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 action is in response to the communication mailed on 3/26/2026 and applicant has submitted an amendment, filed on 6/24/2026.
Claims 1-20 are pending, with claims 1, 3, 5-8, 13, 16-20 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1-20 filed on 6/24/2026 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) based upon a public use or sale or other public availability of the invention as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 20200084759 (hereinafter referred to as Liu).
Consider claim 1, Liu teaches a method of performed by a base station (see at least ¶ [0165], “…communications systems may be deployed in 5 GHz radio frequency spectrum bands which may also be used by periodic and/or long-term radar signals that may interference with the low latency communications. The base station 105 may search through potential radio frequency spectrum bands to identify channels that are unused and compile the unused channels to maintain the whitelist of clean channels that may be free from interference…”), the method comprising:
receiving operation information associated with a system that transmits and receives electromagnetic radiation (see at least ¶ [0189], “…the UE 115-a may receive from the base station 105-a, an indication of a set of one or more available channels…” and see at least ¶ [0191], “…the UE 115-a may receive from the base station 105-a, a first downlink burst using a first channel and a first frame period. In some cases, the first downlink burst may include IMR…”);
determining interference based on the operation information (see at least ¶ [0193], “…the UE 115-a may identify interference associated with the first downlink burst. …the UE 115-a may determine that at least a portion of the first downlink burst was not successfully received. .. the UE 115-a may determine a SINR based on the first downlink burst…” and see at least ¶ [0194], “…The UE 115-a may further generate one or more IMR reports in response to the trigger for the IMR report, as may have been received in the first downlink burst at 715. The IMR reports may indicate an amount of interference measured using the received IMR…” and see at least ¶ [0195], “…the UE 115-a may transmit to the base station 105-a, and the base station 105-a may receive from the UE 115-a, an interference indication, where the interference indication may be based on the interference, as may have been identified at 720…”); and
based on the interference determination, reconfiguring a paging configuration operated by the base station to minimize or eliminate an impact of the interference (see at least ¶ [0171], “…the base station 105 may switch from a currently active first channel 508-a to a second channel 508-b at a clean carrier frequency to avoid interference affecting further communications…” and see at least ¶ [0180], “…provide for the low latency communications system mitigating or avoiding interference within the controlled environment across multiple channels…” and see at least ¶ [0201], “…the base station 105-a may receive from the UE 115-a, a measurement report, where the measurement report may indicate whether the second channel is available based on sensing the second channel …” and see at least ¶ [0205], “…the base station 105-a may transmit instruction to switch to the second channel based on in the interference as the base station 105-a may have detected…” and further see at least ¶ [0288], “…the UE may receive from the base station an instruction to switch to a second channel and a second frame period, the second channel selected from the set of one or more available channels…” and see at least ¶ [0288], “…based on the instruction, a second downlink burst from the base station using the second channel and the second frame period…”).
Consider claim 11, Liu teaches a wireless network for operation in reception range of a system that transmits and receives electromagnetic radiation in a frequency range shared with the wireless network (see at least ¶ [0165], “…communications systems may be deployed in 5 GHz radio frequency spectrum bands which may also be used by periodic and/or long-term radar signals that may interference with the low latency communications. The base station 105 may search through potential radio frequency spectrum bands to identify channels that are unused and compile the unused channels to maintain the whitelist of clean channels that may be free from interference…” and see at least ¶ [0189], “…the UE 115-a may receive from the base station 105-a, an indication of a set of one or more available channels…” and see at least ¶ [0191], “…the UE 115-a may receive from the base station 105-a, a first downlink burst using a first channel and a first frame period. In some cases, the first downlink burst may include IMR…”), comprising:
a base station and an interference estimator, configured to estimate an interference associated with the system that transmits and receives electromagnetic radiation (see at least ¶ [0193], “…the UE 115-a may identify interference associated with the first downlink burst. …the UE 115-a may determine that at least a portion of the first downlink burst was not successfully received. .. the UE 115-a may determine a SINR based on the first downlink burst…” and see at least ¶ [0194], “…The UE 115-a may further generate one or more IMR reports in response to the trigger for the IMR report, as may have been received in the first downlink burst at 715. The IMR reports may indicate an amount of interference measured using the received IMR…” and see at least ¶ [0195], “…the UE 115-a may transmit to the base station 105-a, and the base station 105-a may receive from the UE 115-a, an interference indication, where the interference indication may be based on the interference, as may have been identified at 720…”);
wherein the base station is configured to receive the interference estimate and based on the interference estimate reconfigure a paging configuration operated by the base station to minimize or eliminate an impact of the interference (see at least ¶ [0171], “…the base station 105 may switch from a currently active first channel 508-a to a second channel 508-b at a clean carrier frequency to avoid interference affecting further communications…” and see at least ¶ [0180], “…provide for the low latency communications system mitigating or avoiding interference within the controlled environment across multiple channels…” and see at least ¶ [0201], “…the base station 105-a may receive from the UE 115-a, a measurement report, where the measurement report may indicate whether the second channel is available based on sensing the second channel …” and see at least ¶ [0205], “…the base station 105-a may transmit instruction to switch to the second channel based on in the interference as the base station 105-a may have detected…” and further see at least ¶ [0288], “…the UE may receive from the base station an instruction to switch to a second channel and a second frame period, the second channel selected from the set of one or more available channels…” and see at least ¶ [0288], “…based on the instruction, a second downlink burst from the base station using the second channel and the second frame period…”).
Consider claim 19, Liu teaches a method for operating a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) in a wireless network having a base station and which operates in reception range of a system that transmits and receives electromagnetic radiation (see at least ¶ [0165], “…communications systems may be deployed in 5 GHz radio frequency spectrum bands which may also be used by periodic and/or long-term radar signals that may interference with the low latency communications. The base station 105 may search through potential radio frequency spectrum bands to identify channels that are unused and compile the unused channels to maintain the whitelist of clean channels that may be free from interference…”) comprising:
determining that the WTRU is in a first subset of cells of a plurality of cells where there is RADAR interference (see at least ¶ [0193], “…the UE 115-a may identify interference associated with the first downlink burst. …the UE 115-a may determine that at least a portion of the first downlink burst was not successfully received. .. the UE 115-a may determine a SINR based on the first downlink burst…” and see at least ¶ [0194], “…The UE 115-a may further generate one or more IMR reports in response to the trigger for the IMR report, as may have been received in the first downlink burst at 715. The IMR reports may indicate an amount of interference measured using the received IMR…” and see at least ¶ [0195], “…the UE 115-a may transmit to the base station 105-a, and the base station 105-a may receive from the UE 115-a, an interference indication, where the interference indication may be based on the interference, as may have been identified at 720…”); and
receiving a paging message from the base station directed to the first subset of cells in accordance with a first paging configuration, the first paging configuration being configured to avoid paging frames that incur interference to or from the system (see at least ¶ [0171], “…the base station 105 may switch from a currently active first channel 508-a to a second channel 508-b at a clean carrier frequency to avoid interference affecting further communications…” and see at least ¶ [0180], “…provide for the low latency communications system mitigating or avoiding interference within the controlled environment across multiple channels…” and see at least ¶ [0201], “…the base station 105-a may receive from the UE 115-a, a measurement report, where the measurement report may indicate whether the second channel is available based on sensing the second channel …” and see at least ¶ [0205], “…the base station 105-a may transmit instruction to switch to the second channel based on in the interference as the base station 105-a may have detected…” and further see at least ¶ [0288], “…the UE may receive from the base station an instruction to switch to a second channel and a second frame period, the second channel selected from the set of one or more available channels…” and see at least ¶ [0288], “…based on the instruction, a second downlink burst from the base station using the second channel and the second frame period…”).
Consider claims 2, 12 (depends on at least claims 1, 11), Liu discloses the limitations of claims 1, 11 as applied to claim rejection 1, 11 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches selecting a first set of wireless transmit receive units (WTRUs) and a second set of WTRUs (see at least ¶ [0006], “…an interference management resources (IMR) procedure in which the base station transmits reference signal signals to the UE that the UE may use to return a report on measured interference to the base station …”);
transmitting a first paging message to the first set of WTRUs on a first carrier frequency (see at least ¶ [0113], “…the wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 and/or UEs 115 that can support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth…”); and
transmitting a second paging message to the second set of WTRUs on the first carrier frequency (see at least ¶ [0113], “…the wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 and/or UEs 115 that can support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth…”);
wherein the first set of WTRUs is impacted by the interference; and the second set of WTRUs is not impacted by the interference (see at least ¶ [0150], “…the low latency communications system may be installed in a controlled environment that seeks to prevent interference with the low latency communications with transmissions to or from devices within a proximity … In the controlled environment, such interference from non-associated devices may tend to occur in bursts (i.e., resulting in “bursty” interference). That is, during normal operating conditions such interference may not occur often…”).
Consider claim 3 (depends on at least claim 1), Liu discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches determining by the base station, based on the interference determination, a first subset of cells of a plurality of cells where there is not interference and a second subset of cells of the plurality of cells where there is interference (see at least ¶ [0071], “…once the base station is aware of the interference, the base station may switch from a currently active first channel to a second channel at a clean carrier frequency to avoid interference affecting further communications…”);
transmitting a first paging message to the first subset of cells in accordance with a first paging configuration (see at least ¶ [0113], “…the wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 and/or UEs 115 that can support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth…”); and
transmitting a second paging message to the second subset of cells in accordance with a second paging configuration (see at least ¶ [0113], “…the wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 and/or UEs 115 that can support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth…”).
Consider claims 4, 14 (depends on at least claims 1, 11), Liu discloses the limitations of claims 1, 11 as applied to claim rejection 1, 11 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the first paging message and the second paging message are sent on the same carrier frequency (see at least ¶ [0071], “…once the base station is aware of the interference, the base station may switch from a currently active first channel to a second channel at a clean carrier frequency to avoid interference affecting further communications…”).
Consider claims 5, 15 (depends on at least claims 1, 11), Liu discloses the limitations of claims 1, 11 as applied to claim rejection 1, 11 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the second paging configuration comprises a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring occasion that avoids time slots during which interference occurs (see at least ¶ [0162], “…the base station 105 may schedule downlink transmissions 415 for one or more UEs 115. However, because of interference, control signaling (e.g., PDCCH) and/or the downlink transmissions 415 may not be received at the respective UEs 115…”).
Consider claims 6, 16 (depends on at least claims 1, 11), Liu discloses the limitations of claims 1, 11 as applied to claim rejection 1, 11 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the second paging configuration comprises a paging search space having time slots that do not occur during periods when interference occurs (see at least ¶ [0109], “…communications over a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling to support decoding the user data…”).
Consider claims 7, 17 (depends on at least claims 1, 11), Liu discloses the limitations of claims 1, 11 as applied to claim rejection 1, 11 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the second paging configuration operates in a control resource set that does not occupy a frequency band in which interference occurs (see at least ¶ [0143], “…communications system such that transmissions may cause interference, there is a likelihood that some transmissions between devices of the low latency communications system will occupy the same or overlapping time and frequency resources as the probe signals 305 the UE 115 transmits. When this overlap occurs, the probe signals 305 from the UE 115 may interfere with potentially mission-critical and/or delay-sensitive information in transmissions between devices of the wireless communications system…”).
Consider claims 8, 18 (depends on at least claims 1, 11), Liu discloses the limitations of claims 1, 11 as applied to claim rejection 1, 11 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the second paging configuration comprises a first subset of PDCCH monitoring occasions that does not include any monitoring occasions that occur during interference and wherein the first subset includes monitoring occasions for each antenna beam pattern in which the base station operates (see at least ¶ [0162], “…the base station 105 may schedule downlink transmissions 415 for one or more UEs 115. However, because of interference, control signaling (e.g., PDCCH) and/or the downlink transmissions 415 may not be received at the respective UEs 115…”).
Consider claim 9 (depends on at least claim 1), Liu discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the first paging configuration operates in a first control resource set during a first complete antenna pattern sweep and the second paging operation operates in a second control resource set, which is different than the first control resource set and during a second complete antenna pattern sweep (see at least ¶ [0162], “…the antennas of a base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays, which may support MIMO operations, or transmit or receive beamforming. …antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115…”).
Consider claim 10 (depends on at least claim 1), Liu discloses the limitations of claim 1 as applied to claim rejection 1 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the determining interference further comprises determining that the interference is above a threshold (see at least ¶ [0163], “…the UE 115 may transmit to the base station 105 an indication of interference (e.g., a 1-bit indication or a multi-bit indication) based on a measured level of interference exceeding a threshold level of interference…”).
Consider claim 20 (depends on at least claim 19), Liu discloses the limitations of claim 19 as applied to claim rejection 19 above and further discloses:
Liu teaches wherein the first paging configuration is reconfigured based on an interference determination (see at least ¶ [0071], “…once the base station is aware of the interference, the base station may switch from a currently active first channel to a second channel at a clean carrier frequency to avoid interference affecting further communications…”).
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 CHUONG A NGO whose telephone number is (571)270-7264. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 5:30AM-3:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony S Addy can be reached at (571) 272-7795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHUONG A NGO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
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