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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/14/25 and 9/26/24 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 31 is objected to because of the following informalities: On line 2, it appears that the word “to” is missing after the word “according”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 32 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter.
Claims 32 and 33 are currently directed to “a storage medium with an executable program stored thereon”. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer readable medium (also called machine readable medium and other such variations) typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media, particularly when the specification is silent. See MPEP 2111.01. Since Applicant’s specification only provides examples of a “storage medium” and does not explicitly exclude transitory embodiments, claims 32 and 33 are considered directed to non-statutory subject matter. A suggestion to overcome this particular rejection would be to amend the current claim language to recite “a non-transitory storage medium”.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-11, 13, 16, and 31-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rastegardoost et al. (U.S. 2020/0351729) (hereinafter “Rastegardoost”). Rastegardoost teaches all of the limitations of the specified claims with the reasoning that follows.
Regarding claim 1, “a method for information transmission, performed by a base station, comprising: sending a cell handover command to a first-type user equipment (UE), wherein the cell handover command carries bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information indicating a BWP of a target cell, and the BWP of the target cell is determined based on a type of the first-type UE” is anticipated by a wireless device (first-type UE) that receives a handover command (cell handover command) from a source base station 2404 comprising a RRC reconfiguration message, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes one or more parameters indicating the BWP configurations of the wireless device in the target cell (BWP of a target cell); and where the first active BWP of the target cell is determined by the target base station 2402 according to the wireless device simultaneous connectivity capability (type of first-type UE) indicated by a capability indicator, and/or the current active BWP of the source cell as shown in Figure 24 and spoken of on page 39, paragraph [0467].
Regarding claim 2, “wherein the BWP corresponding to the first-type UE indicated by the BWP configuration information comprises at least one of: a first active initial downlink (DL) BWP; a first active initial uplink (UL) BWP; a first initial DL BWP; or a first initial UL BWP” is anticipated by the BWP configurations indicated by the RRC reconfiguration message, where the BWP configurations may indicate a location and/or bandwidth and/or identifier of the first active UL/DL BWP as spoken of on page 39, paragraph [0467].
Regarding claim 3, “wherein the first active initial DL BWP does not comprise a synchronization signal block (SSB),(SSB); or, the first active initial DL BWP comprises an SSB; or, the first initial DL BWP does not comprise an SSB, or the first initial DL BWP comprises an SSB” is anticipated by the sending of one or more RRC messages to configure the wireless device with one or more parameters, where the one or more parameters may indicate SSB information as spoken of on page 19, paragraph [0309].
Regarding claim 5, “receiving the BWP configuration information sent by a base station to which the target cell belongs and configured for the first-type UE” is anticipated by the target base station (base station to which target cell belongs) that sends the handover request acknowledgment comprising the RRC reconfiguration message (including BWP configuration information) to the source base station 2404 as spoken of on page 39, paragraph [0467].
Regarding claim 6, “receiving information of UE type sent by the first-type UE; sending a handover request to a base station to which the target cell belongs, wherein the handover request carries the information of UE type of the first-type UE” is anticipated by a source base station 2104 that receives one or more measurement reports and/or control messages (information of UE type) from a wireless device 2106, and sends a handover request message 2110 comprising wireless device capability information (information of UE type) and/or RRC configuration parameters of the wireless device 2106 to target base station 2102 as spoken of on page 37, paragraphs [0456]-[0457].
Regarding claim 7, “at least one of: in response to the target cell being configured with a second initial DL BWP for the first- type UE, determining the second initial DL BWP as the first initial DL BWP; in response to the target cell being configured with a third initial DL BWP for a second- type UE, and a bandwidth of the third initial DL BWP being less than or equal to a bandwidth of a DL BWP supported by the first-type UE, determining the third initial DL BWP as the first initial DL BWP; in response to the target cell being configured with the third initial DL BWP for the second- type UE, and the bandwidth of the third initial DL BWP being greater than the bandwidth of the DL BWP supported by the first-type UE, determining a fourth initial DL BWP configured in a master information block (MIB) corresponding to the target cell as the first initial DL BWP; or in response to the target cell being not configured with the third initial DL BWP for the second-type UE, determining a fifth initial DL BWP configured in the MIB corresponding to the target cell as the first initial DL BWP” is anticipated by a base station that configures a wireless device with a default DL BWP among configured DL BWPs, where if a wireless device is not provided a default DL BWP, a default BWP (second initial DL BWP) may be (determined as) an initial active DL BWP (first initial DL BWP) as spoken of on page 13, paragraph [0269].
Regarding claim 8, “at least one of: in response to the target cell being configured with a second initial UL BWP for the first-type UE, determining the second initial UL BWP as the first initial UL BWP; or in response to the target cell being configured with a third initial UL BWP for a second-type UE, and a bandwidth of the third initial UL BWP being less than or equal to a bandwidth of a UL BWP supported by the first-type UE, determining the third initial UL BWP as the first initial UL BWP” is anticipated by a wireless device that may switch from the current active BWP to (determined as) a third BWP (second initial UL BWP) configured on the source cell, where the third BWP may be an initial BWP, a default BWP, a BWP with lowest index, a BWP with smallest bandwidth, a BWP with largest bandwidth, and/or a BWP with the same SCS as the first active BWP (first initial UL BWP) as spoken of on page 43, paragraph [0494].
Regarding claim 9, “a method for information transmission, performed by a first-type user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a cell handover command from a base station, wherein the cell handover command carries bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information indicating a BWP corresponding to the first-type UE in a target cell, and the BWP of the target cell is determined by the base station based on a type of the first-type UE” is anticipated by a wireless device (first-type UE) that receives a handover command (cell handover command) from a source base station 2404 comprising a RRC reconfiguration message, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes one or more parameters indicating the BWP configurations of the wireless device (corresponding to first-type UE) in the target cell (BWP of a target cell); and where the first active BWP of the target cell is determined by the target base station 2402 according to the wireless device simultaneous connectivity capability (type of first-type UE) indicated by a capability indicator, and/or the current active BWP of the source cell as shown in Figure 24 and spoken of on page 39, paragraph [0467].
Regarding claim 10, “wherein the BWP corresponding to the first-type UE comprises at least one of: a first active initial downlink (DL) BWP; a first active initial uplink (UL) BWP; a first initial DL BWP; or a first initial UL BWP” is anticipated by the BWP configurations indicated by the RRC reconfiguration message, where the BWP configurations may indicate a location and/or bandwidth and/or identifier of the first active UL/DL BWP as spoken of on page 39, paragraph [0467].
Regarding claim 11, “wherein the first active initial DL BWP does not comprise a synchronization signal block (SSB),(SSB); or, the first active initial DL BWP comprises an SSB; or, the first initial DL BWP does not comprise an SSB, or the first initial DL BWP comprises an SSB” is anticipated by the sending of one or more RRC messages to configure the wireless device with one or more parameters, where the one or more parameters may indicate SSB information as spoken of on page 19, paragraph [0309].
Regarding claim 13, “receiving the BWP configuration information that is from a base station to which the target cell belongs and configured for the first-type UE” is anticipated by the target base station (base station to which target cell belongs) that sends the handover request acknowledgment comprising the RRC reconfiguration message (including BWP configuration information) to the source base station 2404 as spoken of on page 39, paragraph [0467].
Regarding claim 16, “a base station comprising a processor, a memory and an executable program stored in the memory and capable of being executed by the processor, wherein, the processor is configured to, send a handover command to a first-type user equipment (UE), wherein the cell handover command carries bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information indicating a BWP of a target cell, and the BWP of the target cell is determined based on a type of the first-type UE” is anticipated by a wireless device (first-type UE) that receives a handover command (cell handover command) from a source base station 2404 comprising a RRC reconfiguration message, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes one or more parameters indicating the BWP configurations of the wireless device in the target cell (BWP of a target cell); where the first active BWP of the target cell is determined by the target base station 2402 according to the wireless device simultaneous connectivity capability (type of first-type UE) indicated by a capability indicator, and/or the current active BWP of the source cell as shown in Figure 24 and spoken of on page 39, paragraph [0467]; and where the base station(s) 120 includes a processor 321 coupled to a memory 322 with stored instructions 323 as shown in Figure 3 and spoken of on page 5, paragraph [0201].
Regarding claim 31, “a communication device configured to perform the method according claim 9” is anticipated by the wireless device 110 (communication device) shown in Figure 3.
Regarding claim 32, “a storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein when the executable program is executed by a processor, steps of the method for information transmission described in claim 1 are performed” is anticipated by the use of a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions as spoken of on page 7, paragraph [0220].
Regarding claim 33, “a storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein when the executable program is executed by a processor, steps of the method for information transmission described in claim 9 are performed” is anticipated by the use of a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions as spoken of on page 7, paragraph [0220].
Regarding claim 34, “sending information of UE type of the first-type UE to the base station, wherein the information of UE type is carried in a handover request sent from a base station to which a serving cell belongs to a base station to which the target cell belongs” is anticipated by a source base station 2104 that receives one or more measurement reports and/or control messages (information of UE type) from a wireless device 2106, and sends a handover request message 2110 comprising wireless device capability information (information of UE type) and/or RRC configuration parameters of the wireless device 2106 to target base station 2102 as spoken of on page 37, paragraphs [0456]-[0457].
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.
Claim(s) 4, 12, 14, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rastegardoost in view of Lu (U.S. 2024/0414668).
Regarding claims 4 and 15, Rastegardoost teaches claims 3 and 10 as described above. Rastegardoost does not explicitly teach “wherein in response to determining that the first-type UE has a predetermined capability, the first active initial DL BWP indicated by the BWP configuration information comprises a non-cell-defining SSB (NCD-SSB); or in response to determining that the first-type UE has a predetermined capability, the first initial DL BWP indicated by the BWP configuration information comprises an NCD-SSB” or “sending indication information indicating whether the first-type UE has a predetermined capability to the base station, wherein the predetermined capability is used for the base station to determine whether to indicate to at least one of the first-type UE a first active initial DL BWP comprising a non-cell-defining SSB (NCD-SSB) and/or a first initial DL BWP comprising an NCD-SSB”.
However, Lu teaches a system and method for signal reception where a network device may configure an NCD-SSB in an initial downlink BWP, where a terminal equipment (UE) transmits capability indication information to the network device, the capability indication indicating that the NCD-SSB is needed for use in performing measurement, and where the network device transmits indication information that indicates that the terminal equipment in the connected state performs measurement in the connected state based on an NCD-SSB as spoken of on page 5, paragraph [0069], as well as page 8, paragraph [0091].
Given the above references, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to apply the indication of an initial DL BWP including an NCD-SSB based on a UE capability as taught in Lu to the resource configuration system of Rastegardoost in order to reduce unnecessary handover of the UE between different frequency points, thereby improving transmission efficiency and energy saving as spoken of on page 4, paragraph [0055] of Lu.
Regarding claims 12 and 14, Rastegardoost teaches claims 11 and 13 as described above. Rastegardoost does not explicitly teach “in response to the first active initial DL BWP not comprising an SSB, performing synchronization and/or wireless signal measurement by using an initial DL BWP comprising the SSB in the target cell” or “in response to the first initial DL BWP not comprising an SSB, performing synchronization and/or wireless signal measurement by using an initial DL BWP comprising the SSB in the target cell”.
However, Lu teaches a system and method for signal reception where a network device may configure an NCD-SSB in an initial downlink BWP, where a terminal equipment (UE) transmits capability indication information to the network device, the capability indication indicating that the NCD-SSB is needed for use in performing measurement, and where the network device transmits indication information that indicates that the terminal equipment in the connected state performs measurement in the connected state based on an NCD-SSB as spoken of on page 5, paragraph [0069], as well as page 8, paragraph [0091].
Given the above references, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to apply the indication of an initial DL BWP including an NCD-SSB based on a UE capability as taught in Lu to the resource configuration system of Rastegardoost in order to reduce unnecessary handover of the UE between different frequency points, thereby improving transmission efficiency and energy saving as spoken of on page 4, paragraph [0055] of Lu.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. References considered relevant to this application are listed in the attached “Notice of References Cited” (PTO-892).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J. MOORE, JR., whose telephone number is (571)272-3168. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (9am-4pm).
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/MICHAEL J MOORE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
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