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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the application filed on 02/06/2024.
Claims 1-30 are currently pending.
Claims 4-6, 11-13, 14-16, 17-18, 22, 24, 30 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim.
Claims 1-3, 7-10, 19-21, 23, 25-29 are rejected.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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, 19-21, 23, 26-27, 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhi Zhang (US 20200367243 A1) in view of Chi-Chih Chen et al (US 9985461 B2).
For Claim 1, Zhang discloses a method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (Zhang teaches, in ¶ 0005, a data transmission method, a terminal device and a network device), comprising: receiving control signaling indicating a configuration for a set of bandwidth parts that includes a first subset of bandwidth parts for wireless communication and a second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang teaches, in FIG. 3 in step 311 that, the terminal device receives first configuration information and second configuration information sent by a network device);
receiving a wireless communication over the first subset of bandwidth parts based at least in part on the configuration (Zhang teaches, in ¶ 0064, that the terminal device performs data transmission with the network device on the first bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part, the transmitted data may include service data, signaling data or other types of data, which are not limited here);
receiving a wireless signal over the second subset of bandwidth parts based at least in part on the configuration (Zhang teaches, in ¶ 0064, that the terminal device performs data transmission with the network device on the first bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part, the transmitted data may include service data, signaling data or other types of data, which are not limited here).
Zhang fails to expressly disclose receiving a wireless signal for the energy harvesting; and charging a power source associated with the UE based at least in part on the received wireless signal for the energy harvesting.
However, Chen, in analogous art, discloses receiving a wireless signal for the energy harvesting (Chen teaches, in Col. 4, lines 3-6, the system 10 may include a first receiving antenna 12a for harvesting Wi-Fi RF signals and a second receiving antenna 12b configured to harvest cellular RF signals); and charging a power source associated with the UE based at least in part on the received wireless signal for the energy harvesting (Chen teaches in Col. 6, lines 2-8, The power management circuitry 16 may also be configured to divert its output to charge an attached power storage device 36, such as a capacitor or a rechargeable battery. Finally, the DC power is transferred from the output voltage regulator and control circuit 34 through the wireless device interface 18 to the wireless device 20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang with the a device's ability to “self-harvest” as taught in Chen. The motivation is to prolong or extend the life of the device’s battery [Chen: Col. 3, lines 47-52].
For Claim 19, Zhang discloses a method, wherein each bandwidth part of the first subset of bandwidth parts is associated with a respective bandwidth part of the second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang shows, in FIG. 4 that the first bandwidth part is associated (overlaps) with the second bandwidth part at lower frequencies).
For Claim 20, Zhang discloses a method, wherein two or more bandwidth parts of the first subset of bandwidth parts are associated with a single respective bandwidth part of the second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang shows, in FIG. 7 that the first bandwidth part is associated with the at least the part of the second bandwidth part that is closest to the overlap between the two bandwidth parts).
For Claim 21, Zhang discloses a method, wherein a bandwidth part of the first subset of bandwidth parts is associated with two or more bandwidth parts of the second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang shows, in FIG. 8 that the first bandwidth part is associated (overlaps) with both the second bandwidth part and the third bandwidth part).
For Claim 23, Zhang discloses a method for wireless communication at a device (Zhang teaches, in ¶ 0005, a data transmission method, a terminal device and a network device), comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), control signaling indicating a configuration for a set of bandwidth parts that includes a first subset of bandwidth parts for wireless communication and a second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang teaches, in FIG. 3 in step 311 that, the terminal device receives first configuration information and second configuration information sent by a network device); transmitting, to the UE, a wireless communication over the first subset of bandwidth parts based at least in part on the configuration (Zhang teaches, in ¶ 0064, that the terminal device performs data transmission with the network device on the first bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part, the transmitted data may include service data, signaling data or other types of data, which are not limited here); and transmitting, to the UE, a wireless signal over the second subset of bandwidth parts based at least in part on the configuration (Zhang teaches, in ¶ 0064, that the terminal device performs data transmission with the network device on the first bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part, the transmitted data may include service data, signaling data or other types of data, which are not limited here).
Zhang fails to expressly disclose transmitting a wireless signal for the energy harvesting.
However, Chen, in analogous art, discloses receiving a wireless signal for the energy harvesting (Chen teaches, in Col. 4, lines 3-6, the system 10 may include a first receiving antenna 12a for harvesting Wi-Fi RF signals and a second receiving antenna 12b configured to harvest cellular RF signals).
Chen also teaches, in Col. 6, lines 2-8, The power management circuitry 16 may also be configured to divert its output to charge an attached power storage device 36, such as a capacitor or a rechargeable battery. Finally, the DC power is transferred from the output voltage regulator and control circuit 34 through the wireless device interface 18 to the wireless device 20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang with the a device's ability to “self-harvest” as taught in Chen. The motivation is to prolong or extend the life of the device’s battery [Chen: Col. 3, lines 47-52].
For Claim 26, Zhang discloses a method, wherein each bandwidth part of the first subset of bandwidth parts is associated with a respective bandwidth part of the second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang shows, in FIG. 7 that the first bandwidth part is associated with the at least the part of the second bandwidth part that is closest to the overlap between the two bandwidth parts), and wherein two or more bandwidth parts of the first subset of bandwidth parts are associated with a single respective bandwidth part of the second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang shows, in FIG. 8 that the first bandwidth part is associated (overlaps) with both the second bandwidth part and the third bandwidth part).
For Claim 27, please refer to the rejection of Claim 1, above.
For Claim 29, please refer to the rejection of Claim 23, above.
Claims 2-3, 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhi Zhang (US 20200367243 A1) in view of Chi-Chih Chen et al (US 9985461 B2) as applied to claim 1 or 27 above, and further in view of Kenneth Gudan et al (US 20150256015 A1).
For Claims 2, 28, Zhang & Chen disclose all of the claimed subject matter with the exception that the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the energy rate.
However, Gudan, in analogous art, discloses that the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the energy rate (Gudan teaches, in ¶ 0009, lines 8-10, Provided that power can be harvested at a rate greater than the leakage of the capacitor, eventually enough energy will be accumulated to do useful work. Lei teaches, in ¶ 0093, the battery is not at risk of charging at a rate greater than one tenth of its capacity in mAh (called the C/10 rate)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang & Chen with the ambient energy harvesting taught in Gudan. The motivation is so as to leverage the ubiquity of energy that's produced by Wi-Fi [Gudan: ¶ 0022].
For Claim 3, Zhang & Chen disclose all of the claimed subject matter with the exception that the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the waveform.
However, Gudan, in analogous art, discloses that the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the waveform (Gudan teaches, in ¶ 0060, the RF waveform harvesters are waveform aware and are able to perform ambient energy harvesting based on a waveform model, where the available RF energy is in the form of communication waveforms of a variety of types. Examples of commonly-harvested ambient RF energy sources with non-continuous wave signals include, but are not limited to, digital television (DTV) broadcasts, cellular base station transmissions (e.g., GSM, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)), Wi-Fi transmissions, etc.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang & Chen with the ambient energy harvesting taught in Gudan. The motivation is so as to leverage the ubiquity of energy that's produced by Wi-Fi [Gudan: ¶ 0022].
Claims 7-10, 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhi Zhang (US 20200367243 A1) in view of Chi-Chih Chen et al (US 9985461 B2) as applied to claim 1 or 23 above, and further in view of Nanjun Qian et al (US 20200245233 A1).
For Claim 7, Zhang discloses receiving a second wireless communication over the one or more bandwidth parts of the second subset of bandwidth parts (Zhang teaches, in ¶ 0064, that the terminal device performs data transmission with the network device on the first bandwidth part and the second bandwidth part, the transmitted data may include service data, signaling data or other types of data, which are not limited here).
Zhang & Chen fail to expressly disclose receiving an indication to monitor one or more bandwidth parts of the second subset of bandwidth parts.
However, Qian, in analogous art, discloses receiving an indication to monitor one or more bandwidth parts of the second subset of bandwidth parts (Qian teaches, in ¶ 0079, after receiving an instruction (e.g., a first instruction) to monitor the first bandwidth part or the second bandwidth part and monitoring, based on the instruction, the first bandwidth part or the second bandwidth part in connection with a communication).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang & Chen with the instruction to monitor as taught in Qian. The motivation is so that network resources and UE resources can be utilized efficiently [Qian: ¶ 0078].
For Claim 8, Zhang & Chen disclose all of the claimed subject matter with the exception that receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication over at least one bandwidth part of the first subset of bandwidth parts.
However, Qian, in analogous art, discloses that receiving the indication comprises receiving the indication over at least one bandwidth part of the first subset of bandwidth parts (Qian teaches, in ¶ 0042, that UE 102 may transmit or receive a communication via the bandwidth part instructed by base station… In this way, UE 102 may monitor and communicate via a bandwidth part that is best suited to the needs of UE 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang & Chen with the instruction to monitor as taught in Qian. The motivation is so that network resources and UE resources can be utilized efficiently [Qian: ¶ 0078].
For Claim 9, Zhang & Chen disclose all of the claimed subject matter with the exception that the configuration comprising a set of parameters associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts.
However, Qian, in analogous art, discloses that the configuration comprising a set of parameters associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts (Qian teaches, in ¶ 0040, that base station 104 may transmit to UE 102 an instruction to monitor one or more bandwidth parts according to a sequence or a pattern of bandwidth parts that may include one or more transition conditions, and UE 102 may monitor the bandwidth parts according to the sequence or the pattern).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang & Chen with the instruction to monitor as taught in Qian. The motivation is so that network resources and UE resources can be utilized efficiently [Qian: ¶ 0078].
For Claim 10, Zhang & Chen disclose all of the claimed subject matter with the exception that the set of parameters comprises one or more of an energy rate associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, a resource pattern associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, or a waveform type for the wireless signal.
However, Qian, in analogous art, discloses that the set of parameters comprises one or more of an energy rate associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, a resource pattern associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, or a waveform type for the wireless signal (Qian teaches, in ¶ 0040, that base station 104 may transmit to UE 102 an instruction to monitor one or more bandwidth parts according to a sequence or a pattern of bandwidth parts that may include one or more transition conditions, and UE 102 may monitor the bandwidth parts according to the sequence or the pattern).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang & Chen with the instruction to monitor as taught in Qian. The motivation is so that network resources and UE resources can be utilized efficiently [Qian: ¶ 0078].
For Claim 25, Zhang & Chen disclose all of the claimed subject matter with the exception that the set of parameters comprises one or more of an energy rate associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, a resource pattern associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, or a waveform type for the wireless signal.
However, Qian, in analogous art, discloses that the set of parameters comprises one or more of an energy rate associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, a resource pattern associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts, or a waveform type for the wireless signal (Qian teaches, in ¶ 0040, that base station 104 may transmit to UE 102 an instruction to monitor one or more bandwidth parts according to a sequence or a pattern of bandwidth parts that may include one or more transition conditions, and UE 102 may monitor the bandwidth parts according to the sequence or the pattern).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system taught in Zhang & Chen with the instruction to monitor as taught in Qian. The motivation is so that network resources and UE resources can be utilized efficiently [Qian: ¶ 0078].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 11-13, 14-16, 17-18, 22, 24, 30 are objected to as being dependent upon rejected base claims, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 4-6, 11-13, 14-16, 17-18, 22, 24, 30 are considered allowable because the prior art does not teach limitations including:
“determining a set of resource patterns associated with the second subset of bandwidth parts based at least in part on the configuration; and determining a set of resources associated with at least one resource pattern of the set of resource patterns based at least in part on the configuration, wherein receiving the wireless signal for the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the set of resources,” in addition to other claim limitations as recited in dependent claim 4.
“further comprising transmitting an indication of one or more preferred bandwidth parts of the second subset of bandwidth parts for the energy harvesting based at least in part on the configuration, wherein receiving the wireless signal for the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the indication,” in addition to other claim limitations as recited in dependent claim 11.
“further comprising identifying one or more bandwidth parts of the second subset of bandwidth parts based at least in part on an association between the one or more bandwidth parts of the second subset of bandwidth parts and one or more bandwidth parts of the first subset of bandwidth parts, wherein receiving the wireless signal for the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the association,” in addition to other claim limitations as recited in dependent claim 14.
“further comprising determining an association between a first bandwidth part of the first subset of bandwidth parts and a second bandwidth part of the second subset of bandwidth parts based at least in part on the configuration, wherein receiving the wireless signal for the energy harvesting is further based at least in part on the association,” in addition to other claim limitations as recited in dependent claim 17.
“further comprising transmitting UE capability information indicating a threshold quantity of bandwidth parts for the energy harvesting, wherein receiving the control signaling indicating the configuration is further based at least in part on the UE capability information,” in addition to other claim limitations as recited in dependent claims 22, 24, 30.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Choi (US 20170288473 A1) is pertinent to a receiver for transferring energy and data together and a signal processing method in the receiver are provided. The method includes decoding data included in a received signal using part of power received for charging a charging unit of the receiver with energy with respect to the signal for energy charging and data decoding, the signal being received from a transmitter.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMED A KAMARA whose telephone number is (571)270-5629. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-4PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CHARLES JIANG can be reached at 5712707191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMED A KAMARA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412