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 .
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 Japanese Application No. JP2022-056373, filed on 30 March 2022.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The title currently recites: “Base Station, Terminal, and Communication Method” which suggests a wide range. Thus, the title is not descriptive.
The following title is suggested: “Base Station, Terminal, and Communication Method for configuring an allocating resource within one band of a plurality of bands into which a frequency band is divided”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 and 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In this instance, claim 2 recites the limitation "…determines the one band in accordance with a characteristic of the terminal…" in lines 1-2 of the claim. Claim 2 depends on claim 1, and in Claim 1, the control circuitry, which, in operation, already configures an allocation resource within one band of a plurality of bands. Thus, it’s unclear as to how the circuit determines the one band in accordance with a characteristic of the terminal after already configuring the one band. For the purposes of advancing prosecution, Examiner will read this limitation as: “…determines the configuring of the one band in accordance with a characteristic of the terminal ". Appropriate correction and/or explanation is required in applicants next response.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Claims 1 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 9992784 B2) (hereinafter Chen) and in further view of Awad (US 2022/0141868 A1) (hereinafter as Awad)
Regarding Claim 1. Chen teaches a base station, comprising:
control circuitry, which, in operation, configures an allocation resource within one band of a plurality of bands into which a frequency band is divided, in a system (allocation module allocates on of the available bands for the cell according to central frequencies and bandwidths of stored available bands, col.10, lines 63-67-col.11, lines 1-3, and col.12, lines 11-29), the allocation resource being allocated for a signal of a terminal (triggering node) (the central node searches and allocates an available band for the newly cell according to the respective priority coefficients in the table of frequency priorities, information about the adjacent cells and other reference information of the newly enabled cell, the central node feeds a message back to the base station which then sends it to the triggering node, col.32, lines 1-16); and
communication circuitry, which, in operation, performs either transmission or reception of the signal using the allocation resource (allocate frequency resources collectively for the respective new accessing cells according to available bands of respective newly accessing cells, col.33, lines 67-col. 34, lines 1-2, the central node feeds a message back to the triggering node that the newly enabled cell is enabled successfully, by feeding a message back to the base station which then sends it to the triggering node, col.32, lines 1-16).
Chen does not explicitly teach which a transmission direction is individually configured for each of the plurality of bands.
However, Awad in a similar field of endeavor discloses a communication system including a transmission direction (uplink/downlink) is individually configured for each of the plurality of bands (The base station 5 is configured to transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and an evolved PDCCH (EPDCCH) for reception by the communication devices 3 located within the base station's 5 cell. The (E)PDCCH allocates uplink and downlink (transmission direction) resources to the communication devices 3, par [0037]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adjust control signaling appropriately. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen/Awad to improve control signaling.
Regarding Claim 14, this apparatus (terminal) claim comprises limitations substantially the same, as those discussed in claim 1 above, same rationale of rejection is applicable. The teachings of Chen/Awad further teach a terminal and a control circuitry (Chen: col. 13, lines 33-38).
Regarding Claim 15, this method claim comprises limitations substantially the same, as those discussed in claim 1 above, same rationale of rejection is applicable.
Regarding Claim 16, this method claim comprises limitations(s) substantially the same, as those discussed in claim 14 above, same rationale of rejection is applicable.
11. Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in further view of Awad and in further view of Yang et al. (US 2024/0224267 A1) (hereinafter as Yang).
Regarding Claim 2, The combined teachings of Chen/Awad teach the base station according to claim 1 as discussed above.
The combined teachings of Chen/Awad further teach wherein the control circuitry determines the one band in accordance with a characteristic of the terminal.
However, Yang in a similar field of endeavor discloses terminal capability reporting method, a user terminal, and communication system including wherein the control circuitry determines the one band in accordance with a characteristic of the terminal (the UE capability information is reported to a base station, pars [0060-0061]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Yang in Chen/Awad to report user terminal capability. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to combine the teachings of Chen/Awad/Yang to improve utilization of bandwidth.
Conclusion
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY MEJIA whose telephone number is (571)270-3630. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:30 AM-6:30 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CHRISTOPHER PARRY can be reached on (571)272-8328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTHONY MEJIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2451
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