitted in a plurality of transmission time intervals, TTIs. The communication device comprises circuitry which, in operation, evaluates the hopping pattern indicator to determine the hopping pattern. The transceiver, in operation, receives or transmits the signal in the plurality of TTIs according to the hopping pattern. An example from Bhamri (Paragraph 0034 TTI (Transmission Time Interval) determines the timing granularity for scheduling assignment. One TTI is the time interval in which given signals is mapped to the physical layer. The TTI length can vary from 14-symbols (slot-based scheduling) to up to 2-symbols (non-slot based scheduling). Downlink and uplink transmissions are specified to be organized into frames (10 ms duration) consisting of 10 subframes (1 ms duration). In slot-based transmission, a subframe, in return, is divided into slots, the number of slots being defined by the numerology/subcarrier spacing and the specified values range between 10 slots for a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz to 320 slots for a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. The number of OFDM symbols per slot is 14 for normal cyclic prefix and 12 for extended cyclic prefix (see section 4.1 (general frame structure), 4.2 (Numerologies), 4.3.1 (frames and subframes) and 4.3.2 (slots) of the 3GPP TS 38.211 V15.0.0 (December 2017). However, transmission may also be non-slot based. In non slot-based communication, the minimum length of a TTI may be 2 OFDM symbols. )
Therefore, Bhamri and Liu reference teaches the claim limitation as currently presented.
Examiner’s Note
Examiner is open for discussion if the applicant’s representative need further clarifications.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL
Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/SYED ALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
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