DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 have been examined.
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 Objections
Claims 3-5 and 10-11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 3, line 2, “in a case” should be changed to “in response to”.
Claim 4, lines 1 and 5, “in a case” should be changed to “in response to”.
Claim 5, lines 1 and 6, “in a case” should be changed to “in response to”.
Claim 10, lines 1 and 11, “in a case” should be changed to “in response to”.
Claim 11, line 6, “when” should be changed to “in response to”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-7, 10, and 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2024/0357681 A1 to Rastegardoost et al. (hereinafter “Rastegardoost”).
As per claim 1, Rastegardoost discloses a capability information reporting method (Abstract of Rastegardoost), comprising: reporting, by a terminal, capability information related to Tx switching (Rastegardoost [0273-0278]), wherein the capability information comprises at least one of the following: a capability of supporting parallel Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0262-0264,0273-0278]); a capability of supporting serial Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0262-0264,0273-0278]); or a maximum number of times of switching within a preset period.
As per claim 2, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the capability information further comprises at least one of the following: a frequency domain resource combination supporting Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0262-0264,0273-0278]); a switching period of Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); or a type of supported Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
As per claim 3, Rastegardoost the method according to claim 2, wherein the frequency domain resource combination supporting Tx switching is a frequency domain resource pair (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), and in a case that the terminal triggers Tx switching within a frequency domain resource pair in N frequency domain resource pairs, a period for which the terminal completes Tx switching in the N frequency domain resource pairs comprises one of the following: a minimum period in N switching periods; a maximum period of the N switching periods; a weighted sum of the N switching periods; or a total period of the N switching periods, wherein the N switching periods are switching periods respectively corresponding to the N frequency domain resource pairs, and N is an integer greater than 1.
With regards to claim 3, per MPEP 2111.04 (II) (“The broadest reasonable
interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only
those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be
performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met.”), the claim comprises
contingent limitations and therefore not required to be performed. Therefore, a rejection is
not necessary for the “in a case” limitations and those limitations that rely on the condition being met.
As per claim 4, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein in a case that transmission performed by the terminal after Tx switching is transmission on one antenna port, the period for which the terminal completes Tx switching in the N frequency domain resource pairs comprises the minimum period in the N switching periods (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); and/or in a case that the terminal supports parallel Tx switching between different frequency domain resources, the period for which the terminal completes Tx switching in the N frequency domain resource pairs comprises the minimum period in the N switching periods (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
With regards to claim 4, per MPEP 2111.04 (II) (“The broadest reasonable
interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only
those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be
performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met.”), the claim comprises
contingent limitations and therefore not required to be performed. Therefore, a rejection is
not necessary for the “in a case” limitations and those limitations that rely on the condition being met.
As per claim 5, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein in a case that transmission performed by the terminal after Tx switching comprises at least one of transmission on a plurality of antenna ports and transmission on a plurality of frequency domain resources, the period for which the terminal completes Tx switching in the N frequency domain resource pairs comprises the maximum period in the N switching periods (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); and/or in a case that the terminal supports parallel Tx switching between different frequency domain resources, the period for which the terminal completes Tx switching in the N frequency domain resource pairs comprises the maximum period in the N switching periods (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
With regards to claim 5, per MPEP 2111.04 (II) (“The broadest reasonable
interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only
those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be
performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met.”), the claim comprises
contingent limitations and therefore not required to be performed. Therefore, a rejection is
not necessary for the “in a case” limitations and those limitations that rely on the condition being met.
As per claim 6, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein in the frequency domain resource combination supporting Tx switching, Tx switching is supported between at least two frequency domain resources (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
As per claim 7, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein the switching period of Tx switching comprises: a switching period of M frequency domain resources in one or more frequency domain resource combinations supporting Tx switching, wherein M is a positive integer (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); and the M frequency domain resources comprise one of the following: a frequency domain resource on which the terminal has transmission or scheduling before and/or after Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); a frequency domain resource on which transmission or scheduling by the terminal changes before and after Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); all frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resource combination supporting Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); a frequency domain resource configured through carrier aggregation in the frequency domain resource combination supporting Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); or a frequency domain resource activated through carrier aggregation in the frequency domain resource combination supporting Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
As per claim 10, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein in a case that Tx switching is triggered on X frequency domain resources, the terminal cannot perform transmission or cannot be scheduled on a first target frequency domain resource within a switching period of the X frequency domain resources, and the first target frequency domain resource comprises the X frequency domain resources or the first target frequency domain resource comprises at least one of the following: a frequency domain resource corresponding to transmission before switching; a frequency domain resource corresponding to switched transmission; a frequency domain resource on which transmission changes before switching; or a frequency domain resource on which transmission changes after switching; and/or in a case that Tx switching is triggered on X frequency domain resources, the terminal cannot perform transmission or cannot be scheduled on a second target frequency domain resource within a switching period of the m.sup.th frequency domain resource pair in the X frequency domain resources, and the second target frequency domain resource comprises the m.sup.th frequency domain resource pair or the second target frequency domain resource comprises at least one of the following in the m.sup.th frequency domain resource pair: a frequency domain resource on which transmission changes before switching; and a frequency domain resource on which transmission changes after switching, wherein X and m are positive integers.
With regards to claim 10, per MPEP 2111.04 (II) (“The broadest reasonable
interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only
those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be
performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met.”), the claim comprises
contingent limitations and therefore not required to be performed. Therefore, a rejection is
not necessary for the “in a case” limitations and those limitations that rely on the condition being met.
As per claim 14, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein switching that meets at least one of the following is one time of switching: time points at which Tx switching is triggered are the same (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); downlink control information (DCI) triggered by Tx switching is the same; target frequency domain resources after switching are the same (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); source frequency domain resources before switching are the same (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); or start time points of target uplink transmission after switching are the same (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]) or within a ninth predetermined period.
As per claim 15, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein an event that meets at least one of the following is Tx switching: an index of a frequency domain resource for transmission changes; a number of Txs, antenna ports (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), layers, or resource pools for transmission changes (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); or a number of frequency domain resources for transmission changes (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
As per claim 16, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein the switching period of Tx switching is associated with at least one of the following: a number of antenna ports for transmission (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]) or an index of an antenna port for transmission (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
As per claim 17, Rastegardoost discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein the frequency domain resource comprises one of the following: a band (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), a carrier (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), a BWP (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), or a resource pool (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24 and 25 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]).
As per claim 18, Rastegardoost discloses a capability information receiving method (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), comprising: receiving, by a communication device, capability information that is related to Tx switching and that is reported by a terminal (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), wherein the capability information comprises at least one of the following: a capability of supporting parallel Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); a capability of supporting serial Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); or a maximum number of times of switching within a preset period.
As per claim 19, Rastegardoost discloses a terminal, comprising a processor (Rastegardoost Fig. 15) and a memory (Rastegardoost Fig. 15), wherein the memory stores a program or an instruction that can be run on the processor (Rastegardoost Fig. 15 and [0217]), wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to perform: reporting capability information related to Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]), wherein the capability information comprises at least one of the following: a capability of supporting parallel Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); a capability of supporting serial Tx switching (Rastegardoost Figs. 21A, 22A, 24, 25, 26, and 27 and [0261-0264,0273-0278]); or a maximum number of times of switching within a preset period.
As per claim 20, Rastegardoost discloses a communication device (Rastegardoost Fig. 15), comprising a processor (Rastegardoost Fig. 15) and a memory (Rastegardoost Fig. 15), wherein the memory stores a program or an instruction that can be run on the processor (Rastegardoost Fig. 15 and [0217]), and the program or the instruction is executed by the processor to implement the steps of the capability information receiving method according to claim 18 (see claim 18).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9, and 11-13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7161. The examiner can normally be reached Flex.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayaz R Sheikh can be reached at (571) 272-3795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2476
/FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
Prosecution Insights