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 statement (IDS) submitted on 10/28/2024 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
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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 7, 9, 10, 17, 19, and 20 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.
For claims 7 and 17,
The use of “and” at the end of the phrase “…wherein the flexible slot comprises at least one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, and a flexible symbol…” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether each of the three symbol types is required, as the “and” would suggest, or “at least one of” the three symbols is required as is stated in the beginning of the phrase.
For claims 9 and 19,
The phrase "IN CASE" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Furthermore, the use of “and” at the end of the phrase “…the type of symbols in the slot is indicated as one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, and a flexible symbol…” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether each of the three symbol types is required to be indicated, as the “and” would suggest, or only one of three types is required as is suggested by the phrase “indicated as one of” as is stated in the beginning of the phrase.
For claims 10 and 20, they are rejected due to their dependence on rejected claims 9 and 19.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-6, 11-12, 14-16, and 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (US 20240276460 A1), hereinafter Liu.
For claim 1,
Liu teaches a UE in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising ([0076] a UE):
a transceiver ([0229] a transceiver); and
a processor configured to control the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to ([0229] a processor):
receive information about a slot in a time division duplex (TDD) system (at least [0005] and [0009] information received about a slot in TDD system),
receive information about multiple subbands on a frequency domain resource (at least [Abstract] information about symbol types of M subbands on a frequency domain resource is received),
wherein the multiple subbands being configured on a frequency domain resource within a predetermined time domain resource of the slot (at least [Abstract] information is used to determine symbol types of M subbands on a frequency domain resource and at least two subbands in the frequency domain resource correspond to symbol types on a same symbol in the first time domain resource.),
wherein the frequency domain resource being included within a carrier bandwidth of the UE (at least [0008] frequency domain resource is included within a carrier),
wherein the information about the slot comprising information indicating a type of symbol in the slot (at least [0009] slot format information indicates a symbol type of each symbol in the slot),
wherein the information about the multiple subbands comprising information related to a position of at least one of the multiple subbands in a frequency domain and information related to a type of the at least one subband (at least [0105] the position of at least one of the M subbands in a frequency domain resource is determined by the terminal (UE) after the terminal (UE) receives information about at least one of the M subbands in a first information. The first information includes an identifier of the subband such as a subband number which serves as information related to the type of subband.), and
perform uplink transmission on a resource within a subband determined as a subband for the uplink transmission based on the information about the multiple subbands (at least [0028-0029] communication module receives transmission on a time frequency resource. The time frequency resource overlaps at least two subbands in the first frequency domain resource. The symbols corresponding to some or all of the at least two subbands are uplink symbols, indicating that the transmission was an uplink transmission.).
For claim 2, Liu teaches claim 1.
Liu further teaches wherein one subband, among the multiple subbands, is determined as the subband for the uplink transmission based on the information about the multiple subbands (at least [0028-0029] communication module receives transmission on a time frequency resource. The time frequency resource overlaps at least two subbands in the first frequency domain resource. The symbols corresponding to some or all of the at least two subbands are uplink symbols, indicating that the transmission was an uplink transmission.).
For claim 4, Liu teaches claim 2.
Liu further teaches wherein when the multiple subbands are three or more, the subband determined as the subband for the uplink transmission is positioned between two or more remaining subbands (at least [FIG. 7] the second subband is used for uplink transmission, and it is positioned between two remaining subbands).
For claim 5, Liu teaches claim 1.
Liu further teaches wherein the information about the multiple subbands comprises information about an index of the slot (at least [FIG. 2C] and [0009] first information includes indexes indicating slot format and SFI.),
the number of first RBs constituting a first type of subband (at least [FIG. 5B], [0108], and [0123] first information may include a start RB index, a quantity of RBs, and an end RB index. FIG. 5B shows the frequency domain range of a first subband is RB #0 to RB #44), and
the number of second RBs constituting a second type of subband (at least [FIG. 5B], [0108], and [0123] first information may include a start RB index, a quantity of RBs, and an end RB index. FIG. 5B shows the frequency domain range of a second subband is RB #45 to RB #74),
wherein the first type of subband comprises as many RBs as the number of the first RBs, starting from a first RB in the frequency domain resource of the slot (at least [FIG. 5B], [0108], and [0123] first information may include a start RB index, a quantity of RBs, and an end RB index. FIG. 5B shows the frequency domain range of a first subband is RB #0 to RB #44), and
wherein the second type of subband comprises as many RBs as the number of the second RBs, starting from a last RB in the frequency domain resource of the slot (at least [FIG. 5B], [0108], and [0123] first information may include a start RB index, a quantity of RBs, and an end RB index. FIG. 5B shows the frequency domain range of a second subband is RB #45 to RB #74).
For claim 6, Liu teaches claim 1.
Liu further teaches wherein the information about the multiple subbands is applied to a slot that is determined as a downlink slot or a flexible slot based on the information about the slot (at least [FIG. 2C], [0009], and [0093] first information includes indication of a slot format corresponding to one of the M subbands in at least one slot. The slot format is applied to downlink and flexible slots).
For claims [11, 21, 22], [12], [14], [15], and [16], they are rejected on the same basis as claims [1], [2], [4], [5], and [6], respectively.
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) 3 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, in view of Li et al. (US 20210314044 A1), hereinafter Li.
For claim 3, Liu teaches claim 2.
Liu does not explicitly teach, however Li teaches wherein the subband determined as the subband for uplink transmission comprises a lowest frequency band or a highest frequency band on the frequency domain resource (at least [0053-0055] the subband with the lowest frequency and the subband with the highest frequency is included in the second subband set.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method of Liu for determining a subband for uplink transmission with the method of Li for the subband including a subband with the highest or lowest frequency to allow for efficient resource allocation and reduce channel interference by conducting transmission on the far edge of the frequency band.
For claim 13, it is rejected on the same basis as claim 3.
Claim(s) 7 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu.
For claim 7, Liu teaches claim 6.
As is best understood by the examiner in light of the 112(b) rejection above,
Liu further teaches wherein the downlink slot comprises a downlink symbol (at least [FIG.s 2A-2C] downlink slot has a downlink symbol),
wherein the flexible slot comprises at least one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, and a flexible symbol (at least [FIG.s 2A-2C] flexible slot has a downlink symbol or an uplink symbol), and
wherein the downlink symbol is a symbol available for downlink reception (it is well known in the art that a downlink symbol, by definition, is used for downlink reception),
the uplink symbol is a symbol available for uplink transmission (it is well known in the art that an uplink symbol, by definition, is used for uplink transmission), and
the flexible symbol is a symbol available for the downlink reception or for the uplink transmission (it is well known in the art that a flexible symbol, by definition, may be used for downlink reception or uplink transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, that the downlink symbol located in the downlink slot would be used for downlink reception, and the either uplink or downlink symbol located in the flexible slot would be used for uplink transmission or downlink reception, respectively.
For claim 17, it is rejected on the same basis as claim 7.
Claim(s) 8 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, in view of Raghavan et al. (WO 2021167708 A1).
For claim 8, Liu teaches claim 1.
Liu does not explicitly teach, however Raghavan teaches wherein the information about the slot and the information about the multiple subbands are configured semi-statically (at least [0054] slot format information for subbands is semi-statically configured).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method of Liu for handling slot and subband information with the method of Raghavan configuring the slot and subband information semi-statically to reduce power consumption and signaling overhead.
For claim 18, it is rejected on the same basis as claim 8.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 9, 10, 19, and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
For claims 9 and 19,
The closest prior art Zhang et al. (US 20230421336 A1), hereinafter Zhang, and Liu teach “wherein the UE receives dynamic signaling that comprises information for deactivating the multiple subbands and… wherein the downlink symbol is a symbol available for downlink reception, the uplink symbol is a symbol available for uplink transmission, and the flexible symbol is a symbol available for the downlink reception or for the uplink transmission.”
Zhang and Liu do not teach “…information indicating the type of symbols in the slot, wherein in case that a slot in which a subband deactivated based on the deactivating information is configured is the downlink slot, the type of symbols in the slot are indicated as a downlink symbol, wherein when a slot in which a subband deactivated based on the deactivating information is configured is the flexible slot, the type of symbols in the slot is indicated as one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, and a flexible symbol, and…”
None of the prior art teach or fairly suggest the limitations of “…information indicating the type of symbols in the slot, wherein in case that a slot in which a subband deactivated based on the deactivating information is configured is the downlink slot, the type of symbols in the slot are indicated as a downlink symbol, wherein when a slot in which a subband deactivated based on the deactivating information is configured is the flexible slot, the type of symbols in the slot is indicated as one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, and a flexible symbol, and…” in combination with the other limitation of Claim(s) 9 and 19.
Although the other limitations are used in the art, none of the prior art of record teach or provide motivation to combine to reach a similar result.
Claims 10 and 20 include the above-described allowable subject matter for being dependent on claims 9 and 19, respectively.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Benjamin T. Ranew whose telephone number is (571)272-2746. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST. 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, Ayman Abaza can be reached at (571) 270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BENJAMIN T. RANEW/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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