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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on 07/25/2024 and 11/07/2025 complies with 37 CFR 1.97. Therefore, the information referred therein has been considered.
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 (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 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) as being anticipated by Rastegardoost et al. (US 2021/0105812).
Regarding claim 1, Rastegardoost discloses an information transmission method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal, first information from a network side device, wherein the first information comprises a configuration of at least one subband ([0354], “In an example, for UL transmissions, a UE may be configured with multiple UL resources, possibly in different BWPs and/or subbands. The UE may have multiple LBT configurations, each tied to a BWP and/or subband and possibly a beam pair link.”).
Regarding claim 2, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration of the at least one subband comprises at least one of the following: the number of subbands; frequency domain information of each subband; frequency domain information of a guard band between adjacent subbands; an uplink/downlink configuration or a subframe format of each subband; or information about a combination of subbands ([0306], “In an example, a wireless device may have multiple frequency resource allocations per BWP. In an example, a UE may be configured with multiple configured grant resource configurations in a BWP by RRC. Multiple configured grant configurations may be activated and different configured grant configurations may have different combinations of subbands.”).
Regarding claim 3, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein after receiving the first information, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal, second information from the network side device, wherein the second information indicates an available subband in the at least one subband ([0375], “A bitmap for indicating available subband/carrier information may be provided per cell in DCI and transmitted on GC-PDCCH. For example, if more than one bit is provided for a cell, each bit may represent whether the corresponding LBT subband in the corresponding carrier is available for DL reception.”); and sending, by the terminal, data on a resource that is in the available subband and that is for uplink transmission, or receiving, by the terminal, data on a resource that is in the available subband and that is for downlink transmission ([0354], “In an example, for UL transmissions, a UE may be configured with multiple UL resources, possibly in different BWPs and/or subbands. The UE may have multiple LBT configurations, each tied to a BWP and/or subband and possibly a beam pair link. The UE may be granted UL resources tied to one or more LBT configurations. Similarly, the UE may be provided with multiple AUL/grant-free resources each requiring the use of different LBT configurations. Providing a UE with multiple AUL resources over multiple BWPs/subbands may ensure that if LBT fails using a first LBT configuration for one AUL resource in one BWP/subband a UE can attempt transmission in another AUL resource in another BWP/subband.”).
Regarding claim 4, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 3, wherein the second information comprises at least one of the following: first indication information indicating the number of available subbands; second indication information indicating frequency domain information of the available subbands; third indication information indicating frequency domain information of a guard band between adjacent subbands in the available subbands; fourth indication information indicating an uplink/downlink configuration or a subframe format of each of the available subbands; or fifth indication information indicating information about a combination of the available subbands ([0406], “The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB of the subband/bandwidth part (e.g. first PRB of a subband, or PRB0 of a bandwidth part). The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB of an uplink cell (e.g., point A indicated in a SIB, by RRC signaling for the UL cell). The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB excluding/after the PRBs associated with one or more guard bands of the carrier/BWP/subband.”).
Regarding claim 5, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 2, wherein the frequency domain information comprises at least one of the following: a bandwidth or granularity; a start position in frequency domain; or an end position in frequency domain ([0305], “In an example, a wireless device may perform multiple LBTs when it is configured with a BWP with frequency bandwidth larger than 20 MHz for UL configured grant transmission. In an example, if a subband is sensed to be busy, UE may not transmit an UL signal in the active BWP on the unlicensed spectrum. In an example, UE may transmit the UL signal unless all the subbands of the frequency bandwidth are sensed to be idle.”).
Regarding claim 6, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 3, wherein the second information is carried in at least one of the following: a radio resource control message; or downlink control information ([0099], “The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 or, more generally, between the UE 210 and the RAN. The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 via signaling messages, referred to as RRC messages.”).
Regarding claim 7, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 4, wherein indication information comprised in the second information is respectively carried in a plurality of signaling messages ([0099], “The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 or, more generally, between the UE 210 and the RAN. The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 via signaling messages, referred to as RRC messages. RRC messages may be transmitted between the UE 210 and the RAN using signaling radio bearers and the same/similar PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers.”).
Regarding claim 8, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein each terminal corresponds to a respective configuration of the at least one subband of the terminal; each bandwidth part corresponds to a respective configuration of the at least one subband of the bandwidth part; or each cell corresponds to a respective configuration of the at least one subband of the cell ([0289], “In an example, for the uplink transmission with configured grant in NR-U, configuration of frequency-domain resources may include one or more frequency interlaces. In an example, frequency-domain resources may be configured across multiple subbands of a wideband UL BWP configured to the UE for transmission with configured grant in NR-U.”).
Regarding claim 9, Rastegardoost discloses an information transmission method, comprising: sending, by a network side device, first information to a terminal, wherein the first information is used to configure a configuration of at least one subband for the terminal ([0354], “In an example, for UL transmissions, a UE may be configured with multiple UL resources, possibly in different BWPs and/or subbands. The UE may have multiple LBT configurations, each tied to a BWP and/or subband and possibly a beam pair link.”).
Regarding claim 10, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 9, wherein the configuration of the at least one subband comprises at least one of the following: the number of subbands; frequency domain information of each subband; frequency domain information of a guard band between adjacent subbands; an uplink/downlink configuration or a subframe format of each subband; or information about a combination of subbands ([0306], “In an example, a wireless device may have multiple frequency resource allocations per BWP. In an example, a UE may be configured with multiple configured grant resource configurations in a BWP by RRC. Multiple configured grant configurations may be activated and different configured grant configurations may have different combinations of subbands.”).
Regarding claim 11, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 9, wherein after sending the first information to the terminal, the method further comprises: sending, by the network side device, second information to the terminal, wherein the second information indicates an available subband in the at least one subband ([0375], “A bitmap for indicating available subband/carrier information may be provided per cell in DCI and transmitted on GC-PDCCH. For example, if more than one bit is provided for a cell, each bit may represent whether the corresponding LBT subband in the corresponding carrier is available for DL reception.”); and receiving, by the network side device from the terminal, data on a resource that is in the available subband and that is for uplink transmission; or sending, by the network side device to the terminal, data on a resource that is in the available subband and that is for downlink transmission ([0354], “In an example, for UL transmissions, a UE may be configured with multiple UL resources, possibly in different BWPs and/or subbands. The UE may have multiple LBT configurations, each tied to a BWP and/or subband and possibly a beam pair link. The UE may be granted UL resources tied to one or more LBT configurations. Similarly, the UE may be provided with multiple AUL/grant-free resources each requiring the use of different LBT configurations. Providing a UE with multiple AUL resources over multiple BWPs/subbands may ensure that if LBT fails using a first LBT configuration for one AUL resource in one BWP/subband a UE can attempt transmission in another AUL resource in another BWP/subband.”).
Regarding claim 12, Rastegardoost discloses the information transmission method according to claim 11, wherein the second information comprises at least one of the following: first indication information indicating the number of available subbands; second indication information indicating frequency domain information of the available subbands; third indication information indicating frequency domain information of a guard band between adjacent subbands in the available subbands; fourth indication information indicating an uplink/downlink configuration or a subframe format of each of the available subbands; or fifth indication information indicating information about a combination of the available subbands ([0406], “The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB of the subband/bandwidth part (e.g. first PRB of a subband, or PRB0 of a bandwidth part). The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB of an uplink cell (e.g., point A indicated in a SIB, by RRC signaling for the UL cell). The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB excluding/after the PRBs associated with one or more guard bands of the carrier/BWP/subband.”).
Regarding claim 13, Rastegardoost discloses a terminal, comprising: a processor ([0208], “The processing system 1508 and/or the processing system 1518 may comprise one or more controllers and/or one or more processors.”); and a memory having a computer program or an instruction stored thereon, wherein the computer program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations, comprising ([0207], “The processing system 1508 and the processing system 1518 may be associated with a memory 1514 and a memory 1524, respectively. Memory 1514 and memory 1524 (e.g., one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums) may store computer program instructions or code that may be executed by the processing system 1508 and/or the processing system 1518 to carry out one or more of the functionalities discussed in the present application.”): receiving first information from a network side device, wherein the first information comprises a configuration of at least one subband ([0354], “In an example, for UL transmissions, a UE may be configured with multiple UL resources, possibly in different BWPs and/or subbands. The UE may have multiple LBT configurations, each tied to a BWP and/or subband and possibly a beam pair link.”).
Regarding claim 14, Rastegardoost discloses the terminal according to claim 13, wherein the configuration of the at least one subband comprises at least one of the following: the number of subbands; frequency domain information of each subband; frequency domain information of a guard band between adjacent subbands; an uplink/downlink configuration or a subframe format of each subband; or information about a combination of subbands ([0306], “In an example, a wireless device may have multiple frequency resource allocations per BWP. In an example, a UE may be configured with multiple configured grant resource configurations in a BWP by RRC. Multiple configured grant configurations may be activated and different configured grant configurations may have different combinations of subbands.”).
Regarding claim 15, Rastegardoost disclose the terminal according to claim 13, wherein after receiving the first information, the operations further comprise: receiving second information from the network side device, wherein the second information indicates an available subband in the at least one subband ([0375], “A bitmap for indicating available subband/carrier information may be provided per cell in DCI and transmitted on GC-PDCCH. For example, if more than one bit is provided for a cell, each bit may represent whether the corresponding LBT subband in the corresponding carrier is available for DL reception.”); and sending data on a resource that is in the available subband and that is for uplink transmission, or receiving data on a resource that is in the available subband and that is for downlink transmission ([0354], “In an example, for UL transmissions, a UE may be configured with multiple UL resources, possibly in different BWPs and/or subbands. The UE may have multiple LBT configurations, each tied to a BWP and/or subband and possibly a beam pair link. The UE may be granted UL resources tied to one or more LBT configurations. Similarly, the UE may be provided with multiple AUL/grant-free resources each requiring the use of different LBT configurations. Providing a UE with multiple AUL resources over multiple BWPs/subbands may ensure that if LBT fails using a first LBT configuration for one AUL resource in one BWP/subband a UE can attempt transmission in another AUL resource in another BWP/subband.”).
Regarding claim 16, Rastegardoost discloses the terminal according to claim 15, wherein the second information comprises at least one of the following: first indication information indicating the number of available subbands; second indication information indicating frequency domain information of the available subbands; third indication information indicating frequency domain information of a guard band between adjacent subbands in the available subbands; fourth indication information indicating an uplink/downlink configuration or a subframe format of each of the available subbands; or fifth indication information indicating information about a combination of the available subbands ([0406], “The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB of the subband/bandwidth part (e.g. first PRB of a subband, or PRB0 of a bandwidth part). The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB of an uplink cell (e.g., point A indicated in a SIB, by RRC signaling for the UL cell). The one or more frequency offsets may be with respect to a reference PRB excluding/after the PRBs associated with one or more guard bands of the carrier/BWP/subband.”).
Regarding claim 17, Rastegardoost discloses the terminal according to claim 15, wherein the frequency domain information comprises at least one of the following: a bandwidth or granularity; a start position in frequency domain; or an end position in frequency domain ([0305], “In an example, a wireless device may perform multiple LBTs when it is configured with a BWP with frequency bandwidth larger than 20 MHz for UL configured grant transmission. In an example, if a subband is sensed to be busy, UE may not transmit an UL signal in the active BWP on the unlicensed spectrum. In an example, UE may transmit the UL signal unless all the subbands of the frequency bandwidth are sensed to be idle.”).
Regarding claim 18, Rastegardoost discloses the terminal according to claim 15, wherein the second information is carried in at least one of the following: a radio resource control message; or downlink control information ([0099], “The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 or, more generally, between the UE 210 and the RAN. The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 via signaling messages, referred to as RRC messages.”).
Regarding claim 19, Rastegardoost discloses the terminal according to claim 16, wherein indication information comprised in the second information is respectively carried in a plurality of signaling messages ([0099], “The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 or, more generally, between the UE 210 and the RAN. The RRCs 216 and 226 may provide control plane functionality between the UE 210 and the gNB 220 via signaling messages, referred to as RRC messages. RRC messages may be transmitted between the UE 210 and the RAN using signaling radio bearers and the same/similar PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers.”).
Regarding claim 20, Rastegardoost discloses the terminal according to claim 13, wherein each terminal corresponds to a respective configuration of the at least one subband of the terminal; each bandwidth part corresponds to a respective configuration of the at least one subband of the bandwidth part; or each cell corresponds to a respective configuration of the at least one subband of the cell ([0289], “In an example, for the uplink transmission with configured grant in NR-U, configuration of frequency-domain resources may include one or more frequency interlaces. In an example, frequency-domain resources may be configured across multiple subbands of a wideband UL BWP configured to the UE for transmission with configured grant in NR-U.”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nick A Sundara whose telephone number is (571)272-6749. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7:30-5:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jae Y. Lee can be reached at (571) 270-3936. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICK ANON SUNDARA/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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