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 Arguments
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has amended the independent claims and argued these amendments. Examiner agrees that the previous rejection does not fully cover these amendments. However, Manolakos does disclose this in combination with the other cited references. Please see the rejections that follow.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (2023/0262649; priority 9 July 2021) and further in view of Babaei (2019/0149380) and further in view of Manolakos (2020/0235877).
Regarding claim 1, Si discloses a method, carried out in a wireless network comprising access nodes, for configuring a user equipment (UE), for communication of reference signals between the UE and the wireless network, the method comprising: (See Si abstract; positioning reference signals between communication devices; fig. 1, para. 48; wireless network with terminal (e.g. UE) and network side device/enb and location server (e.g. access nodes))
transmitting, in resources of the first BWP, a control message controlling the UE to transmit and/or receive said reference signals in a configured second BWP, (See Si para. 97-98; Network transmits a target signaling (e.g. control message) to the UE to switch from an active BWP (e.g. first BWP) to a target BWP (e.g. a second BWP); para. 96; switching is to perform a PRS, positioning reference signal, (e.g. reference signals) measurement; it is implied that the control message is transmitted in the active BWP since this is the only active connection to the network)
wherein the second BWP is different from the first BWP. (See Si para. 98; switching from active to target BWP (e.g. they are different))
Si does not explicitly disclose transmitting resource allocation information to the UE, associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP), for data communication. However, Babaei does disclose transmitting resource allocation information to the UE, associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP), for data communication. (See Babaei para. 256; UE receives a resource allocation for a BWP which is for data) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si to include the teaching of transmitting resource allocation information to the UE, associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP), for data communication of Babaei with the motivation being to reduce delay and further to allow for flexible allocation of resources and further to save resources (battery, processing, etc) by using the most efficient resource and further to increase throughput.
Si does not explicitly disclose wherein said control message indicates timing information of reference signal resources within a BWP. However, Manolakos does disclose wherein said control message indicates timing information of reference signal resources within a BWP. (See Manolakos para. 28, 258; UE is sent a DCI trigger which indicates to transmit PRS in an occasion (e.g. a timing information) or in a defined number of occasions within a defined periodicity; para. 5; BWP for PRS) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si to include the teaching of wherein said control message indicates timing information of reference signal resources within a BWP of Manolakos with the motivation being to eliminate extra monitoring and/or ambiguity in having reliable PRS communication which saves battery power and processing power and further to allow for quick switching between PRS resources by eliminating ambiguity in changing conditions and resources available for PRS communication.
Regarding claim 2, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said control message controls the UE to temporarily switch from the first BWP to the second BWP to transmit or receive said reference signals. (See Si para. 54; BWP only used for PRS (e.g. temporarily); para. 164-164; switching back to regular BWP)
Regarding claim 4, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said timing information comprises a time window for communicating said reference signals within the BWP. (See Manolakos para. 28, 258; UE is sent a DCI trigger which indicates to transmit PRS in an occasion or in a defined number of occasions within a defined periodicity; para. 5; BWP for PRS; para. 123; BWP may not change during a specific PRS occasion or PRS occasion group during a configured time window) The motivation being to eliminate extra monitoring and/or ambiguity in having reliable PRS communication which saves battery power and processing power and further to allow for quick switching between PRS resources by eliminating ambiguity in changing conditions and resources available for PRS communication and further to increase the accuracy of PRS measurements.
Regarding claim 7, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said resource allocation information identifies the second BWP. (See Babaei para. 191; UE configured for multiple BWPs (sets) that can be activated; para. 256) The motivation being to reduce delay and further to allow for flexible allocation of resources and further to save resources (battery, processing, etc) by using the most efficient resource and further to increase throughput.
Regarding claim 8, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said control message identifies the second BWP. (See Si para. 54-55; BWP is identified by ID)
Regarding claim 9, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second BWP has a wider bandwidth allocation than the first BWP. (See Babaei para. 253; BWP can be narrower or wider depending on power consumption and data throughput requirements) The motivation being to increase throughput and reduce delay.
Regarding claim 10, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second BWP overlaps the first BWP in frequency. (See Babaei para. 232; BWP overlapping in frequency) The motivation being to reduce delay and further to allow for flexible allocation of resources and further for spectral efficiency and flexibility and further to support diverse traffic such as IoT devices which use small bandwidth parts while using the same frequency range for high throughput devices and further to reduce overhead by allowing UEs with differing capability levels to operate within the same, larger carrier bandwidth and further to allow for faster switching between narrow and wideband.
Regarding claim 11, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first BWP and the second BWP have a common center frequency. (See Si para. 63; BWP with PRS has common center frequency as active BWP)
Regarding claim 17, Si in view of Babaei discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said reference signals are positioning reference signals, (See Si para. 54; PRS) Si discloses in fig. 1 one base station for communicating reference signals with. Si in view of Babaei does not explicitly disclose wherein the UE is configured for communication of said reference signals between the UE and a plurality of said access nodes. (See Manolakos para. 123; UE configured to measure PRS from multiple base stations) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si in view of Babaei to include the teaching of wherein the UE is configured for communication of said reference signals between the UE and a plurality of said access nodes of Manolakos with the motivation being to improve positioning accuracy and further to mitigate interference and further for better coverage and reliability and further for enhance signal hearability and further for higher update rates and further for bandwidth aggregation.
Regarding claim 18, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 17, wherein the UE is configured to receive said reference signals transmitted from said plurality of access nodes. (See Manolakos para. 123; UE configured to measure PRS from multiple base stations) The motivation being to improve positioning accuracy and further to mitigate interference and further for better coverage and reliability and further for enhance signal hearability and further for higher update rates and further for bandwidth aggregation.
Regarding claim 19, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 17, wherein the UE is configured to transmit said reference signals for reception in said plurality of access nodes. (See Manolakos para. 120; UE configured to transmit PRS to multiple base stations) The motivation being to improve positioning accuracy and further to mitigate interference and further for better coverage and reliability and further for enhance signal hearability and further for higher update rates and further for bandwidth aggregation.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (2023/0262649; priority 9 July 2021) and further in view of Babaei (2019/0149380) and further in view of Manolakos (2020/0235877) and further in view of Kakishima (2022/0345906).
Regarding claim 5, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1. Si discloses that the UE reports capability information. (See Si para. 196, 198) and sending an activation command (based on capability). (See Si para. 97-98; Network transmits a target signaling (e.g. control message) to the UE to switch from an active BWP (e.g. first BWP) to a target BWP (e.g. a second BWP); that is, it is based upon capability because otherwise there is no point in collecting the capability info and then attempting to assign resource beyond its capability). Si in view of Babaei do not explicitly disclose obtaining capability information associated with BWP switching time of the UE. However, Kakishima does disclose obtaining capability information associated with BWP switching time of the UE. (See Kakishima para. 99; UE capability info including delay time for BWP switching) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si in view of Babaei to include the teaching of obtaining capability information associated with BWP switching time of the UE of Kakishima with the motivation being to maximize limited wireless resources by allowing the assignment of BWPs what may require fast switching capabilities and further to reduce delay when possible and further to meet end user goals and device ability and further to match as best as possible UE capability with current network conditions and thusly maximizing limited resources.
Regarding claim 6, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos in view of Kakishima discloses the method of claim 5, wherein said timing information identifies a time gap from the transmission of the control message, which time gap is scheduled based on said BWP switching time. (See Kakishima para. 99; base station sends switching command to BWP and waits the BWP switching delay before sending additional information) The motivation being to maximize limited wireless resources by allowing the assignment of BWPs what may require fast switching capabilities and further to reduce delay when possible and further to meet end user goals and device ability and further to match as best as possible UE capability with current network conditions and thusly maximizing limited resources.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (2023/0262649; priority 9 July 2021) and further in view of Babaei (2019/0149380) and further in view of Manolakos (2020/0235877) and further in view of Ang (2019/0222404).
Regarding claim 12, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1. Si in view of Babaei do not explicitly disclose wherein the second BWP is allocated outside a frequency range of the first BWP. However, Ang does disclose wherein the second BWP is allocated outside a frequency range of the first BWP. (See Ang para. 5; frequency range of active BWP is different than frequency range of target BWP; abstract) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si in view of Babaei to include the teaching of wherein the second BWP is allocated outside a frequency range of the first BWP of Ang with the motivation being to improve power consumption and further for dynamic resource allocation and scheduling (to avoid interference) and further for flexible spectrum use (Different BWPs can be optimized for different services (e.g., eMBB for high speed, URLLC for low latency) and further for coexistence and frequency management (By changing the frequency range of the active BWP, the network can manage interference and coexistence with other systems or legacy 4G devices, ensuring optimal performance for different services on the same carrier) and further to reduce signaling overhead by dynamically switching the active BWP location rather than reconfiguring the entire connection.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (2023/0262649; priority 9 July 2021) and further in view of Babaei (2019/0149380) and further in view of Manolakos (2020/0235877) and further in view of Pang (2020/0351946).
Regarding claim 13, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1. Si in view of Babaei do not explicitly disclose wherein the second BWP has higher numerology than the first BWP. However, Pang does disclose wherein the second BWP has higher numerology than the first BWP. (See Pang para. 338-339) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si in view of Babaei to include the teaching of wherein the second BWP has higher numerology than the first BWP of Pang with the motivation being significantly lower latency and faster data transmission due to shorter symbol durations making them ideal for URLLC services and enable more efficient frequency multiplexing, despite higher power consumption compared to narrower, lower-numerology BWP and further for flexible deployment (higher numerologies are optimized for mmWave Bands) and further for better coexistence.
Claims 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (2023/0262649; priority 9 July 2021) and further in view of Babaei (2019/0149380) and further in view of Manolakos (2020/0235877) and further in view of Jeon (2019/0132824).
Regarding claim 14, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1. Si in view of Babaei do not explicitly disclose wherein the control message identifies the UE. However, Jeon does disclose wherein the control message identifies the UE. (See Jeon para. 421; wireless device (e.g. UE) receives a group-common DCI with wireless device identifiers (e.g. identifies the UE)) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si in view of Babaei to include the teaching of wherein the control message identifies the UE of Jeon with the motivation being for power efficiency, reduced signaling overhead (single message instead of multiple messages which scales better) and faster network response (less latency by faster synchronized BWP switching).
Regarding claim 16, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos in view of Jeon discloses the method of claim 14, wherein the control message is configured to identify the UE responsive to capability information of the UE meeting a predetermined latency-sensitivity criterion. (See Si para. 63; considering a latency requirement for the IIoT device (e.g. a latency-sensitivity criterion))
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (2023/0262649; priority 9 July 2021) and further in view of Babaei (2019/0149380) and further in view of Manolakos (2020/0235877) and further in view of Islam (2018/0279289).
Regarding claim 15, Si in view of Babaei in view of Manolakos discloses the method of claim 1. Si discloses UEs have certain capabilities including BWP switching time criterion. (See SI para. 63; para. 198-212; parameters of terminal capability including PRS measurement with BWP switching (e.g. a time criterion)) Si in view of Babaei does not explicitly disclose wherein the control message identifies the UE by indicating a UE group to which group said UE belongs. However, Jeon does disclose wherein the control message identifies the UE by indicating a UE group to which group said UE belongs. (See Islam para. 97; grouping UEs with same capability in same group message identified by ID) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si in view of Babaei to include the teaching of wherein the control message identifies the UE by indicating a UE group to which group said UE belongs of Islam with the motivation being for power efficiency, reduced signaling overhead (single message instead of multiple messages which scales better) and faster network response (less latency by faster synchronized BWP switching).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Si (2023/0262649; priority 9 July 2021) and further in view of Babaei (2019/0149380) and further in view of Manolakos (2020/0235877).
Regarding claim 23, Si discloses a method, carried out in a user equipment (UE) for obtaining configuration for communication of reference signals between the UE and access nodes of a wireless network, the method comprising: (See Si abstract; positioning reference signals between communication devices; fig. 1, para. 48; wireless network with terminal (e.g. UE) and network side device/enb and location server (e.g. access nodes))
receiving, in resources of the first BWP, a control message controlling the UE to transmit and/or receive said reference signals in a configured second BWP, (See Si para. 97-98; Network transmits a target signaling (e.g. control message) to the UE to switch from an active BWP (e.g. first BWP) to a target BWP (e.g. a second BWP); para. 96; switching is to perform a PRS, positioning reference signal, (e.g. reference signals) measurement; it is implied that the control message is transmitted in the active BWP since this is the only active connection to the network)
wherein the second BWP is different from the first BWP. (See Si para. 98; switching from active to target BWP (e.g. they are different))
Si does not explicitly disclose receiving resource allocation information from a network node of the wireless network, associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP), for data communication. However, Babaei does disclose receiving resource allocation information from a network node of the wireless network, associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP), for data communication. (See Babaei para. 256; UE receives a resource allocation for a BWP which is for data) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si to include the teaching of receiving resource allocation information from a network node of the wireless network, associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP), for data communication of Babaei with the motivation being to reduce delay and further to allow for flexible allocation of resources and further to save resources (battery, processing, etc) by using the most efficient resource and further to increase throughput.
Si does not explicitly disclose wherein said control message indicates timing information of reference signal resources within a BWP. However, Manolakos does disclose wherein said control message indicates timing information of reference signal resources within a BWP. (See Manolakos para. 28, 258; UE is sent a DCI trigger which indicates to transmit PRS in an occasion (e.g. a timing information) or in a defined number of occasions within a defined periodicity; para. 5; BWP for PRS) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Si to include the teaching of wherein said control message indicates timing information of reference signal resources within a BWP of Manolakos with the motivation being to eliminate extra monitoring and/or ambiguity in having reliable PRS communication which saves battery power and processing power and further to allow for quick switching between PRS resources by eliminating ambiguity in changing conditions and resources available for PRS communication.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN J CLAWSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7498. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00 pm est.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy D Vu can be reached at (571) 272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Stephen J Clawson/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
Prosecution Insights