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 .
This paper is responsive to the patent application filed September 4, 2025, which is a continuation of US Pat. App. 17/589,170, now abandoned, claiming priority from Chinese patent Application CN202110164809.5 filed February 5, 2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 17, 2025 was filed 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 § 102
Claims 1, 3-5, 7-9 and 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US. Pat. Pub. No 20210051672 to Nazanin Rastegardoost et al. (hereinafter Rastegardoost).
Regarding claim 1, Rastegardoost teaches A method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station, configuration information on frequency domain resources; (Rastegardoost Fig. 24A and 24C and para. [0313] teach a terminal receiving configurations for UL transmission from a base station at step 2410A, and allocation of frequency domain resources wherein the frequency resources may be semi-statically configured such that UL transmissions may be cancelled.
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identifying a symbol corresponding to both an uplink resource block (RB) and a downlink RB based on the configuration information; (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0313] that a “resource may overlap with one or more DL symbols” including an UL transmission overlapping with a DL symbol.)
and
in case that a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block comprising synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel is in the symbol, skipping a transmission of an uplink channel on the uplink RB of the symbol. (Rastegardoost teaches that a transmission of an uplink channel on the uplink resource can be cancelled when it overlaps DL symbols, as shown in Figs. 24A and 24B. Further, Rastegardoost paras. [0288]-[0289] teaches that a wireless devices may not transmit a PUSCH or PUCCH in symbols of a slot indicated as a downlink. Further “The wireless device may not send/transmit a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and/or a PRACH in a slot, for example, if the one or more symbols of the slot that are indicated, to the wireless device, by one or more RRC parameters for reception of SS/PBCH blocks.”)
Regarding claim 3, Rastegardoost teaches The method of claim 1 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the SS/PBCH block is configured by an ssb-PositionsInBurst parameter. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
Regarding claim 4, Rastegardoost teaches The method of claim 1 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the configuration information is received via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
Regarding claim 5, Rastegardoost teaches A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
transmitting, to a terminal, configuration information on frequency domain resources; (Rastegardoost Fig. 24A and 24C and para. [0313] teach a terminal receiving configurations for UL transmission from a base station at step 2410A, and allocation of frequency domain resources.
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receiving, from the terminal, an uplink channel; (Rastegardoost Fig. 26B and para. [0316]-[0317] teach uplink channel transmissions such as PUSCH:
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transmitting, to the terminal, a downlink channel, wherein a symbol corresponding to both an uplink resource block (RB) and a downlink RB is configured based on the configuration information, and wherein, in case that a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block comprising synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel is in the symbol, a reception of the uplink channel on the uplink RB of the symbol is skipped. (Rastegardoost teaches that a transmission of an uplink channel on the uplink resource can be cancelled when it overlaps DL symbols, as shown in Figs. 24A and 24B. Further, Rastegardoost paras. [0288]-[0289] teaches that a wireless devices may not transmit a PUSCH or PUCCH in symbols of a slot indicated as a downlink. Further “The wireless device may not send/transmit a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and/or a PRACH in a slot, for example, if the one or more symbols of the slot that are indicated, to the wireless device, by one or more RRC parameters for reception of SS/PBCH blocks.”)
Regarding claim 7, Rastegardoost teaches The method of claim 5 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the SS/PBCH block is configured by an ssb-PositionsInBurst parameter. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
Regarding claim 8, Rastegardoost teaches The method of claim 5 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the configuration information is transmitted via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
Regarding claim 9, Rastegardoost teaches A terminal in a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising:
a transceiver; (Rastegardoost Fig. 15A, wireless device 1502 illustrates a RX processing system 1522 and TX processing system 1520 and air interface 1506)
and
a processor coupled with the transceiver (Rastegardoost Fig. 15, processing system 1518) and configured to:
receive, from a base station, configuration information on frequency domain resources, (Rastegardoost Fig. 24A and 24C and para. [0313] teach a terminal receiving configurations for UL transmission from a base station at step 2410A, and allocation of frequency domain resources wherein the frequency resources may be semi-statically configured such that UL transmissions may be cancelled.
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identify a symbol corresponding to both an uplink resource block (RB) and a downlink RB based on the configuration information, (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0264]-[0266] that wireless device may receive semi-statically configured resource allocations including “a starting symbol of the repetition that overlaps with a PUSCH with the same HARQ process” which “may be omitted for multi-slot PUSCH transmission, for example, if the wireless device determines symbols of the slot as downlink symbols (e.g., according to its procedure for determining a slot configuration).”)
and
in case that a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block comprising synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel is in the symbol, skip a transmission of an uplink channel on the uplink RB of the symbol. (Rastegardoost teaches that a transmission of an uplink channel on the uplink resource can be cancelled when it overlaps DL symbols, as shown in Figs. 24A and 24B. Further, Rastegardoost paras. [0288]-[0289] teaches that a wireless devices may not transmit a PUSCH or PUCCH in symbols of a slot indicated as a downlink. Further “The wireless device may not send/transmit a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and/or a PRACH in a slot, for example, if the one or more symbols of the slot that are indicated, to the wireless device, by one or more RRC parameters for reception of SS/PBCH blocks.”)
Regarding claim 11, Rastegardoost teaches The terminal of claim 9 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the SS/PBCH block is configured by an ssb-PositionsInBurst parameter. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
Regarding claim 12, Rastegardoost teaches The terminal of claim 9 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the configuration information is received via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
Regarding claim 13, Rastegardoost teaches A base station (Rastegardoost Fig. 15A base station 1504) in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising:
a transceiver; (Rastegardoost Fig. 15A, wireless device 1504 illustrates a RX processing system 1512 and TX processing system 1510 and air interface 1506).
and
a processor coupled with the transceiver (Rastegardoost Fig. 15A processing system 1508) and configured to:
transmit, to a terminal, configuration information on frequency domain resources, (Rastegardoost Fig. 24A and 24C and para. [0313] teach a terminal receiving configurations for UL transmission from a base station at step 2410A, and allocation of frequency domain resources wherein the frequency resources may be semi-statically configured such that UL transmissions may be cancelled.
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receive, from the terminal, an uplink channel, (Rastegardoost Fig. 26B and para. [0316]-[0317] teach uplink channel transmissions such as PUSCH:
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transmit, to the terminal, a downlink channel, wherein a symbol corresponding to both an uplink resource block (RB) and a downlink RB is configured based on the configuration information, and wherein, in case that a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block comprising synchronization signals and a physical broadcast channel is in the symbol, a reception of the uplink channel on the uplink RB of the symbol is skipped. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0285] that a base station may indicate to the wireless device via RRC message one or more downlink channels/signals wherein the downlink signals may indicate one or more uplink channels/signals. Further, Rastegardoost teaches that a transmission of an uplink channel on the uplink resource can be cancelled when it overlaps DL symbols, as shown in Figs. 24A and 24B. Further, Rastegardoost paras. [0288]-[0289] teaches that a wireless devices may not transmit a PUSCH or PUCCH in symbols of a slot indicated as a downlink. Further “The wireless device may not send/transmit a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and/or a PRACH in a slot, for example, if the one or more symbols of the slot that are indicated, to the wireless device, by one or more RRC parameters for reception of SS/PBCH blocks.”)
Regarding claim 14, Rastegardoost teaches The base station of claim 13 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the uplink RB and the downlink RB are included in one carrier, and wherein the configuration information is transmitted via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
Regarding claim 15, Rastegardoost teaches The base station of claim 13 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost teaches wherein the SS/PBCH block is configured by an ssb-PositionsInBurst parameter. (Rastegardoost teaches in para. [0300] that “for reception of SS/PBCH blocks by one or more RRC messages (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst in SystemInformationBlockType1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon).”)
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2, 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rastegardoost in view of 3GPP TS 38.213 V16.4.0 (2020-12) hereinafter 38.213.
Regarding claim 2, Rastegardoost teaches The method of claim 1 as stated. Further Rastegardoost in view of 38.213 teaches wherein the uplink RB and the downlink RB are included in one carrier. (38.213, page 128, Section 11.1 “Slot configuration”, teaches “For operation on a single carrier in unpaired spectrum, for a set of symbols of a slot indicated to a UE by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon, for reception of SS/PBCH blocks, the UE does not transmit PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH in the slot if a transmission would overlap with any symbol from the set of symbols and the UE does not transmit SRS in the set of symbols of the slot. The UE does not expect the set of symbols of the slot to be indicated as uplink by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, when provided to the UE.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have combined Rastegardoost with 38.213 to teach a single carrier with UL and DL RB on a single carrier. Each of Rastegardoost and 38.213 are in the field of wireless communications and shared spectrum. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Rastegardoost with 38.213 in order to follow the wireless 3GPP standards for physical layer procedures for control operations in 5G NR as taught on page 6, Section 1 of the 38.213.
Regarding claim 6, Rastegardoost teaches The method of claim 5 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost in view of 38.213 teaches wherein the uplink RB and the downlink RB are included in one carrier. 38.213 teaches wherein the uplink RB and the downlink RB are included in one carrier. (38.213, page 128, Section 11.1 “Slot configuration”, teaches “For operation on a single carrier in unpaired spectrum, for a set of symbols of a slot indicated to a UE by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon, for reception of SS/PBCH blocks, the UE does not transmit PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH in the slot if a transmission would overlap with any symbol from the set of symbols and the UE does not transmit SRS in the set of symbols of the slot. The UE does not expect the set of symbols of the slot to be indicated as uplink by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, when provided to the UE.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have combined Rastegardoost with 38.213 to teach a single carrier with UL and DL RB on a single carrier. Each of Rastegardoost and 38.213 are in the field of wireless communications and shared spectrum. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Rastegardoost with 38.213 in order to follow the wireless 3GPP standards for physical layer procedures for control operations in 5G NR as taught on page 6, Section 1 of the 38.213.
Regarding claim 10, Rastegardoost teaches The terminal of claim 9 as stated. Further, Rastegardoost in view of 38.213 teaches wherein the uplink RB and the downlink RB are included in one carrier. (38.213, page 128, Section 11.1 “Slot configuration”, teaches “For operation on a single carrier in unpaired spectrum, for a set of symbols of a slot indicated to a UE by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or ssb-PositionsInBurst in ServingCellConfigCommon, for reception of SS/PBCH blocks, the UE does not transmit PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH in the slot if a transmission would overlap with any symbol from the set of symbols and the UE does not transmit SRS in the set of symbols of the slot. The UE does not expect the set of symbols of the slot to be indicated as uplink by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, when provided to the UE.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have combined Rastegardoost with 38.213 to teach a single carrier with UL and DL RB on a single carrier. Each of Rastegardoost and 38.213 are in the field of wireless communications and shared spectrum. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Rastegardoost with 38.213 in order to follow the wireless 3GPP standards for physical layer procedures for control operations in 5G NR as taught on page 6, Section 1 of the 38.213.
Conclusion
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/MARGARET MARIE ANDERSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2412 /CHARLES C JIANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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