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 .
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) 1-3, 6-9, 12, and 17-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal (US 20240031985) in view of Jung (US 20190223145), and further in view of Chatterjee (US 20240196413).
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim(s) 1/7/17/18/19/20, Agiwal teaches A method for determining a bandwidth part (BWP) ([0055], “UE monitors PO in initial DL BWP.”), performed by a ... terminal ([0055], UE), the method comprising:
determining a monitoring occasion for a first BWP ([0055], “UE monitors PO in its active DL BWP. A PO is a set of ‘S’ PDCCH monitoring occasions for paging.”) ...
monitoring the first BWP according to the monitoring occasion ([0055], “UE monitors PO in its active DL BWP.);
wherein determining the monitoring occasion for the first BWP comprises:
determining the monitoring occasion comprising one or more monitoring occasions in an idle state phase ([0055], “In the RRC idle/inactive mode UE monitors PO in its active DL BWP.”).
However, Agiwal does not specifically disclose wherein the first BWP is configured with a paging search space and a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB).
In an analogous art, Jung discloses wherein the first BWP ([0065], “the third UE 275 has an active DL BWP that includes the SS/PBCH Block3 and the associated C-SS.”) is configured with a paging search space ([0004 and 0065], C-SS, Common Search Space (“C-SS”)) and a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) ([0005 and 0065], SS/PBCH, “a SS/PBCH block (e.g., a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Agiwal to specify search space as taught by Jung. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to receive downlink data.
However, the combination of Agiwal and Jung does not teach redcap and wherein the first BWP is configured based on a system information block (SIB).
In an analogous art, Chatterjee teaches A method for determining a bandwidth part (BWP) ([0232], “the CORESET defining a downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP).”), performed by a redcap terminal ([0232], “configure the UE for Reduced Capability (RedCap) operation in the 5G NR network.”), the method comprising:
wherein the first BWP is configured based on a system information block (SIB) ([0159], “the configuration of initial DL BWP provided via SIB1, may apply separately for non-RedCap and RedCap UEs.”);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Agiwal to specify reduced terminal as taught by Chatterjee. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to reduce complexity.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claim(s) 2/8/21/24/27/28, Agiwal teaches wherein the monitoring occasion comprises one or more monitoring occasions in one or more of following: a random access phase, a connected state phase, an idle state phase ([0055], “In the RRC idle/inactive mode UE monitors PO in its active DL BWP.”) or an inactive state phase.
Regarding claim(s) 3/9/22/25, Agiwal teaches wherein determining the monitoring occasion for the first BWP comprises:
obtaining indication information ([0068], “The parameter first-PDCCH-MonitoringOccasionOfPO is signalled in SIB1 for paging in initial DL BWP”), wherein the indication information ([0068], “SIB1”) is used to indicate the monitoring occasion ([0068], “MonitoringOccasionOfPO”) for the first BWP ([0068], “initial DL BWP”).
Regarding claim(s) 6/12/23/26, Agiwal teaches wherein determining the monitoring occasion for the first BWP further comprises at least one of the following:
determining the monitoring occasion comprising one or more monitoring occasions in a connected state phase ([0055], “In RRC connected state UE monitors one or more POs to receive SI update notification and to receive emergency notifications.”) ...
determining the monitoring occasion comprising one or more monitoring occasions in a random access phase, wherein the first BWP comprises no control resource set configured by a master information block;
determining the monitoring occasion comprising one or more monitoring occasions in at least one of an idle state phase or an inactive state phase, or comprising one or more monitoring occasions in a random access phase, wherein the redcap terminal performs a time division duplexing communication;
determining the monitoring occasion comprising one or more monitoring occasions in a connected state phase, wherein the redcap terminal performs a frequency division duplexing communication;
determining the monitoring occasion being a random access phase, wherein the first BWP is configured with no SSB; or determining the monitoring occasion comprising one or more monitoring occasions in a random access phase, wherein the first BWP is configured with a random access- based search space;
However, Agiwal does not teach wherein the first BWP comprises a control resource set configured by a master information block.
In an analogous art, Chatterjee teaches wherein the first BWP comprises a control resource set configured by a master information block ([0151], “the initial DL BWP can either be the MIB-indicated CORESET #0.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to have modified the method of Agiwal to specify MIB as taught by Chatterjee. The motivation/suggestion would have been because there is a need to indicate COREST resource.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims filed on 06/30/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection in instant Office action does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the Applicant’s arguments.
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 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.
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/ZHIREN QIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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