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, 3, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Babaei (US 2023/0371046).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Babaei discloses a method of a terminal (Figure 21, UE; Figure 15 and paragraph 95, user equipment), the method comprising and the terminal comprising:
at least one processor (Figure 15, processor 1540),
wherein the at least one processor cause the terminal to:
performing a monitoring operation to receive bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information for multicast broadcast service (MBS) communication from a base station (Paragraph 148, a UE registered with an MBS service may monitor the multicast control channel (e.g., MCCH) and follow scheduling information and process the multicast traffic channel (e.g., MTCH) transmission for their target services without leaving their RRC states; Figure 21 and paragraph 149, a UE may receive one or more messages comprising MBS configuration parameters…a logical channel carrying the MBS configuration parameters may be a multicast control channel (e.g., MCCH, e.g., SC-MCCH); Paragraph 152, the multicast broadcast configuration parameters may further comprise information about the BWP and/or CORESET used for reception of a multicast broadcast data or for receiving the scheduling information for the reception of the multicast broadcast data; Paragraph 129, the configuration of the MBS service(s) that the UE is interested in may be transmitted to UE. The network may transmit information to the UEs by a broadcasting message (e.g., SIB and/or MCCH) or a dedicated RRC message…the frequency resource, e.g., multicast BWP, may be configured for multicast reception, e.g., via SIB or MCCH);
in response to receiving the BWP configuration information from the base station, determining a MBS frequency region for the MBS communication based on the BWP configuration information (Paragraph 129, the frequency resource, e.g., multicast BWP, may be configured for multicast reception, e.g., via SIB or MCCH. If not, the default may be the initial BWP);
receiving downlink control information (DCI) including scheduling information of the MBS communication from the base station (Figure 21 and paragraph 157, receiving scheduling information, via downlink control signaling, indicating radio resources for reception of the first multicast broadcast data. The UE may receive the downlink control signaling via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)); and
performing the MBS communication with the base station by using a frequency resource indicated by the scheduling information in the MBS frequency region (Figure 21, 1st MBS data received by UE from gNB on resource scheduled by PDCCH),
wherein the MBS communication is communication between the base station and a plurality of terminals including the terminal (Paragraph 135, multiple concurrent MBS services with different traffic patterns, bandwidths, and latency and reliability requirements may be provided to a UE or by the RAN to a plurality of UEs), and
wherein when the BWP configuration information for configuring the MBS frequency region for the MBS communication is not received from the base station, a frequency region in which a control resource set 0 (CORESET0) is configured is considered as the MBS frequency region (Paragraph 129, the broadcast (e.g., SIB and/or MCCH) based mechanism may be used to enable the MBS configuration for UEs in RRC_IDLE/RRC_INACTIVE states. In some examples, the frequency resource, e.g., multicast BWP, may be configured for multicast reception, e.g., via SIB or MCCH. If not, the default may be the initial BWP. Control resource set (CORESET) and related common search space (CSS) set for multicast scheduling may be configured jointly or separately for MCCH and MTCH. If not, the default may be CORESET0 and Type0 CSS set).
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Babaei discloses wherein the DCI is scrambled by a common radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) for the MBS communication (Paragraph 130, A single PDCCH with CRC scrambled by G-RNTI may be used to indicate the PDSCH associated with the same G-RNTI for a group of UEs. Compared with per-UE PDCCH with C-RNTI, PDCCH with G-RNTI may reduce the PDCCH overhead. A UE may monitor PDCCH with CRC scrambled by G-RNTI, which may schedule PDSCH scrambled by G-RNTI).
Regarding claim 7, Babaei discloses wherein when the BWP configuration information is not received from the base station and the CORESET0 is not configured, the MBS frequency region is configured as a frequency region of an initial BWP (Paragraph 129, . In some examples, the frequency resource, e.g., multicast BWP, may be configured for multicast reception, e.g., via SIB or MCCH. If not, the default may be the initial BWP. Control resource set (CORESET) and related common search space (CSS) set for multicast scheduling may be configured jointly or separately for MCCH and MTCH. If not, the default may be CORESET0 and Type0 CSS set).
Regarding claim 8, Babaei discloses a method of a base station (Figure 21, gNB), the method comprising:
transmitting bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information for multicast broadcast service (MBS) communication to a terminal (Paragraph 148, a UE registered with an MBS service may monitor the multicast control channel (e.g., MCCH) and follow scheduling information and process the multicast traffic channel (e.g., MTCH) transmission for their target services without leaving their RRC states; Figure 21 and paragraph 149, a UE may receive one or more messages comprising MBS configuration parameters…a logical channel carrying the MBS configuration parameters may be a multicast control channel (e.g., MCCH, e.g., SC-MCCH) [UE receives MBS configuration parameters from gNB]; Paragraph 152, the multicast broadcast configuration parameters may further comprise information about the BWP and/or CORESET used for reception of a multicast broadcast data or for receiving the scheduling information for the reception of the multicast broadcast data; Paragraph 129, the configuration of the MBS service(s) that the UE is interested in may be transmitted to UE. The network may transmit information to the UEs by a broadcasting message (e.g., SIB and/or MCCH) or a dedicated RRC message…the frequency resource, e.g., multicast BWP, may be configured for multicast reception, e.g., via SIB or MCCH);
transmitting downlink control information (DCI) including scheduling information of the MBS communication to the terminal (Figure 21 and paragraph 157, receiving scheduling information, via downlink control signaling, indicating radio resources for reception of the first multicast broadcast data. The UE may receive the downlink control signaling via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) [gNB transmits PDCCH to UE]); and
performing the MBS communication with the terminal by using a frequency resource indicated by the scheduling information within the MBS frequency region indicated by the BWP configuration (Figure 21, 1st MBS data received by UE from gNB on resource scheduled by PDCCH and based on MBS configuration parameters; Paragraph 129, multicast reception by UE from gNB on configured frequency resource, e.g. multicast BWP, and configured CORESET),
wherein the MBS communication is communication between the base station and a plurality of terminals including the terminal (Paragraph 135, multiple concurrent MBS services with different traffic patterns, bandwidths, and latency and reliability requirements may be provided to a UE or by the RAN to a plurality of UEs), and
wherein when the BWP configuration information for configuring the MBS frequency region for the MBS communication is not transmitted to the terminal, a frequency region in which a control resource set 0 (CORESET0) is configured is considered as the MBS frequency region (Paragraph 129, the broadcast (e.g., SIB and/or MCCH) based mechanism may be used to enable the MBS configuration for UEs in RRC_IDLE/RRC_INACTIVE states. In some examples, the frequency resource, e.g., multicast BWP, may be configured for multicast reception, e.g., via SIB or MCCH. If not, the default may be the initial BWP. Control resource set (CORESET) and related common search space (CSS) set for multicast scheduling may be configured jointly or separately for MCCH and MTCH. If not, the default may be CORESET0 and Type0 CSS set).
Regarding claim 11, Babaei discloses wherein the DCI is scrambled by a common radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) for the MBS communication (Paragraph 130, A single PDCCH with CRC scrambled by G-RNTI may be used to indicate the PDSCH associated with the same G-RNTI for a group of UEs. Compared with per-UE PDCCH with C-RNTI, PDCCH with G-RNTI may reduce the PDCCH overhead. A UE may monitor PDCCH with CRC scrambled by G-RNTI, which may schedule PDSCH scrambled by G-RNTI).
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim(s) 2, 4-6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Babaei as applied to claims 1, 7, 9 and 14 above, and further in view of Zhou et al. (US 2023/0199739).
Regarding claims 2, 10 and 15, Babaei discloses the claimed invention above but does not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Zhou et al.: wherein a starting position of the MBS frequency region indicated by the BWP configuration information is indicated with reference to a Point A (Zhou et al., Abstract, radio resource control (RRC) messages comprising parameters of multicast and broadcast services (MBS) on a cell comprising a first bandwidth part (BWP) and a second BWP, wherein the parameters indicate: a first starting resource block (RB) of first RBs, within the first BWP, that are first common frequency resources for the MBS; a second starting RB of second RBs, within the second BWP, that are second common frequency resources for the MBS; Paragraphs 277-281, 315, starting RB of the BWP; Paragraph 331, starting frequency position).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Babaei with the cited disclosure from Zhou et al. in order to locate/determine common frequency resources for MBS transmission without misalignment among a group of wireless devices (Zhou et al., Paragraph 277).
Regarding claims 4, 12 and 17, Babaei discloses the claimed invention above but does not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Zhou et al.: wherein a number of bits of frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) in the scheduling information is determined based on a number of resource blocks (RBs) included in the MBS frequency region configured based on the BWP configuration information (Zhou et al., Paragraph 276, the FDRA field (e.g., the size of the FDRA field depending on a type of resource allocation, e.g., resource allocation type 0, resource allocation type 1). The FDRA field may indicate a number of the one or more RBs within the BWP; Paragraph 77, interpret a FDRA field of a group common DCI based on its UE-specific BWP configuration parameters (e.g., the starting RB of the BWP, the bandwidth of the BWP, etc.); Paragraph 283, he wireless device may determine a location and a size of the one or more RBs, of the group common PDSCH resource, based on the starting RB of the CFR and a FDRA field of the group common DCI).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Babaei with the cited disclosure from Zhou et al. in order to locate/determine common frequency resources for MBS transmission without misalignment among a group of wireless devices (Zhou et al., Paragraph 277).
Regarding claims 5 and 13, Babaei discloses the claimed invention above but does not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Zhou et al.: wherein the BWP configuration information further includes information indicating rate-matching for the MBS frequency region, and downlink data in the MBS communication is obtained by performing the rate-matching for the MBS frequency region (Zhou et al., Paragraph 309, a base station may transmit to a wireless device one or more RRC messages comprising configuration parameters of one or more MBS BWPs of a plurality of BWPs of a cell… the configuration parameters of an MBS BWP may comprise at least one of:…rate match pattern indications).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Babaei with the cited disclosure from Zhou et al. in order to locate/determine common frequency resources for MBS transmission without misalignment among a group of wireless devices (Zhou et al., Paragraph 277).
Regarding claims 6 and 18, Babaei discloses the claimed invention above but does not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Zhou et al.: wherein a number of bits of frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) in the scheduling information is determined based on a number of resource blocks (RBs) included in the MBS frequency region (Zhou et al., Paragraph 276, the FDRA field (e.g., the size of the FDRA field depending on a type of resource allocation, e.g., resource allocation type 0, resource allocation type 1). The FDRA field may indicate a number of the one or more RBs within the BWP; Paragraph 77, interpret a FDRA field of a group common DCI based on its UE-specific BWP configuration parameters (e.g., the starting RB of the BWP, the bandwidth of the BWP, etc.); Paragraph 283, he wireless device may determine a location and a size of the one or more RBs, of the group common PDSCH resource, based on the starting RB of the CFR and a FDRA field of the group common DCI) configured based on the CORESET0 (Zhou et al., Paragraph 257, a pdcch-ConfigSIB1 may comprise a first parameter (e.g., controlResourceSetZero) indicating a common ControlResourceSet (CORESET) with ID #0 (e.g., CORESET #0) of an initial BWP of the cell. controlResourceSetZero may be an integer between 0 and 15. Each integer between 0 and 15 may identify a configuration of CORESET #0. FIG. 23B shows an example of a configuration of CORESET #0. As shown in FIG. 23B, based on a value of the integer of controlResourceSetZero, a wireless device may determine a SSB and CORESET #0 multiplexing pattern, a number of RBs for CORESET #0, a number of symbols for CORESET #0, a RB offset for CORESET #0), and the frequency resource indicated by the FDRA is limited within the frequency region of the CORESET0 (Zhou et al., Paragraph 263, The network configures the common ControlResourceSet in SIB1 so that it is contained in the bandwidth of CORESET #0).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Babaei with the cited disclosure from Zhou et al. in order to locate/determine common frequency resources for MBS transmission without misalignment among a group of wireless devices (Zhou et al., Paragraph 277).
Regarding claim 8, Babaei discloses the claimed invention above but does not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Zhou et al.: wherein a number of bits of frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) in the scheduling information is determined based on a number of resource blocks (RBs) included in the MBS frequency region (Zhou et al., Paragraph 276, the FDRA field (e.g., the size of the FDRA field depending on a type of resource allocation, e.g., resource allocation type 0, resource allocation type 1). The FDRA field may indicate a number of the one or more RBs within the BWP; Paragraph 77, interpret a FDRA field of a group common DCI based on its UE-specific BWP configuration parameters (e.g., the starting RB of the BWP, the bandwidth of the BWP, etc.); Paragraph 283, he wireless device may determine a location and a size of the one or more RBs, of the group common PDSCH resource, based on the starting RB of the CFR and a FDRA field of the group common DCI) configured based on the initial BWP (Zhou et al., Paragraph 257, a pdcch-ConfigSIB1 may comprise a first parameter (e.g., controlResourceSetZero) indicating a common ControlResourceSet (CORESET) with ID #0 (e.g., CORESET #0) of an initial BWP of the cell), and the frequency resource indicated by the FDRA is limited within the frequency region of the initial BWP (Zhou et al., Paragraph 274, The frequency resources configured in the BWP may be resource blocks common to a group of wireless devices configured with the MBS. The BWP may be an initial BWP of a cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Babaei with the cited disclosure from Zhou et al. in order to locate/determine common frequency resources for MBS transmission without misalignment among a group of wireless devices (Zhou et al., Paragraph 277).
Regarding claim 19, Babaei discloses the claimed invention as well as wherein when the BWP configuration information is not received from the base station and the CORESET0 is not configured, the MBS frequency region is configured as a frequency region of an initial BWP (Babaei, Paragraph 129, . In some examples, the frequency resource, e.g., multicast BWP, may be configured for multicast reception, e.g., via SIB or MCCH. If not, the default may be the initial BWP. Control resource set (CORESET) and related common search space (CSS) set for multicast scheduling may be configured jointly or separately for MCCH and MTCH. If not, the default may be CORESET0 and Type0 CSS set).
Babaei does not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Zhou et al.: wherein a number of bits of frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) in the scheduling information is determined based on a number of resource blocks (RBs) included in the MBS frequency region (Zhou et al., Paragraph 276, the FDRA field (e.g., the size of the FDRA field depending on a type of resource allocation, e.g., resource allocation type 0, resource allocation type 1). The FDRA field may indicate a number of the one or more RBs within the BWP; Paragraph 77, interpret a FDRA field of a group common DCI based on its UE-specific BWP configuration parameters (e.g., the starting RB of the BWP, the bandwidth of the BWP, etc.); Paragraph 283, he wireless device may determine a location and a size of the one or more RBs, of the group common PDSCH resource, based on the starting RB of the CFR and a FDRA field of the group common DCI) configured based on the initial BWP (Zhou et al., Paragraph 257, a pdcch-ConfigSIB1 may comprise a first parameter (e.g., controlResourceSetZero) indicating a common ControlResourceSet (CORESET) with ID #0 (e.g., CORESET #0) of an initial BWP of the cell), and the frequency resource indicated by the FDRA is limited within the frequency region of the initial BWP (Zhou et al., Paragraph 274, The frequency resources configured in the BWP may be resource blocks common to a group of wireless devices configured with the MBS. The BWP may be an initial BWP of a cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Babaei with the cited disclosure from Zhou et al. in order to locate/determine common frequency resources for MBS transmission without misalignment among a group of wireless devices (Zhou et al., Paragraph 277).
Conclusion
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/OTIS L THOMPSON, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
March 9, 2026