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 § 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 1-4, 8, 9, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (EP3280087A1) and further in view of Chatterjee (2016/0127936).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a method comprising:
receiving, from a base station, configuration information related to a frequency band; and (See Kim para. 21; UE acquires SIB by receiving a PDCCH; para. 20; eNB (e.g. a base station); para. 70; bandwidth of a cell is system bandwidth and DL and UL bandwidth can be configured; para. 71; subbands (e.g. frequency bands) of system band performing frequency hopping)
based on a frequency hopping related to the frequency band, transmitting an uplink signal to the base station or receiving a downlink signal from the base station, wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on a plurality of bands included in the frequency band, and (See Kim para. 83; number of frequency hopping bands supported in the DL can be configured by 2 or 4; UL by 2; UE transmits and/or receives in hopping subbands)
wherein one or more resource blocks (RBs) that do not belong to the plurality of bands within the frequency band are deployed (See Kim para. 71; remaining 2 RBs may not be used for frequency hopping) based on at least one of i) between contiguous bands, (See Kim para. 71, 75, fig. 11c; between SB#3 and SB#2) ii) both edges of the frequency band, (See Kim para. 71, 76, fig. 11d) and/or iii) a center of the frequency band. (See Kim para. 71, 75, fig. 11c; remaining in the center)
Kim does not explicitly disclose that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands. However, Chatterjee does disclose that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands. (See Chatterjee para. 28; narrowband UEs communicate over narrowband subbands which are not the span of the entire DL bandwidth of the broadcast system) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands of Chatterjee with the motivation being for low device cost and RF simplicity and further to allow for multi-year extended battery life and further for flexible spectrum allocation (by allocating slower less capable devices to smaller dedicated portions of spectrum which allows other devices to operate at full capability (increased speed, lower latency, etc.)).
Regarding claim 2, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more RBs are evenly deployed at both edges of the frequency band. (See Kim para. 71, 76, fig. 11d; see also fig. 12a; remaining RB are deployed evenly at edge; n RB on each end)
Regarding claim 3, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 2, wherein one RB remaining after the one or more RBs are evenly deployed at both edges of the frequency band is deployed in the center of the frequency band. (See Kim fig. 12b, para. 78; remaining RB are deployed evenly at edge with 1 remaining RB in the center; n RB on each end)
Regarding claim 4, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more RBs are deployed based on the center of the frequency band. (See Kim para. 71, 75, fig. 11c; remaining in the center)
Regarding claim 8, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more RBs are symmetrically deployed based on the center of the frequency band. (See Kim para. 75, fig. 11d; symmetrical around center 6RB; fig. 12b; symmetrical around the middle of frequency band)
Regarding claim 9, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 8, wherein one RB remaining after the one or more RBs are symmetrically deployed based on the center of the frequency band is deployed in the center of the frequency band. (See Kim fig. 12b, para. 78; symmetrical around the middle of frequency band)
Regarding claim 14, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on i) an RRC signaling, ii) downlink control information (DCI), or iii) a medium access control-control element (MAC CE). (See Kim para. 101; frequency hopping is activated/deactivated base upon RRC signaling)
Regarding claim 15, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 14, further comprising receiving configuration information related to the frequency hopping from the base station via the RRC signaling, (See Kim para. 88-89; RRC signaling configuration)
wherein the configuration information related to the frequency hopping includes information representing whether the frequency hopping is enabled or not, and (See Kim para. 91-92; frequency hopping activated (e.g. enabled); see also para. 111)
wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on the frequency hopping being enabled. (See Kim para. 101; frequency hopping is performed by MTC)
Claims 5, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (EP3280087A1) and further in view of Chatterjee (2016/0127936) and further in view of Chen (2013/0322363).
Regarding claim 5, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1. Kim does not explicitly disclose wherein the one or more RBs are evenly deployed between the contiguous narrowbands. However, Chen wherein the one or more RBs are evenly deployed between the contiguous narrowbands. (See Chen fig. 15; para. 154; narrowband is 6RB and 2 RB not used; para. 162, fig. 15; unusable RB are evenly distributed among narrowbands as shown in fig. 15 1+1 distributed among most of the narrowbands) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of wherein the one or more RBs are evenly deployed between the contiguous narrowbands of Chen with the motivation being to ensure a uniform subband interference caused by low-cost UEs within each CSI- feedback subband (See Chen para. 154) and further having more meaningful CSI across all bands and further for more reliable frequency-dependent scheduling.
Regarding claim 6, Kim in view of Chatterjee in view of Chen discloses the method of claim 5, wherein one or more first RBs remining after the one or more RBs are evenly deployed between the contiguous bands are evenly deployed at both edges of the frequency band. (See Kim para. 71, 76, fig. 11d; see also fig. 12a; remaining RB are deployed evenly at edge; n RB on each end)
Regarding claim 7, Kim in view of Chatterjee in view of Chen discloses the method of claim 6, wherein one RB remaining after the one or more first RBs are evenly deployed at both edges of the frequency band is deployed in the center of the frequency band. (See Kim fig. 12b, para. 78; remaining RB are deployed evenly at edge with 1 remaining RB in the center; n RB on each end)
Claims 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (EP3280087A1) and further in view of Chatterjee (2016/0127936) and further in view of Rastegardoost (2023/0223985).
Regarding claim 10, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1. Kim does not explicitly disclose wherein the frequency hopping is performed in an order based on an ascending order or a descending order of indices for the plurality of bands. However Rastegardoost does disclose wherein the frequency hopping is performed in an order based on an ascending order or a descending order of indices for the plurality of bands. (See Rastegardoost fig. 19, para. 288; UE hops from subband 1 to suband 2 to suband 3 over and over again) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of wherein the frequency hopping is performed in an order based on an ascending order or a descending order of indices for the plurality of bands of Rastegardoost with the motivation being to provide simplified multiplexing by having constant spacing between UEs and further to minimize signaling overhead (ascending or descending is simple and does not require complex tables etc.) and complexity which save battery power.
Regarding claim 11, Kim in view of Chatterjee in view of Rastegardoost discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the indices for the plurality of bands are determined based on an ascending order or a descending order of resource block (RB) indices. (See Rastegardoost para. 282, 284; UE indexes RB and/or subands sequentialliy in increasing order) The motivation being to provide simplified multiplexing by having constant spacing between UEs and further to minimize signaling overhead (ascending or descending is simple and does not require complex tables etc.) and complexity which save battery power.
Regarding claim 12, Kim in view of Chatterjee in view of Rastegardoost discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the indices for the plurality of bands are determined based on the configuration information. (See Rastegardoost para. 272; UE receives configuration parameters including starting RB (index of starting RB); para. 283; configuration may indicate RB index, number of RBs for hopping offset, number of subbands for hopping offset and second band determined by adding config hopping offset to index of first; see also para. 284; indexing) The motivation being to provide simplified multiplexing by having constant spacing between UEs and further to minimize signaling overhead (ascending or descending is simple and does not require complex tables etc.) and complexity which save battery power.
Regarding claim 13, Kim in view of Chatterjee in view of Rastegardoost discloses the method of claim 12, wherein an index of one or more bands among the indices for the plurality of bands is configured to be excluded from the frequency hopping. (See Rastegardoost para. 298; subband hopping pattern may be for a subset of the plurality of subbands (e.g. one or more are excluded)) The motivation being to provide simplified multiplexing by having constant spacing between UEs and further to minimize signaling overhead (ascending or descending is simple and does not require complex tables etc.) and complexity which save battery power.
Regarding claim 16, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 14, further comprising
wherein the information related to the frequency hopping includes information representing whether the frequency hopping is activated or not, and (See Kim para. 91-92; frequency hopping activated (e.g. enabled); see also para. 111)
wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on the frequency hopping being activated. (See Kim para. 101; frequency hopping is performed by MTC)
Kim does not explicitly disclose receiving information related to the frequency hopping based on the DCI or the MAC CE. However Rastegardoost does disclose receiving information related to the frequency hopping based on the DCI or the MAC CE. (See Rastegardoost para. 291; DCI/MAC-CE) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of receiving information related to the frequency hopping based on the DCI or the MAC CE of Rastegardoost with the motivation being to speed the operation of activation/deactivation of hopping patterns and further to reduce latency and provide more dynamic control.
Regarding claim 17, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information indicating a starting bands for the frequency hopping, (See Kim para. 103, 112; BS signals/configures the staring/initial hopping subband) wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on a FH interval, and (See Kim para. 103; hop every Y number of subframes)
Chatterjee discloses that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands. (See Chatterjee para. 28; narrowband UEs communicate over narrowband subbands which are not the span of the entire DL bandwidth of the broadcast system) The motivation being for low device cost and RF simplicity and further to allow for multi-year extended battery life and further for flexible spectrum allocation (by allocating slower less capable devices to smaller dedicated portions of spectrum which allows other devices to operate at full capability (increased speed, lower latency, etc.)).
Kim does not explicitly disclose wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on a frequency hopping (FH) reference point and wherein the FH reference point is based on a time at which the information indicating the starting bands is received. However, Rastegardoost does disclose wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on a frequency hopping (FH) reference point and wherein the FH reference point is based on a time at which the information indicating the starting bands is received. (See Rastegardoost para. 285, 289; offset applied to reception time of hopping trigger signal; hopping begins after offset from time of receiving command; see also para. 286, 283) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on a frequency hopping (FH) reference point and wherein the FH reference point is based on a time at which the information indicating the starting bands is received of Rastegardoost with the motivation being to provide synchronization between the UE and network as to when to being the hopping and further to prevent missed communication which wastes limited bandwidth.
Regarding claim 23, Kim in view of Chatterjee discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the frequency band is based on at least one of i) a NR operating band, ii) a carrier or iii) a bandwidth part (BWP), (See Kim para. 60-63; MTC bandwidth positioned within carrier bandwidth)
Kim does not explicitly disclose wherein the BWP includes an initial downlink (DL) BWP and/or an initial uplink (UL) BWP. However, Rastegardoost does disclose wherein the BWP includes an initial downlink (DL) BWP and/or an initial uplink (UL) BWP. (See Rastegardoost para. 115; BWP is contiguous RB subset on a carrier; DL and UL BWP; para. 120, fig. 9; initial DL BWP; see also para. 277-282) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of wherein the BWP includes an initial downlink (DL) BWP and/or an initial uplink (UL) BWP of Rastegardoost with the motivation being to supports UEs unable to receive the full carrier bandwidth and to support bandwidth adaptation (See Rastegardoost para. 114, 115) and further to reduce complexity and reduce costs and further to increase scheduling flexibility which utilizes limited wireless bandwidth more efficiently.
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.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (EP3280087A1) and further in view of Chatterjee (2016/0127936).
Regarding claim 18, Kim discloses a user equipment (UE) comprising:
one or more transceivers;
one or more processors; and
one or more memories operably connectable to the one or more processors,
wherein the one or more memories store instructions that configure the one or more processors to perform operations based on being executed by the one or more processors, (See Kim fig. 14, para. 114; UE with processor executing an algorithm stored in memory; UE has a receiver and a transmitter (e.g. transceiver))
wherein the operations comprise:
receiving, from a base station, configuration information related to a frequency band; and (See Kim para. 21; UE acquires SIB by receiving a PDCCH; para. 20; eNB (e.g. a base station); para. 70; bandwidth of a cell is system bandwidth and DL and UL bandwidth can be configured; para. 71; subbands (e.g. frequency bands) of system band performing frequency hopping)
based on a frequency hopping related to the frequency band, transmitting an uplink signal to the base station or receiving a downlink signal from the base station, wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on a plurality of bands included in the frequency band, and (See Kim para. 83; number of frequency hopping bands supported in the DL can be configured by 2 or 4; UL by 2; UE transmits and/or receives in hopping subbands)
wherein one or more resource blocks (RBs) that do not belong to the plurality of bands within the frequency band are deployed (See Kim para. 71; remaining 2 RBs may not be used for frequency hopping) based on at least one of i) between contiguous bands, (See Kim para. 71, 75, fig. 11c; between SB#3 and SB#2) ii) both edges of the frequency band, (See Kim para. 71, 76, fig. 11d) and/or iii) a center of the frequency band. (See Kim para. 71, 75, fig. 11c; remaining in the center)
Kim does not explicitly disclose that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands. However, Chatterjee does disclose that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands. (See Chatterjee para. 28; narrowband UEs communicate over narrowband subbands which are not the span of the entire DL bandwidth of the broadcast system) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands of Chatterjee with the motivation being for low device cost and RF simplicity and further to allow for multi-year extended battery life and further for flexible spectrum allocation (by allocating slower less capable devices to smaller dedicated portions of spectrum which allows other devices to operate at full capability (increased speed, lower latency, etc.)).
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.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (EP3280087A1) and further in view of Chatterjee (2016/0127936).
Regarding claim 22, Kim discloses a base station comprising:
one or more transceivers;
one or more processors; and
one or more memories operably connectable to the one or more processors,
wherein the one or more memories store instructions that configure the one or more processors to perform operations based on being executed by the one or more processors, (See Kim fig. 14, para. 114; BS with processor executing an algorithm stored in memory; BS has a receiver and a transmitter (e.g. transceiver))
wherein the operations comprise:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), configuration information related to a frequency band; and (See Kim para. 21; UE acquires SIB by receiving a PDCCH; para. 20; eNB (e.g. a base station); para. 70; bandwidth of a cell is system bandwidth and DL and UL bandwidth can be configured; para. 71; subbands (e.g. frequency bands) of system band performing frequency hopping)
based on a frequency hopping related to the frequency band, receiving an uplink signal from the UE or transmitting a downlink signal to the UE, wherein the frequency hopping is performed based on a plurality of bands included in the frequency band, and (See Kim para. 83; number of frequency hopping bands supported in the DL can be configured by 2 or 4; UL by 2; UE transmits and/or receives in hopping subbands)
wherein one or more resource blocks (RBs) that do not belong to the plurality of bands within the frequency band are deployed based on at least one of i) between contiguous bands, (See Kim para. 71; remaining 2 RBs may not be used for frequency hopping) ii) both edges of the frequency band, and/or (See Kim para. 71, 76, fig. 11d) iii) a center of the frequency band. (See Kim para. 71, 75, fig. 11c; remaining in the center)
Kim does not explicitly disclose that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands. However, Chatterjee does disclose that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands. (See Chatterjee para. 28; narrowband UEs communicate over narrowband subbands which are not the span of the entire DL bandwidth of the broadcast system) Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method of Kim to include the teaching of that subbands in the narrowband region used for narrowband UEs are referred to as narrowband subbands of Chatterjee with the motivation being for low device cost and RF simplicity and further to allow for multi-year extended battery life and further for flexible spectrum allocation (by allocating slower less capable devices to smaller dedicated portions of spectrum which allows other devices to operate at full capability (increased speed, lower latency, etc.)).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN J CLAWSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7498. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00 pm est.
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/Stephen J Clawson/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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