Application No. 15/810,589
`Reply to Office Action Dated October 5, 2021
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`REMARKS
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`Applicant respectfully requests reconsideration of this application in view of the above
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`amendments and the following remarks. Claims 1, 10, 12-13, and 16-25 will be pending upon
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`entry of this amendment. Claims 1, 10, 12-13, and 19-20 have been amended. Claims 2-9, 11,
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`and 14-15 were canceled by way of previous amendment. Claims 24 and 25 are new. Support for
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`the amendments maybe found, for example, in §][0064]-[0066] and Figure 18 of the application
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`as filed. No new matter has been addedto the application.
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`This response is being submitted with an After Final Consideration Pilot Program
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`request.
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`Applicant thanks the Examinerfor the telephone conference conducted on November1,
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`2021, with the undersigned counsel. No agreement was reached during the conference.
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`In the Office Action, claims 1, 10, 12-13, and 16-20 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103
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`as being unpatentable over 3GPP TSG RAN WGI #81 (RI-153567) in view of 3GPP TSG RAN
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`WGI #81 (RI-152954), Kim et al. (U.S. 2015/0036609 A1), the Background section of Horiuchi
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`et al. (U.S. 2018/0070339 A1), and Hong (U.S. 2014/0307692 A1). In response, Applicant has
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`amended claims 1, 10, 12-13, and 19-20 to moreparticularly recite the subject matter that
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`Applicant considers as their invention and to moreclearly distinguish the claims from RI-
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`153567, RI-152954, Kim, the Backgroundsection of Horiuchi, and Hong.
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`Amendedclaim 1 recites a base station comprising:
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`control circuitry which, in operation, allocates a physical downlink shared channel
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`(PDSCH)on a plurality of resource blocks (RBs); and
`a transmitter which, in operation, transmits control information including a
`resource indication value (RIV) which indicates the plurality of RBs,
`wherein a same value of the RIV indicates different frequency positions of RBs
`on an allocated narrowband based on a frequency position of the allocated narrowband
`within a system band and a frequency position of resource block groups (RBGs) of the
`system band,
`a frequency boundary of the frequency position of the allocated narrowbandis
`different from a frequency boundary of the frequency position of the RBGs,
`the frequency position of the allocated narrowbandis determined based on a size
`of each of the RBGs, the size of each of the RBGs being smaller than a size of the
`allocated narrowband, and
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`

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`Application No. 15/810,589
`Reply to Office Action Dated October 5, 2021
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`the size of each of the RBGsis specified according to a number of RBs thatis
`included in the system band.
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`RI-153567 fails to teach or suggest control information including a resource indication
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`value (RIV) which indicates the plurality of RBs, wherein a same value of the RIV indicates
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`different frequency positions of RBs on an allocated narrowband based on a frequency position
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`of the allocated narrowband within a system band and a frequency position of resource block
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`groups (RBGs)of the system band. RI-153567 describes that a narrowband for MTC UEsis
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`defined as a set of contiguous PRBs. See page 2. For example, a narrowband may be 6 PRBs
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`defined continuously starting from one edge of the system BW. See page 4. The portions of RI-
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`153567 cited by the Examinerare silent to control information including a resource indication
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`value (RIV) which indicates the plurality of RBs, wherein a same value of the RIV indicates
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`different frequency positions of RBs on an allocated narrowband based on a frequency position
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`of the allocated narrowband within a system band and a frequency position of resource block
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`groups (RBGs) of the system band.
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`RI-152954 fails to cure the deficiencies of RI-153567. RI-152954 describes DCIthat
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`indicates a narrow-bandandresource allocation within narrow-band. See section 3.1. In a Type 1
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`allocation type, a resource allocated to a UE 1s continuous. In a Type 2 allocation type, a
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`resource allocated to a UE is continuousor discontinuous. The portions of RI-152954 cited by
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`the Examinerare silent to control information including a resource indication value (RIV) which
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`indicates the plurality of RBs, wherein a same value of the RIV indicates different frequency
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`positions of RBs on an allocated narrowbandbased on a frequency position of the allocated
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`narrowbandwithin a system band and a frequency position of resource block groups (RBGs) of
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`the system band.
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`Kim fails to cure the deficiencies of RI-153567 and RI-152954. Kim describes a RBG
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`1300 including RB 1300-2 and RB 1300-1. See §[0167]. The user equipment specific reference
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`signals (URS) transmitted through the RBs may have different URS patterns. The portions of
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`Kim cited by the Examinerare silent to control information including a resource indication value
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`(RIV) which indicates the plurality of RBs, wherein a same value of the RIV indicates different
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`frequency positions of RBs on an allocated narrowband based on a frequency position ofthe
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`

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`Application No. 15/810,589
`Reply to Office Action Dated October 5, 2021
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`allocated narrowband within a system band anda frequencyposition of resource block groups
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`(RBGs)of the system band.
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`The portions of the Background section of Horiuchi cited by the Examineralso fails to
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`cure the deficiencies of RI-153567, RI-152954, and Kim.
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`Hongfails to cure the deficiencies of RI-153567, RI-152954, Kim, and the Background
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`section of Horiuchi. Hong describes that resource allocation information expressed based on the
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`resource blocks or the resource block groups may be transmitted in a form of Resource
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`Indication Value (RIV)in a resource allocation field included in a PDCCH.See §[0051].
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`However, a same value of the RIV of Hong does notindicate different frequency positions of
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`RBs on an allocated narrowband,let alone indicate the different frequency positions of RBs
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`based on a frequency position of the allocated narrowband within a system band and a frequency
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`position of resource block groups (RBGs) of the system band. Rather, the portions of Hong cited
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`by the Examiner simply describes that resource allocation information expressed based on the
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`resource blocks or the resource block groups may be transmitted in a form of RIV.
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`Applicant submits claim 1 is allowable over RI-153567, RI-152954, Kim, the
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`Background section of Horiuchi, and Hong. Dependentclaims 16-23 are allowable for the
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`features recited therein as well as for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1.
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`Although the language of claims 10 and 12-13 are not identical to the language of claim
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`1, the allowability of claims 10 and 12-13 will become apparentin light of the discussion above
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`with respect to claim 1. Applicant submits claims 10 and 12-13 are allowable over RI-153567,
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`RI-152954, Kim, the Background section of Horiuchi, and Hong.
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`Applicant has added new claims 24 and 25. Claims 24 and 25 depend from claim 1.
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`Applicant submits claims 24 and 25 are allowable for the features recited therein as well as for
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`the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1.
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`Closing
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`All of the claims remaining in the application are now clearly allowable. Favorable
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`consideration and a Notice of Allowanceare earnestly solicited.
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`

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`Application No. 15/810,589
`Reply to Office Action Dated October 5, 2021
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`In the event the Examiner finds minor informalities that can be resolved by telephone
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`conferenceor if the Examinerbelieves a telephone conference would facilitate prosecution of this
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`application, the Examineris urged to contact Applicant’s undersigned representative by telephone
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`at (206) 622-4900 in order to expeditiously resolve prosecution of this application.
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`Seed Intellectual Property Law Group Lip
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`/Blake K. Kumabe/
`Blake K. Kumabe
`Registration No. 68,240
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`701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, Washington 98104
`Phone: (206) 622-4900 | Fax:
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`(206) 682-6031
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`BK1:dmk
`82364741
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