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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 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.
Consider Claims 1, 4, and 5, the language “performed according to a unit,” presents an antecedent basis issue since it is not clear whether this term introduces a new term, or it is referring to the previously introduced term “a communication unit.” Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under similar grounds for depending upon base claims that are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
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)(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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Saber et al (Publication number: US 2021/0243751).
Consider Claim 1, Saber et al shows a terminal (see figure 1A; read as UE115), comprising:
(a) A communication unit configured to perform an uplink or downlink communication by using a frequency band in which aggregation is performed by carrier aggregation (see figure 1A; paragraphs 32-36); (The communication unit here is read as reception antennas in the UE. The UE may report its capability to perform certain features in one or more specific component carriers (CCs) in a particular band combination for CA. In this case, a mechanism referred to as feature sets per component carrier (CC) may be used to allow for such flexibility in reporting, and it may be said that the UE reports its capability on a per-feature set per CC or per-FSPC basis in that case).
(b) A control unit configured to expect scheduling that is defined as out-of-order scheduling in a case where scheduling is performed according to a unit including a plurality of component carriers in the aggregated frequency band (see paragraphs 39-40); (The capability to support out of order operation is also beneficial for a single TRP and uRLLC service type in which a higher priority may be assigned to the uRLLC service than to the eMBB service).
Consider Claim 4, Saber et al show a base station (see figure 1; read as TRP’s), comprising:
(a) A communication unit configured to perform a communication with a terminal by using a frequency band in which aggregation is performed by carrier aggregation (see figure 1A; paragraphs 32-36); (The communication unit here is read as transmission antennas in the TRP’s. The UE may report its capability to perform certain features in one or more specific component carriers (CCs) in a particular band combination for CA. In this case, a mechanism referred to as feature sets per component carrier (CC) may be used to allow for such flexibility in reporting, and it may be said that the UE reports its capability on a per-feature set per CC or per-FSPC basis in that case).
(b) A control unit configured to expect that the terminal allows scheduling that is defined as out of order scheduling in a case where scheduling is performed according to a unit including a plurality of component carriers in the aggregated frequency band (see paragraphs 39-40); (The capability to support out of order operation is also beneficial for a single TRP and uRLLC service type in which a higher priority may be assigned to the uRLLC service than to the eMBB service).
Consider Claim 5, Saber et al shows a communication method performed by a terminal, the communication method (see figures 1A and 1B), comprising:
(a) Performing an uplink or downlink communication by using a frequency band in which aggregation is performed by carrier aggregation (see figure 1A; paragraphs 32-36); (The UE may report its capability to perform certain features in one or more specific component carriers (CCs) in a particular band combination for CA. In this case, a mechanism referred to as feature sets per component carrier (CC) may be used to allow for such flexibility in reporting, and it may be said that the UE reports its capability on a per-feature set per CC or per-FSPC basis in that case).
(b) Expecting scheduling that is defined as out-of-order scheduling in a case where scheduling is performed according to a unit including a plurality of component carriers in the aggregated frequency band (see paragraphs 39-40); (The capability to support out of order operation is also beneficial for a single TRP and uRLLC service type in which a higher priority may be assigned to the uRLLC service than to the eMBB service).
Consider Claim 2, Saber et al shows that the control unit expects the scheduling that is defined as out-of-order scheduling in a case where a defined or configured condition is satisfied (see paragraphs 39-40); (The condition is read as a priority being met).
Consider Claim 3, Saber et al shows that the control unit determines, as a case in which the condition is satisfied, a case in which a plurality of resources related to scheduling have corresponding component carriers included in the plurality of component carriers and the corresponding component carriers are different from each other with respect to time resources or frequency resources (see paragraphs 39-40); (The capability to support out of order operation is also beneficial for a single TRP and uRLLC service type in which a higher priority may be assigned to the uRLLC service than to the eMBB service. The network (gNB) may schedule an eMBB PDSCH and then, due to arrival of uRLLC traffic, may schedule uRLLC PDSCH immediately after the eMBB PDSCH, resulting in a collision in the time domain).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A FARAGALLA whose telephone number is (571)270-1107. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Eason can be reached at 571-270-7230. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MICHAEL A FARAGALLA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2624 08/07/2026
Prosecution Insights