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 .
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 7, 16, 18, 20, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and or (a)(2) as being anticipated by US-12471004-B2 to Lei et al., from hereon Lei.
Regarding claim 1 Lei teaches…a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to (Col. 2, LNs. 27-34…discloses… a user equipment is described. In the example, the user equipment includes one or more memories and one or more processors. According to some aspects, the one or more processors are configured to, individually or collectively, based at least in part on information stored in the one or memories, receive from a network entity ): receive a primary synchronization signal spanning a first plurality of resource blocks (Col. 2, Lns. 20-35); receive a physical broadcast channel transmission associated with the primary synchronization signal, the physical broadcast channel transmission spanning a second plurality of resource blocks (Col. 2, Lns. 20-35…discloses… a synchronization signal block (SSB) conveying a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) within an SSB resource area of a time-frequency resource grid bounded in time by a first configured integer number of time units and bounded in frequency by a second configured integer number of physical channels ), wherein a numerical quantity of the first plurality of resource blocks is same as a numerical quantity of the second plurality of resource blocks (Col. 2, Lns. 20-35, Col. 30, Lns. 58-68, and Col. 37, Lns. 45-60…discloses.. he processor 1804 may include synchronization signal block (SSB) and SSB burst set reception circuitry 1842 configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving, from a network entity, an SSB conveying a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) within an SSB resource area of a time-frequency resource grid bounded in time by a first configured integer number of time units and bounded in frequency by a second configured integer number of physical channels ); and communicate with a network entity in accordance with receiving the primary synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel transmission associated with the primary synchronization signal (Col. 10, Lns. 5865, Col. 7, Lns. 60—64 discloses…the UE 224 may move from the geographic area corresponding to its serving cell (e.g., cell 202) to the geographic area corresponding to a neighbor cell (e.g., cell 206).
Regarding claim 3 Lei teaches the UE of claim 1, Lei teaches…wherein, to receive the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: receive the primary synchronization signal mapped to a first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks (Col. 19, Lns. 33-50); and receive a synchronization signal block presence indicator mapped to a second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks (Col. 33, LNs. 53-64).
Regarding claim 5 Lei teaches the UE of claim 1, Lei teaches…wherein, to receive the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: receive the primary synchronization signal mapped to a first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks; and receive a secondary synchronization signal mapped to a second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks (Col. 19, Lns. 50-65).
Regarding claim 7 Lei teaches the UE of claim 1, Lei teaches…wherein, to receive the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: receive a primary synchronization signal burst comprising a first primary synchronization signal and a second primary synchronization signal, wherein each of the first primary synchronization signal and the second primary synchronization signal span the first plurality of resource blocks (Col. 24, Lns. 63-66).
Regarding claim 16 Lei teaches…a network entity, comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to (Col. 1, Lns. 50-60 discloses… a network entity is described. The network entity includes one or more memories and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to, individually or collectively, based at least in part on information stored in the one or more memories, configure a synchronization signal block (SSB) using SSB resources that convey a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) within an SSB resource area of a time-frequency resource grid bounded in time by a first configured integer number of time units and bounded in frequency by a second configured integer number of physical channels ): output a primary synchronization signal spanning a first plurality of resource blocks; output a physical broadcast channel transmission associated with the primary synchronization signal, the physical broadcast channel transmission spanning a second plurality of resource blocks (Col. 26, Lns. 1-8….discloses. a network entity is described. The network entity includes one or more memories and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to, individually or collectively, based at least in part on information stored in the one or more memories, configure a synchronization signal block (SSB) using SSB resources that convey a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) within an SSB resource area of a time-frequency resource grid bounded in time by a first configured integer number of time units and bounded in frequency by a second configured integer number of physical channels.), wherein a numerical quantity of the first plurality of resource blocks is same as a numerical quantity of the second plurality of resource blocks(Col. 2, Lns. 20-35, Col. 30, Lns. 58-68, and Col. 37, Lns. 45-60…discloses.. he processor 1804 may include synchronization signal block (SSB) and SSB burst set reception circuitry 1842 configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving, from a network entity, an SSB conveying a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) within an SSB resource area of a time-frequency resource grid bounded in time by a first configured integer number of time units and bounded in frequency by a second configured integer number of physical channels ); and communicate with a user equipment (UE) in accordance with outputting the primary synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel transmission associated with the primary synchronization signal(Col. 10, Lns. 5865, Col. 7, Lns. 60—64 discloses…the UE 224 may move from the geographic area corresponding to its serving cell (e.g., cell 202) to the geographic area corresponding to a neighbor cell (e.g., cell 206).
Regarding claim 18 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 16, wherein, to output the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to: output the primary synchronization signal mapped to a first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks(Col. 19, Lns. 33-50); and output a synchronization signal block presence indicator mapped to a second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks (Col. 33, LNs. 53-64).
Regarding claim 20 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 16, Lei teaches…wherein, to output the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to: output the primary synchronization signal mapped to a first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks; and output a secondary synchronization signal mapped to a second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks blocks (Col. 19, Lns. 50-65).
Regarding claim 22 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 16, Lei teaches…wherein, to output the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to: output a primary synchronization signal burst comprising a first primary synchronization signal and a second primary synchronization signal, wherein each of the first primary synchronization signal and the second primary synchronization signal span the first plurality of resource blocks(Col. 24, Lns. 63-66)..
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim(s) 2 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-12471004-B2 to Lei et al., from hereon Lei in view of CN115865297A to Jiang.
Regarding claim 2 Lei teaches the UE of claim 1, but does not teach…wherein at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty.
Jiang teaches… wherein at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty (Fig. 1, page 1, Lns. 20-40 ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Jiang because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams selecting the beams with the stronger signal that have particular configuration of the pilot signals whether empty of used (Jiang, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 17 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 16, but does not teach…wherein at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty.
Jiang teaches… wherein at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty(Fig. 1, page 1, Lns. 20-40 )..
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Jiang because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams selecting the beams with the stronger signal that have particular configuration of the pilot signals whether empty of used (Jiang, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Claim(s) 4, 6, 19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-12471004-B2 to Lei et al., from hereon Lei in view of US-20210360635-A1 to Sahraei et al., from hereon Sahraei.
Regarding claim 4 Lei teaches the UE of claim 3, but does not teach…wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty.
Sahraei teaches… wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty (P. 111-112 ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Sahraei because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams selecting the beams with the stronger signal that have particular configuration of the pilot signals (Sahraei, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 6 Lei teaches the UE of claim 5, but does not teach…wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty.
Sahraei wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty(P. 111-112 ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Sahraei because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams selecting the beams with the stronger signal that have particular configuration of the pilot signals (Sahraei, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 19 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 18, but does not teach…wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty.
Sahraei teaches… wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty(P. 111-112 ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Sahraei because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams selecting the beams with the stronger signal that have particular configuration of the pilot signals (Sahraei, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 21 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 20, but does not teach…wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty.
Sahraei teaches… wherein one or more tones located between the first subset of the first plurality of resource blocks and the second subset of the first plurality of resource blocks are empty(P. 111-112 ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Sahraei because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams selecting the beams with the stronger signal that have particular configuration of the pilot signals (Sahraei, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Claim(s) 8 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-12471004-B2 to Lei et al., from hereon Lei in view of US-20180324604-A1 to Yang et al., from hereon Yang.
Regarding claim 8 Lei teaches the UE of claim 1, but does not teach…wherein, to receive the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: detect an energy pattern corresponding to the primary synchronization signal, wherein the energy pattern indicates that at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty.
Yang teaches… wherein, to receive the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: detect an energy pattern corresponding to the primary synchronization signal, wherein the energy pattern indicates that at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty (P. 278).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Yang because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams and selecting based on energy detection and mutting patterns performing detection (Yang, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 23 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 16, but does not teach…wherein, to output the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to: output the primary synchronization signal in accordance with an energy pattern, wherein the energy pattern indicates that at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty.
Yang teaches… wherein, to output the primary synchronization signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to: output the primary synchronization signal in accordance with an energy pattern, wherein the energy pattern indicates that at least one resource block of the first plurality of resource blocks is empty(P. 278).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Yang because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration based on the received beams and selecting based on energy detection and mutting patterns performing detection (Yang, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Claim(s) 9 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-12471004-B2 to Lei et al., from hereon Lei in view of US20230031276-A1 to Kwak et al., from hereon Kwak.
Regarding claim 9 Lei teaches the UE of claim 1, but does not teach…wherein the numerical quantity of the first plurality of resource blocks comprises twenty resource blocks.
Kwak teaches… wherein the numerical quantity of the first plurality of resource blocks comprises twenty resource blocks (P. 46 discloses…UEs may be configured to support a reduced operating bandwidth to reduce power consumption and UE complexity. For example, a reduced operating bandwidth may include a bandwidth of less than 20 MHz, or less than 100 resource blocks. In some examples, the reduced operating bandwidth may be about 10 MHz, 5 MHz, 4 MHz, or some other bandwidth. Additionally, or alternatively, the reduced operating bandwidth for a UE may be a number of resource blocks less than 100 resource blocks, for example, 50 resource blocks, 25 resource blocks, 20 resource blocks, or some other number of resource blocks).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Kwank because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration of parameters for communication between network elements/devices (Kwak, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability
Regarding claim 24 Lei teaches the network entity of claim 16, but does not teach…wherein the numerical quantity of the first plurality of resource blocks comprises twenty resource blocks.
Kwak teaches… wherein the numerical quantity of the first plurality of resource blocks comprises twenty resource blocks(P. 46 discloses…UEs may be configured to support a reduced operating bandwidth to reduce power consumption and UE complexity. For example, a reduced operating bandwidth may include a bandwidth of less than 20 MHz, or less than 100 resource blocks. In some examples, the reduced operating bandwidth may be about 10 MHz, 5 MHz, 4 MHz, or some other bandwidth. Additionally, or alternatively, the reduced operating bandwidth for a UE may be a number of resource blocks less than 100 resource blocks, for example, 50 resource blocks, 25 resource blocks, 20 resource blocks, or some other number of resource blocks).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Lei by incorporating the teachings of Kwank because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration of parameters for communication between network elements/devices (Kwak, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 25 are allowed..
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the main reason for allowance of the claims under discussion is the inclusion of “receive a power boost symbol prior to receiving a primary synchronization signal, the power boost symbol spanning a physical resource block in a synchronization signal block bandwidth; receive the primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal based at least in part on the power boost symbol; and communicate with a network entity in accordance with receiving the primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal” and “output a power boost symbol prior to outputting a primary synchronization signal, the power boost symbol spanning a physical resource block in a synchronization signal block bandwidth; output the primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal based at least in part on the power boost symbol; and communicate with a user equipment (UE) in accordance with outputting the primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal.” as the prior art of record in stand-alone form nor in combination read into the disclosed claims as supported by the specification. Furthermore the nearest prior art such as EP-4218339-B1 to Takeda, WO-2020003475-A1 to Kakishima, US-20230180152-A1 to Balevi, and US-20200252890-A1 to Irujulapati disclose energy detection in various aspects that include headroom, increasing the power but these references are silent on output a power boost symbol prior to outputting a primary synchronization signal, and output the primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal based at least in part on the power boost symbol. Claim 25 receives similar treatment as it discloses the network element and the nearest prior art such as EP-4218339-B1 to Takeda, WO-2020003475-A1 to Kakishima, US-20230180152-A1 to Balevi, and US-20200252890-A1 to Irujulapati disclose energy detection in various aspects that include headroom, increasing the power but these references are silent on output a power boost symbol prior to outputting a primary synchronization signal, and output the primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal based at least in part on the power boost symbol.
Claims 11-15 and 26-30 are allowed as they depend from an allowed claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO form PTO-892: EP-4218339-B1 to Takeda, WO-2020003475-A1 to Kakishima, US-20230180152-A1 to Balevi, and US-20200252890-A1 to Irujulapati.
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/L.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2476
/AYAZ R SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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