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)(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 1-5, 8, 10-12, 15-16, 18, 26-27, 33, 44-45, and 47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Rastegardoost et al. (Patent No: US 2024/0250799 A1), hereinafter, Rastegardoost.
Regarding Claim 1, Rastegardoost teaches,
A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: identifying, by the UE, control information indicated by a base station for transmitting an uplink message, wherein the control information indicates switching from a first frequency band to a second frequency band; -Paragraph [0392-0393] ([0392-0393] recites, “A wireless device may receive one or more messages comprising configuration parameters of one or more cells. The wireless device may receive one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages indicating a plurality of uplink carrier pairs, each uplink carrier pair comprising two uplink carriers between which a transmission antenna may switches. The wireless device may switch a first transmission antenna from a first uplink carrier of a first uplink carrier pair to a second uplink carrier of the first uplink carrier pair. The first uplink carrier pair may be selected from the plurality of uplink carrier pairs. The wireless device may transmit an uplink transmission using the first transmission antenna via the second uplink carrier. The one or more RRC messages may further indicate that uplink transmission switching is configured for the wireless device using an uplink carrier pair of the plurality of uplink carrier pairs. The first uplink carrier may be configured in a first frequency band. The second uplink carrier may be configured in a second frequency band. The first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for dual connectivity. The first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for a carrier aggregation. The carrier aggregation may be an inter-band carrier aggregation. One of the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for supplementary uplink. A transmitter of the wireless device may comprise the first transmission antenna and a second transmission antenna. A count of transmission antennas of the wireless device may be two. The first transmission antenna may be switched between the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier. The second transmission antenna may be used for uplink transmissions via the first uplink carrier. “)
and switching, by the UE, from the first frequency band to the second frequency band responsive to one of the first frequency band and the second frequency band being an anchor band configured for the UE or responsive to both the first frequency band and the second frequency band being in a same band pair among a plurality of band pairs that are configurable for uplink transmission. -Paragraph [0393, 0386] ([0386] recites, “Throughout the disclosure, a “carrier” may be replaced by a “band”, e.g., UL band pair, and/or anchor band, and/or band switching, etc. “ [0393] recites, “The one or more RRC messages may further indicate that uplink transmission switching is configured for the wireless device using an uplink carrier pair of the plurality of uplink carrier pairs. The wireless device may select the first uplink carrier pair from the plurality of uplink carrier pairs. The first uplink carrier may be configured in a first frequency band. The second uplink carrier may be configured in a second frequency band. The first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for dual connectivity. The first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for a carrier aggregation. The carrier aggregation may be an inter-band carrier aggregation. One of the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for supplementary uplink. A transmitter of the wireless device may comprise the first transmission antenna and a second transmission antenna. A count of transmission antennas of the wireless device may be two. The first transmission antenna may be switched between the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier. The second transmission antenna may be used for uplink transmissions via the first uplink carrier. The switching may be in response to receiving a scheduling command for the second uplink carrier.”)
Regarding Claim 2, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of band pairs have a bridge band in common, the method further comprising: switching, by the UE, from the first frequency band to the bridge band and then from the bridge band to the second frequency band responsive to the first frequency band and the second frequency band being in two different band pairs among the plurality of band pairs; -Fig. 28; Paragraph [0358-0359] ([0358-0359] recites, “When switching UL carrier pairs, to reduce the activation delay, common band switching may be allowed/defined….FIG. 28 shows an example of UL carrier pairs configured for dynamic UL Tx switching. In this example, carrier pair switching based on common band and/or common carrier is illustrated. As shown in the figure, each carrier pair switching involves a single carrier switching, e.g., carrier 2 to carrier 4 at T1 (carrier 1/band 1 is common), and carrier 1 to carrier 3 at T2 (carrier 4/band 4 is common), and so on. The figure suggests how to assign Tx chains/antennas to UL carriers based on the pairing mechanism. As shown in the figure, Tx-1 is used for a 2Tx carrier (a carrier capable of 2 Tx antenna connectors) in a respective UL carrier pair, and Tx-2 (shown in grey) switched between the 1Tx carrier and the 2Tx carrier of the UL carrier pair.”)
and transmitting the uplink message on the second frequency band. -Fig. 24; Paragraph [0309] (Fig. 24 shows UL transmission on the second frequency band after switching. [0309] recites, “FIG. 24 shows an example of UL Tx switching for a 2Tx UE. As shown in the figure, based on the existing technology, the UE may be configured with carrier 1 in band 1 and carrier 2 in band 2, e.g., carrier 1 capable of 1Tx antenna and carrier 2 capable of 2Tx antennas. UE may use a first Tx (e.g., Tx-1 in the figure) for uplink transmissions via carrier 2, and use a second Tx (e.g., Tx-2 in the figure) for uplink transmissions via carrier 1 and carrier 2 based on UL Tx switching. “)
Regarding Claim 3, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 2.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 2, wherein the UE is configured, by the base station, for uplink carrier aggregation (CA) and/or for dual uplink transmission, on at least one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band. -Paragraph [0393] ([0393] recites, “The first uplink carrier may be configured in a first frequency band. The second uplink carrier may be configured in a second frequency band. The first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for dual connectivity. The first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for a carrier aggregation. The carrier aggregation may be an inter-band carrier aggregation. One of the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for supplementary uplink.”)
Regarding Claim 4, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 2.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band is configured by the base station as a supplemental uplink (SUL) band. -Paragraph [0393] ([0393] recites, “…. One of the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier may be configured for supplementary uplink…”)
Regarding Claim 5, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 2.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 2, wherein the control information is included in DCI or RRC signaling. -Paragraph [0393] ([0393] recites, “The one or more RRC messages may further indicate that uplink transmission switching is configured for the wireless device using an uplink carrier pair of the plurality of uplink carrier pairs.”)
Regarding Claim 8, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the anchor band is always activated. -Paragraph [0318, 0365] ([0318] recites, “Based on some embodiments, the network may configure an anchor carrier (e.g., capable of 2Tx antennas) and multiple switched carriers across the M−1 bands. The mechanism based on the anchor carrier in the example embodiments may enable the UE to extend the existing Tx switching framework to switch a single (e.g., same) Tx chain among M (M>2) carriers/bands, by restricting the Tx switching scenarios.” [0365] recites, “In an example, the first Tx chain may be fixed/tuned/configured for an UL carrier in the frequency band that the anchor carrier belongs to.” It is readily understandable by an ordinary person with the skill in the art that by very definition of anchor band that it will always be active.)
Regarding Claim 10, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, further comprising switching from the first frequency band to the second frequency band and ceasing simultaneous transmission on more than one band, -Paragraph [0262] ([0262] recites, “ FIG. 21A shows an example of uplink Tx switching for a UE with 2Tx. As shown in the figure, UL Tx switching enables two operation modes: Mode 1, where one Tx channel is used for 2.1 GHz carrier, and the other is used for 3.5 GHz carrier; and Mode 2, where one Tx channel is switched to 3.5 GHz, and the other is still used for 3.5 GHz, which enables TDD-NR Dual-Stream transmission. Uplink Tx Switching is used when switching between mode 1 and mode 2.” As described above in Mode 2 ceases simultaneous transmission in both frequency bands (2.1 GHz and 3.5 GHz) and transmits only in 3.5 GHz.)
responsive to neither one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band being the anchor band, wherein the second frequency band supports a single layer transmission. –Paragraph [0282] ([0282] recites, “The UE may support the switch between single layer transmission with one antenna port and two-layer transmission with two antenna ports on the two uplink carriers following the scheduling commands and/or rank adaptation. In an example, both single layer and two-layer transmission with 2 antenna ports, and single layer transmission with 1 antenna port may be supported on NR UL carrier 2.”)
Regarding Claim 11, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the anchor band is configured by the base station via RRC signaling or activated by the base station via MAC-CE signaling. -Paragraph [0386, 0307] ([0307] recites, “UE may receive a higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC message) that semi-statically configures two carriers with two frequency bands for UL Tx switching.” [0386] recites, “Throughout the disclosure, a “carrier” may be replaced by a “band”, e.g., UL band pair, and/or anchor band, and/or band switching, etc.”)
Regarding Claim 12, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band is configured by the base station via RRC signaling. -Paragraph [0386] ([0386] recites, “UE may receive a higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC message) that semi-statically configures two carriers with two frequency bands for UL Tx switching.”)
or activated by the base station via MAC-CE signaling -Paragraph [0349] ([0349] recites, “the UE may receive an indication of activation of an UL carrier pair from the base station. For example, the UE may receive a DCI and/or MAC-CE (e.g., L1/L2 signaling via MAC-CE or a specific DCI format indicating a switching/activation command), indicating activation of an UL carrier pair. “)
Regarding Claim 15, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the control information is included in a DCI, MAC-CE, or RRC signaling. -Paragraph [0352] ([0352] recites, “the UE may receive indication of changing/switching an UL carrier pair, e.g., via a DCI/MAC-CE, upon receiving an indication of UL carrier pair switching, the UE may deactivate the first UL carrier pair (that is active) and activate a second UL carrier pair. For example, the DCI/MAC-CE comprising the UL carrier pair switching command, may indicate the second UL carrier pair.”)
Regarding Claim 16, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the switching is according to switched uplink with no simultaneous transmission or dual uplink with simultaneous transmission, as indicated by a UE-reported switching option capability. -Paragraph [0263] ([0263] recites, “As UE capabilities vary from terminal to terminal, Option 1 and Option 2 are further defined in Rel-16, as shown in the figure. In option 1, UE can send data over carrier 1 and carrier 2 in time division mode (TDM), but not at the same time. This option may be referred to as “switched uplink”. In option 2, in the terminal side, carrier 1 and carrier 2 can be flexibly aggregated, either in TDM mode or simultaneous transmission mode. This option may be referred to as “dual uplink”.)
Regarding Claim 18, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein an uplink transmit switching gap is placed on the anchor band. -Paragraph [0272, 0357] ([0272] recites, “A switching gap may be needed to allow the UE enough time to switch (e.g., to move/reconfigure some hardware (or a Tx chain) from carrier 1 to carrier 2 or vice versa) between the two carriers. The network (NW) needs to provide switching gaps on one of the carriers and would also need to provide enough additional relaxation in UE Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) processing time, which is time typically between an end of an UpLink (UL) grant and start of the PUSCH.” [0357] recites, “The UE may use one Tx chain/antenna for UL transmissions via the second carrier (i.e., carrier2 of the pair), and/or switch another Tx chain/antenna between the first UL carrier and the second UL carrier of the pair. The UE may apply a respective Tx switching gap based on the two UL carriers of the active UL carrier pair, and based on the respective band combination.”)
Claim 26 is essentially same as Claim 1 looking from base station perspective (i.e., BS sends) instead of looking from UE perspective (i.e., UE receives) as in Claim 1. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 1 above, which is rejected. Claim 26 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
Claim 27 is essentially the same as Claim 2. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 2 above, which is rejected. Claim 27 is rejected under the same rational as claim 2.
Claim 33 is essentially the same as Claim 8. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 8 above, which is rejected. Claim 33 is rejected under the same rational as claim 8.
Regarding Claim 44, Rastegardoost teaches,
A method of wireless communication by a base station, comprising: configuring a user equipment (UE) for uplink transmit switching on two or more bands, including transmitting a configuration message to the UE; -Paragraph [0317] ([0317] recites, “the network may configure multiple (e.g., two or more) pairs of carriers/bands (i.e., 2) out of the M carriers/bands, for the dynamic UL Tx switching operations. For example, the network may indicate to the UE to use one pair of carriers at a time for dynamic UL Tx switching, e.g., based on activation of the carrier pair.”)
wherein the configuring causes the UE to select a frequency band for placing an uplink transmit switching gap thereon, wherein the frequency band is selected from the two or more bands, wherein the selecting is based on the configuration message -Paragraph [0357] ([0357] recites, “RRC signaling may indicate UL Tx switching parameters per UL carrier pair. RRC signaling may indicate which carrier in a carrier pair is capable of 1Tx and which is capable of 2Tx. For example, RRC configuration may indicate, for each configured UL carrier pair, a first UL carrier as carrier1 (e.g., capable of 1Tx) and a second uplink carrier as carrier2 (e.g., capable of 2Tx). The UE may use one Tx chain/antenna for UL transmissions via the second carrier (i.e., carrier2 of the pair), and/or switch another Tx chain/antenna between the first UL carrier and the second UL carrier of the pair. The UE may apply a respective Tx switching gap based on the two UL carriers of the active UL carrier pair, and based on the respective band combination.”)
and receiving an uplink message using uplink transmit switching on the two or more bands, wherein the uplink transmit switching places the uplink transmit switching gap over the frequency band. -Paragraph [0389, 0395] ([0389] recites, “FIG. 30 shows an example of dynamic UL Tx switching based on embodiments. In this example, received RRC signaling may indicate that UL carrier 2 and UL carrier 3 are capable of two UL Tx antenna connectors, and UL carrier 1 is capable of one UL Tx antenna connector. In this example, UE switches at time T1 both Tx chains/antennas from UL carrier 2 to UL carrier 3. For example, the UE may transmit a two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 3. A previous UL transmission may be another two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 2. A respective switching gap for switching both Tx associated with the band combination comprising band 2 and band 3 may be applied, during which the UE may not expect to transmit on any (of the two) UL carriers.” [0395] recites, “The uplink transmission switching option may comprise switched uplink (e.g., Option 1 in the example embodiments) or dual uplink (e.g., Option 2 in the example embodiments). The parameters for uplink transmission switching may comprise an indication of location of uplink transmission switching period…”dual uplink is simultaneous transmission mode [0263])
Regarding Claim 45, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 44.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 44, wherein the configuration message indicates relative priorities defined for a subset of multiple bands that are configurable by the base station for uplink transmit switching, -Paragraph [0278-0281, 0293] ([0293] recites, “To boost the uplink throughput and capacity for such widely applicable scenarios, it is necessary to efficiently utilize all uplink resources in multi-carrier scenarios (>2 frequency bands). In practical deployments scenarios, networks will support more than 2 bands. Therefore, efficient utilization of these UL resources may be prioritized.”[0279] recites, “The network may configure one or more serving cells for the UE, which may be the SpCell or an SCell of an MCG or SCG. The UE may receive one or more RRC messages comprising configuration parameters of the one or more serving cells. The configuration parameters of a serving cell may indicate downlink configurations and/or uplink configurations. For example, the configuration parameters of the serving cell may indicate one or more downlink BWPs of the serving cell…. For an uplink carrier, the configuration parameters may indicate one or more UL BWPs. For an uplink carrier, the configuration parameters may indicate that UL Tx switching is configured (e.g., uplinkTxSwitching).” It is easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that configuration parameters can include relative priorities of candidate bands for uplink transmit switching.)
wherein the relative priorities include a relative priority of the frequency band as compared to other bands in the subset for placing the uplink transmit switching gap over the frequency band. -Paragraph [0317, 0362, 0389-0391] ([0317] recites, “The network may configure multiple (e.g., two or more) pairs of carriers/bands (i.e., 2) out of the M carriers/bands, for the dynamic UL Tx switching operations.” [0389] recites, “ In this example, received RRC signaling may indicate that UL carrier 2 and UL carrier 3 are capable of two UL Tx antenna connectors, and UL carrier 1 is capable of one UL Tx antenna connector. In this example, UE switches at time T1 both Tx chains/antennas from UL carrier 2 to UL carrier 3. For example, the UE may transmit a two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 3. A previous UL transmission may be another two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 2. A respective switching gap for switching both Tx associated with the band combination comprising band 2 and band 3 may be applied, during which the UE may not expect to transmit on any (of the two) UL carriers.” As discussed above relative priorities can be included within configuration parameters.)
Regarding Claim 47, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 44.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 44, wherein the configuration message that indicates to place the uplink transmit switching gap on the frequency band. -Paragraph [0272, 0357] ([0272] recites, “The network (NW) needs to provide switching gaps on one of the carriers and would also need to provide enough additional relaxation in UE Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) processing time, which is time typically between an end of an UpLink (UL) grant and start of the PUSCH.” [0357] recites, “RRC configuration may indicate, for each configured UL carrier pair, a first UL carrier as carrier1 (e.g., capable of 1Tx) and a second uplink carrier as carrier2 (e.g., capable of 2Tx). The UE may use one Tx chain/antenna for UL transmissions via the second carrier (i.e., carrier2 of the pair), and/or switch another Tx chain/antenna between the first UL carrier and the second UL carrier of the pair. The UE may apply a respective Tx switching gap based on the two UL carriers of the active UL carrier pair, and based on the respective band combination.”)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim 6, 9, 13-14, 17, and 19-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rastegardoost in view of Rastegardoost et al. (Patent No: US 2024/0357681 A1), hereinafter, Rastegardoost2.
Regarding Claim 6, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 2.
Although implicit, Rastegardoost does not explicitly mention,
The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of band pairs are indicated by the UE to the base station via a switching capability report.
However, in an analogous invention Rastegardoost2 teaches,
The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of band pairs are indicated by the UE to the base station via a switching capability report. -Paragraph [0311, 0327, 0342] ([0311] recites, “…Embodiments propose one or more parameters and/or signaling mechanisms for the UE to report new switching capabilities for dynamic Tx switching, such that network can schedule, and further, successfully receive UL transmissions accordingly.” [0327] recites, “The UE may determine a set/list of band combinations, e.g., NR CA, NR non-CA and/or MR-DC band combinations. For example, in response to the enquiry message requesting UL Tx switching capability, the UE may send the list of band combinations that the UE can support for UL Tx switching (e.g., BandCombination-UplinkTxSwitch). For example, the UE may include into the list of supported band combinations for UL Tx switching (e.g., supportedBandCombinationList-UplinkTxSwitch) as many NR-only/E-UTRA-NR band combinations that supported UL TX switching as possible from a list of candidate band combinations, starting from a first entry.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Multi-Carrier Uplink Operations
” proposed by Rastegardoost to include the concept of “the plurality of band pairs are indicated by the UE to the base station via a switching capability report.” of Rastegardoost2 . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to further improve capacity and reduce latency [0265].
Regarding Claim 9, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit, Rastegardoost does not explicitly mention,
The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of frequency bands other than the anchor band are always activated.
However, in an analogous invention Rastegardoost2 teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of frequency bands other than the anchor band are always activated. -Paragraph [0235, 0265] ([0235] recites, “With CA, the UE typically operates initially on a single serving cell called a primary cell (Pcell). The Pcell is operated on a component carrier in a frequency band. The UE is then configured by the network with one or more secondary serving cells (Scell(s). Each Scell can correspond to a component carrier (CC) in the same frequency band (intra-band CA) or different frequency band (inter-band CA) from the frequency band of the CC corresponding to the Pcell. For the UE to transmit/receive data on the Scell(s) (e.g., by receiving DownLink Shared Channel (DL-SCH) information on a Physical DownLink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or by transmitting UpLink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) on a Physical UpLink Shared Channel (PUSCH), the Scell(s) may need to be activated by the network” [0265] recites, “…uplink operating modes of UE with Uplink Tx Switching in inter-band CA scenario. With Uplink Tx switching activated for inter-band CA, in TDD-NR UL time slots UE can transmit data with dual-stream. For example, when close to cell tower, UE can use inter-band CA with uplink Tx switching to further improve capacity and reduce latency. At cell edge, UE uses FDD frequency band to send data, while maintaining FDD and TDD carrier aggregation in downlink, improving user experience. Inter-band CA can flexibly support Option 1 and Option 2 of uplink Tx switching.” [0263] recites, “..In option 2, in the terminal side, carrier 1 and carrier 2 can be flexibly aggregated, either in TDM mode or simultaneous transmission mode. This option may be referred to as “dual uplink”.” As explained above for inter-band CA operation carriers are activated in different bands and UE can transmit data with dual stream, i.e., plurality of frequency bands are always activated.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Multi-Carrier Uplink Operation” proposed by Rastegardoost to include the concept of “plurality of frequency bands other than the anchor band are always activated.” of Rastegardoost2 . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to further improve capacity and reduce latency [0265].
Regarding Claim 13, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit, Rastegardoost does not explicitly mention,
The method of claim 1 wherein the anchor band is indicated by the UE to the base station as a capability of the UE.
However, in an analogous invention Rastegardoost2 teaches,
The method of claim 1 wherein the anchor band is indicated by the UE to the base station as a capability of the UE. -Paragraph [0362] ([0362] recites, “FIG. 27 shows an example of signaling between UE and the base station for transfer of UE capability information and configuration of uplink Tx switching…..The UE may send the UE capability information indicating the UE capability for supported band combinations and/or supported UL Tx switching mode and/or whether the UE supports UL Tx switching across more than two bands and/or whether the UE supports simultaneous/dual UL Tx switching. For example, the UE capability information may indicate one or more UL Tx switching periods/gaps per band pair/combination.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Multi-Carrier Uplink Operation” proposed by Rastegardoost to include the concept of “the anchor band is indicated by the UE to the base station as a capability of the UE” of Rastegardoost2 . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to further improve capacity and reduce latency [0265].
Regarding Claim 14, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit and easily understandable by an ordinary person with the skill in the art, Rastegardoost does not explicitly teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein the anchor band is selected and configured by the base station responsive to the anchor band not being indicated by the UE as a capability of the UE.
However, in an analogous invention Rastegardoost2 teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the anchor band is selected and configured by the base station responsive to the anchor band not being indicated by the UE as a capability of the UE. -Paragraph [0355-0356] ([0355-0356] recites, “In an example, the base station may configure the plurality of UL carriers in a plurality of frequency bands. For example, the base station may determine the plurality of frequency bands for configurating the plurality of UL carriers based on the supported band combinations indicated by the UE capability information. In an example, the base station may configure the plurality of UL carriers with dynamic UL Tx switching (e.g., via uplinkTxSwitching RRC field). For example, the base station may transmit one or more RRC messages indicating that dynamic UL Tx switching is enabled/configured for the plurality of UL carriers. In an example, the one or more RRC messages may indicate that the dynamic UL Tx switching is across two bands. In an example, the one or more RRC messages may indicate that the dynamic UL Tx switching is across more than two bands (e.g., M bands, M>2).” As explained above base station configures UL carriers in plurality of frequency bands (including anchor band) based in the UE capability information. In case UE does not indicate anchor band in the UE capability, the base station selects from the UE supported band combinations as described above.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Multi-Carrier Uplink Operation” proposed by Rastegardoost to include the concept of “the anchor band is selected and configured by the base station responsive to the anchor band not being indicated by the UE as a capability of the UE” of Rastegardoost2 . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to further improve capacity and reduce latency [0265].
Regarding Claim 17, Rastegardoost teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit and easily understandable by an ordinary person with the skill in the art, Rastegardoost does not explicitly teach,
The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of bands including at least one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band are indicated by the UE to the base station via a switching capability report.
However, in an analogous invention Rastegardoost2 teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of bands including at least one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band are indicated by the UE to the base station via a switching capability report. -Paragraph [0327] ([0327] recites, “The UE may determine a set/list of band combinations, e.g., NR CA, NR non-CA and/or MR-DC band combinations. For example, in response to the enquiry message requesting UL Tx switching capability, the UE may send the list of band combinations that the UE can support for UL Tx switching (e.g., BandCombination-UplinkTxSwitch). For example, the UE may include into the list of supported band combinations for UL Tx switching (e.g., supportedBandCombinationList-UplinkTxSwitch) as many NR-only/E-UTRA-NR band combinations that supported UL TX switching as possible from a list of candidate band combinations, starting from a first entry.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Multi-Carrier Uplink Operation” proposed by Rastegardoost to include the concept of “plurality of bands including at least one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band are indicated by the UE to the base station via a switching capability report.” of Rastegardoost2 . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to further improve capacity and reduce latency [0265].
Regarding Claim 19, Rastegardoost teaches,
A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: selecting, by the UE, a frequency band for placing an uplink transmit switching gap thereon, wherein the frequency band is selected from two or more bands that are configured by a base station for uplink transmit switching, -Paragraph [0357] ([0357] recites, “…UE may switch one Tx between carrier1 and carrier2 in/of the active carrier pair, based on the scheduling commands. RRC signaling may indicate UL Tx switching parameters per UL carrier pair. RRC signaling may indicate which carrier in a carrier pair is capable of 1Tx and which is capable of 2Tx. For example, RRC configuration may indicate, for each configured UL carrier pair, a first UL carrier as carrier1 (e.g., capable of 1Tx) and a second uplink carrier as carrier2 (e.g., capable of 2Tx). The UE may use one Tx chain/antenna for UL transmissions via the second carrier (i.e., carrier2 of the pair), and/or switch another Tx chain/antenna between the first UL carrier and the second UL carrier of the pair. The UE may apply a respective Tx switching gap based on the two UL carriers of the active UL carrier pair, and based on the respective band combination.” [0272] recites, “A switching gap may be needed to allow the UE enough time to switch (e.g., to move/reconfigure some hardware (or a Tx chain) from carrier 1 to carrier 2 or vice versa) between the two carriers. The network (NW) needs to provide switching gaps on one of the carriers and would also need to provide enough additional relaxation in UE Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) processing time, which is time typically between an end of an UpLink (UL) grant and start of the PUSCH.”)
Although implicit and easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art, Rastegardoost does not explicitly mention,
wherein the selecting is based on a configuration message received from the base station; and transmitting, by the UE to the base station, an uplink message using uplink transmit switching on the two or more bands, including placing the uplink transmit switching gap over the frequency band.
However, in an analogous invention Rastegardoost teaches,
wherein the selecting is based on a configuration message received from the base station; -Paragraph [0355-0356] ([0355-0356] recites, “ the base station may configure the plurality of UL carriers in a plurality of frequency bands. For example, the base station may determine the plurality of frequency bands for configurating the plurality of UL carriers based on the supported band combinations indicated by the UE capability information…. For example, the base station may transmit one or more RRC messages indicating that dynamic UL Tx switching is enabled/configured for the plurality of UL carriers. In an example, the one or more RRC messages may indicate that the dynamic UL Tx switching is across two bands. ”)
and transmitting, by the UE to the base station, an uplink message using uplink transmit switching on the two or more bands, including placing the uplink transmit switching gap over the frequency band. -Paragraph [0362-0363] ([0362-0363] recites, “The UE may transmit uplink transmissions via the uplink carriers and/or based on the UL Tx switching configuration… In an example, when switching between two carriers, from M configured carriers (e.g., M>2), associated with two uplink bands, a switching time mask based on one or more UL Tx switching gaps may be applicable for an uplink band pair…… The time mask may be applicable for uplink switching mechanisms (e.g., UL Tx switching) involving an uplink band pair comprising a first frequency band and a second frequency band.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Multi-Carrier Uplink Operation” proposed by Rastegardoost to include the concept of “the selecting is based on a configuration message received from the base station; and transmitting, by the UE to the base station, an uplink message using uplink transmit switching on the two or more bands, including placing the uplink transmit switching gap over the frequency band.” of Rastegardoost2 . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to further improve capacity and reduce latency [0265].
Regarding Claim 20, Rastegardoost and Rastegardoost2 teach the limitations of Claim 19.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 19, wherein the configuration message indicates relative priorities defined for a subset of multiple bands that are configurable by the base station for uplink transmit switching, -Paragraph [0278-0281, 0293] ([0293] recites, “To boost the uplink throughput and capacity for such widely applicable scenarios, it is necessary to efficiently utilize all uplink resources in multi-carrier scenarios (>2 frequency bands). In practical deployments scenarios, networks will support more than 2 bands. Therefore, efficient utilization of these UL resources may be prioritized.”[0279] recites, “The network may configure one or more serving cells for the UE, which may be the SpCell or an SCell of an MCG or SCG. The UE may receive one or more RRC messages comprising configuration parameters of the one or more serving cells. The configuration parameters of a serving cell may indicate downlink configurations and/or uplink configurations. For example, the configuration parameters of the serving cell may indicate one or more downlink BWPs of the serving cell…. For an uplink carrier, the configuration parameters may indicate one or more UL BWPs. For an uplink carrier, the configuration parameters may indicate that UL Tx switching is configured (e.g., uplinkTxSwitching).” It is easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that configuration parameters can include relative priorities of candidate bands for uplink transmit switching.)
wherein the relative priorities include a relative priority of the frequency band as compared to other bands in the subset for placing the uplink transmit switching gap over the frequency band, wherein, within the two or more bands that are configured by the base station for uplink transmit switching, only the frequency band is included in the subset. -Paragraph [0317, 0362, 0389-0391] ([0317] recites, “The network may configure multiple (e.g., two or more) pairs of carriers/bands (i.e., 2) out of the M carriers/bands, for the dynamic UL Tx switching operations.” [0389] recites, “ In this example, received RRC signaling may indicate that UL carrier 2 and UL carrier 3 are capable of two UL Tx antenna connectors, and UL carrier 1 is capable of one UL Tx antenna connector. In this example, UE switches at time T1 both Tx chains/antennas from UL carrier 2 to UL carrier 3. For example, the UE may transmit a two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 3. A previous UL transmission may be another two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 2. A respective switching gap for switching both Tx associated with the band combination comprising band 2 and band 3 may be applied, during which the UE may not expect to transmit on any (of the two) UL carriers.” As discussed above relative priorities can be included within configuration parameters.)
Claim 21 is essentially same as Claim 20 with the added restriction of “the uplink transmit switching gap is placed over the frequency band which has a highest or lowest priority among the more than one band.” This is just a configuration and it is easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that the configuration can be assigned without any change in the method or architecture of the system. The applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 20 above which is rejected. Claim 21 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 20.
Regarding Claim 22, Rastegardoost and Rastegardoost2 teach the limitations of Claim 19.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 19 wherein the configuration message that indicates to place [[an]] the uplink transmit switching gap on the frequency band. -Paragraph [0272, 0277] ([0272] recites, “The network (NW) needs to provide switching gaps on one of the carriers and would also need to provide enough additional relaxation in UE Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) processing time, which is time typically between an end of an UpLink (UL) grant and start of the PUSCH” [0277] recites, “Each band pair of the supported band pairs for UL Tx switching comprises a first frequency band and a second frequency band. The capability information indicates, for each band pair (e.g., ULTxSwitchingBandPair), an index of a first frequency band (e.g., bandIndexUL1) and an index of a second frequency band (e.g., bandIndexUL2) for simultaneous transmission. The capability information may also indicate for each band pair, a switching gap/period associated with the two frequency bands of the band pair (e.g., uplinkTxSwitchingPeriod). For example, the switching gap/period may be a duration in microseconds (e.g., 35 us, 140 us, or 210 us).”)
Regarding Claim 23, Rastegardoost and Rastegardoost2 teach the limitations of Claim 22.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 22, wherein configuring the two or more bands for uplink transmit switching and configuring the frequency band for placing the uplink transmit switching gap thereon are performed together in a same time scale. -Paragraph [0317, ] ([0317] recites, “the network may configure multiple (e.g., two or more) pairs of carriers/bands (i.e., 2) out of the M carriers/bands, for the dynamic UL Tx switching operations. For example, the network may indicate to the UE to use one pair of carriers at a time for dynamic UL Tx switching, e.g., based on activation of the carrier pair.” [0389] recites, “In this example, received RRC signaling may indicate that UL carrier 2 and UL carrier 3 are capable of two UL Tx antenna connectors, and UL carrier 1 is capable of one UL Tx antenna connector. In this example, UE switches at time T1 both Tx chains/antennas from UL carrier 2 to UL carrier 3. For example, the UE may transmit a two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 3. A previous UL transmission may be another two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 2. A respective switching gap for switching both Tx associated with the band combination comprising band 2 and band 3 may be applied, during which the UE may not expect to transmit on any (of the two) UL carriers.”)
Regarding Claim 24, Rastegardoost and Rastegardoost2 teach the limitations of Claim 22.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 22, wherein configuring the two or more bands for uplink transmit switching -Paragraph [0317, 0389] ([0317] recites, “the network may configure multiple (e.g., two or more) pairs of carriers/bands (i.e., 2) out of the M carriers/bands, for the dynamic UL Tx switching operations. For example, the network may indicate to the UE to use one pair of carriers at a time for dynamic UL Tx switching, e.g., based on activation of the carrier pair.”)
and configuring the frequency band for placing the uplink transmit switching gap thereon are performed together in RRC signaling. -Paragraph [0389] ([0389] recites, “FIG. 30 shows an example of dynamic UL Tx switching based on embodiments. In this example, received RRC signaling may indicate that UL carrier 2 and UL carrier 3 are capable of two UL Tx antenna connectors, and UL carrier 1 is capable of one UL Tx antenna connector. In this example, UE switches at time T1 both Tx chains/antennas from UL carrier 2 to UL carrier 3. For example, the UE may transmit a two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 3. A previous UL transmission may be another two-port UL transmission using both Tx chains/antennas via UL carrier 2. A respective switching gap for switching both Tx associated with the band combination comprising band 2 and band 3 may be applied, during which the UE may not expect to transmit on any (of the two) UL carriers.”)
Regarding Claim 25, Rastegardoost and Rastegardoost2 teach the limitations of Claim 22.
Rastegardoost further teaches,
The method of claim 22, wherein configuring the two or more bands for uplink transmit switching and configuring the frequency band for placing the uplink transmit switching gap thereon are performed together in MAC-CE signaling. -Paragraph [0379, 0383] ([0379] recites,” The UE may switch/change an active anchor UL carrier and/or an active set of UL carriers comprising an anchor UL carrier and a set of second UL carriers associated with the anchor UL carrier. For example, the UE may change/switch from a first anchor UL carrier to a second anchor UL carrier as the active anchor UL carrier. For example, the UE may change/switch from a first set of UL carriers to a second set of UL carriers as the active set of UL carriers. In an example, the switching may be in response to receiving an indication of switching via a downlink signal (e.g., RRC and/or MAC-CE and/or DCI). In an example, the switching may be in response to expiration of a first timer, e.g., a carrier/UL Tx switching timer.” )
Conclusion
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/AHMED SAIFUDDIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
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