DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. In particular, this Application is the national stage application of an international application that was filed on 8 Apr 2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement, submitted on 30 Dec 2024, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 8, 10, 13, and 14 are 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.
A. Claim 8 recites, in part, “wherein the at least one subband associated with the first BWP includes a first subband containing a second subband and the second subband is determined as disassociated with the first BWP.” Claim 8 requires a subband, which is associated with a first BWP, to include a second subband, which is disassociated with the first BWP. The limitation seems to contradict itself. The metes and bounds of a subband, which is associated with the first BWP, containing a subband that is disassociated with the first BWP is unclear. If a subband is associated with a first BWP is it unclear how all or a portion of the subband can simultaneously be disassociated with the first BWP.
B. Claim 10 recites, in part, “wherein the subbands are order based on one or more of: frequency domain positions of the subbands; a base station configuration; or identifications of the subbands.” It is unclear what constitutes an “order” of subbands. In one interpretation, it may be a request for subbands (i.e. much like an order at a restaurant). In another interpretation, it may be sequence of subbands (i.e. a predefined order of events). Given the multiple possible interpretations that are possible, the metes and bounds of claim 10 are indefinite.
C. Claim 13 recites, in part, “scheduling physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback.” Claim 13 appears to require a PUSCH for transmitting PUCCH HARQ-ACK feedback. PUSCH and PUCCH are mutually exclusive channels within 3GPP. Typically, HARQ feedback is transmitted using a PUCCH, but claim 13 appears to require a PUSCH to execute this functionality. As a result, it is unclear what constitutes a PUSCH “for” PUCCH feedback.
D. Claim 14 recites, in part, “PUCCH resources of each PUCCH resource set is unified ordered.” It is unclear what constitutes “unified ordered” PUCCH resources. The Examiner also believes the “is” needs replaced with an “are.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 29, and 33-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Gou (US 20240107512).
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 33, Guo teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory, a method, and a processor comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to perform the method comprising:
determine at least one subband, wherein the at least one subband is associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP) (Guo, figure 3 – UE configures at least a first subband within the first BWP; Guo, figures 5-8 – subband 510/610/709/810 is within BWP 506/606/706/806); and
transmit an uplink signal in the at least one subband in a first set of time domain resources. Guo, ¶¶64, 76, 82, 102 (subband UL BWP 510/610/709/810 is used for UL transmission); Guo, ¶¶65, 72 (each embodiment shown in figures 5-8 is a slot structure in a TDD system, where symbols or RBs are time domain resources).
Regarding claims 2 and 34, Guo also teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: transmit another uplink signal in the first BWP in a second set of time domain resources. Guo, ¶82 (“UL transmissions are supported by subband UL BWP [i.e. more than one uplink signal may be transmitted]).
Regarding claims 3 and 35, Guo also teaches wherein the at least one subband is associated with the first BWP based at least in part on at least one of:
the at least one subband is configured in a configuration of the first BWP;
the at least one subband is configured in a configuration of another BWP configuration and is fully or partially within a bandwidth of the first BWP; or
the at least one subband is configured in a configuration of another BWP and a span of the at least one subband and the first BWP is within a bandwidth of a downlink BWP, wherein the first BWP and the downlink BWP have a same BWP identification. Guo, figures 5-8 (each figure shows a time-frequency resource configuration, where one or more subbands are in one or more BWPs); Guo, ¶95 (in one embodiment, the subbands within the BWP 706 share the same center frequency point); Guo, ¶97 (in this embodiment, the UL subband configuration may include least one DL symbol [i.e. overlap]).
Regarding claim 6, Guo also teaches wherein the at least one subband associated with the first BWP includes a single subband which is one or more of:
configured in a configuration of the first BWP;
lowest position in frequency domain when the at least one subband is not configured in the configuration of the first BWP;
configured by a base station when the at least one subband is not configured in the configuration of the first BWP;
largest bandwidth when the at least one subband is not configured in the configuration of the first BWP; or
lowest subband identification when the at least one subband is not configured in the configuration of the first BWP. Guo, ¶¶6, 57 (configuration of first BWP may include a configuration of the first and second subband BWPs).
Regarding claim 7, Guo also teaches wherein the at least one subband associated with the first BWP includes a plurality of subbands which has at least one specific subband configured in a configuration of the first BWP (Guo, figure 3 and ¶58 – in step 304, the UE configures at least one subband within the first BWP; Guo, figures 5-8 – each subband is a span of frequency resources along the y-axis, which creates “a plurality of subbands”), and remaining subbands configured by a base station. Guo, ¶56 (configuration received from BS 102).
Regarding claim 9, Guo also teaches wherein the at least one subband associated with the first BWP includes a plurality of subbands (Guo, figures 5-8 – each subband is a span of frequency resources along the y-axis, which creates “a plurality of subbands”), and the subbands are ordered for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). Guo, e.g. ¶85 (PUCCH).
Regarding claim 10, Guo also teaches wherein the subbands are order based on one or more of: frequency domain positions of the subbands; a base station configuration; or identifications of the subbands. Guo, ¶56 (configuration received from BS 102).
Regarding claim 14, Guo also teaches wherein at least one physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource set is configured for the at least one subband, and PUCCH resources of each PUCCH resource set is unified ordered. Guo, ¶82, last sentence (UL transmissions in subband UL BWP); Guo, ¶90 (UL signal/channel [i.e. transmission] may be a PUCCH).
Regarding claim 29, Guo teaches a base station (BS), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the base station to:
determine at least one subband, wherein the at least one subband is associated with a first bandwidth part (BWP) (Guo, ¶56 – subband BWP configuration sent by BS 102); and
receive an uplink signal from a user equipment (UE) in the at least one subband in a first set of time domain resources (Guo, ¶¶64, 76, 82, 102 - subband UL BWP 510/610/709/810 is used for UL transmission; Guo, ¶¶65, 72 - each embodiment shown in figures 5-8 is a slot structure in a TDD system, where symbols or RBs are time domain resources),
wherein the at least one subband is associated with the first BWP. (Guo, figure 3 – UE configures at least a first subband within the first BWP; Guo, figures 5-8 – subband 510/610/709/810 is within BWP 506/606/706/806).
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.
Claims 4 and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo (of record) in view of Abotabl (US 20230239128).
Regarding claims 4 and 36, Guo teaches the UE of claim 1, the processor of claim 33, and wherein the at least one subband is associated with the first BWP based at least in part on at least one of . . . the at least one subband is fully or partially within a bandwidth of the first BWP (Guo, figures 5-8 – each subband UL BWP is within the bandwidth of BWP 506/606/706/806); or a span of the at least one subband and the first BWP is within a bandwidth of a downlink BWP, wherein the first BWP and the downlink BWP have a same BWP identification.
Guo does not explicitly teach “the at least one subband is configured separately from a configuration of the first BWP.” However, Abotabl teaches a UE receiving configuration data from a network entity. Abotabl, figure 4 and ¶94 (RBW configuration data 442). The RBW configurations may include DL only and UL only (i.e. separate RBWs). Id. at ¶110. Each RBW may have separate IDs. Id. at ¶112. At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art use separate configurations, as taught by Abotabl, for each subband, taught by Guo, in order to reduce spectrum waste when operating in full duplex mode. Id. at ¶¶109-110.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo (of record) in view of Awadin (US 20230163937) (entitled to the priority date of at least 7 Jan 2022 – see pages 8-9, option 3 of provisional application for written description support).
Regarding claim 5, Guo teaches the UE of claim 1, but does not explicitly teach “wherein the at least one subband is associated with the first BWP when a numerology of the at least one subband is same as a numerology of the first BWP.” However, Awadin teaches a UL or DL subband using the same numerology as its associated BWP. Awadin, ¶¶99-100, 102. At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the same numerology, as taught by Awadin, when communicating over the UL and DL subbands within a BWP, as taught by Guo, in order to simplify implementation for a full duplex UE. Id. at ¶99.
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo (of record) in view of Huang (US 2021/0320779).
Regarding claim 11, Guo teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: receive a downlink control information (DCI). Guo, ¶70 (UE receive DCI signaling, which indicates UL subbands). Guo does not explicitly teach the DCI “scheduling physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), wherein the DCI includes a subband indication indicating the UE to transmit PUSCH in at least one specific subband.” However, Huang teaches a base station transmitting a configuration message, such as a DCI, for SB-FD resources of an uplink transmission. Huang, ¶92 and figure 13, step 1310. The uplink transmission may be a PUSCH. Id. at ¶105. The configuration message selects at least one of two subbands for the uplink transmission. Id. at ¶100. At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to enable the DCI, taught by Guo, to configure a PUSCH transmission, as taught by Huang, in order to allow the UE to transmit uplink communication content. Id. at ¶3.
Regarding claim 12, Guo teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: receive a downlink control information (DCI) . . . wherein the DCI includes a resource allocation in the first BWP. Guo, ¶70 (UE receive DCI signaling, which indicates UL BWP subbands). Guo does not explicitly teach the DCI “scheduling physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) . . .and resources allocated in the resource allocation are mapped to the at least one subband.” However, Huang teaches a base station transmitting a configuration message, such as a DCI, for SB-FD resources of an uplink transmission. Huang, ¶92 and figure 13, step 1310. The uplink transmission may be a PUSCH. Id. at ¶105. The configuration message selects at least one of two subbands for the uplink transmission. Id. at ¶100. At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to enable the DCI, taught by Guo, to configure a PUSCH transmission, as taught by Huang, in order to allow the UE to transmit uplink communication content. Id. at ¶3.
Regarding claim 13, Guo teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: receive a downlink control information (DCI). Guo, ¶70 (UE receive DCI signaling, which indicates UL subbands). Guo does not explicitly teach the DCI “scheduling physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback, wherein the DCI includes a subband indication indicating the UE to transmit PUCCH in at least one specific subband.” However, Huang teaches a base station transmitting a configuration message, such as a DCI, for SB-FD resources of an uplink transmission. Huang, ¶92 and figure 13, step 1310. The uplink transmission may be a PUCCH or PUSCH. Id. at ¶105. The configuration message selects at least one of two subbands for the uplink transmission. Id. at ¶100. In one embodiment, shown in figure 8, the BS may indicate UL control resources for HARQ via an PUCCH indicator. Id. at ¶71. At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to enable the DCI, taught by Guo, to configure a PUCCH transmission for HARQ, as taught by Huang, in order to allow the UE to transmit uplink feedback. Id. at ¶33.
Conclusion
Other pertinent art includes Wang, which shares the same effective filing date as the Application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN S LAMONT whose telephone number is (571)270-7514 and email address is benjamin.lamont@uspto.gov (see MPEP 502.03 for using EFS or mail, but not email to authorize electronic communications). The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7am to 3pm EST.
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/Benjamin Lamont/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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