DETAILED ACTION
Claim(s) 1-21 have been examined and are pending.
Response to Remarks/Arguments
Status of the Claims
In the Non-Final Rejection (“NF”) mailed November 13, 2025, the status of the claims was as follows:
Claim(s) 15-16 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over SUI (USPGPub No. 2023/0007603) in view of LEI (US 20230091795 A1). Claim(s) 17-19 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUI in view of LEI (US 20230091795 A1) in view of TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1). Claim(s) 1, 6-8, were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE (US 11818699 B2). Claim(s) 3 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE (US 11818699 B2) in view of WANG (US 20220377705 A1). Claim(s) 9 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE (US 11818699 B2) in view of PARKVALL (WO 2020/190205 A1). Claim(s) 20-21 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUI in view of LEI (US 20230091795 A1) in view of HARADA (US 20210037439 A1). Claim(s) 2, 4, and 5, were objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim(s) 10-14 were allowed.
In response to the Non-Final Rejection and in particular the art rejection(s) of said claim(s), Applicants have amended each of independent claim(s) 1, 10, and 15. Claim 1 has been amended to include at least a limitation of “…identifying, by the UE, a first initial control resource set (CORESET) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the UE…”. Claim 10 has been amended to include at least a limitation of, “…identifying, by the UE, an initial control resource set (COREEST) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the UE…”. Claim 15 has been amended to include at least a limitation of “…the BL-SSB is configured to identify an initial control resource set (CORESET) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the bandwidth-limited UE”. In addition to the amendments made to the independent claims, applicants have also presented arguments in light of the amendments.
Accordingly, a new ground of rejection has been made in view of in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1), necessitated by amendments to the claims. Furthermore, Applicant' s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 10, and 15, have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over SUI (USPGPub No. 2023/0007603) in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1).
In regards to claim(s) 15, SUI (USPGPub No. 2023/0007603) teaches a method, comprising acquiring, by a bandwidth-limited user equipment (UE), a bandwidth-limited Synchronization Signal Block (BL-SSB), wherein the BL-SSB is located in a pre-configured frequency and time position of a synchronization raster,
(“[0034] In order for a wireless device with specific capabilities (e.g. with reduced complexity and/or reduced cost and/or reduced bandwidth)…a wireless device which operates using a reduced bandwidth, and/or a wireless device operating in a coverage enhancement mode. An example of the wireless device may be a NR-Light UE (which may also be referred to as a NR-Redcap UE)…. [0099] In one example, the SSS-L may be constituted of additional SSB repetitions which are beneficial to reduce the NR-Light UE energy consumption. A legacy UE may consider the SSB configurations as defined in Rel-15 and Rel-16 NR. An NR-Light UE may consider additional SSB instances in a time and/or frequency location which may not be confused with legacy SSB transmission. If the additional SSB instance is detected, the UE may interpret this an SSS-L indication and that NR-Light is supported in the cell.”. See [Par. 83] and [Fig. 5] which describe and illustrate a BL-SSB, SSS- located in a pre-configured frequency and time position of a synchronization raster).
SUI differs from claim 15, in that SUI is silent on where the BL-SSB is configured to identify an initial control resource set (CORESET) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the bandwidth-limited UE. Despite these differences similar features have been seen in other prior art involving reduced capacity devices (REDCAP) such as bandwidth-limited UEs. TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1) teaches a feature for bandwidth-limited devices (i.e. UEs with narrower bandwidth capability) where the bandwidth-limited device is configured to identify an initial CORESET (CORESET #0) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the bandwidth-limited device (“[0147] Therefore, the present disclosure provides for a solution in which a UE receives a PDCCH on CORESET #0 of which time and frequency resources are defined based on the bandwidth configuration associated with RedCap UEs. This PDCCH on CORESET #0 is used to schedule system information type 1 (SIB1) PDSCH, Msg2 PDSCH, and Msg4 PDSCH for the RedCap UEs. Advantageously, this allows NR Light/Lite (or RedCap) UEs with narrower bandwidth capability to read SIB1 for initial access. In addition, during the initial access, Msg2 PDSCH and Msg4 PDSCH are transmitted within the CORESET #0 bandwidth. According to an embodiment 1, based on a suitable BW of the RedCap UEs, a subset/part of Rel-15 CORESET #0 can be configured for the RedCap UEs, i.e., a subset of entries of Tables 13.1-13.10 described in TS 38.213. As shown in example diagram 700 of FIG. 7, only subset/part 706 of Rel-15 CORESET #0 702 is available to configure for all types of UEs (i.e., normal Rel-15/16/17 UEs and RedCap UEs) in the concerned network. The subset/part 706 is defined based on the BW of the RedCap UEs, such that it has a BW that is smaller than the RedCap UE BW 704, as can be seen in FIG. 7. Legacy operation and indications for the UEs can still be reused.”).
Thus based upon the teachings of TUONG TRAN it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the feature for bandwidth-limited devices taught by SUI, such that the BL-SSB is configured to identify an initial control resource set (CORESET) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the bandwidth-limited UE, as similarly seen in the feature for bandwidth-limited devices taught by TUONG TRAN, to thus arrive at claim 15, in order to provide a benefit of a reliable means for configuring bandwidth limited devices by relying upon tables specified by the 3GPP release 15 standard.
In regards to claim(s) 16, SUI in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1) teach the method of claim 15, further comprising acquiring, by a full-bandwidth user equipment (UE), a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) different from the BL-SSB, wherein the SSB is received in a first set of resource elements (REs) and the BL-SSB is received in a second set of resource elements, different from the first set of resource elements (REs) ( See SUI, where it recites, “[0034] In order for a wireless device with specific capabilities (e.g. with reduced complexity and/or reduced cost and/or reduced bandwidth)…a wireless device which operates using a reduced bandwidth, and/or a wireless device operating in a coverage enhancement mode. An example of the wireless device may be a NR-Light UE (which may also be referred to as a NR-Redcap UE)…. [0099] In one example, the SSS-L may be constituted of additional SSB repetitions which are beneficial to reduce the NR-Light UE energy consumption. A legacy UE may consider the SSB configurations as defined in Rel-15 and Rel-16 NR. An NR-Light UE may consider additional SSB instances in a time and/or frequency location which may not be confused with legacy SSB transmission. If the additional SSB instance is detected, the UE may interpret this an SSS-L indication and that NR-Light is supported in the cell.”).).
Claim(s) 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUI in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1) in view of TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1).
In regards to claim 17, the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN is silent on the method of claim 15, further comprising: acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a bandwidth-limited Master Information Block (BL-MIB) from a bandwidth-limited physical broadcast channel (BL-PBCH) from the BL-SSB; and acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a bandwidth-limited initial control resource set (CORESET) from the BL-MIB.
However similar features have been seen in other prior art features for synchronization in a NG/5G network. TAKEDA teaches where a UE acquires a MIB from a PBCH from a SSB and acquiring a CORESET from the MIB (“[0046] The user terminal may determine CORESET #0 for the type 0-PDCCH CSS and the PDCCH monitoring occasion for the type 0-PDCCH CSS based on the received SSB and the MIB obtained from the PBCH in the SSB.”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN by applying the feature of acquiring a bandwidth allocation (i.e. CORESET) based on a SSB disclosed by TAKEDA to the SSB of SUI (i.e. BL-SSB) to arrive at the method of claim 15, further comprising: acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a bandwidth-limited Master Information Block (BL-MIB) from a bandwidth-limited physical broadcast channel (BL-PBCH) from the BL-SSB; and acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a bandwidth-limited initial control resource set (CORESET) from the BL-MIB, to provide a reliable means of acquiring a bandwidth allocation in a 5G/NG network.
In regards to claim 18, the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN is silent on the method of claim 17, further comprising acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a Downlink Control Information (DCI), the acquiring of the DCI comprising monitoring the bandwidth-limited initial CORESET for a DCI comprising a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) scrambled with a bandwidth-limited System Information Radio Network Temporary Identifier (SI-BL-RNTI). However similar features have been seen in other prior art features for synchronization in a NG/5G network. TAKEDA teaches where a UE acquires a DCI, where acquiring the DCI comprises monitoring an initial CORESET for a DCI comprising a CRC scrambled with a SI-RNTI (“[0033] The type 0A-PDCCH CSS is also referred to as an OSI (Other System Information) SS and so on. The type 0A-PDCCH CSS may be a search space for DCI that is CRC-scrambled with a given identifier (for example, the SI-RNTI) (search space for the monitoring of DCI used for scheduling of a PDSCH transmitting the OSI)… [0039] For example, the user terminal (User Equipment (UE) determines a CORESET for the type 0-PDCCH CSS and a PDCCH monitoring occasion, based on a detected SSB. The UE may identify the type 0 PDCCH CSS by using CORESET #0 and search space #0”…)
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN by applying the feature of acquiring synchronization based on a SSB disclosed by TAKEDA to the SSB of SUI (i.e. BL-SSB) to arrive the method of claim 17, further comprising acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a Downlink Control Information (DCI), the acquiring of the DCI comprising monitoring the bandwidth-limited initial CORESET for a DCI comprising a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) scrambled with a bandwidth-limited System Information Radio Network Temporary Identifier (SI-BL-RNTI), to provide a reliable means of acquiring synchronization in a 5G/NG network.
In regards to claim 19, the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN is silent on the method of claim 17, further comprising acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a bandwidth-limited System Information Block #1 (SIB1) through a scheduled Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).
However similar features have been seen in other prior art features for synchronization in a NG/5G network. TAKEDA teaches where a UE acquires a SIB1 through a PDSCH (“[0040] CORESET #0 may be a control resource set used for scheduling of system information or may be a CORESET determined by at least one of reception of an SSB in initial access and information in the system information, the information indicating a CORESET used for scheduling of the system information. A common CORESET may be a control resource set not used for scheduling of the system information. Search space #0 may be a search space determined by at least one of reception of the SSB in the initial access and information in the system information, the information indicating a search space used for scheduling of the system information.[0041] Subsequently, the UE monitors the type 0-PDCCH CSS in the PDCCH monitoring occasion, and receives system information (for example, System Information Block 1 (SIB1), Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) on the PDSCH scheduled by the received PDCCH.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN by applying the feature of acquiring synchronization based on a SSB disclosed by TAKEDA to the SSB of SUI (i.e. BL-SSB) to arrive the method of claim 17, further comprising acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited UE, a bandwidth-limited System Information Block #1 (SIB1) through a scheduled Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), to provide a reliable means of acquiring synchronization in a 5G/NG network.
Claim(s) 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUI in view of in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1) in view of HARADA (US 20210037439 A1)
In regards to claim 20, the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN is silent on the method of claim 16, wherein the acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited user equipment (UE), of the BL-SSB comprises acquiring the BL-SSB in Frequency Range 1 (FR1). However similar features have been seen in other prior art involving the acquisition of a SSB. HARADA (US 20210037439 A1) teaches where a UE acquires a SSB in a FR1 (“[0031] In a case of, for example, a first frequency range (an FR1: Frequency Range 1 such as 6 GHz or less), the user terminal may determine the SSB index based on the above DMRS pattern. In a case of a second frequency range (an FR2 such as 24 GHz or more), the user terminal may determine 3 least significant bits of the SSB index based on the above DMRS pattern, and determine 3 most significant bits based on the PBCH payload.”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN by applying the feature of acquiring the SSB in a FR1 disclosed by HARADA to the SSB of SUI (i.e. BL-SSB) to arrive at the method of claim 16, wherein the acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited user equipment (UE), of the BL-SSB comprises acquiring the BL-SSB in Frequency Range 1 (FR1), to provide a reliable means of acquiring the BL-SSB in a 5G/NG network.
In regards to claim 21, the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN is silent on the method of claim 16, wherein the acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited user equipment (UE), of the BL-SSB comprises acquiring the BL-SSB in Frequency Range 2 (FR2). However similar features have been seen in other prior art involving the acquisition of a SSB. HARADA (US 20210037439 A1) teaches where a UE acquires a SSB in a FR2 (“[0031] In a case of, for example, a first frequency range (an FR1: Frequency Range 1 such as 6 GHz or less), the user terminal may determine the SSB index based on the above DMRS pattern. In a case of a second frequency range (an FR2 such as 24 GHz or more), the user terminal may determine 3 least significant bits of the SSB index based on the above DMRS pattern, and determine 3 most significant bits based on the PBCH payload.”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of SUI in view of TUONG TRAN by applying the feature of acquiring the SSB in a FR2 disclosed by HARADA to the SSB of SUI (i.e. BL-SSB) to arrive at the method of claim 16, wherein the acquiring, by the bandwidth-limited user equipment (UE), of the BL-SSB comprises acquiring the BL-SSB in Frequency Range 2 (FR2), to provide a reliable means of acquiring the BL-SSB in a 5G/NG network.
Claim(s) 1, 6-8, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE (US 11818699 B2) in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1).
In regards to claim 1, TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) a method comprising:
determining, by a user equipment (UE) adhering to a first bandwidth part (BWP) configuration, a first set of identifying bits based on a synchronization signal block (SSB);
monitoring by the UE, a
(TAKEDA teaches determining by a UE…a first set of identifying bits based on a SSB and monitoring by the UE, a first CORESET based on the SSB, “[0046] The user terminal may determine CORESET #0 for the type 0-PDCCH CSS and the PDCCH monitoring occasion for the type 0-PDCCH CSS based on the received SSB and the MIB obtained from the PBCH in the SSB. [0047] For example, the UE may determine CORESET #0 for the type 0-PDCCH CSS (frequency resource and time resource), based on the 4 upper bits of 8 bits of the PDCCH configuration information for SIB1 in the MIB (pdcch-ConfigSIB1), and determine the PDCCH monitoring occasion for the type 0-PDCCH CSS, based on the 4 lower bits and the index of the received SSB.”. TAKEDA teaches that the UE adheres to a first BWP configuration, “[0050] The band of CORESET #0 may be interchanged with the band of a bandwidth part (BWP, partial band) for initial access (also referred to as initial BWP or the like). Here, the BWP is a partial band within a carrier (component carrier (CC)), a cell, a serving cell, or a system bandwidth), the BWP may include a BWP for uplink (uplink BWP) and a BWP for downlink (downlink BWP). [0051] For example, for the user terminal, one or more BWPs (at least one of one or more uplink BWPs and one or more downlink BWPs) may be configured, and a least one of the configured BWPs may be activated. The activated BWP is also referred to as an active BWP or the like.”) TAKEDA’s CORESET configuration feature differs from that of claim 1, in that TAKEDA is silent on identifying, by the UE, a first initial control resource set (CORESET) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the UE and in that TAKEDA is silent on switching, by the UE, to a second BWP configuration that is different from the first BWP configuration, wherein the second BWP configuration is based on the monitored first CORESET.
Despite these differences similar features have been seen in other prior art involving CORESET configurations. LEE (US 11818699 B2) teaches switching by a UE, R-UE to a second BWP configuration, R-BWP, that is different from a first BWP configuration, legacy initial BWP, where the second BWP configuration is based on a monitored first CORESET and a bandwidth of a bandwidth part of the second BWP configuration is smaller than a bandwidth of a bandwidth part of the first BWP configuration.
([Col. 17 Line 37 – Line 65] “(85) Referring to FIG. 9, the UE may detect a synchronization channel and receive master information for a cell (A05). The synchronization channel may correspond to an SSB. The master information may correspond to an MIB. (86) The UE may determine whether to configure a second initial DL BWP compatible with a second type of UEs based on the capability of the UE (A10). (87) The second type of UEs may have reduced capability compared to a first type of UEs corresponding to Rel-15 NR UEs. (88) The second initial DL BWP may be compatible with at least the second type of UEs, while the first initial DL BWP may be compatible with at least the first type of UEs.
(89) The second initial DL BWP may provide a smaller number of PRBs than the first initial DL BWP. If the capability of the UE is incapable of supporting the first initial DL BWP of the cell, or if the second initial UL BWP is associated with the second type of UEs (the association may be indicated by system information of the cell), The UE may switch to the second initial DL BWP (A15) to receive a common channel carrying common information (A20). (90) The UE may activate the second initial DL BWP while deactivating the first initial DL BWP (A15). (96) Hereinafter, the second initial DL BWP is referred to as an initial DL R-BWP, and the first initial DL BWP is referred to as a (legacy) initial DL BWP. In addition, the second type of UE is referred to as an R-terminal, an R-UE, or a UE (of the present disclosure), and the first type of UE is referred to as a legacy UE or a conventional UE.” Also see [Col. 19, Line(s) 1-40] “(102) 2) SI Reception Side (e.g., UE): (103) [Proposal #1] when Selecting an Initial Cell, the R-UE May Proceed with a Legacy Initial DL BWP Until Receiving at Least an MIB from the Serving Cell. After Receiving the MIB, the R-UE May Switch to an Initial DL R-BWP and Perform System Information, Paging, and Random Access Operations. (104) FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary initial access process according to Proposal #1.
(105) For example, the R-UE may receive an MIB from a selected cell during an initial cell selection process, a measurement process, and/or a mobility process such as handover (B05). (106) The R-UE may determine a CSS and/or CORESET0 for the R-UE (B10). (107) For example, the R-UE may check whether there is a CORESET for a Type0-PDCCH CSS, i.e., CORESET0, based on the received MIB…”).
Thus, based upon the teaching of LEE it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify CORESET configuration feature of the TAKEDA by switching, by the UE, to a second BWP configuration that is different from the first BWP configuration, wherein the second BWP configuration is based on the monitored first CORESET, as similarly seen in the CORESET configuration feature of SONG, in order to take advantage of the benefits yielded by bandwidth part switching.
The combination of TAKEDA in view of LEE further differ from claim 1, in that the combination of TAKEDA in view of SONG are silent on identifying, by the UE, a first initial control resource set (CORESET) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the UE. Despite these differences similar features have been seen in other prior art involving CORESET configuration.
TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1) teaches a feature for CORESET configuration where a bandwidth-limited device is configured to identify an initial CORESET (CORESET #0) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the bandwidth-limited device (“[0147] Therefore, the present disclosure provides for a solution in which a UE receives a PDCCH on CORESET #0 of which time and frequency resources are defined based on the bandwidth configuration associated with RedCap UEs. This PDCCH on CORESET #0 is used to schedule system information type 1 (SIB1) PDSCH, Msg2 PDSCH, and Msg4 PDSCH for the RedCap UEs. Advantageously, this allows NR Light/Lite (or RedCap) UEs with narrower bandwidth capability to read SIB1 for initial access. In addition, during the initial access, Msg2 PDSCH and Msg4 PDSCH are transmitted within the CORESET #0 bandwidth. According to an embodiment 1, based on a suitable BW of the RedCap UEs, a subset/part of Rel-15 CORESET #0 can be configured for the RedCap UEs, i.e., a subset of entries of Tables 13.1-13.10 described in TS 38.213. As shown in example diagram 700 of FIG. 7, only subset/part 706 of Rel-15 CORESET #0 702 is available to configure for all types of UEs (i.e., normal Rel-15/16/17 UEs and RedCap UEs) in the concerned network. The subset/part 706 is defined based on the BW of the RedCap UEs, such that it has a BW that is smaller than the RedCap UE BW 704, as can be seen in FIG. 7. Legacy operation and indications for the UEs can still be reused.”).
Thus based upon the teachings of TUONG TRAN it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the feature for CORESET configuration taught by TAKEDA in view of LEE, to arrive at identifying, by the UE, a first initial control resource set (CORESET) from a set of configuration tables that is associated with the UE., as similarly seen in the feature for CORESET configuration by TUONG TRAN, to thus arrive at claim 1, in order to provide a benefit of a reliable means for configuring UEs (i.e. bandwidth limited devices) by relying upon tables specified by the 3GPP release 15 standard.
In regards to claim 6, TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE in view of TUONG TRAN suggest the method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the first initial CORESET comprises monitoring the first initial CORESET for a downlink control information (DCI) (See TAKEDA “[0033] The type 0A-PDCCH CSS is also referred to as an OSI (Other System Information) SS and so on. The type 0A-PDCCH CSS may be a search space for DCI that is CRC-scrambled with a given identifier (for example, the SI-RNTI) (search space for the monitoring of DCI used for scheduling of a PDSCH transmitting the OSI)… [0039] For example, the user terminal (User Equipment (UE) determines a CORESET for the type 0-PDCCH CSS and a PDCCH monitoring occasion, based on a detected SSB. The UE may identify the type 0 PDCCH CSS by using CORESET #0 and search space #0”…)
In regards to claim 7, TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE in view of TUONG TRAN suggest the method of claim 6, wherein the DCI comprises a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) scrambled with a bandwidth-limited System Information Radio Network Temporary Identifier (See TAKEDA where “[0033] The type 0A-PDCCH CSS is also referred to as an OSI (Other System Information) SS and so on. The type 0A-PDCCH CSS may be a search space for DCI that is CRC-scrambled with a given identifier (for example, the SI-RNTI) (search space for the monitoring of DCI used for scheduling of a PDSCH transmitting the OSI)… [0039] For example, the user terminal (User Equipment (UE) determines a CORESET for the type 0-PDCCH CSS and a PDCCH monitoring occasion, based on a detected SSB. The UE may identify the type 0 PDCCH CSS by using CORESET #0 and search space #0”…)
In regards to claim 8, TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE in view of TUONG TRAN suggest the method of claim 6, further comprising acquiring a bandwidth-limited System Information Block #1 (SIB1) through a scheduled Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) (See TAKEDA where “[0040] CORESET #0 may be a control resource set used for scheduling of system information or may be a CORESET determined by at least one of reception of an SSB in initial access and information in the system information, the information indicating a CORESET used for scheduling of the system information. A common CORESET may be a control resource set not used for scheduling of the system information. Search space #0 may be a search space determined by at least one of reception of the SSB in the initial access and information in the system information, the information indicating a search space used for scheduling of the system information.[0041] Subsequently, the UE monitors the type 0-PDCCH CSS in the PDCCH monitoring occasion, and receives system information (for example, System Information Block 1 (SIB1), Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) on the PDSCH scheduled by the received PDCCH.”)
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE (US 11818699 B2) in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1) in view of WANG (US 20220377705 A1).
In regards to claim 3, TAKEDA in view of LEE in view of TUONG TRAN is silent on the method of claim 1, wherein determining the set of identifying bits comprises: Despite these differences similar features have been seen in other prior art involving the configuration of a CORESET.
WANG (US 20220377705 A1) teaches where a UE detects a reserved bit in the master information block (MIB) included in a SSB; and acquires an extended (e-MIB) containing a set of identifying bits (“[0053] Thus, for a Rel-15 or Rel-16 UE/WD, the bit in the MIB is reserved, and the UE/WD does not expect any specific value. Thus, such UEs/WDs (may also be referred to as “Legacy UEs”) will behave according to current specifications. For a Rel-17 UE however, the reserved bit may be used to indicate a presence (or absence) of an eMIB (may also be referred to as a “MIB extension”). For example a “0” value of the reserved bit indicates that there is no eMIB to be expected, and a “1” indicates that there is an eMIB present. Thus, according to some embodiments, the reserved bit is a single spare bit in the MIB. [0054] Further, the method 200 comprises identifying 202 which candidate resource of one or more candidate resources that contains the eMIB based on the indication of the presence of the eMIB. In other words, when the presence of eMIB is indicated in the MIB, the UE/WD attempts to detect an eMIB on one or more candidate resources. [0055] Turning briefly to FIG. 6, where the frequency domain and time domain allocations of a pair of eMIB candidate resources 21a, 21b in relation to the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) 22 in a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) 23. It should be noted that even though two candidate resources 21a, 21b are indicated in FIG. 6, a configuration having a higher number of candidate resources are possible. The time and frequency resource allocation of the candidate resources 21a, 21b relative to PBCH as well as the number of candidates may be configured in specification (i.e. hard coded).
[0056] Further, the method 200, comprises decoding the eMIB in order to obtain configurations for a set of resources used by a control channel and/or Search Space #0 for a bandwidth-limited wireless device. In other words, the UE/WD attempts to decode the eMIB on the identified candidate resource. In some embodiments, if an eMIB is detected on a candidate resource, the method 200 further comprises stopping the checking of other candidate resources for the eMIB. A bandwidth limited device may also be referred to as an NR-light device, which may be understood as reduced-capability NR devices, i.e. those type of devices have UE capability/complexity trade-off in-between the conventional eMBB services and the low-complexity services enabled NB-IoT and LTE-M.”).
Thus based upon the teachings of WANG, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the CORESET configuration feature of TAKEDA in view of LEE in view of TUONG TRAN in a manner similar to that of the CORESET configuration feature of WANG, to arrive at acquiring by the UE, an extended (e-MIB) containing the set of identifying bits, as arranged with the remaining elements of claim 3, in order to provide a benefit of a reliable method for providing a CORESET configuration.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKEDA (US 20210274562 A1) in view of LEE (US 11818699 B2) in view of TUONG TRAN (US 20230156752 A1) in view of PARKVALL (WO 2020/190205 A1).
In regards to claim 9, the combination of TAKEDA in view of LEE in view of TUONG TRAN is silent on the method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring, by a full-bandwidth (UE), the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), determining the set of identifying bits; identifying a second initial control resource SET (CORESET), based on the set of identifying bits; and monitoring, by the full-bandwidth UE, the second initial CORESET. Despite these differences similar features have been seen in other prior art involving a CORESET configuration.
PARKVALL teaches a method comprising acquiring, by a full-bandwidth (UE), the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), determining the set of identifying bits; identifying a second initial control resource set (CORESET), based on the set of identifying bits; and monitoring, by the full-bandwidth UE, the second initial CORESET ([Page 1, Line(s) 28 – Page 3, Line 7 ] “…The eMIB or content to be interpreted may be transmitted in a manner such that legacy WDs that operate under a prior/currently known version of a wireless communication standard, e.g., currently known version of the 3 GPP wireless communication standard, will not detect the eMIB…According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the MIB defines a CORESET #0 where the MIB extension defines a different CORESET #0 that has a smaller bandwidth than a bandwidth of the CORESET #0 defined by the MIB. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a size of the MIB extension is less than a size of the MIB”. Also see [Page(s) 34 - 35] “Some embodiments provide for the reserved bit in a MIB to be used to indicate the presence of an‘extension MIB’ (eMIB, also referred to as additional MIB and/or MIB extension). For an existing 3GPP Rel-15 WD 22 and/or legacy WD 22, the bit is reserved and the WD 22 does not expect any specific value in the reserved bit. For a WD 22 implementing a future 3GPP Rel-X as at least partially defined herein, the reserved bit is used to indicate presence/absence of an‘extension MIB’, e.g., a 0 in the reserved bit indicates no eMIB such that the WD 22 reinterprets/interprets the MIB in a predefined way such as according to existing wireless communication standards such as 3GPP Rel-15 specifications, and 1 in the reserved bit indicates the presence of an eMIB as described herein. As used herein 3 GPP Rel-X may refer to one or more future releases of 3GPP wireless communication standards that are at least partially defined according to the teachings described herein. The eMIB may be transmitted such as via one or more of processing circuitry 68, processor 70, radio interface 62, MIB unit 32, etc. in a manner invisible to legacy WDs 22. To avoid specifying additional physical channel structure, it may be preferable to reuse the existing PBCH structure or even the whole synchronization signal block (SSB) structure. Making the eMIB invisible to legacy WDs 22 can be achieved by, for example, such as via one or more of processing circuitry 68, processor 70, radio interface 62, MIB unit 32, etc., using a different scrambling sequence than the current MIB or by using a different cyclic redundancy check (CRC) than the current MIB to ensure that legacy WDs 22 are not able to mistakenly decode the eMIB as a regular MIB. If the SSB structure is reused, a different primary synchronization signal (PSS) and/or secondary synchronization signal (SSS), with values not representing a valid combination according to current specifications, can be used to avoid legacy WDs 22 detecting and/or decoding the eMIB.”).
Thus based upon the teachings of PARKVALL it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the CORESET configuration feature of the combination of TAKEDA in view of LEE in view of TUONG TRAN, to arrive at the method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring, by a full-bandwidth (UE), the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), determining the set of identifying bits; identifying a second initial control resource SET (CORESET), based on the set of identifying bits; and monitoring, by the full-bandwidth UE, the second initial CORESET, as similarly seen in PARKVALL in order to accommodate features of full-bandwidth UE.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2, 4, 5, are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim(s) 10-14 are allowed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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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/TARELL A HAMPTON/Examiner, Art Unit 2476 /AYAZ R SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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