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 .
Claim Objections
1. Claims 1, 10, 20 and 27 are objected to because of this informality:
The respective claims recite “a network device”. Examiner suggests, for clarity, changing the limitation(s) to “a first network device” as a way to distinguish the respective network devices especially since “a second network device” is already recited in the respective claims.
Appropriate correction(s) is/are therefore required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
2. 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.
3. Claim(s) 1, 20, 24 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manssour (US PG Pub. No. 2014/0235255).
As per claim 1:
Manssour teaches a resource configuration method (see paragraph [0020], teaches a method of coordinating frequency band selections for interfering uplink transmissions in a cellular network), performed by a network device in a target cell, and the resource configuration method (see paragraph [0021], disclose a base station, serving a first cell in the cellular network, for assisting in a coordination of frequency band selections for interfering uplink transmissions) comprising:
sending frequency domain configuration information to a second network device in a neighbor cell of the target cell (see Figure 3, step 301, paragraph [0050], base station 105 selects two different cell-edge frequency bands: a first frequency band and a second frequency band. Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected. Note: Examiner is reading said second cell 115 as recited in paragraph [0054] and also illustrated in figure 1 as said neighbor cell and first cell 110 as illustrated in figure 1 as said target cell especially since base station 105 serves the first cell 110, please see paragraph [0031]),
wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates
at least one of first uplink frequency domain resources or first downlink frequency domain resources of the target cell (as explained earlier in paragraph [0054], the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 about the selected frequency bands. Paragraph [0051] also disclose the first frequency band is used in the first cell 110 for uplink transmissions from the cell edge user equipments which will interfere with the second cell 115. Paragraph [0052] also disclose the second frequency band is used in the first cell 110 for uplink transmissions from the cell edge user equipments which will interfere with the third cell 120. Thus, first and second frequency bands are for uplink transmissions in the first cell 110),
or at least one of second uplink frequency domain resources or second downlink frequency domain resources to be configured for the neighbor cell (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
As per claim 20:
Manssour teaches a communication device, comprising one or more processors and one or more memories (see Figure 6, base station 105 comprising processor 640 and memory 650),
wherein the one or more memories store a computer program (see paragraph [0145], memory 650 for storing data), and
wherein the one or more processors execute the computer program stored in the one or more memories, causing the one or more processors (see paragraph [0142], processor 640 together with computer program code for performing actions of the embodiments herein. Said computer program code is provided in a computer program product such as CD ROM and removable media, please see paragraphs [0143]-[0144]) to:
send frequency domain configuration information to a network device in a neighbor cell of a target cell (see Figure 3, step 301, paragraph [0050], base station 105 selects two different cell-edge frequency bands: a first frequency band and a second frequency band. Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected. Note: Examiner is reading said second cell 115 as recited in paragraph [0054] and also illustrated in figure 1 as said neighbor cell and first cell 110 as illustrated in figure 1 as said target cell especially since base station 105 serves the first cell 110, please see paragraph [0031]),
wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates at least one of first uplink frequency domain resources or first downlink frequency domain resources of the target cell (as explained earlier in paragraph [0054], the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 about the selected frequency bands. Paragraph [0051] also disclose the first frequency band is used in the first cell 110 for uplink transmissions from the cell edge user equipments which will interfere with the second cell 115. Paragraph [0052] also disclose the second frequency band is used in the first cell 110 for uplink transmissions from the cell edge user equipments which will interfere with the third cell 120. Thus, first and second frequency bands are for uplink transmissions in the first cell 110),
or at least one of second uplink frequency domain resources or second downlink frequency domain resources to be configured for the neighbor cell (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
As per claim 24:
Manssour teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, configured to store instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the method according to claim 1 (see Figure 6, base station 105 comprising processor 640 and memory 650. See paragraph [0142], processor 640 together with computer program code for performing actions of the embodiments herein. Said computer program code is provided in a computer program product such as CD ROM and removable media, please see paragraphs [0143]-[0144]).
As per claim 26:
Manssour teaches a communication system, comprising the communication device according to claim 20 (see Figure 1, paragraph [0100], cellular network 100 comprising base station 105 serving a first cell 110).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claim(s) 10, 21, 25, 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manssour in view of Hu (US PG Pub. No. 2016/0014779).
As per claim 10:
Manssour teaches a resource configuration method (see paragraph [0020], teaches a method of coordinating frequency band selections for interfering uplink transmissions in a cellular network), performed by a network device in a neighbor cell of a target cell (see paragraph [0022], the method further comprises the base station of the second cell coordinating the frequency band selection with that of the base station of the first cell), and the resource configuration method comprising:
receiving frequency domain configuration information sent by a second network device in the target cell (see Figure 3, step 301, paragraph [0050], base station 105 selects two different cell-edge frequency bands: a first frequency band and a second frequency band. Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected. Note: Examiner is reading said second cell 115 as recited in paragraph [0054] and also illustrated in figure 1 as said neighbor cell and first cell 110 as illustrated in figure 1 as said target cell especially since base station 105 serves the first cell 110, please see paragraph [0031]).
Manssour does not clearly teach and configuring at least one of uplink frequency domain resources or downlink frequency domain resources for the neighbor cell according to the frequency domain configuration information.
Hu teaches and configuring at least one of uplink frequency domain resources or downlink frequency domain resources for the neighbor cell according to the frequency domain configuration information (see paragraph [0025], base station 202 may send information to base station 201 regarding reserved subset of unlicensed bands including the unlicensed frequency band F1 for current or future downlink transmissions. The base station 201 may use the information in the data structure 220 to select a subset of the unlicensed frequency bands for downlink transmission to the user equipment 211, please see paragraph [0026]. Note: The user equipment as illustrated in figure 2 is in the overlapping region of cells 206 and 205 and thus selected subband(s) are associated with cell 205 of base station 201. Other sections like paragraph [0014] also disclose base stations may use the stored information to select subsets of the unlicensed frequency bands for downlink transmissions or to limit the subsets that are monitored by user equipment during measurement gaps).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the selection of subset of frequency bands for downlink transmission (as disclosed in Hu) into Manssour as a way of reducing the probability of collisions between its downlink transmission in one or more unlicensed frequency bands and downlink transmissions from other base stations in the unlicensed frequency bands (please see paragraph [0014] of Hu).
As per claim 21:
Manssour in view of Hu teaches a communication device (Manssour, see Figure 1, element 125).
Manssour does not clearly teach comprising one or more processors and one or more memories, wherein the one or more memories store a computer program, and wherein the one or more processors execute the computer program stored in the one or more memories, causing the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 10.
Hu teaches comprising one or more processors and one or more memories, wherein the one or more memories store a computer program, and wherein the one or more processors execute the computer program stored in the one or more memories, causing the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 10 (see Figure 4, base station 405 comprising processor 455 and memory 450. Paragraph [0034] further disclose processor 455 may be used to process information by executing instructions stored in the memory 450).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to include the processor and memory components (as disclosed in Hu) into Manssour as a way of performing operations such as processing of information for transmission or reception and also generating reservations for transmission over the interface to one or more other base stations (please see paragraph [0034] of Hu).
As per claim 25:
Manssour in view of Hu teaches the method of claim 10.
Manssour does not clearly teach a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, configured to store instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the method according to claim 10.
Hu teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, configured to store instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the method according to claim 10 (see Figure 4, base station 405 comprising processor 455 and memory 450. Paragraph [0034] further disclose processor 455 may be used to process information by executing instructions stored in the memory 450).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to include the processor and memory components (as disclosed in Hu) into Manssour as a way of performing operations such as processing of information for transmission or reception and also generating reservations for transmission over the interface to one or more other base stations (please see paragraph [0034] of Hu).
As per claim 27:
Manssour in view of Hu teaches the communication system according to claim 26.
Manssour does not clearly teach further comprising a second communication device, which comprises:
one or more processors and one or more memories,
wherein the one or more memories store a computer program, and wherein the one or more processors execute the computer program stored in the one or more memories, causing the one or more processors to:
receive the frequency domain configuration information sent by the network device in the target cell;
and configure at least one of uplink frequency domain resources or downlink frequency domain resources for the neighbor cell according to the frequency domain configuration information.
Hu teaches further comprising a second communication device, which comprises:
one or more processors and one or more memories,
wherein the one or more memories store a computer program, and wherein the one or more processors execute the computer program stored in the one or more memories, causing the one or more processors (see Figure 4, base station 405 comprising processor 455 and memory 450. Paragraph [0034] further disclose processor 455 may be used to process information by executing instructions stored in the memory 450) to:
receive the frequency domain configuration information sent by the network device in the target cell (see paragraph [0025], base station 202 may send information to base station 201 regarding reserved subset of unlicensed bands including the unlicensed frequency band F1 for current or future downlink transmissions);
and configure at least one of uplink frequency domain resources or downlink frequency domain resources for the neighbor cell according to the frequency domain configuration information (The base station 201 may use the information in the data structure 220 to select a subset of the unlicensed frequency bands for downlink transmission to the user equipment 211, please see paragraph [0026]. Note: The user equipment as illustrated in figure 2 is in the overlapping region of cells 206 and 205 and thus selected subband(s) are associated with cell 205 of base station 201. Other sections like paragraph [0014] also disclose base stations may use the stored information to select subsets of the unlicensed frequency bands for downlink transmissions or to limit the subsets that are monitored by user equipment during measurement gaps).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the selection of subset of frequency bands for downlink transmission (as disclosed in Hu) into Manssour as a way of reducing the probability of collisions between its downlink transmission in one or more unlicensed frequency bands and downlink transmissions from other base stations in the unlicensed frequency bands (please see paragraph [0014] of Hu).
6. Claims 2, 4, 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manssour in view of Tokgoz (US PG Pub. No. 2022/0286262).
As per claim 2:
Manssour teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates at least one of the first uplink frequency domain resources or the first downlink frequency domain resources of the target cell (Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected), and the frequency domain configuration information comprises:
frequency domain information on at least one first subband of the target cell (see Figure 3, step 301, paragraph [0050], base station 105 selects two different cell-edge frequency bands: a first frequency band and a second frequency band. Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected);
or wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates at least one of the second uplink frequency domain resources or the second downlink frequency domain resources to be configured for the neighbor cell, and the frequency domain configuration information comprises:
frequency domain information on at least one second subband of the neighbor cell;
and transmission direction indication information on the at least one second subband (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Manssour does not clearly teach and transmission direction indication information on the at least one first subband.
Tokgoz teaches and transmission direction indication information on the at least one first subband (see paragraph [0089], coordinating with the neighbor base station to transmit over the downlink beam j over the resources used to serve the victim UE to avoid interference for the victim UE. Paragraph [0090], disclose serving base station coordinates with the neighbor base station to prohibit communication of the downlink transmit beam k by the neighbor base station over the time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE. Note: The frequency resources refer to resource blocks (i.e., RBs) of a bandwidth, please see paragraph [0102] and thus a subband).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the coordination of time/frequency resources over the downlink beam direction (as disclosed in Tokgoz) into Manssour as a way of avoiding interference in the direction of the victim UE (please see paragraph [0098] of Tokgoz).
As per claim 4:
Manssour in view of Tokgoz teaches the method according to claim 2.
Manssour does not teach wherein the transmission direction indication information is configured as one of the following: indicating uplink only; indicating downlink only; or indicating neither the uplink nor the downlink.
Tokgoz teaches wherein the transmission direction indication information (Paragraph [0090], disclose serving base station coordinates with the neighbor base station to prohibit communication of the downlink transmit beam k by the neighbor base station over the time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE) is configured as one of the following: indicating uplink only (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form); indicating downlink only (see paragraph [0090], downlink transmit beam k over time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE); or indicating neither the uplink nor the downlink (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the coordination of time/frequency resources over the downlink beam direction (as disclosed in Tokgoz) into Manssour as a way of avoiding interference in the direction of the victim UE (please see paragraph [0098] of Tokgoz).
As per claim 7:
Manssour in view of Tokgoz teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates at least one of the first uplink frequency domain resources or the first downlink frequency domain resources of the target cell (Manssour, Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected).
and the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
or wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates at least one of the second uplink frequency domain resources or the second downlink frequency domain resources to be configured for the neighbor cell, and the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
beam direction information on the at least one second subband to be configured for the neighbor cell (Note: Limitation(s) is recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Mansour does not teach and the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
beam direction information on the at least one first subband occupied by the target cell;
or wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates at least one of the second uplink frequency domain resources or the second downlink frequency domain resources to be configured for the neighbor cell, and the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
beam direction information on the at least one second subband to be configured for the neighbor cell.
Tokgoz teaches and the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
beam direction information on the at least one first subband occupied by the target cell (see paragraph [0089], coordinating with the neighbor base station to transmit over the downlink beam j over the resources used to serve the victim UE to avoid interference for the victim UE. Paragraph [0090], disclose serving base station coordinates with the neighbor base station to prohibit communication of the downlink transmit beam k by the neighbor base station over the time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE. Note: The frequency resources refer to resource blocks (i.e., RBs) of a bandwidth, please see paragraph [0102] and thus a subband);
or wherein the frequency domain configuration information indicates at least one of the second uplink frequency domain resources or the second downlink frequency domain resources to be configured for the neighbor cell, and the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
beam direction information on the at least one second subband to be configured for the neighbor cell (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate format and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the coordination of time/frequency resources over the downlink beam direction (as disclosed in Tokgoz) into Manssour as a way of avoiding interference in the direction of the victim UE (please see paragraph [0098] of Tokgoz).
7. Claims 11, 13, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manssour in view of Hu and further in view of Tokgoz.
As per claim 11:
Manssour in view of Hu teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the frequency domain configuration information (Manssour, Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected) comprises:
frequency domain information on at least one first subband occupied by the target cell (Manssour, see Figure 3, step 301, paragraph [0050], base station 105 selects two different cell-edge frequency bands: a first frequency band and a second frequency band. Figure 3, step 302 and paragraph [0054] disclose the base station 105 informs the serving base station of the second cell 115 and the serving base station of the third cell 120 about the frequency bands it has selected);
or wherein the frequency domain configuration information comprises:
frequency domain information on at least one second subband of the neighbor cell;
and transmission direction indication information on the at least one second subband (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Manssour and Hu do not teach and transmission direction indication information on the at least one first subband.
Tokgoz teaches and transmission direction indication information on the at least one first subband (see paragraph [0089], coordinating with the neighbor base station to transmit over the downlink beam j over the resources used to serve the victim UE to avoid interference for the victim UE. Paragraph [0090], disclose serving base station coordinates with the neighbor base station to prohibit communication of the downlink transmit beam k by the neighbor base station over the time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE. Note: The frequency resources refer to resource blocks (i.e., RBs) of a bandwidth, please see paragraph [0102] and thus a subband).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the coordination of time/frequency resources over the downlink beam direction (as disclosed in Tokgoz) into Manssour and Hu as a way of avoiding interference in the direction of the victim UE (please see paragraph [0098] of Tokgoz).
As per claim 13:
Manssour in view of Hu and further in view of Tokgoz teaches the method according to claim 11.
The combination of Manssour and Hu do not teach wherein the transmission direction indication information is configured as one of the following: indicating uplink only; indicating downlink only; or indicating neither the uplink nor the downlink.
Tokgoz teaches wherein the transmission direction indication information (Paragraph [0090], disclose serving base station coordinates with the neighbor base station to prohibit communication of the downlink transmit beam k by the neighbor base station over the time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE) is configured as one of the following: indicating uplink only (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form); indicating downlink only (see paragraph [0090], downlink transmit beam k over time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE); or indicating neither the uplink nor the downlink (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the coordination of time/frequency resources over the downlink beam direction (as disclosed in Tokgoz) into Manssour and Hu as a way of avoiding interference in the direction of the victim UE (please see paragraph [0098] of Tokgoz).
As per claim 16:
Manssour in view of Hu and further in view of Tokgoz teaches the method according to claim 11.
The combination of Manssour and Hu do not teach wherein the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
beam direction information of the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband.
Tokgoz teaches wherein the frequency domain configuration information further comprises:
beam direction information of the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband (see paragraph [0089], coordinating with the neighbor base station to transmit over the downlink beam j over the resources used to serve the victim UE to avoid interference for the victim UE. Paragraph [0090], disclose serving base station coordinates with the neighbor base station to prohibit communication of the downlink transmit beam k by the neighbor base station over the time/frequency resources used to serve the victim UE. Note: The frequency resources refer to resource blocks (i.e., RBs) of a bandwidth, please see paragraph [0102] and thus a subband).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the coordination of time/frequency resources over the downlink beam direction (as disclosed in Tokgoz) into Manssour and Hu as a way of avoiding interference in the direction of the victim UE (please see paragraph [0098] of Tokgoz).
8. Claims 5, 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manssour in view of Tokgoz and further in view of Li (US PG Pub. No. 2020/0022127).
As per claim 5:
Manssour in view of Tokgoz teaches the method according to claim 2 with the exception of:
wherein the frequency domain information comprises at least one of the following:
frequency range information on a working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs;
a bandwidth of each of the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband;
or a number of subbands comprised in the working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs.
Li teaches wherein the frequency domain information (see paragraph [0131], transmission carrier indication information) comprises at least one of the following:
frequency range information on a working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs (see paragraph [0198], a frequency range (a high frequency or a low frequency) of a current carrier);
a bandwidth of each of the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband (see paragraph [0198], bandwidth size and a configuration of a bandwidth part);
or a number of subbands comprised in the working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement said transmission carrier indication (as disclosed in Li) into Manssour and Tokgoz as a way of determining the physical resource block used for transmitting message (please see paragraph [0131] of Li).
As per claim 6:
Manssour in view of Tokgoz and further in view of Li teaches the method according to claim 5.
Manssour and Tokgoz do not clearly teach wherein the frequency range information comprises at least one of the following:
a lowest frequency of the working carrier and a highest frequency of the working carrier;
or the lowest frequency of the working carrier and a bandwidth occupied by the working carrier.
Li teaches wherein the frequency range information comprises at least one of the following:
a lowest frequency of the working carrier and a highest frequency of the working carrier (see paragraph [0198], a frequency range (a high frequency or a low frequency) of a current carrier);
or the lowest frequency of the working carrier and a bandwidth occupied by the working carrier (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement said transmission carrier indication (as disclosed in Li) into Manssour and Tokgoz as a way of determining the physical resource block used for transmitting message (please see paragraph [0131] of Li).
9. Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manssour in view of Hu and further in view of Li.
As per claim 14:
Manssour in view of Hu teaches the method according to claim 11 with the exception of:
wherein the frequency domain information comprises at least one of the following:
frequency range information on a working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs;
a bandwidth of each of the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband;
or a number of subbands comprised in the working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs.
Li teaches wherein the frequency domain information (see paragraph [0131], transmission carrier indication information) comprises at least one of the following:
frequency range information on a working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs (see paragraph [0198], a frequency range (a high frequency or a low frequency) of a current carrier);
a bandwidth of each of the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband (see paragraph [0198], bandwidth size and a configuration of a bandwidth part);
or a number of subbands comprised in the working carrier to which the at least one first subband or the at least one second subband belongs (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement said transmission carrier indication (as disclosed in Li) into Manssour and Hu as a way of determining the physical resource block used for transmitting message (please see paragraph [0131] of Li).
As per claim 15:
Manssour in view of Hu and further in view of Li teaches the method according to claim 14.
The combination of Manssour and Hu do not clearly teach wherein the frequency range information comprises at least one of the following:
a lowest frequency of the working carrier and a highest frequency of the working carrier;
or the lowest frequency of the working carrier and a bandwidth occupied by the working carrier.
Li teaches wherein the frequency range information comprises at least one of the following:
a lowest frequency of the working carrier and a highest frequency of the working carrier (see paragraph [0198], a frequency range (a high frequency or a low frequency) of a current carrier);
or the lowest frequency of the working carrier and a bandwidth occupied by the working carrier (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement said transmission carrier indication (as disclosed in Li) into Manssour and Hu as a way of determining the physical resource block used for transmitting message (please see paragraph [0131] of Li).
10. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manssour in view of Gholmieh (US PG Pub. No. 2014/0080475).
As per claim 9:
Manssour teaches the method according to claim 1 with the exception of:
wherein the frequency domain configuration information is generated based on frequency domain resources occupied by a reference terminal device in the target cell, wherein the reference terminal device is located in an overlapping area between the target cell and the neighbor cell.
Gholmieh teaches wherein the frequency domain configuration information is generated based on frequency domain resources occupied by a reference terminal device in the target cell, wherein the reference terminal device is located in an overlapping area between the target cell and the neighbor cell (see paragraphs [0057], the server may determine the frequency bands suitable for the overlapping regions between cells for the one or more mobile devices. A configuration information indicating the frequency bands for the overlapping regions is sent to the one or more mobile devices).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the allocation of frequency bands in the overlapping geographical location(s) (as disclosed in Gholmieh) into Manssour as a way of providing the mobile device with a range of services and/or service areas (please see paragraph [0033] of Gholmieh).
11. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manssour in view of Hu and further in view of Gholmieh.
As per claim 17:
Manssour in view of Hu teaches the method according to claim 10 with the exception of:
wherein the frequency domain configuration information is generated based on frequency domain resources occupied by a reference terminal device in the target cell, and
wherein the reference terminal device is located in an overlapping area between the target cell and the neighbor cell.
Gholmieh teaches wherein the frequency domain configuration information is generated based on frequency domain resources occupied by a reference terminal device in the target cell, and wherein the reference terminal device is located in an overlapping area between the target cell and the neighbor cell (see paragraphs [0057], the server may determine the frequency bands suitable for the overlapping regions between cells for the one or more mobile devices. A configuration information indicating the frequency bands for the overlapping regions is sent to the one or more mobile devices).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the allocation of frequency bands in the overlapping geographical location(s) (as disclosed in Gholmieh) into Manssour and Hu as a way of providing the mobile device with a range of services and/or service areas (please see paragraph [0033] of Gholmieh).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRINCE AKWASI MENSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-7183. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm.
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PRINCE AKWASI. MENSAH
Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/PRINCE A MENSAH/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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