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 with respect to claims have been considered but are moot in view of new ground of rejection.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 1, “The method of claim 7” should be “The method of claim 1”.
Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 1, “The computing device of claim 18” should be “The computing device of claim 12”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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, 6, 10-12, 17 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aparin et al. (US 2014/0269865, filed in IDS) in view of Kumar et al. (US 2019/0166608).
Regarding Claim 1, Aparin teaches a method comprising:
selecting, by a computing device, a plurality of frequency bands for communicating with at least one node of a wireless network, each of the plurality of frequency bands corresponding to a respective communication channel ([0034] The front end module 104 may filter the signals from the antennas 110 using one or more switches 186 and/or filters 188. The front end module 104 may provide the amplified received signals to the transceiver 106; [0095] The modem 608 may receive a combined signal 640 (e.g., a combined differential signal) from a transceiver 106 via the analog baseband interface 184. The combined signal 640 may include the upconverted signal bands of each of the first upconverted signal 536a and the second upconverted signal 536b obtained by the transceiver 506);
receiving, by the computing device, a frequency block that encompasses the plurality of frequency bands ([0034] the wireless device 102 may receive one or more signals from a first antenna 110. In some configurations, the wireless device 102 may receive multiple signals at multiple antennas 110a-n. Each of the antennas 110a-n may receive one or more signals and provide the signals to the front end module 104. The front end module 104 may filter the signals from the antennas 110 using one or more switches 186 and/or filters 188. The front end module 104 may provide the amplified received signals to the transceiver 106; [0095] The modem 608 may receive a combined signal 640 (e.g., a combined differential signal) from a transceiver 106 via the analog baseband interface 184. The combined signal 640 may include the upconverted signal bands of each of the first upconverted signal 536a and the second upconverted signal 536b obtained by the transceiver 506);
demodulating, by the computing device and to a baseband domain, the frequency block, wherein demodulating the frequency block to the baseband domain comprises downconverting, by the computing device, the frequency block as a single block ([0035] the transceiver 106 may downconvert a received signal using a transceiver downconverter 114. The transceiver downconverter 114 may be used for downconverting a received signal to a baseband frequency. The transceiver downconverter 114 may downconvert the received signal based on the frequency of a local oscillator (LO) signal provided by a local oscillator (LO) 118. The transceiver downconverter 114 may output a downconverted signal at the baseband frequency. As used herein, the downconverted signal may also be referred to as a baseband signal or a received signal at a baseband frequency; [0096] The first modem downconverter 624a may downconvert the combined signal 640 according to the frequency of the interface local oscillator (LO) signal 638 provided to the first modem downconverter 624a; [0098] The first baseband filter 682a may filter out non-baseband signals from the first downconverted signal 642a such that the resulting first filtered signal 678a includes only the signal band of the first downconverted signal 642a at the baseband frequency (i.e. the combined signal 640 is downconverted as a single block by the downconverter 624a)).
However, Aparin does not teach decoding, by the computing device and based on the demodulated frequency block, a respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands.
In an analogous art, Kumar teaches decoding, by the computing device and based on the demodulated frequency block, a respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands ([0084] As shown in FIG. 10, when signal is received from a CC at a receiver antenna, it is filtered by band-pass filer 1002 and then travels a signal path through the RF chain for demodulation and decoding. Accordingly, the number of RF chains included in the RF circuitry within a wireless device corresponds to the number of receive signal paths).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kumar’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can achieve intelligent resource assignment to increase throughput in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and carrier aggregation (CA) capable devices (Kumar [0030]).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Aparin and Kumar, specifically Aparin teaches the plurality of frequency bands comprises at least two frequency bands that are non-contiguous ([0037] The first frequency and second frequency may be offset along the frequency spectrum such that their spectra are not overlapping; [0038] Each upconverted signal may be offset along the frequency spectrum such that none of the signal bands from different received signals are overlapping along the frequency spectrum. As an example, in a wireless device 102 with three receiver paths, the combined signal 140 may include three signal bands offset along a frequency range of 3-300 megahertz (MHz). Each signal band within the combined signal 140 may correspond to a different baseband signal upconverted to a different intermediate frequency).
Regarding Claim 10, Aparin does not teach the computing device receives the frequency block via a single 4x4 multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) device.
In an analogous art, Kumar teaches the computing device receives the frequency block via a single 4x4 multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) device ([0095] the UE may assign 4 RF chains to PC in a 4×4 MIMO mode and further assign 2 RF chains to SCC1 and 2 chains to SCC2. ... the UE may assign 2 RF chains to the PCC, 4 RF chains to SCC1 in a 4×4 MIMO mode).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kumar’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can achieve intelligent resource assignment to increase throughput in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and carrier aggregation (CA) capable devices (Kumar [0030]).
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Aparin and Kumar, specifically Aparin teaches selecting the plurality of frequency bands for communicating with the at least one node of the wireless network comprises: selecting the plurality of frequency bands for communicating with a single node of the wireless network ([0094] The transceiver 506 may combine the first upconverted signal 536a and the second upconverted signal 536b using a summing block 522 to obtain a combined signal 540; [0095] The modem 608 may receive a combined signal 640 (e.g., a combined differential signal) from a transceiver 106 via the analog baseband interface 184. The combined signal 640 may include the upconverted signal bands of each of the first upconverted signal 536a and the second upconverted signal 536b obtained by the transceiver 506).
Regarding Claim 12, Aparin teaches a computing device comprising: a receiver chain comprising: one or more antennas ([0028] one or more antennas); and a downconverter ([0032] transceiver downconverters); and one or more processors ([0107] processor) configured to:
select a plurality of frequency bands for communicating with at least one node of a wireless network, each of the plurality of frequency bands corresponding to a respective communication channel ([0034] The front end module 104 may filter the signals from the antennas 110 using one or more switches 186 and/or filters 188. The front end module 104 may provide the amplified received signals to the transceiver 106; [0095] The modem 608 may receive a combined signal 640 (e.g., a combined differential signal) from a transceiver 106 via the analog baseband interface 184. The combined signal 640 may include the upconverted signal bands of each of the first upconverted signal 536a and the second upconverted signal 536b obtained by the transceiver 506);
cause the receiver chain to receive, via the one or more antennas, a frequency block that encompasses the plurality of frequency bands ([0034] the wireless device 102 may receive one or more signals from a first antenna 110. In some configurations, the wireless device 102 may receive multiple signals at multiple antennas 110a-n. Each of the antennas 110a-n may receive one or more signals and provide the signals to the front end module 104. The front end module 104 may filter the signals from the antennas 110 using one or more switches 186 and/or filters 188. The front end module 104 may provide the amplified received signals to the transceiver 106; [0095] The modem 608 may receive a combined signal 640 (e.g., a combined differential signal) from a transceiver 106 via the analog baseband interface 184. The combined signal 640 may include the upconverted signal bands of each of the first upconverted signal 536a and the second upconverted signal 536b obtained by the transceiver 506);
cause a downconverter to demodulate, to a baseband domain, the frequency block, wherein the processors are configured to cause the downconverter to demodulate the frequency block to the baseband domain by downconverting the frequency block as a single block ([0035] the transceiver 106 may downconvert a received signal using a transceiver downconverter 114. The transceiver downconverter 114 may be used for downconverting a received signal to a baseband frequency. The transceiver downconverter 114 may downconvert the received signal based on the frequency of a local oscillator (LO) signal provided by a local oscillator (LO) 118. The transceiver downconverter 114 may output a downconverted signal at the baseband frequency. As used herein, the downconverted signal may also be referred to as a baseband signal or a received signal at a baseband frequency; [0096] The first modem downconverter 624a may downconvert the combined signal 640 according to the frequency of the interface local oscillator (LO) signal 638 provided to the first modem downconverter 624a; [0098] The first baseband filter 682a may filter out non-baseband signals from the first downconverted signal 642a such that the resulting first filtered signal 678a includes only the signal band of the first downconverted signal 642a at the baseband frequency (i.e. the combined signal 640 is downconverted as a single block by the downconverter 624a)).
However, Aparin does not teach decode, based on the demodulated frequency block, a respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands.
In an analogous art, Kumar teaches decode, based on the demodulated frequency block, a respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands ([0084] As shown in FIG. 10, when signal is received from a CC at a receiver antenna, it is filtered by band-pass filer 1002 and then travels a signal path through the RF chain for demodulation and decoding. Accordingly, the number of RF chains included in the RF circuitry within a wireless device corresponds to the number of receive signal paths).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kumar’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can achieve intelligent resource assignment to increase throughput in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and carrier aggregation (CA) capable devices (Kumar [0030]).
Regarding Claim 17, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 6.
Regarding Claim 21, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 10.
Regarding Claim 22, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 11.
Claims 2-4, 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aparin et al. in view of Kumar et al. and Kazmi et al. (US 2016/0270047, filed in IDS).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Aparin and Kumar does not teach the plurality of frequency bands comprises a frequency division duplex band and a time division duplex band.
In an analogous art, Kazmi teaches the plurality of frequency bands comprises a frequency division duplex band and a time division duplex band ([0051] a carrier aggregation (CA) capable wireless device may be configured to operate in CA band combination involving frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) frequency bands which are adjacent or very close to each to each other in frequency domain. Examples of such bands are LTE FDD band 7 and LTE TDD band 38, which are adjacent to each other).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kazmi’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can ensure that a network node can successfully operate a CA-capable wireless device in any CA which involves FDD and TDD frequency bands close to each other in frequency. An advantage may be that the methods and systems enhance user performance since CA can be effectively used even where CA uses FDD and TDD frequency bands or TDD bands that are close to each other in frequency. As a result, overall system performance and wireless device performance is enhanced. (Kazmi [0032]).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Aparin and Kumar does not teach the plurality of frequency bands comprises at least two frequency bands that are contiguous.
In an analogous art, Kazmi teaches the plurality of frequency bands comprises at least two frequency bands that are contiguous ([0051] a carrier aggregation (CA) capable wireless device may be configured to operate in CA band combination involving frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) frequency bands which are adjacent or very close to each to each other in frequency domain. Examples of such bands are LTE FDD band 7 and LTE TDD band 38, which are adjacent to each other).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kazmi’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can ensure that a network node can successfully operate a CA-capable wireless device in any CA which involves FDD and TDD frequency bands close to each other in frequency. An advantage may be that the methods and systems enhance user performance since CA can be effectively used even where CA uses FDD and TDD frequency bands or TDD bands that are close to each other in frequency. As a result, overall system performance and wireless device performance is enhanced. (Kazmi [0032]).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Aparin and Kumar does not teach the plurality of frequency bands comprises band 7 and band 38.
In an analogous art, Kazmi teaches the plurality of frequency bands comprises band 7 and band 38 ([0051] a carrier aggregation (CA) capable wireless device may be configured to operate in CA band combination involving frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) frequency bands which are adjacent or very close to each to each other in frequency domain. Examples of such bands are LTE FDD band 7 and LTE TDD band 38, which are adjacent to each other).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kazmi’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can ensure that a network node can successfully operate a CA-capable wireless device in any CA which involves FDD and TDD frequency bands close to each other in frequency. An advantage may be that the methods and systems enhance user performance since CA can be effectively used even where CA uses FDD and TDD frequency bands or TDD bands that are close to each other in frequency. As a result, overall system performance and wireless device performance is enhanced. (Kazmi [0032]).
Regarding Claim 13, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 2.
Regarding Claim 14, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 3.
Regarding Claim 15, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 4.
Claims 5 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aparin et al. in view of Kumar et al. and Loh et al. (US 2021/0211145).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Aparin and Kumar does not teach the plurality of frequency bands comprises band 48 and new radio (NR) band 77.
In an analogous art, Loh teaches the plurality of frequency bands comprises band 48 and new radio (NR) band 77 ([0099] the UHB architectures herein support EN-DC, uplink carrier aggregation, downlink carrier aggregation, uplink MIMO (for instance, 2×2 TX MIMO), and/or downlink MIMO (for instance, 4×4 RX MIMO) using one or more UHB frequency bands, such as Band 42 (about 3.4 GHz to about 3.6 GHz), Band 43 (about 3.6 GHz to about 3.8 GHz), Band 48 (about 3.55 GHz to about 3.7 GHz), Band n77 (about 3.3 GHz to about 4.2 GHz), Band n78 (about 3.3 GHz to about 3.8 GHz), and/or Band n79).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Loh’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can support UHB EN-DC, uplink carrier aggregation, downlink carrier aggregation, uplink MIMO, and/or downlink MIMO (Loh [0099]).
Regarding Claim 16, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 5.
Claims 8-9 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aparin et al. in view of Kumar et al. and Fernando (US 2013/0265892).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Aparin and Kumar does not teach downconverting the frequency block to the baseband domain comprises using, by the computing device, a local oscillator in the center of the frequency block.
In an analogous art, Fernando teaches downconverting the frequency block to the baseband domain comprises using, by the computing device, a local oscillator in the center of the frequency block ([0043] An illustration 514 shows the baseband signals from receiver 430. The received RF signal is downconverted with an LO signal at a frequency of fc, which results in the two transmissions on carriers C1 and C2 being centered at direct current (DC) or 0 Hertz.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Fernando’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can provide good performance even when the carriers are imbalanced (Fernando [0023]).
Regarding Claim 9, Aparin teaches converting, via an analog-to-digital converter, the downconverted frequency block into a plurality of digital signals, each digital signal of the plurality of digital signals corresponding to a respective frequency band of the plurality of frequency bands ([0099] The first filtered signal 678a may be converted from the analog to digital domain using a first analog to digital converter (ADC) 668 to obtain a first converted signal 644a. The first converted signal 644a may be a digital approximation of the first filtered signal 678a. The second filtered signal 678b may be converted from the analog to digital domain using a second analog to digital converter (ADC) 670 to obtain a second converted signal 644b. The second converted signal 644b may be a digital approximation of the second filtered signal 678b).
However, Aparin does not teach wherein decoding the respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands comprises: decoding, from the plurality of digital signals, the respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands.
In an analogous art, Kumar teaches wherein decoding the respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands comprises: decoding, from the plurality of digital signals, the respective signal for each of the plurality of frequency bands ([0084] As shown in FIG. 10, when signal is received from a CC at a receiver antenna, it is filtered by band-pass filer 1002 and then travels a signal path through the RF chain for demodulation and decoding. Accordingly, the number of RF chains included in the RF circuitry within a wireless device corresponds to the number of receive signal paths).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kumar’s method with Aparin’s method so that it can achieve intelligent resource assignment to increase throughput in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and carrier aggregation (CA) capable devices (Kumar [0030]).
Regarding Claim 19, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 8.
Regarding Claim 20, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in Claim 9.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wang et al. (US 2026/0019226) teaches frequency division duplex band including multiple frequency bands of a cell.
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 YU-WEN CHANG whose telephone number is (408)918-7645. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00am-5:00pm PT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Un Cho can be reached at 571-272-7919. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YU-WEN CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413
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