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 filed 06/05/2026 have been fully considered but they are deemed unpersuasive.
The applicant's arguments are:
Chen's DCI is dynamic instantaneous scheduling signaling rather than configuration information. It contains no pre-defined resource set and fails to meet the definition of "resource set configuration information".
The applicant concedes Chen's DCI is for dynamic scheduling grant instead of semi-static resource configuration signaling.
The recitation in claim 1 is silent on semi-static resource configuration and pre-defined resource set.
Chen describes a scheduling grant which indicates a data channel location in a bandwidth part (BWP). This is equivalent to "frequency domain resource set configuration information". Regardless dynamic scheduling, Chen's network node allocates the data channel in the BWP. Claim 1 merely claims "frequency domain resource set configuration information" in where no pre-defined, pre-configured, or pre-set resources are allocated. In the information, static, semi-static or dynamic allocation of resources is feasible.
Chen's RIV is dynamically calculated resource index generated real-time scheduling, which is not preset and stored in any resource configuration.
Typical wireless communication between a network node and a user terminal allocates a certain amount of resources for the user terminal in limited resources. In other words, the network to which the user terminal belongs preconfigures the certain amount of resources allocated to the user terminal. Even though Chen dynamically allocates resources, it is obvious to do so in the preconfigured amount of resources. Also, again the recitation is silent on static or semi-static allocation. The applicant's arguments assert that the invention extracts a preset first frequency domain resource. Claim 1 recites "the frequency domain resource set configuration information comprises a first frequency domain resource".
The arguments assert that Chen's terminal never derives or computes channel bandwidth from received configuration information.
Claim 1 recites a second step of "determining a channel bandwidth …", and the Office Action cites "the terminal device determines, based on the second RIV r, the resource occupied by the data channel", "the second RIV is used to indicate a resource … in a second bandwidth part", and "the terminal device determines the second RIV". The examiner does not clearly understand the arguments. Chen receives the first RIV included in DCI and determines the second RIV based on the first RIV. Chen's process to determine the second RIV is based on the received first RIV. So which part of the Chen's process to determine the second RIV is not equivalent to the claimed "determining …"?
The arguments also assert that Chen's RIV merely carries information without any bandwidth-related field and Chen's terminal calculates actual VRB resources relying on known BWP bandwidth instead of resolving bandwidth from configuration.
The examiner does not have clear understanding. The citation from Chen clearly describes the bandwidth is determined.
The arguments assert that Chen's switching BWP is merely descriptive of application scenario instead of executable technical steps of defined in claims. Chen's disclosure clearly describe a BWP switching as "the terminal device needs to switch from the current BWP to the BWP".
The examiner assumes that the arguments assert Chen's switching does not occur. How about the recitation in Claim 1 that recites "switching to the first frequency domain resource and the channel bandwidth"? Does this switching actually occur and Chen's switching does not? The examiner does not clearly understand the assertion.
Therefore, the Applicant’s arguments overall are deemed unpersuasive, and the previous rejections are hereby maintained.
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(s) 8-9, 24-25, 27 and 32 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2021/0050970, “Chen”) in view of Abedini et al. (US 2025/0267597, “Abedini”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Chen unless otherwise mentioned.
Chen comprises the following features:
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim 8, a frequency domain resource switching method, comprising:
receiving frequency domain resource set configuration information ([0120 and Fig. 10] “In S230, the network device sends downlink control information (DCI), where the DCI includes the first RIV, and the DCI is used to schedule the data channel located in the second BWP.”, [0081] “Downlink control information (DCI) carried on the PDCCH includes information that can indicate a frequency domain position of a PRB” Note that “configuration information” will be discussed in view of Abedini.),
wherein the frequency domain resource set configuration information comprises a first frequency domain resource ([0115] “the second RIV is used to indicate a resource occupied by a data channel located in a second bandwidth part (BWP)”, and [0123] “In S240, a terminal device determines the second RIV based on the first RIV n”);
determining a channel bandwidth where the first frequency domain resource is located based on the frequency domain resource set configuration information (aforesaid [0115] “a resource occupied by a data channel located in a second bandwidth part (BWP)”, and [0124] “In S250, the terminal device determines, based on the second RIV r, the resource occupied by the data channel.”); and
switching to the first frequency domain resource and the channel bandwidth where the first frequency domain resource is located ([0090] “the terminal device needs to switch from the current BWP to the BWP indicated by the information field (namely, a BWP obtained after the switching)”).
It is noted that while disclosing frequency domain resources, Chen does not specifically teach about receiving configuration information. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Abedini as follows;
receiving … configuration information ([Abedini, 0391] “the cell-specific information may be transmitted from the network access node … the cell-specific information may provide resource and configuration information ... The resource information may include …, frequency information of the network access node, or any combination thereof. The frequency information may be at least one of: center frequency information, or channel bandwidth, for example.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Chen by using the features of Abedini in order to efficiently allocate resources between a user plane and a control plane such that “transmitting the first configuration to the repeater device, determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than all of the first quantity of SSBs, generating a second configuration after determining that the repeater device is transmitting less than all of the first quantity of SSBs” [Abedini, 0009].
Regarding claim 24, it is a terminal device claim corresponding to the method claim 8, except the limitations, “a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising computer instructions” ([0204 and Fig. 19] “The apparatus 10 may include a processor 11 (an example of a processing unit) and a memory 12. The memory 12 is configured to store an instruction, and the processor 11 is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory 1”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 8.
Regarding claim 25, it is CRM claim corresponding to the method claim 8, except the limitations, “storage medium storing one or more programs” ([0204 and Fig. 19] “The memory 12 is configured to store an instruction, and the processor 11 is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory 12”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 8.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claims 9, 27 and 32, the method according to claim 8, the terminal device according to claim 24 and the non-transitory CRM according to claim 25, respectively, wherein
the frequency domain resource set configuration information comprises one or more first frequency domain resources and channel bandwidth information of each of the one or more first frequency domain resources (aforesaid [0115] “the second RIV r is used to indicate a resource occupied by a data channel located in a second bandwidth part (BWP)”, and [0123] “In S240, a terminal device determines the second RIV r based on the first RIV n”), and the channel bandwidth information comprises a center frequency point and a bandwidth (See aforesaid [Abedini, 0391]).
Claim(s) 10-12, 28-30 and 33-35 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2021/0050970, “Chen”) in view of Abedini et al. (US 2025/0267597, “Abedini”) and further in view of Zhang et al. (US 2019/0274162, “Zhang”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Chen unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claims 10, 28 and 33, it is noted that while disclosing frequency domain resources, Chen does not specifically teach about an index of the channel bandwidth. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Zhang as follows;
the method according to claim 8, the terminal device according to claim 24 and the non-transitory CRM according to claim 25, respectively, wherein the frequency domain resource set configuration information comprises frequency domain resource configuration information and channel bandwidth configuration information (See aforesaid [0115 and 0120], and [Zhang, 0054] “The configuration 200 shows a frequency band 210 including a plurality of PRBs 202. … Each PRB 202 may include a plurality subcarriers or frequency tones. In some embodiments, each PRB 202 may include about twelve subcarriers. The frequency band 210 may be partitioned into a plurality of BWPs 220.”);
the frequency domain resource configuration information comprises one or more first frequency domain resources and an index of the channel bandwidth where each of the one or more first frequency domain resources is located (See [Zhang, 0057 and Fig. 2] “the PRBs 202 are indexed from 0 to N−1 starting from the common reference PRB 204, where N is a positive integer.”); and
the channel bandwidth configuration information comprises at least two channel bandwidths, and an index and channel bandwidth information of each of the at least two channel bandwidths (See [Zhang, 0057 and Fig. 2]), wherein the channel bandwidth information comprises a center frequency point and a bandwidth (See aforesaid [Abedini, 0391]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Chen by using the features of Zhang in order to effectively share existing resources with multiple network operating entities such that “a first configuration indicating a plurality of bandwidth parts in a frequency band, the plurality of bandwidth parts based on an expected channel access pattern associated with a listen-before-talk (LBT) in the frequency band” [Zhang, 0007].
Regarding claims 11, 29 and 34, the method according to claim 10, the terminal device according to claim 24 and the non-transitory CRM according to claim 25, respectively, wherein said determining the channel bandwidth where the first frequency domain resource is located based on the frequency domain resource set configuration information comprises:
determining the index of the channel bandwidth (See [Zhang, Fig. 6] for C0-C3.) where the first frequency domain resource is located based on the frequency domain resource configuration information ([Zhang, 0076 and Fig. 6] “The scheme 600 partitions the frequency band 604 into a plurality of channels 606 as shown in the channel configuration 602. Each channel 606 may include a plurality of PRBs (e.g., the PRBs 202). The frequency band 604 and the channels 606 may have any suitable BWs. As an example, the frequency band 604 may have a BW of about 80 MHz and may be partitioned into about four channels 606, where each channel 606 may have a BW of about 20 MHz. The channels 606 are shown as C0, C1, C2, and C3.”); and
determining the channel bandwidth corresponding to the index based on the channel bandwidth configuration information (See aforesaid [Zhang, 0076 and Fig. 6.]).
Regarding claims 12, 30 and 35, the method according to claim 8, the terminal device according to claim 24 and the non-transitory CRM according to claim 25, respectively, wherein the frequency domain resource set configuration information comprises frequency domain resource configuration information and channel bandwidth configuration information (See aforesaid [0115 and 0120], and [Zhang, 0054] “The configuration 200 shows a frequency band 210 including a plurality of PRBs 202. … Each PRB 202 may include a plurality subcarriers or frequency tones. In some embodiments, each PRB 202 may include about twelve subcarriers. The frequency band 210 may be partitioned into a plurality of BWPs 220.”);
the frequency domain resource configuration information comprises one or more first frequency domain resources (See [Zhang, 0057 and Fig. 2] “the PRBs 202 are indexed from 0 to N−1 starting from the common reference PRB 204, where N is a positive integer.”); and
the channel bandwidth configuration information comprises at least two channel bandwidths, and channel bandwidth information of each of the at least two channel bandwidths (See [Zhang, 0057 and Fig. 2]),
wherein the channel bandwidth information comprises a center frequency point and a bandwidth ([Zhang, 0081] “A BS may configure a UE with any of the BWPs 610. The BS may communicate with the UE in a corresponding BWP 610 after performing an LBT in channels 606 within the corresponding BWP 610. The BS may assign different BWPs 610 to different UEs. The BS may assign overlapping BWPs 610 to different UEs. For example, the BS may assign the BWP 610.sub.(3) including the channel C3 606 to one UE and assign the BWP 610.sub.(6) including the channels C2 and C3 606 to another UE. In addition, a BS may configure DL and UL BWP pairs with different center frequencies.”).
The rational and motivation for adding this teaching of Zhang are the same as for claim 10.
Claim(s) 13, 31 and 36 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2021/0050970, “Chen”) in view of Abedini et al. (US 2025/0267597, “Abedini”) and further in view of Umeda et al. (US 2024/0298272, “Umeda”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Chen unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claims 13, 31 and 36, the method according to claim 12, the terminal device according to claim 24 and the non-transitory CRM according to claim 25, respectively, wherein said determining the channel bandwidth where the first frequency domain resource is located based on the frequency domain resource set configuration information comprises:
determining channel bandwidths comprising the first frequency domain resource based on the channel bandwidth configuration information ([Zhang, 0076 and Fig. 6] “The scheme 600 partitions the frequency band 604 into a plurality of channels 606 as shown in the channel configuration 602. Each channel 606 may include a plurality of PRBs (e.g., the PRBs 202). The frequency band 604 and the channels 606 may have any suitable BWs.”).
It is noted that while disclosing frequency domain resources, Chen and Zhang does not specifically teach about selecting a smallest bandwidth channel. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Umeda as follows;
selecting a smallest channel bandwidth among the channel bandwidths as the channel bandwidth where the first frequency domain resource is located ([Umeda, claim 5] “select a smallest channel bandwidth from the one or more supported channel bandwidths identified”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Chen by using the features of Umeda in order to optimize usage of network resources such that “obtain information indicating a capability of a terminal device for applying an adjusted additional maximum power reduction” [Umeda, 0004].
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry H. Kim whose telephone number and email address are as follows; 571-272-5009, harry.kim2@uspto.gov.
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/HARRY H KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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