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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 7, 20, 31, 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by LY et al. (US 2018/0109344 A1), hereinafter LY.
Regarding claim 1, LY discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE) (User Equipment UE, see figures 4 and 12), the method comprising:
receiving pattern information for indicating two or more patterns for a plurality of blocks of resources for at least one of synchronization and broadcast, each of the two or more patterns having a respective periodicity, and the pattern information corresponding to a further periodicity which is based on a combination of the respective periodicities for the two or more patterns (a table 1000 of repetition patterns 1004 and synchronization signal transmission periodicities 1002 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The table 1000 may correspond to the table 315 shown and described above in reference to FIG. 3… The table 1000 may include any suitable number of periodicities of transmission 1002 (e.g., Periodicity 1, Periodicity 2, . . . , Periodicity N), and each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N). The number of periodicities 1002 and associated repetition patterns 1004 may be configurable for each cell, zone, or access network, see ¶ 0116, 0117; the UE receives resource assignment from the base station 300, see figure 3 and ¶ 0073);
wherein the two or more patterns are repeated sequentially with the further periodicity, and wherein the plurality of blocks of resources indicated by the two or more patterns correspond to a further pattern with the further periodicity (each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N), see ¶ 0117).
Regarding claim 2, LY discloses the each of the two or more patterns corresponds to mutually exclusive blocks of resources among the two or more patterns (the periodicity of transmission may be configurable, but each periodicity may have only a single respective repetition pattern. As another example, the periodicity of transmission may be configurable and each periodicity may have one or more repetition patterns to select from. As yet another example, the periodicity of transmission may be configurable, but all periodicities may have the same repetition pattern, see ¶ 0084).
Regarding claim 7, LY discloses each block of resources includes a plurality of symbols in a time domain and a plurality of subcarriers in a frequency domain (the uplink and/or downlink control information and/or traffic information may be time-divided into frames, subframes, slots, and/or symbols. As used herein, a symbol may refer to a unit of time that, in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) waveform, carries one resource element (RE) per sub-carrier. A slot may carry 7 or 14 OFDM symbols, see ¶ 0053).
Regarding claim 20, LY discloses a method performed by an access network node (base station 300, see figure 3), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), pattern information for indicating two or more patterns for a plurality of blocks of resources for at least one of synchronization and broadcast, each of the two or more patterns having a respective periodicity, and the pattern information corresponding to a further periodicity which is based on a combination of the respective periodicities for the two or more patterns (a table 1000 of repetition patterns 1004 and synchronization signal transmission periodicities 1002 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The table 1000 may correspond to the table 315 shown and described above in reference to FIG. 3… The table 1000 may include any suitable number of periodicities of transmission 1002 (e.g., Periodicity 1, Periodicity 2, . . . , Periodicity N), and each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N). The number of periodicities 1002 and associated repetition patterns 1004 may be configurable for each cell, zone, or access network, see ¶ 0116, 0117; the UE receives resource assignment from the base station 300, see figure 3 and ¶ 0073);
wherein the two or more patterns are repeated sequentially with the further periodicity, and wherein the plurality of blocks of resources indicated by the two or more patterns correspond to a further pattern with the further periodicity (each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N), see ¶ 0117).
Regarding claim 21, LY discloses the each of the two or more patterns corresponds to mutually exclusive blocks of resources among the two or more patterns (the periodicity of transmission may be configurable, but each periodicity may have only a single respective repetition pattern. As another example, the periodicity of transmission may be configurable and each periodicity may have one or more repetition patterns to select from. As yet another example, the periodicity of transmission may be configurable, but all periodicities may have the same repetition pattern, see ¶ 0084).
Regarding claim 31, LY discloses a user equipment (UE) comprising (UE, see figures 4 and 12): at least one memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to process the instructions to:
receive pattern information for indicating two or more patterns for a plurality of blocks of resources for at least one of synchronization and broadcast, each of the two or more patterns having a respective periodicity, and the pattern information corresponding to a further periodicity which is based on a combination of the respective periodicities for the two or more patterns (a table 1000 of repetition patterns 1004 and synchronization signal transmission periodicities 1002 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The table 1000 may correspond to the table 315 shown and described above in reference to FIG. 3… The table 1000 may include any suitable number of periodicities of transmission 1002 (e.g., Periodicity 1, Periodicity 2, . . . , Periodicity N), and each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N). The number of periodicities 1002 and associated repetition patterns 1004 may be configurable for each cell, zone, or access network, see ¶ 0116, 0117; the UE receives resource assignment from the base station 300, see figure 3 and ¶ 0073);
wherein the two or more patterns are repeated sequentially with the further periodicity, and wherein the plurality of blocks of resources indicated by the two or more patterns correspond to a further pattern with the further periodicity (each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N), see ¶ 0117).
Regarding claim 33, LY discloses an access network node (base station 300, see figure 3) comprising: at least one memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to process the instructions to:
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), pattern information for indicating two or more patterns for a plurality of blocks of resources for at least one of synchronization and broadcast, each of the two or more patterns having a respective periodicity, and the pattern information corresponding to a further periodicity which is based on a combination of the respective periodicities for the two or more patterns (a table 1000 of repetition patterns 1004 and synchronization signal transmission periodicities 1002 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The table 1000 may correspond to the table 315 shown and described above in reference to FIG. 3… The table 1000 may include any suitable number of periodicities of transmission 1002 (e.g., Periodicity 1, Periodicity 2, . . . , Periodicity N), and each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N). The number of periodicities 1002 and associated repetition patterns 1004 may be configurable for each cell, zone, or access network, see ¶ 0116, 0117; the UE receives resource assignment from the base station 300, see figure 3 and ¶ 0073);
wherein the two or more patterns are repeated sequentially with the further periodicity, and wherein the plurality of blocks of resources indicated by the two or more patterns correspond to a further pattern with the further periodicity (each periodicity 1002 may be associated with any suitable number of repetition patterns 1004 (e.g., Repetition Pattern 1, Repetition Pattern 2, Repetition Pattern 3, . . . , Repetition Pattern N), see ¶ 0117).
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(s) 3-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LY in view of HE et al. (US 2023/0073001 A1), hereinafter HE.
Regarding claims 3, LY fails to disclose the pattern information includes at least one bitmap indicating, per block of resources in one of the two or more patterns, whether a synchronization signal and broadcast channel is present or the pattern information includes at least one index respectively corresponding to at least one of the two or more patterns.
In the same field of endeavor, HE discloses the base station 101 can transmit one or more Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) to UE 105. The SSB can be referred to as Synchronization Signal (SS)/Physical Broadcast Channel (SS/PBCH) block. The SSB can include synchronization signal such as Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). Additionally, the SSB can include PBCH. According to some aspects, in Rel-15 NR, base station 101 can inform UE 105 which SSBs are transmitted and which SSBs are not transmitted. Additionally, or alternatively, base station 101 can inform UE 105 of a transmission pattern of the SSBs. For example, base station 101 can inform UE 105 of the actual SS/PBCH block transmission within a SSB burst using a System Information Block (SIB) in case of standalone (SA) scenarios or a dedicated Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for non-standalone cases using bitmap ssb-PositionsInBurst information element (IE). Therefore, using the transmission pattern. UE 105 can assume that the Physical Resource Block(s) (PRBs) that contain actual SSB transmissions are not available for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols where SSB is transmitted (see ¶ 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement LY’s teaching in the network taught by LY for using bitmap patterns for broadcast synchronization signals provides significant energy saving for user device, where by broadcasting a precise bitmap, the user equipment (UE) knows exactly which time slots contain a synchronization signal and which are blank and the device can safely put its receiver into low-power sleep state during other slots.
Regarding claim 4, LY fails to disclose wherein the pattern information includes: a first bitmap for indicating, for the two or more patterns, a first set of at least one block of resources in which a synchronization signal and broadcast channel is present, and at least one second bitmap respective corresponding to, for one of the two or more patterns, a second set of at least one block of resources in which the synchronization signal and broadcast channel block is present, wherein the second set is a subset of the first set.
In the same field of endeavor, HE discloses the base station 101 can inform UE 105 of the actual SS/PBCH block transmission within a SSB burst using a System Information Block (SIB) in case of standalone (SA) scenarios or a dedicated Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for non-standalone cases using bitmap ssb-PositionsInBurst information element (IE). Therefore, using the transmission pattern. UE 105 can assume that the Physical Resource Block(s) (PRBs) that contain actual SSB transmissions are not available for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols where SSB is transmitted (see ¶ 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement LY’s teaching in the network taught by LY for using bitmap patterns for broadcast synchronization signals provides significant energy saving for user device, where by broadcasting a precise bitmap, the user equipment (UE) knows exactly which time slots contain a synchronization signal and which are blank and the device can safely put its receiver into low-power sleep state during other slots.
Regarding claim 5, LY fails to disclose wherein the pattern information includes: a first bitmap for indicating, for the two or more patterns, a first set of at least one block of resources in which the synchronization signal and broadcast channel is present, and at least one second bitmap corresponding to at least one block of resources in the first set in which the synchronization signal and broadcast channel is not present.
In the same field of endeavor, HE discloses the base station 101 can inform UE 105 of the actual SS/PBCH block transmission within a SSB burst using a System Information Block (SIB) in case of standalone (SA) scenarios or a dedicated Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for non-standalone cases using bitmap ssb-PositionsInBurst information element (IE). Therefore, using the transmission pattern. UE 105 can assume that the Physical Resource Block(s) (PRBs) that contain actual SSB transmissions are not available for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols where SSB is transmitted (see ¶ 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement LY’s teaching in the network taught by LY for using bitmap patterns for broadcast synchronization signals provides significant energy saving for user device, where by broadcasting a precise bitmap, the user equipment (UE) knows exactly which time slots contain a synchronization signal and which are blank and the device can safely put its receiver into low-power sleep state during other slots.
Claim(s) 8 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LY in view of PAN et al. (US 2023/0292262 A1), hereinafter PAN.
Regarding claims 8 and 23, LY fails to disclose wherein the pattern information corresponds to an energy saving operation.
In the same field of endeavor, PAN discloses SSB/PBCH and RMSI may use different repetition patterns and different repetition numbers in a time domain in order to minimize the impact to latency and power consumption. For example, SS/PBCH block or RMSI sweeping strategy for e.g. a duration may be determined in terms of acceptable or required latency and power consumption… For example, the beam sweeping duration may be determined based on SSB/PBCH block transmission, the RMSI transmission may be performed such that it fits into the windows dictated by SSB (see ¶ 0230).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement PAN’s teaching in the network taught by LY to reduce power consumption at the receiving end e.g. UE.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LY in view of ZHANG et al. (US 2020/0068435 A1), hereinafter ZHANG.
Regarding claim 22, LY fails to disclose the pattern information is applicable to at least one specific type of UEs in a cell of the access network node, and the method further comprises: barring accessing the cell for any other type of UEs.
In the same field of endeavor, ZHANG discloses a BS may transmit PBCH signals (e.g., SSBs) using a default CP configuration (e.g., with a non-variable CP length within a transmission period or an NCP). The SSBs may indicate a CP configuration for RMSIs and/or OSI. The RMSI may indicate a CP configuration for subsequent communications. In addition, the BS may further indicate variable CP configurations or patterns (e.g., UE-specific CP configurations) to UEs for UE-specific communications (see ¶ 0091).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement ZHANG’s teaching in the network taught by LY for reducing network’s interference for UE-specific signals are only transmitted when and where a particular device needs them, they prevent the constant, cell-wide "noise" characteristic of legacy broadcast signals.
Conclusion
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bob A. Phunkulh whose telephone number is (571) 272-3083. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (first week of the bi-week) and Monday-Friday (for second week of the bi-week).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor CHARLES C. JIANG can be reach on (571) 270-7191.
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/BOB A PHUNKULH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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