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
Claims 1-30 are presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 7/16/2024 and 2/5/2026 are considered.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 9-11, 13-19, 24-26 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhao et al (Zhao), US 2014/0219170.
Zhao is cited by the applicant in the IDS.
As per claim 1, Zhao teaches the invention including an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
A memory (pp. 0123); and
One or more processors, coupled to the memory (pp. 0123: UE inherently includes processor and memory), configured to:
Transmit, to a network entity, a report associated with a UE capability for supporting a common timing advance (TA) configuration (pp. 0055-0077), wherein the report indicates one or more of:
A supported TA type that includes one of an independent TA or a common TA (pp. 0058-0065); or
A quantity of timing advance groups (TAGs) for a carrier aggregation (pp. 0060-0066, 0070, 0074); and
Receive, from the network entity, a TA configuration based at least in part on the report (pp. 0071, 0075).
As per claim 2, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 1. Zhao further teaches wherein the report is per band combination (pp. 0064-0070).
As per claim 3, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 2. Zhao further teaches wherein the supported TA type is the independent TA, and wherein the TA configuration indicates an independent TAG for each band in the band combination (pp. 0065: single TAG).
As per claim 4, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 2. Zhao further teaches wherein the supported TA type is the common TA, and wherein the TA configuration indicates a common TAG for a plurality of bands in the band combination (pp. 0065-0066, 0068-0069: multi-TA group).
As per claim 9, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 1. Zhao further teaches wherein multiple independent TAs are configured as the common TA (pp. 0065-0066, 0068-0069).
As per claim 10, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 1. Zhao further teaches wherein for the quantity of TAGs for the carrier aggregation, the report indicates a set of bands associated with a common TAG per band combination (pp. 0064, 0068-0070).
As per claim 11, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 1. Zhao further teaches wherein for the quantity of TAGs for the carrier aggregation, the report indicates a set of component carriers associated with a common TAG per band and per band combination (pp. 0066).
As per claim 15, Zhao teaches the invention including an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:
A memory (pp. 0123); and
One or more processors, coupled to the memory (pp. 0123: network entity inherently includes processor and memory), configured to:
Receive, from a user equipment (UE), a report associated with a UE capability for supporting a common timing advance (TA) configuration (pp. 0055-0077), wherein the report indicates one or more of:
A supported TA type that includes one of an independent TA or a common TA (pp. 0058-0065); or
A quantity of timing advance groups (TAGs) for a carrier aggregation (pp. 0060-0066, 0070, 0074); and
Transmit, to the UE, a TA configuration based at least in part on the report (pp. 0071, 0075).
As per claim 16, Zhao teaches the invention including a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising:
Transmitting, to a network entity, a report associated with a UE capability for supporting a common timing advance (TA) configuration (pp. 0055-0077), wherein the report indicates one or more of:
A supported TA type that includes one of an independent TA or a common TA (pp. 0058-0065); or
A quantity of timing advance groups (TAGs) for a carrier aggregation (pp. 0060-0066, 0070, 0074); and
Receiving, from the network entity, a TA configuration based at least in part on the report (pp. 0071, 0075).
As per claim 17, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 16. Zhao further teaches wherein the report is per band combination (pp. 0064-0070).
As per claim 18, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 17. Zhao further teaches wherein the supported TA type is the independent TA, and wherein the TA configuration indicates an independent TAG for each band in the band combination (pp. 0065: single TAG).
As per claim 19, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 17. Zhao further teaches wherein the supported TA type is the common TA, and wherein the TA configuration indicates a common TAG for a plurality of bands in the band combination (pp. 0065-0066, 0068-0069: multi-TA group).
As per claim 24, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 16. Zhao further teaches wherein multiple independent TAs are configured as the common TA (pp. 0065-0066, 0068-0069).
As per claim 25, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 16. Zhao further teaches wherein for the quantity of TAGs for the carrier aggregation, the report indicates a set of bands associated with a common TAG per band combination (pp. 0064, 0068-0070).
As per claim 26, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 16. Zhao further teaches wherein for the quantity of TAGs for the carrier aggregation, the report indicates a set of component carriers associated with a common TAG per band and per band combination (pp. 0066).
As per claim 30, Zhao teaches the invention including a method of wireless communication performed by a network entity, comprising:
Receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a report associated with a UE capability for supporting a common timing advance (TA) configuration (pp. 0055-0077), wherein the report indicates one or more of:
A supported TA type that includes one of an independent TA or a common TA (pp. 0058-0065); or
A quantity of timing advance groups (TAGs) for a carrier aggregation (pp. 0060-0066, 0070, 0074); and
Transmitting, to the UE, a TA configuration based at least in part on the report (pp. 0071, 0075).
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) 5 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al (Zhao), US 2014/0219170, in view of obviousness.
As per claim 5, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 1. Zhao does not teach wherein the report is per band and per band combination. However, it is obvious to send individual reports for each band and band combination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to combine the teaching of Zhao and further implement the device to transmit individual reports for each band and for each band combination to provide specific reports.
As per claim 20, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 16. Zhao does not teach wherein the report is per band and per band combination. However, it is obvious to send individual reports for each band and band combination. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to combine the teaching of Zhao and further implement the device to transmit individual reports for each band and for each band combination to provide specific reports.
Claim(s) 8 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al (Zhao), US 2014/0219170, in view of You et al (YOU), US 2023/0328745.
As per claim 8, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 1. Zhao does not teach wherein the common TA is not configured as multiple independent TAs. YOU teaches a default TA as the common TA that is not configured as multiple independent TAs (pp. 0164-0166). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to combine the teaching of Zhao and YOU and configure a default TA that is common for different devices and dedicated TAs as independent TAs for each device.
As per claim 23, Zhao teaches the invention as claimed in claim 16. Zhao does not teach wherein the common TA is not configured as multiple independent TAs. YOU teaches a default TA as the common TA that is not configured as multiple independent TAs (pp. 0164-0166). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to combine the teaching of Zhao and YOU and configure a default TA that is common for different devices and dedicated TAs as independent TAs for each device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7, 12-14, 21-22 and 27-29 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Park et al, US 2023/0164829
Uchino et al, US 2023/0042828
Kim et al, US 2020/0221410
Sebire et al, US 2011/0243102
Echigo et al, US 2024/0340826
Yoshioka et al, EP 4383847A1
Yoshioka et al, EP 4412274A1
A shortened statutory period for reply to this Office action is set to expire Three MONTHS from the mailing date of this action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNY S LIN whose telephone number is (571) 272-3968.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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KENNY S. LIN
Examiner
Art Unit 2416
/Kenny S Lin/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
June 4, 2026
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