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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1, 3-17 and 19-25 (instant Application 18/790,225) are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-18, 20-24 and 27 of U.S. Patent No. 12,075,500. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the cited patent disclose obvious version of the instant claims.
Instant Application 18/790,225
U.S. 12,075,500
1. (New) A method comprising:
receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a first data stream over a physical component carrier and a second data stream over a virtual component carrier using a carrier aggregation scheme,
wherein carrier aggregation of the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE.
Difference: Claim 1 of cited patent discloses obvious version of the claim because current claim is just broader with less claim limitation.
1. A method for receiving data, the method comprising:
receiving, by a user equipment (UE) from a cell associated with a same physical cell ID (PCI), a first data stream over a physical component carrier and a second data stream over a virtual component carrier using a carrier aggregation scheme,
carrier aggregation of the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier having the same PCI and by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE.
3. (New) The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same timing advance group (TAG).
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same timing advance group (TAG).
4. (New) The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same cyclic prefix (CP) duration.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same cyclic prefix (CP) duration.
5. (New) The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same sub-carrier spacing.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same sub-carrier spacing.
6. (New) The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same bandwidth partition.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same bandwidth partition.
7. (New) The method of claim 1, wherein a first frame communicated over the physical component carrier is aligned in a time domain with a second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein a frame communicated over the physical component carrier is aligned in a time domain with a frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
8. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein first subframes in the first frame communicated over the physical component carrier are aligned in the time domain with second subframes in the second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier, the first frame communicated over the physical component carrier carrying a same number of subframes as the second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier, wherein pairs of subframes, transmitted over respective the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier, that align in the time domain, are associated with a same subframe index.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein subframes in the frame communicated over the physical component carrier are aligned in the time domain with subframes in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier, the frame communicated over the physical component carrier carrying a same number of subframes as the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier, wherein pairs of subframes, transmitted over respective physical and virtual component carriers, that align in the time domain are associated with a same subframe index.
9. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame has a different duration than corresponding one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the second frame.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the frame communicated over the physical component carrier has a different duration than corresponding one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
10. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with the last symbol of a PDCCH in the second frame.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the frame communicated over physical component carrier does not align in the time domain with the last symbol of a PDCCH in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
11. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PDSCH in the second frame.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the frame communicated over the physical component carrier does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PDSCH in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
12. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUCCH in the second frame.
11. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in the frame communicated over the physical component carrier does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUCCH in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
13. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUSCH in the second frame.
12. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the frame communicated over the physical component carrier does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUSCH in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
14. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier share at least one of a common downlink synchronization channel (SCH), a common physical broadcast channel (PBCH), or a common physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
13. The method of claim 6, wherein the frame communicated over the physical component carrier and the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier share a common downlink synchronization channel (SCH).
14. The method of claim 6, wherein the frame communicated over the physical component carrier and the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier share a common physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
15. The method of claim 6, wherein the frame communicated over the physical component carrier and the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier share a common search space in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
15. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein the first frame and the second frame share a downlink control information (DCI) message.
16. The method of claim 6, wherein the frame communicated over the physical component carrier and the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier share a downlink control information (DCI) message without blind detection.
16. (New) The method of claim 7, further comprising:
decoding, by the UE, a downlink control information (DCI) message carried by the first frame, the DCI message indicating a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame; and
determining that the starting or ending symbol location indicated by the DCI message carried by the first frame also indicates a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the second frame when the starting or ending symbol location for a corresponding one of the PDCCH, the PDSCH, the PUCCH, and the PUSCH in the second frame has not been configured via higher layer signaling.
17. The method of claim 6, further comprising:
decoding, by the UE, a downlink control information (DCI) message carried by the frame communicated over the physical component carrier, the DCI message indicating a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the frame communicated over the physical component carrier; and
determining that the starting or ending symbol location indicated by the DCI message carried by the frame communicated over the physical component carrier also indicates a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier when the starting or ending symbol location for a corresponding one of the PDCCH, the PDSCH, the PUCCH, and the PUSCH in the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier has not been configured via higher layer signaling.
17. (New) The method of claim 7, wherein the UE does not receive an uplink grant for resources in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of the second frame.
18. The method of claim 6, wherein the UE does not receive an uplink grant for resources in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of the frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
19. (New) The method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting a single physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) message, the single PUCCH message including at least a first HARQ feedback bit indicating whether a first codeword or a first code block used by the first data stream was successfully decoded by the UE, and at least a second HARQ feedback bit indicating whether a second codeword or a second code block used by the second data stream was successfully decoded by the UE.
20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting a single physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) message, the single PUCCH message including at least a first HARQ feedback bit indicating whether a codeword or code block carried by the first data stream was successfully decoded by the UE, and at least a second HARQ feedback bit indicating whether a codeword and/or code block carried by the second data stream was successfully decoded by the UE.
20. (New) The method of claim 19, wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits in the single PUCCH message is based on a combined number of codewords or code blocks carried by data streams received over component carriers in a group of component carriers that includes the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits in the single PUCCH message is based on a combined number of codewords and/or code blocks carried by data streams received over component carriers in a group of component carriers that includes the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier.
21. (New) The method of claim 19, wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits in the single PUCCH message is configured via higher layer signaling.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits in the single PUCCH message is configured via higher layer signaling.
22. (New) The method of claim 19, wherein a resource of the single PUCCH message is configured by RRC signaling.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein a resource of the PUCCH is configured by RRC signaling.
23. (New) The method of claim 1, further comprising:
descrambling a first message carried by the first data stream according to a scrambling identity associated with a physical cell ID (PCI) assigned to the physical component carrier; and
descrambling a second message carried by the second data stream using either the scrambling identity associated with the PCI or a scrambling identity configured through higher layer signaling.
24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
descrambling a first message carried by the first data stream according to a scrambling identity associated with the same PCI assigned to the physical component carrier; and
descrambling a second message carried by the second data stream using either the scrambling identity associated with the same PCI or a scrambling identity configured through higher layer signaling.
24. (New) A user equipment (UE) comprising:
at least one processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming, the programming including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to perform operations including:
receiving a first data stream over a physical component carrier and a second data stream over a virtual component carrier using a carrier aggregation scheme,
wherein carrier aggregation of the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE.
Difference: Claim 1 of cited patent discloses obvious version of the claim because current claim is just broader with less claim limitation.
27. A user equipment (UE) comprising:
at least one processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming including instructions to cause the UE to:
receive, from a cell associated with a same physical cell ID (PCI), a first data stream over a physical component carrier and a second data stream over a virtual component carrier using a carrier aggregation scheme,
carrier aggregation of the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier having the same PCI and by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE.
25. (New) A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving a first data stream over a physical component carrier and a second data stream over a virtual component carrier using a carrier aggregation scheme,
wherein carrier aggregation of the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE.
Difference: Claim 1 of cited patent discloses obvious version of the claim because current claim is just broader with less claim limitation.
27. A user equipment (UE) comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming including instructions to cause the UE to:
receive, from a cell associated with a same physical cell ID (PCI), a first data stream over a physical component carrier and a second data stream over a virtual component carrier using a carrier aggregation scheme,
carrier aggregation of the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier having the same PCI and by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE.
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 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 col. 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 6, 18 and 23-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1 et al (US20110034175A1) in view of Yi et al (US20160278032A1).
Regarding claim 1 (New), Fong#1’175 discloses a method (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045) comprising:
receiving, by a user equipment (UE) (see, Fig. 3, UA 210, par 0045), a first data stream (traffic over physical carrier using CoMP, par 0045-0046) over a physical component carrier (see, carrier f3 are physical carriers of network nodes/cells 202 and 206, par 0045) and a second data stream (traffic over virtual carrier using CoMP, par 0045-0046) over a virtual component carrier using a carrier aggregation scheme (see, active set of CoMP for different traffic over all carrier f3 of network nodes/cells 202, 204 and 206, carrier f3 of network nodes/cells 202 and 206 are physical carriers while carrier f3 of node/cell 204 are virtual carrier, par 0045-0046 and 0058. Noted, active set of CoMP includes physical carriers and virtual carriers of the serving node/cell, par 0058. Noted further, Fig. 5, physical carrier serving DL traffic and virtual carrier serving UL traffic, par 0081).
Fong#1’175 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
wherein carrier aggregation of the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE.
However Yi’032 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 5, UE is connected to both the macro cell and the small cell in dual connectivity, par 0060) discloses: wherein carrier aggregation (see, dual connectivity with multi-CC system, par 0006) of the physical component carrier (see, physical cell, abstract, par 0064-0065, 0088) and the virtual component carrier (see, virtual cell, abstract, par 0064-0065, 0088) is achieved by the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier being associated with at least one common sublayer of a common media access control (MAC) sublayer of the UE, a common radio link control (RLC) sublayer of the UE, or a common packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the UE (see, Fig. 5-6, virtual cell and physical cell in dual connectivity using inter-node resource aggregation (CA), MeNB and SeNB shared the same BE-DRB PDCP in protocol architecture supporting dual connectivity as shown in Fig. 6, par 0062, 0088. Noted, BE-DRB PDCP layer of MeNB and SeNB are connected with non-ideal backhaul in Fig. 6 and traffic further be handled by the same BE-DRB PDCP layer of UE as shown in Fig. 6, par 0061. Noted further, the examiner picks an option to reject).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by Yi’032 into that of Fong#1’175. The motivation would have been to handle mobility and control information through virtual cell under dual connectivity, and minimize the handover frequency among small cells and maximize the spectral efficiency (par 0012-0013).
Regarding claim 2 (New), Fong#1’175 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
Fong#1’175 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with two different sublayers, respectively, the different sublayers being one or more of two different MAC sublayer entities, two different RLC sublayers, or two different PDCP sublayers, and wherein the two different sublayers are at a different sublayer level than the at least one common sublayer.
However Yi’032 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 5, UE is connected to both the macro cell and the small cell in dual connectivity, par 0060) discloses:
wherein the physical component carrier (see, physical cell, abstract, par 0064-0065, 0088) and the virtual component carrier (see, virtual cell, abstract, par 0064-0065, 0088) are associated with two different sublayers, respectively, the different sublayers being one or more of two different MAC sublayer entities (one MAC for MeNB to handle SRB and DRB, one MAC for seNB to handle BE-DRB as shown in Fig. 6), two different RLC sublayers, or two different PDCP sublayers (see, Fig. 6, different MAC entities for MeNB with physical cell and SeNB with virtual cell as shown in Fig. 6, par 0063-0065, 0088), and wherein the two different sublayers are at a different sublayer level than the at least one common sublayer (see, Fig. 6, MAC layer is different than PDCP layer which is common for MeNB with physical cell and SeNB with virtual cell to handle BE-DRB as shown in Fig. 6, par 0063-0065, 0088).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by Yi’032 into that of Fong#1’175. The motivation would have been to handle mobility and control information through virtual cell under dual connectivity, and minimize the handover frequency among small cells and maximize the spectral efficiency (par 0012-0013).
Regarding claim 6 (New), Fong#1’175 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045), wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same bandwidth partition (see, Fig. 1 and 3, each component carrier has a bandwidth of 20 MHz and the total system bandwidth is 100 MHz, carrier f3 of network nodes/cells 202 and 206 are physical carriers and carrier f3 of node/cell 204 are virtual carrier, par 0011 and 0045).
Regarding claim 18 (New), Fong#1’175 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045), wherein, for the physical component carrier (see, physical carrier in LTE system, par 0051 and 0053) or the virtual component carrier (see, virtual carrier, par 0054), a first maximum HARQ process number (see, maximum number of retransmissions for HARQ scheme used both in uplink and downlink transmissions in LTE systems, par 0053) associated with multiple HARQ process assignments is different from a second maximum HARQ process number associated with one HARQ process assignment (see, HARQ of virtual carrier is not correlated to HARQ on physical carrier with maximum number of retransmissions, and thus maximum number for HARQ scheme on physical carrier is different from that on virtual carrier, par 0053-0054).
Regarding claim 23 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045), further comprising:
descrambling a first message carried by the first data stream according to a scrambling identity associated with a physical cell ID (PCI) (see, physical cell ID of serving network node/cell, par 0058) assigned to the physical component carrier (see, PDSCH CoMP transmission on the physical carrier scrambled by the serving eNB's cell ID and thus descrambled by physical cell ID, par 0062); and
descrambling a second message carried by the second data stream using either the scrambling identity associated with the PCI (see, physical cell ID of serving network node/cell, par 0058) or a scrambling identity configured through higher layer signaling (see, PDSCH CoMP transmission on the virtual carrier scrambled by the serving eNB's cell ID (PCI) and thus descrambled by cell ID (PCI), par 0062. Noted, the examiner picks an option to reject).
Regarding claim 24 (New), Claim 15 recites a UE to perform the steps recited in claim 1 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1.
Regarding claim 25 (New), Claim 15 recites a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform the steps recited in claim 1 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1’175 in view of Yi’032 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Fong#2 (US 20130010619 A1).
Regarding claim 3 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same timing advance group (TAG).
However Fong#2’619 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 2, network 50 utilizes carrier aggregation, par 0010) discloses: wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier (see, non-anchor CCs as virtual secondary or supplemental serving cells of the UE, par 0057) are associated with a same timing advance group (TAG) (see, carrier group to apply with TA command, the carrier group including anchor carrier and non-anchor carrier (virtual carrier), par 0154, 0156-0157).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by Fong#2’619 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to perform random access procedure with timing adjustment (par 0149f).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1’175 in view of Yi’032 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of McNamara et al (US 20140011506 A1).
Regarding claim 4 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same cyclic prefix (CP) duration.
However McNamara’506 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, a plurality of base stations communicate with mobile terminals in a mobile telecommunications network, par 0030-0031) discloses: wherein the physical component carrier (see, host carrier, par 0008) and the virtual component carrier (see, virtual carrier, par 0008) are associated with a same cyclic prefix (CP) duration (see, terminal detects the PSS and SSS which indicate the cyclic prefix duration and Cell ID, virtual carrier allocates bandwidth within host carrier and therefore they have the same cyclic prefix duration, par 0008 and 0042).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by McNamara’506 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to allocate transmission resources and transmitting data in mobile telecommunication systems (par 0001).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1’175 in view of Yi’032,as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cheng et al (US 20160345347 A1).
Regarding claim 5 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same sub-carrier spacing.
However Cheng’347 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, a plurality of mobile devices 120 communicates with BS in a network 100, par 0038) discloses: wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are associated with a same sub-carrier spacing (see, both the subcarrier spacing of physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier are 60 kHz, par 0082).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by Cheng’347 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to support wireless communications over a wideband carrier (abstract).
Claims 7-8, 12,15-16 and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1’175 in view of Yi’032 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of LI et al (US 20170346606 A1, Priority Date: Dec 26, 2014).
Regarding claim 7 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein a first frame communicated over the physical component carrier is aligned in a time domain with a second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses: wherein a first frame communicated over the physical component carrier (see, physical component carriers, par 0031) is aligned in a time domain with a second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier (see, Fig. 3, each VCC (virtual component carrier) is used to identify data transmission of available sub-frames of a group of physical component carriers during cross-carrier HARQ transmission depending on sub-frames of actually configured and available physical component carriers, therefore the subframe and frame of physical component carrier and virtual component carriers are aligned as virtual component carrier is the same as one of the physical component carrier as special case, par 0031 and 0055. Noted, same HARQ process can be performed on different physical component carriers and also on the same physical component carrier, par 0055).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to process cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB (par 0054).
Regarding claim 8 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein first subframes in the first frame communicated over the physical component carrier are aligned in the time domain with second subframes in the second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier, the first frame communicated over the physical component carrier carrying a same number of subframes as the second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier, wherein pairs of subframes, transmitted over respective the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier, that align in the time domain, are associated with a same subframe index.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses: wherein first subframes in the first frame (see, fig. 1, subframe in a frame, par 0004) communicated over the physical component carrier (see, physical component carriers, par 0031) are aligned in the time domain with second subframes in the second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier (see, fig. 3, each VCC (virtual component carrier) is used to identify data transmission of available sub-frames of a group of physical component carriers during cross-carrier HARQ transmission depending on sub-frames of actually configured and available physical component carriers, therefore the subframe and frame of physical component carrier and virtual component carriers are aligned as virtual component carrier is the same as one of the physical component carrier as a special case, par 0031 and 0055. Noted, same HARQ process can be performed on different physical component carriers and also on the same physical component carrier, par 0055), the first frame communicated over the physical component carrier carrying a same number of subframes as the second frame communicated over the virtual component carrier (see, Fig. 1, and 3, each wireless frame includes 10 sub-frames in virtual component carrier or physical component carriers, par 0004 and 0055), wherein pairs of subframes, transmitted over respective the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier, that align in the time domain, are associated with a same subframe index (Noted, each VCC (virtual component carrier) is used to identify data transmission of available sub-frames of a group of physical component carriers during cross-carrier HARQ transmission depending on sub-frames of actually configured and available physical component carriers and same HARQ process can be performed on different physical component carriers and also on the same physical component carrier, therefore subframes transmitted over physical and virtual component carriers aligned and associated with the same subframe index, par 0031 and 0055. Noted, kth sub-frame can be equated to subframe index, par 0004).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to process cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB (par 0054).
Regarding claim 12 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUCCH in the second frame.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses: wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUCCH in the second frame (see, Fig. 4-5, VCC (virtual component carrier) identifies the data transmission of sub-frames of a group of physical component carriers and includes multiple carriers (carriers 1 and carrier 2) for cross-carrier HARQ on PUCCH, PUCCH channel of physical component carriers 1 is not align with PUCCH channel on carrier 2 of virtual carrier (either first symbol or last symbol according to Fig. 4 and 5), par 0007, 0064 and 0069).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to process cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB (par 0054).
Regarding claim 15 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the first frame and the second frame share a downlink control information (DCI) message.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses: wherein the first frame and the second frame share a downlink control information (DCI) message (see, channel occupation indication for both physical cell and VCC (virtual component carrier) are indicated by DCI format of common search space (therefore it’s not blind detection), par 0080).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to process cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB (par 0054).
Regarding claim 16 (New), Fong#1’175 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045), further comprising: decoding, by the UE, a downlink control information (DCI) message carried by the first frame (see, base station transmits scheduling assignment on PDCCH, par 0005), the DCI message indicating at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame (see, base station transmits scheduling assignment for PDSCH and PUSCH on DCI, par 0005. Noted, the examiner picks an option to reject).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
decoding, by the UE, a downlink control information (DCI) message carried by the first frame, the DCI message indicating a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame.
determining that the starting or ending symbol location indicated by the DCI message carried by the first frame also indicates a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the second frame when the starting or ending symbol location for a corresponding one of the PDCCH, the PDSCH, the PUCCH, and the PUSCH in the second frame has not been configured via higher layer signaling.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses:
decoding, by the UE, a downlink control information (DCI) message carried by the first frame (see, PDCCH carry DCI of the uplink or downlink channel resources, par 0006. Noted, VCC(virtual component carrier) only for HARQ on PUCCH (par 0007 and 0069), therefore PDCCH transmitted on physical component carrier), the DCI message indicating a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame (see, PDCCH carries DCI of the uplink or downlink channel resources and resources including symbols (and thus indicating starting or ending symbol), downlink channel including PDSCH and PDCCH, par 0006).
determining that the starting or ending symbol location indicated by the DCI message carried by the first frame also indicates a starting or ending symbol location for at least one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the second frame (see, VCC (virtual component carrier) identifies the data transmission of sub-frames of a group of physical component carriers and includes multiple carriers for cross-carrier HARQ on PUCCH, par 0007 and 0069) when the starting or ending symbol location for a corresponding one of the PDCCH, the PDSCH, the PUCCH, and the PUSCH in the second frame has not been configured via higher layer signaling (see, PDCCH carries DCI of the uplink channel resources and resources including symbols, uplink channel including PUCCH and VCC including multiple carriers for cross-carrier HARQ on PUCCH, par 0006-0007, 0069).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to process cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB (par 0054).
Regarding claim 19 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 1 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045), further comprising.
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
transmitting a single physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) message, the single PUCCH message including at least a first HARQ feedback bit indicating whether a first codeword or a first code block used by the first data stream was successfully decoded by the UE, and at least a second HARQ feedback bit indicating whether a second codeword or a second code block used by the second data stream was successfully decoded by the UE.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses: transmitting a single physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) message, the single PUCCH message including at least a first HARQ feedback bit (see, feedback HARQ-ACK through PUCCH, par 0007, 0099) indicating whether a first codeword or a first code block (see, HARQ on TB (Transport Block), par 0007 and 0068) used by the first data stream was successfully decoded by the UE, and at least a second HARQ feedback bit indicating whether a second codeword or a second code block used by the second data stream was successfully decoded by the UE (see, determining HARQ-ACK bits of the data group according to the number of VCCs corresponding to the data group and the number of TBs supported by the VCC in a sub-frame, fed back HARQ-ACK information of the data group by PUCCH, par 0007, 0099. Noted, VCC (virtual component carrier) including multiple physical component carriers for cross-carrier HARQ on PUCCH (par 0068), therefore feedback of HARQ-ACK bits on multiple VCC including VCC and physical component carriers when some VCC only including one component carrier).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to process cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB (par 0054).
Regarding claim 20 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 19 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045), further comprising.
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits in the single PUCCH message is based on a combined number of codewords or code blocks carried by data streams received over component carriers in a group of component carriers that includes the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses: wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits (see, HARQ-ACK bits of the data group, par 0099) in the single PUCCH message is based on a combined number of codewords or code blocks (see, UE configured with N physical component carriers and M virtual component carriers (VCC) for cross-carrier HARQ transmission, therefore it’s combined code blocks, par 0069 and 0099) carried by data streams received over component carriers in a group of component carriers that includes the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier (Note, determine HARQ-ACK bits of the data group according to the number of VCCs corresponding to the data group and the number of TBs supported by the VCC in a sub-frame when UE configured with N physical component carriers and M virtual component carriers (VCC), and fed back HARQ-ACK information of the data group by PUCCH, , par 0007, 0069, 0099. Noted, VCC (virtual component carrier) including multiple physical component carriers for cross-carrier HARQ on PUCCH (par 0068), therefore feedback of HARQ-ACK bits on multiple VCC including VCC and physical component carriers when some VCC only including one component carrier as special case).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to process cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB (par 0054).
Regarding claim 21 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 19 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits in the single PUCCH message is configured via higher layer signaling.
However LI’606 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 3, cross-carrier HARQ transmission between UE and eNB, par 0054) discloses: wherein a total number of HARQ feedback bits in the single PUCCH message is configured via higher layer signaling (see, maximum number of HARQ processes of the VCC is configured by high layer signaling from the base station, and number of bits for HARQ-ACK transmission is determined according to the number of VCCs (and thus by high layer signaling), par 0018, 0099)
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the method pertains to as taught by LI’606 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032. The motivation would have been to improve the performance of data transmission by sufficiently utilizing the HARQ transmission (par 0011).
Regarding claim 22 (New), Fong#1’175 discloses the method of claim 19 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045), wherein a resource of the single PUCCH message is configured by RRC signaling (see, channel (including PUCCH) configuration for each of the candidate carriers including physical carrier and virtual carrier configured via RRC, par 0052 and 0058).
Claims 9-10 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1’175 in view of Yi’032, and further in view of LI’606 as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Beale (US 20140044027 A1).
Regarding claim 9 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame has a different duration than corresponding one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the second frame.
However Beale’027 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 2, LTE wireless communication system, par 0039) discloses: wherein at least one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame has a different duration than corresponding one of a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUCCH, and a PUSCH in the second frame (see, as shown on Fig. 5, 11 symbols to transmit PDSCH on host carrier while only 8-9 symbols for virtual carrier data region 540 to transmit VC-PDSCH on virtual carrier, here duration corresponding with number of symbols for the transmission, par 0061).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the router pertains to as taught by Beale’027 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 and LI’606. The motivation would have been to support a bandwidth of up to 20 MHz (par 0006).
Regarding claim 10 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with the last symbol of a PDCCH in the second frame.
However Beale’027 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 2, LTE wireless communication system, par 0039) discloses: wherein a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with the last symbol of a PDCCH in the second frame (see, Fig. 5, first `n` symbols form the control region 500 for PDCCH on host carrier while virtual carrier control data region 520 are reserved for virtual carrier physical downlink control channel (VC-PDCCH), and obviously they are not aligned with any symbol in Fig. 5 which shows location in units of symbols, par 0061).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the router pertains to as taught by Beale’027 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 and LI’606. The motivation would have been to support a bandwidth of up to 20 MHz (par 0006).
Regarding claim 14 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier share at least one of a common downlink synchronization channel (SCH), a common physical broadcast channel (PBCH), or a common physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
However Beale’027 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 2, LTE wireless communication system, par 0039) discloses: wherein the physical component carrier and the virtual component carrier share at least one of a common downlink synchronization channel (SCH), a common physical broadcast channel (PBCH), or a common physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (see, UEs uses the synchronization signals transmitted by the host carrier for virtual carrier on synchronization, par 0011 and 0032)..
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the router pertains to as taught by Beale’027 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 and LI’606. The motivation would have been to support a bandwidth of up to 20 MHz (par 0006).
Claims 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1’175 in view of Yi’032, and further in view of LI’606 as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of McNamara’506.
Regarding claim 11 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PDSCH in the second frame.
However McNamara’506 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, a plurality of base stations communicate with mobile terminals in a mobile telecommunications network, par 0030-0031) discloses: wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol (see, final symbols, par 0054) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PDSCH in the second frame (see, Fig. 5, PDSCH transmits on remaining blocks of resource elements of the sub-frame which are not used for PSS, SSS and PBCH, virtual carrier allocates bandwidth within host carrier and overlap any resources used by the PSS, SSS or PBCH or other signal of the host carrier (and thus overlap with PDSCH, so final symbol on virtual are not aligned with host carrier), par 0008, 0037, 0050, 0054 and 0056-0057).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the router pertains to as taught by McNamara’506 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 and LI’606. The motivation would have been to allocate transmission resources and transmitting data in mobile telecommunication systems (par 0001).
Regarding claim 17 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the UE does not receive an uplink grant for resources in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of the second frame.
However McNamara’506 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, a plurality of base stations communicate with mobile terminals in a mobile telecommunications network, par 0030-0031) discloses: wherein the UE does not receive an uplink grant for resources in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of the second frame (see, base station signaled secondary PRACH within the virtual uplink carrier for virtual uplink carrier random access through system information on the virtual carrier (therefore the grant is not signaled by PUSCH), par 0107).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the router pertains to as taught by McNamara’506 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 and LI’606. The motivation would have been to allocate transmission resources and transmitting data in mobile telecommunication systems (par 0001).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong#1’175 in view of Yi’032, and further in view of LI’606 as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of WAKABAYASHI et al (US 20150341911 A1).
Regarding claim 13 (New), Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 discloses the method of claim 7 (see, FIG. 3, several physical carriers and a virtual carrier for one of the network nodes or cells in a network, par 0045).
The combination of Fong#1’175 and Yi’032 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUSCH in the second frame.
However WAKABAYASHI’911 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, wireless telecommunications network/system 100 with LTE principles, par 0068) discloses: wherein at least one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in the first frame does not align in the time domain with a corresponding one of a first symbol and a last symbol of a PUSCH in the second frame (Note, Fig. 3, PUSCH of host carriers allocates to resource blocks located anywhere within the channel bandwidth including different symbol allocation and PUSCH on virtual carrier adopts TTI bundling, thus PUSCH on host carriers are not aligned with PUSCH on virtual carriers in terms of symbol locations, par 0071, 0140, 0242. Noted, PUSCH on host carrier and virtual carrier are independent, PUSCH on host carrier happens is not correlated to PUSCH on virtual carrier which may not happen at the same time).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention to implement the router pertains to as taught by WAKABAYASHI’911 into that of Fong#1’175 modified by Yi’032 and LI’606. The motivation would have been to support virtual carriers operating within a bandwidth of host carriers (par 0067).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Han et al (US20160192352A1) discloses: PUCCH format 3 to report CSI on multiple serving cell (par 0033), one ACK/NACK bit for a single codeword downlink transmission and two ACK/NACK bits for a two-codeword downlink transmission (par 0030), virtual carrier (par 0087).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XUAN LU whose telephone number is (571)272-2844. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 7:30am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KWANG Yao can be reached on (571)272-3182. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/XUAN LU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473
Prosecution Insights