DETAILED ACTIONS
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C.119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA patent application No. CN 202210177402.3 filed on 02/24/2022. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on 02/27/2025 and 04/11/2025, have been considered by the examiner and made of record in the application file.
EXAMINERS NOTES
Examiner exercised applying broadest reasonable interpretation for the following claims 2-3, 5, 8-9, 11,14-15 and 16-17, were examined based on claim limitation “or” and only one limitation was examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-10, 12-16 and 18 are rejected under U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by MA et al. (CN 103634806 A, hereinafter MA).
Consider Claim 1, MA discloses an interference avoidance method, wherein the method is applied to a first device, and the method comprises:
receiving first indication information from a second device, wherein the first indication information indicates a first geographic area, and the first geographic area overlaps with a geographic area covered by the first device; and (paragraph 0030, sending the uplink service request information to the first base station (equivalent to the second device) when the first terminal device, acquiring the position information of the first terminal device, the first terminal device is in the first coverage area, the first coverage area which is the coverage area of the first base station. Paragraph 0049, the first base station sends the position information (equivalent to the first indication message) of the first GSM terminal device to the coordinator. Paragraph 0031, judging whether the first terminal device in the second coverage area, the second coverage area is a coverage area of the second base station, the second base station adjacent to the first base station, the second covering area is smaller than the first coverage area (equivalent to the first geographical region overlapping with a geographic region covered by the first device); Paragraph [0041] discloses over lapping coverage areas A and B in fig. 2).
performing interference avoidance in the first geographic area. (Paragraph 0020, if the first terminal device in the second coverage area in the first base station and the second base station determines the least occupied frequency resource base station as the return station, fallback to the base station sending the interference avoidance message the interference avoidance message is used for indicating the return base station frequency resource fallback (when the first base station is a fallback station, it is equivalent to performing interference avoidance in the first geographic region), frequency resource of said rollback after return of the base station so that the frequency resource does not include the first terminal device currently uses the frequency resource. receiving the returning base station sending the interference avoidance response message).
Consider Claim 2, MA discloses the method according to claim 1,
wherein the first geographic area is an overlapping area between a geographic area covered by a cell managed by the first device and a geographic area covered by a cell managed by the second device; (Paragraph 0016, the first terminal device in the second coverage area, the second coverage area is a coverage area of the second base station, the second base station adjacent to the first base station, the second covering area is smaller than the first coverage area; Paragraph [0041] discloses over lapping coverage areas A and B in fig. 2) or
the first geographic area is a geographic area covered by a cell managed by the second device.
Consider Claim 3, MA discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises one or more selected from the following: location information of the second device, location information of a terminal device accessing the second device, or information about a geographic area covered by a beam of the second device, or
the first indication information comprises one or more of the following: location information of a network device(macro base station) managed by the second device, location information of a terminal device accessing the network device, and information about a geographic area covered by a beam of the network device. (Paragraph 0054, a first macro base station adjacent to the first small cellular base station (equivalent to second base station)…. Paragraph 0055, the coordinator judges whether first GSM terminal device in the first small cellular base station coverage area. Paragraph 0056, the coordinator receives position information of the first GSM terminal device and after obtaining the first small cellular base station coverage area according to the locally stored location information table, judging whether the first GSM terminal device in the first small cellular base station coverage area, if the first GSM terminal device is not in the first small cellular base station coverage area, the position and the first GSM terminal coordinator device continuously monitors whether the first GSM terminal device sends the uplink signal to the first base station in the first small cellular base station coverage area until the first GSM terminal device moves out the coverage of the first base station end monitoring).
Consider Claim 4, MA discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information further indicates that a cell managed by the first device and a cell managed by the second device are intra-frequency cells or adjacent-frequency cells. (Paragraph 0067, the interference avoidance message for indicating the first small cellular base station needs to rollback of the resource block number to the first small cellular base station return and the interference avoidance message indicates the number of resource blocks (data transmission) is the same resource block number, the first small cell base station needs to rollback of resource block is adjacent to the first macro base station adjacent to the first small cellular base station using the frequency resource of the frequency resources).
Consider Claim 6, MA discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:
receiving fourth indication information from the second device, wherein the fourth indication information indicates the frequency domain resource reserved by the second device. (Paragraph 0125, a third receiving (equivalent to a fourth) sending unit 5010 for sending a grant response to the first base station information (equivalent to a second), the grant response message is used for indicating to said first base station to said first terminal device sends the uplink service request response message. Paragraph 0126, a third receiving unit 5011, for receiving the response message of the grant response message sent by the first base station. Paragraph 0129, sending the interference avoidance message to the first base station, the interference avoidance message for indicating the first base station needs to return the frequency resource, so that the first base station returns and the interference avoidance message indicating frequency resources the same frequency resources).
As for claim 7, claim 7 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 1 and is rejected along the same rationale ( “apparatus” MA paragraph 0133, the disclosed apparatus ; “a processor” MA paragraph 0135, processing unit).
As for claim 8, limitation of parent claim 7 have been discussed above. Claim 8 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 2 and is rejected along the same rationale.
As for claim 9, limitation of parent claim 7 have been discussed above. Claim 9 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 3 and is rejected along the same rationale.
As for claim 10, limitation of parent claim 7 have been discussed above. Claim 10 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 4 and is rejected along the same rationale
As for claim 12, limitation of parent claim 7 have been discussed above. Claim 12 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 6 and is rejected along the same rationale.
As for claim 13, claim 13 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 1 and is rejected along the same rationale (“a computer readable medium” MA paragraph 0136, a computer readable storage medium).
As for claim 14, limitation of parent claim 13 have been discussed above. Claim 14 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 2 and is rejected along the same rationale.
As for claim 15, limitation of parent claim 13 have been discussed above. Claim 15 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 3 and is rejected along the same rationale.
As for claim 16, limitation of parent claim 13 have been discussed above. Claim 16 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 4 and is rejected along the same rationale
As for claim 18, limitation of parent claim 13 have been discussed above. Claim 18 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 6 and is rejected along the same rationale.
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 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 non-obviousness.
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.
Claims 5, 11 and 17 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by MA et al. (CN 103634806 A, hereinafter MA) in view of Pawar et al. (US 9420474 B1, hereinafter Pawar).
Consider Claim 5, MA discloses the claimed invention as noted above but fails to teach wherein the performing interference avoidance in the first geographic area comprises: scheduling, in the first geographic area by using a first frequency domain resource, a terminal device in a cell managed by the first device, wherein the first frequency domain resource is a frequency domain resource available to the first device, or the first frequency domain resource does not comprise a frequency domain resource available to the second device; or
skipping scheduling, in the first geographic area, a terminal device in the cell managed by the first device; or
indicating to a terminal device in the cell managed by the first device to handover to a cell on another frequency; or
wherein the performing interference avoidance in the first geographic area comprises: scheduling, in the first geographic area by using a second frequency domain resource, a terminal device in the cell managed by the first device, wherein the second frequency domain resource is a frequency domain resource available to the first device, or the second frequency domain resource does not comprise a frequency domain resource available to the second device; or
disabling a signal in the first geographic area; or
skipping sending a signal in the first geographic area; or
wherein the performing interference avoidance in the first geographic area comprises: scheduling, in the first geographic area by using a third frequency domain resource, a terminal device in the cell managed by the first device, wherein the third frequency domain resource is a frequency domain resource available to the first device, or the third frequency domain resource does not comprise a frequency domain resource available to the network device managed by the second device; or
However, Pawar disabling a signal in the first geographic area; ( Column 16 & 17 line 59-67- line 1-8, at block 484, method 400 includes based on the one or more small cells (coverage area) being positioned within the main lobe of the beamform (signal), disabling beamforming to the UE from the cell, thereby preventing interference caused by side lobes of the beamform (interfering with other radio communication in the cell). For example, based on small cell base stations 228a and 228b being positioned within main lobe 260 of beamform 250, beamforming selection module 220 can disable beamforming to UE 226a from cell 240. FIG. 2D shows UE 226a after the beamforming has been disabled. As an example, based on the determination at block 482, beamforming selection module 220 can determine that small cell base stations 228a and 228b are each available to serve UE 226a. This determination could also be based on beamforming selection module 220 determining that small cell base stations 228a and 228b and an endpoint of a length of main lobe 260 each are positioned within the same wedge cell and/or any of the various other factors described herein). or
skipping sending a signal in the first geographic area; or
wherein the performing interference avoidance in the first geographic area comprises: scheduling, in the first geographic area by using a fourth frequency domain resource, a terminal device in the cell managed by the first device, wherein the fourth frequency domain resource is a frequency domain resource reserved by the second device; or
disabling a signal in the first geographic area; or
skipping sending a signal in the first geographic area.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains, to modify Claim 5, by MA interference avoidance method, involving processing interference avoidance response message with Pawar beamforming selection for macro cells based on small cell availability. The motivation to do so would be performing rollback the process of base station frequency resource, and transmitting interference avoidance response message by base station providing a selection of concepts in a simplified form.
As for claim 11, limitation of parent claim 7 have been discussed above. Claim 11 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 5 and is rejected along the same rationale.
As for claim 17, limitation of parent claim 13 have been discussed above. Claim 17 reflects article of manufacture comprising computer executable instructions for implementing method in claim 5 and is rejected along the same rationale.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELE CAMILLE DOUGLAS whose telephone number is (571)270-0458. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeanette J Parker can be reached at 571-270-3647. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHELE C DOUGLAS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2646
/JEANETTE J PARKER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2646
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