DETAILED ACTION
Brief Summary
This is a final Office action addressing reissue U.S. Application 16/877,134 (hereafter “the reissue ‘134 Application”), which is a reissue application of U.S. Patent 10,448,413 (hereafter “the ‘413 Patent”).
The ‘413 Patent originally issued on October 15, 2019, with the inventor of Li et al. having original claims 1-8. Here, the ‘413 Patent was filed as U.S. Application 16/263,793 (hereafter “the original ‘793 Application”) on January 31, 2019. Here, the original ‘793 Application was filed as a continuation of U.S. Application 16/031,317, filed on July 10, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. Application 14/916,399, filed as application PCT KR2014/002289 on March 18, 2014, now U.S. Patent 10,257,841. Further, foreign priority is claimed to three applications, being Chinese Application 2013 1 0394991, dated September 3, 2013, Chinese Application 2013 1 0424907, dated September 17, 2013, and Chinese Application 2013 1 0515958, dated October 28, 2013.
As noted above, the ‘413 Patent originally issued with patented claims 1-8. During this reissue prosecution, some original claims were amended, and claims 4 and 8 were previously canceled. A non-final Office action was mailed on September 5, 2025, which indicated that claims 1-3 and 5-7 were rejected. Subsequently, the Applicant filed the instant response dated December 4, 2025 that provides arguments, leaving the claims as amended in the prior amendment dated August 31, 2022. Thus, with the current response dated December 4, 2025, claims 1-3 and 5-7 are currently pending, with claims 1 and 5 being independent.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Lahetkangas in view of Chen
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WIPO Publication WO 2013/123961, with the inventor of Lahetkangas et al., being published on August 29, 2013 (hereafter “Lahetkangas”, cited in the prior Office action dated May 31, 2022) in view of U.S. Patent Application 2014/0192732, with the inventor of Chen et al. (noted as “Chen”).
Regarding claim 1, Lahetkangas discloses a method for communication by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system [user equipment 102, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see Abstract], comprising:
receiving, from a base station [base station 101, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see page 8, lines 6-11, wherein “The base station may be a NodeB, eNB, home NodeB, or HeNB, or any other kind of access point or also a multihop node or relay.”], downlink control information (DCI) including information on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) [see page 5, lines 1-20; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats. For this purpose, additional new MCS and CQI index tables with extension to 256QAM (Qm=8) may be generated. The new tables have the same size as the usual ones. Decision whether original index table or the table with 256QAM extension is used is either determined by the base station (or eNB) and the switching is indicated to the UE with a signalling message or decided in implicit way.”; also see page 14, lines 22-page 15, line 4; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: 1) From the eNB to UE: RRC message to switch MCS table and restrict CQI reporting to the common index area. The eNB only uses common index area for MCS”];
receiving, from the base station, downlink data [see Abstract, wherein “The method comprises selecting, by the base station (101), the first modulation and coding scheme table or the second modulation and coding scheme table, and controlling, by the base station (101), the modulation and coding scheme for the transmission between the base station (101) and the user equipment (102) based on the selected modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 2; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not.”]; and
processing the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: …2) From UE to eNB: confirmation (and implicitly message), the eNB can now use the complete index area of the new MCS table, the eNB knows that the UE will use new CQI table (initially only the common index area). [0092] 3) From eNB to UE: confirmation, the UE can now use the full index area of the new CQI table.”],
wherein each of the plurality of MCS tables indicates modulation orders and code rates [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see page 11, lines 24-32, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”; also see page. 13, lines 27-37, wherein “In one embodiment, there is a common index area common for both the original table and the table with 256QAM extension where MCS/CQI index, modulation order and TBS index are identical and are also in identical positions in both tables. …. In one embodiment, the MCS/CQI index table with 256QAM extension is formed so that room for the TB (transport block) sizes related to 256QAM is taken from originally low TB sizes.”],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see page 2, lines 32-36, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”],
wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a …coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table [see page 3, lines 14-26; also see page 5, line 30-page 6, line 8; also see page 6, lines 14-19, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 13, lines 13-17, wherein “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.” ; also see page 18, line 27-page 19, line 2, wherein “Also the process can be extended to cover more than two tables to switch between. …For example, there may be three tables, low, mid and high. Then the mid table can include every second MCS entry in the low modulation area, while the high table only uses every 4th entry there (similar to Table 1)…”], and
wherein the information on the MCS has 5-bits [see page 6, lines 21-24 that “According to a further embodiment of the invention, the bits of carrying a modulation and coding scheme index are the same for the first modulation and coding scheme table and for the second modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “One straightforward solution would be to define new DCI format for 256QAM (and use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI). This is no desirable solution…The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats.”; also as discussed in the Background of the ‘413 Patent, in col. 2, lines 15-26, the ‘413 Patent admits that “Specifically, in the existing LTE versions, in DCI information, 5 bits are used to indicate MCS and TBS information, …”; therefore, with Lahetkangas stating that a proposed non-desirable new solution would be to “use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, it effectively means that the existing DCI formats utilize “5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, therein teaching that “the information on the MCS has 5-bits”].
Here, as noted above, the reference of Lahetkangas describes various options for replacing existing values in LTE versions to make room for 256 QAM values. Particularly, Lahetkangas describes that the MCS/CQI index table can replace every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values. [see page 13, lines 13-17, which states “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.” But with this, Lahetkangas does not expressly show the entries in existing LTE versions, and thus if “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”.
However Chen discloses a method for communication by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system [see Abstract; also see Figs. 1 and 12-16; also see paragraph 0070], comprising: …
processing the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see Fig. 3], …
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM [see Table 2 in paragraph 0084, shown below:
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] and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see Fig. 4B; also see Table 1 in paragraph 0083, shown below:
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],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see Fig. 4B; also see Tables 1 and 2 in paragraphs 0083-0084],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see Fig. 4B; also see Tables 1 and 2 in paragraphs 0083-0084].
With these teachings of Chen, a legacy 64 QAM table is illustrated in Table 1 in paragraph 0083, shown below:
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Recall that Lahetkangas describes that the MCS/CQI index table can replace every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values. Using the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, replacing every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values would be as follows:
[AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)]
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Thus, with the teachings of Lahetkangas in view of the example of a legacy CQI table described in Chen, the combination of Lahetkangas and Chen are seen to teach “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in independent claim 1, as the 64 QAM entry with the highest code rate of 948 would be replaced by a 256 QAM entry in the first MCS table.
Lahetkangas and Chen are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the method of Lahetkangas utilize the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, whereby this would lead to Lahetkangas having “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 1. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with legacy LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Chen, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the legacy LTE 64 QAM table described in Chen conforms with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the legacy table discussed in Chen, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chen with the method of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, Lahetkangas and Chen disclose the method discussed above in claim 1, and Lahetkangas further teaches wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”].
Further Chen teaches that wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see Fig. 4B; also see Tables 1 and 2 in paragraphs 0083-0084].
Here, as discussed above in claim 1, with the teachings of Lahetkangas, the modified first MCS table would be seen as:
[AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)]
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Here, this clearly illustrates that “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table”, as required in claim 2.
Again, Lahetkangas and Chen are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the method of Lahetkangas utilize the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, whereby this would lead to Lahetkangas having “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 1. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with legacy LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Chen, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the legacy LTE 64 QAM table described in Chen conforms with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the legacy table discussed in Chen, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chen with the method of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 2.
Regarding claim 3, Lahetkangas and Chen disclose the method discussed above in claim 1, and Lahetkangas further comprising:
detecting a format of the DCI which is at least one of a first DCI format and a second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “One option is that the original table 7.1.7-1 and table with 256QAM extension are switched by eNB with an RRC-message (alternatively also MAC/or control signalling messages could be considered).… The UE may be responsible of switching the MCS index table according to the RRC message and sending an acknowledgement to eNB about the received RRC message (the acknowledgement may not be essential, it may help however to avoid backward compatibility issues as a UE not supporting the switching will not acknowledge the command).”];
processing the MCS based on the first MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the first DCI format; and processing the MCS based on the second MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “Since it takes about 100-200 ms for a RRC message to take effect in the UE (processing delays of higher layers haven't been standardized and depend on how often they have to be retransmitted in case of detection errors) and because (1) RRC messages can get lost and (2) there is uncertainty related to the starting time when the new configuration is taken into use by the UE, there may need to be a MCS index area common for both tables, which allows data scheduling also during the time of uncertainty. This may ensure that an MCS from that area is understood correctly no matter whether the switching already took place or not. This common area may be continuous, i.e. has continuous MCS entries to allow a fine adaptation during switching as well. MCS index, modulation order and TBS index may be identical in both MCS index tables on this area.”; also see page 20, lines 11-27, wherein “The user equipment may further comprise a control unit 406 for controlling and configuring the transmission based on information received from the base station being indicative for a selected MCS table.”],
wherein the first DCI format has more bits than the second DCI format [see Table 1 on page 16, and page 15, line 1-page 17, line 23, wherein “An example of the MCS index and modulation table with 256QAM extension is shown in Table 1. The MCS indexes 12 to 31 refer to the continuous common MCS index area. The MCS indexes 0, 5 and 10 refer to a sub-sampled low modulation common MCS index area and the MCS indexes 1 to 4, 6 to 9 and 1 refer to the 256QAM extension.”; also see page 13, lines 1-11].
Regarding claim 5, Lahetkangas discloses a user equipment (UE) [user equipment (UE) 102, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see page 20, lines 11-27] comprising:
a transceiver [transceiver 405, seen in Fig. 4; also see page 20, lines 11-21, wherein “The receiver and the transmitting unit may be implemented as one single unit, for example as a transceiver 405.”]; and
a controller coupled to the transceiver [control unit 406, seen in Fig. 4; also see page 20, lines 11-27, wherein “The user equipment may further comprise a control unit 406 for controlling and configuring the transmission based on information received from the base station being indicative for a selected MCS table.”], wherein the controller is configured to:
receive, from a base station [base station 101, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see page 8, lines 6-11, wherein “The base station may be a NodeB, eNB, home NodeB, or HeNB, or any other kind of access point or also a multihop node or relay.”], downlink control information (DCI) including information on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) [see page 5, lines 1-20; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats. For this purpose, additional new MCS and CQI index tables with extension to 256QAM (Qm=8) may be generated. The new tables have the same size as the usual ones. Decision whether original index table or the table with 256QAM extension is used is either determined by the base station (or eNB) and the switching is indicated to the UE with a signalling message or decided in implicit way.”; also see page 14, lines 22-page 15, line 4; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: 1) From the eNB to UE: RRC message to switch MCS table and restrict CQI reporting to the common index area. The eNB only uses common index area for MCS”],
receive, from the base station, downlink data [see Abstract, wherein “The method comprises selecting, by the base station (101), the first modulation and coding scheme table or the second modulation and coding scheme table, and controlling, by the base station (101), the modulation and coding scheme for the transmission between the base station (101) and the user equipment (102) based on the selected modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 2; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not.”], and
process the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: …2) From UE to eNB: confirmation (and implicitly message), the eNB can now use the complete index area of the new MCS table, the eNB knows that the UE will use new CQI table (initially only the common index area). [0092] 3) From eNB to UE: confirmation, the UE can now use the full index area of the new CQI table.”],
wherein each of the plurality of MCS tables indicates modulation orders and code rates [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see page 11, lines 24-32, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”; also see col. 13, lines 27-37, wherein “In one embodiment, there is a common index area common for both the original table and the table with 256QAM extension where MCS/CQI index, modulation order and TBS index are identical and are also in identical positions in both tables. …. In one embodiment, the MCS/CQI index table with 256QAM extension is formed so that room for the TB (transport block) sizes related to 256QAM is taken from originally low TB sizes.”],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see page 2, lines 32-36, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”],
wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a …coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table [see page 3, lines 14-26; also see page 5, line 30-page 6, line 8; also see page 6, lines 14-19, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 13, lines 13-17, wherein “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.” ; also see page 18, line 27-page 19, line 2, wherein “Also the process can be extended to cover more than two tables to switch between. …For example, there may be three tables, low, mid and high. Then the mid table can include every second MCS entry in the low modulation area, while the high table only uses every 4th entry there (similar to Table 1)…”], and
wherein the information on the MCS has 5-bits [see page 6, lines 21-24 that “According to a further embodiment of the invention, the bits of carrying a modulation and coding scheme index are the same for the first modulation and coding scheme table and for the second modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “One straightforward solution would be to define new DCI format for 256QAM (and use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI). This is no desirable solution…The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats.”; also as discussed in the Background of the ‘413 Patent, in col. 2, lines 15-26, the ‘413 Patent admits that “Specifically, in the existing LTE versions, in DCI information, 5 bits are used to indicate MCS and TBS information, …”; therefore, with Lahetkangas stating that a proposed non-desirable new solution would be to “use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, it effectively means that the existing DCI formats utilize “5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, therein teaching that “the information on the MCS has 5-bits”].
Here, as noted above, the reference of Lahetkangas describes various options for replacing existing values in LTE versions to make room for 256 QAM values. Particularly, Lahetkangas describes that the MCS/CQI index table can replace every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values. [see page 13, lines 13-17, which states “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.” But with this, Lahetkangas does not expressly show the entries in existing LTE versions, and thus if “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”.
However Chen discloses a user equipment (UE) [see Abstract; also see Figs. 1 and 12-16; also see paragraph 0070] comprising:
a controller …configured to: …
process the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see Fig. 3], …
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM [see Table 2 in paragraph 0084, shown below:
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and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see Fig. 4B; also see Table 1 in paragraph 0083, shown below:
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],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see Fig. 4B; also see Tables 1 and 2 in paragraphs 0083-0084],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see Fig. 4B; also see Tables 1 and 2 in paragraphs 0083-0084].
With these teachings of Chen, a legacy 64 QAM table is illustrated in Table 1 in paragraph 0083, shown below:
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Recall that Lahetkangas describes that the MCS/CQI index table can replace every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values. Using the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, replacing every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values would be as follows:
[AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)]
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Thus, with the teachings of Lahetkangas in view of the example of a legacy CQI table described in Chen, the combination of Lahetkangas and Chen are seen to teach “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in independent claim 5, as the 64 QAM entry with the highest code rate of 948 would be replaced by a 256 QAM entry in the first MCS table.
Lahetkangas and Chen are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the UE of Lahetkangas utilize the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, whereby this would lead to Lahetkangas having “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 5. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the system of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with legacy LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Chen, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the legacy LTE 64 QAM table described in Chen conforms with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the legacy table discussed in Chen, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chen with the UE of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 5.
Regarding claim 6, Lahetkangas and Chen disclose the UE discussed above in claim 5, and Lahetkangas further teaches wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”].
Further Chen teaches that wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see Fig. 4B; also see Tables 1 and 2 in paragraphs 0083-0084].
Here, as discussed above in claim 5, with the teachings of Lahetkangas, the modified first MCS table would be seen as:
[AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)]
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Here, this clearly illustrates that “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table”, as required in claim 6.
Again, Lahetkangas and Chen are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the method of Lahetkangas utilize the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, whereby this would lead to Lahetkangas having “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with legacy LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Chen, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the legacy LTE 64 QAM table described in Chen conforms with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the legacy table discussed in Chen, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chen with the method of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, Lahetkangas and Chen disclose the UE discussed above in claim 5, and Lahetkangas further teaches wherein the controller is further configured to:
detect a format of the DCI which is at least one of a first DCI format and a second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “One option is that the original table 7.1.7-1 and table with 256QAM extension are switched by eNB with an RRC-message (alternatively also MAC/or control signalling messages could be considered).… The UE may be responsible of switching the MCS index table according to the RRC message and sending an acknowledgement to eNB about the received RRC message (the acknowledgement may not be essential, it may help however to avoid backward compatibility issues as a UE not supporting the switching will not acknowledge the command).”],
process the MCS based on the first MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the first DCI format, and process the MCS based on the second MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “Since it takes about 100-200 ms for a RRC message to take effect in the UE (processing delays of higher layers haven't been standardized and depend on how often they have to be retransmitted in case of detection errors) and because (1) RRC messages can get lost and (2) there is uncertainty related to the starting time when the new configuration is taken into use by the UE, there may need to be a MCS index area common for both tables, which allows data scheduling also during the time of uncertainty. This may ensure that an MCS from that area is understood correctly no matter whether the switching already took place or not. This common area may be continuous, i.e. has continuous MCS entries to allow a fine adaptation during switching as well. MCS index, modulation order and TBS index may be identical in both MCS index tables on this area.”; also see page 20, lines 11-27, wherein “The user equipment may further comprise a control unit 406 for controlling and configuring the transmission based on information received from the base station being indicative for a selected MCS table.”],
wherein the first DCI format has more bits than the second DCI format [see Table 1 on page 16, and page 15, line 1-page 17, line 23, wherein “An example of the MCS index and modulation table with 256QAM extension is shown in Table 1. The MCS indexes 12 to 31 refer to the continuous common MCS index area. The MCS indexes 0, 5 and 10 refer to a sub-sampled low modulation common MCS index area and the MCS indexes 1 to 4, 6 to 9 and 1 refer to the 256QAM extension.”; also see page 13, lines 1-11].
Lahetkangas in view of Kwon
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WIPO Publication WO 2013/123961, with the inventor of Lahetkangas et al., being published on August 29, 2013 (hereafter “Lahetkangas”, cited in the prior Office action dated May 31, 2022) in view of U.S. Patent Application 2019/0364545, with the inventor of Kwon et al. (noted as “Kwon”).
Regarding claim 1, Lahetkangas discloses a method for communication by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system [user equipment 102, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see Abstract], comprising:
receiving, from a base station [base station 101, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see page 8, lines 6-11, wherein “The base station may be a NodeB, eNB, home NodeB, or HeNB, or any other kind of access point or also a multihop node or relay.”], downlink control information (DCI) including information on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) [see page 5, lines 1-20; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats. For this purpose, additional new MCS and CQI index tables with extension to 256QAM (Qm=8) may be generated. The new tables have the same size as the usual ones. Decision whether original index table or the table with 256QAM extension is used is either determined by the base station (or eNB) and the switching is indicated to the UE with a signalling message or decided in implicit way.”; also see page 14, lines 22-page 15, line 4; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: 1) From the eNB to UE: RRC message to switch MCS table and restrict CQI reporting to the common index area. The eNB only uses common index area for MCS”];
receiving, from the base station, downlink data [see Abstract, wherein “The method comprises selecting, by the base station (101), the first modulation and coding scheme table or the second modulation and coding scheme table, and controlling, by the base station (101), the modulation and coding scheme for the transmission between the base station (101) and the user equipment (102) based on the selected modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 2; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not.”]; and
processing the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: …2) From UE to eNB: confirmation (and implicitly message), the eNB can now use the complete index area of the new MCS table, the eNB knows that the UE will use new CQI table (initially only the common index area). [0092] 3) From eNB to UE: confirmation, the UE can now use the full index area of the new CQI table.”],
wherein each of the plurality of MCS tables indicates modulation orders and code rates [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see page 11, lines 24-32, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”; also see page. 13, lines 27-37, wherein “In one embodiment, there is a common index area common for both the original table and the table with 256QAM extension where MCS/CQI index, modulation order and TBS index are identical and are also in identical positions in both tables. …. In one embodiment, the MCS/CQI index table with 256QAM extension is formed so that room for the TB (transport block) sizes related to 256QAM is taken from originally low TB sizes.”],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see page 2, lines 32-36, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”],
wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a …coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table [see page 3, lines 14-26; also see page 5, line 30-page 6, line 8; also see page 6, lines 14-19, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 13, lines 13-17, wherein “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.” ; also see page 18, line 27-page 19, line 2, wherein “Also the process can be extended to cover more than two tables to switch between. …For example, there may be three tables, low, mid and high. Then the mid table can include every second MCS entry in the low modulation area, while the high table only uses every 4th entry there (similar to Table 1)…”], and
wherein the information on the MCS has 5-bits [see page 6, lines 21-24 that “According to a further embodiment of the invention, the bits of carrying a modulation and coding scheme index are the same for the first modulation and coding scheme table and for the second modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “One straightforward solution would be to define new DCI format for 256QAM (and use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI). This is no desirable solution…The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats.”; also as discussed in the Background of the ‘413 Patent, in col. 2, lines 15-26, the ‘413 Patent admits that “Specifically, in the existing LTE versions, in DCI information, 5 bits are used to indicate MCS and TBS information, …”; therefore, with Lahetkangas stating that a proposed non-desirable new solution would be to “use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, it effectively means that the existing DCI formats utilize “5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, therein teaching that “the information on the MCS has 5-bits”].
But here, while the reference of Lahetkangas describes various options for replacing existing values in LTE versions to make room for 256 QAM values, the reference does not expressly disclose “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”.
But Kwon discloses a method for communication by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system [see Abstract; also see Fig. 1; also see paragraph 0047-0049], comprising:
receiving, from a base station, downlink control information (DCI) including information on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) [see step S14 in Fig. 1; also see paragraphs 0028-0029]; …
processing the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see paragraphs 0029-0030],
wherein each of the plurality of MCS tables indicates modulation orders and code rates [see paragraphs 0029-0030],
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see paragraphs 0029-0030, wherein “In one embodiment, the secondary table includes a modulation scheme that has an HOM than any of the schemes in the default table. For example, the maximum modulation order in the default table may be 64 QAM while the highest order modulation in the secondary table may be 256 QAM.”],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see paragraphs 0029-0030, wherein “In one embodiment, the number of entries in each table matches so that the entries can be used in place of each other.”],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items [see Tables 5 and/or 6 in paragraphs 0040-0041, shown below:
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], and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see Table 4 in paragraph 0039, shown below:
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],
wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table [see Tables 4, 5, and 6 in paragraphs 0039-0041, whereby the 64 QAM entry with the 948 code rate, which is the highest code rate in Table 4, is replaced in both Table 5 and Table 6 with a 256 QAM entry].
Lahetkangas and Kwon are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the method of Lahetkangas utilize the tables described in Kwon, such that Lahetkangas would have “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 1. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Kwon, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the LTE 64 QAM table and the 256 QAM extension table described in Kwon conform with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the tables discussed in Kwon, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Kwon with the method of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, Lahetkangas and Kwon disclose the method discussed above in claim 1, and Lahetkangas further teaches wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”].
Further, Kwon teaches that wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see Tables 4, 5, and 6 in paragraphs 0039-0041].
Lahetkangas and Kwon are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the method of Lahetkangas utilize the tables described in Kwon, such that Lahetkangas would have “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 1. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Kwon, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the LTE 64 QAM table and the 256 QAM extension table described in Kwon conform with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the tables discussed in Kwon, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Kwon with the method of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 2.
Regarding claim 3, Lahetkangas and Kwon disclose the method discussed above in claim 1, and Lahetkangas further comprising:
detecting a format of the DCI which is at least one of a first DCI format and a second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “One option is that the original table 7.1.7-1 and table with 256QAM extension are switched by eNB with an RRC-message (alternatively also MAC/or control signalling messages could be considered).… The UE may be responsible of switching the MCS index table according to the RRC message and sending an acknowledgement to eNB about the received RRC message (the acknowledgement may not be essential, it may help however to avoid backward compatibility issues as a UE not supporting the switching will not acknowledge the command).”];
processing the MCS based on the first MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the first DCI format; and processing the MCS based on the second MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “Since it takes about 100-200 ms for a RRC message to take effect in the UE (processing delays of higher layers haven't been standardized and depend on how often they have to be retransmitted in case of detection errors) and because (1) RRC messages can get lost and (2) there is uncertainty related to the starting time when the new configuration is taken into use by the UE, there may need to be a MCS index area common for both tables, which allows data scheduling also during the time of uncertainty. This may ensure that an MCS from that area is understood correctly no matter whether the switching already took place or not. This common area may be continuous, i.e. has continuous MCS entries to allow a fine adaptation during switching as well. MCS index, modulation order and TBS index may be identical in both MCS index tables on this area.”; also see page 20, lines 11-27, wherein “The user equipment may further comprise a control unit 406 for controlling and configuring the transmission based on information received from the base station being indicative for a selected MCS table.”],
wherein the first DCI format has more bits than the second DCI format [see Table 1 on page 16, and page 15, line 1-page 17, line 23, wherein “An example of the MCS index and modulation table with 256QAM extension is shown in Table 1. The MCS indexes 12 to 31 refer to the continuous common MCS index area. The MCS indexes 0, 5 and 10 refer to a sub-sampled low modulation common MCS index area and the MCS indexes 1 to 4, 6 to 9 and 1 refer to the 256QAM extension.”; also see page 13, lines 1-11].
Regarding claim 5, Lahetkangas discloses a user equipment (UE) [user equipment (UE) 102, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see page 20, lines 11-27] comprising:
a transceiver [transceiver 405, seen in Fig. 4; also see page 20, lines 11-21, wherein “The receiver and the transmitting unit may be implemented as one single unit, for example as a transceiver 405.”]; and
a controller coupled to the transceiver [control unit 406, seen in Fig. 4; also see page 20, lines 11-27, wherein “The user equipment may further comprise a control unit 406 for controlling and configuring the transmission based on information received from the base station being indicative for a selected MCS table.”], wherein the controller is configured to:
receive, from a base station [base station 101, seen in Figs. 1 and 4; also see page 8, lines 6-11, wherein “The base station may be a NodeB, eNB, home NodeB, or HeNB, or any other kind of access point or also a multihop node or relay.”], downlink control information (DCI) including information on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) [see page 5, lines 1-20; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats. For this purpose, additional new MCS and CQI index tables with extension to 256QAM (Qm=8) may be generated. The new tables have the same size as the usual ones. Decision whether original index table or the table with 256QAM extension is used is either determined by the base station (or eNB) and the switching is indicated to the UE with a signalling message or decided in implicit way.”; also see page 14, lines 22-page 15, line 4; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: 1) From the eNB to UE: RRC message to switch MCS table and restrict CQI reporting to the common index area. The eNB only uses common index area for MCS”],
receive, from the base station, downlink data [see Abstract, wherein “The method comprises selecting, by the base station (101), the first modulation and coding scheme table or the second modulation and coding scheme table, and controlling, by the base station (101), the modulation and coding scheme for the transmission between the base station (101) and the user equipment (102) based on the selected modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 2; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not.”], and
process the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26; also see page 6, lines 14-31, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 18, lines 1-12, wherein “The message flow according to this embodiment can then be like this: …2) From UE to eNB: confirmation (and implicitly message), the eNB can now use the complete index area of the new MCS table, the eNB knows that the UE will use new CQI table (initially only the common index area). [0092] 3) From eNB to UE: confirmation, the UE can now use the full index area of the new CQI table.”],
wherein each of the plurality of MCS tables indicates modulation orders and code rates [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see page 11, lines 24-32, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”; also see col. 13, lines 27-37, wherein “In one embodiment, there is a common index area common for both the original table and the table with 256QAM extension where MCS/CQI index, modulation order and TBS index are identical and are also in identical positions in both tables. …. In one embodiment, the MCS/CQI index table with 256QAM extension is formed so that room for the TB (transport block) sizes related to 256QAM is taken from originally low TB sizes.”],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see page 2, lines 32-36, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”],
wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a …coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table [see page 3, lines 14-26; also see page 5, line 30-page 6, line 8; also see page 6, lines 14-19, wherein “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.”; also see page 13, lines 13-17, wherein “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.” ; also see page 18, line 27-page 19, line 2, wherein “Also the process can be extended to cover more than two tables to switch between. …For example, there may be three tables, low, mid and high. Then the mid table can include every second MCS entry in the low modulation area, while the high table only uses every 4th entry there (similar to Table 1)…”], and
wherein the information on the MCS has 5-bits [see page 6, lines 21-24 that “According to a further embodiment of the invention, the bits of carrying a modulation and coding scheme index are the same for the first modulation and coding scheme table and for the second modulation and coding scheme table.”; also see page 13, lines 1-25, wherein “One straightforward solution would be to define new DCI format for 256QAM (and use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI). This is no desirable solution…The idea of the herein described method is to define a new procedure which allows to use 256QAM in good channel conditions using the existing DCI formats.”; also as discussed in the Background of the ‘413 Patent, in col. 2, lines 15-26, the ‘413 Patent admits that “Specifically, in the existing LTE versions, in DCI information, 5 bits are used to indicate MCS and TBS information, …”; therefore, with Lahetkangas stating that a proposed non-desirable new solution would be to “use more than 5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, it effectively means that the existing DCI formats utilize “5 bits for the modulation and coding scheme field in the DCI”, therein teaching that “the information on the MCS has 5-bits”].
But here, while the reference of Lahetkangas describes various options for replacing existing values in LTE versions to make room for 256 QAM values, the reference does not expressly disclose “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”.
But Kwon discloses a user equipment (UE) [see Abstract; also see Fig. 1; also see paragraph 0047-0049] comprising:
a controller …configured to: …
receive, from a base station, downlink control information (DCI) including information on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) [see step S14 in Fig. 1; also see paragraphs 0028-0029]; …
process the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables [see paragraphs 0029-0030],
wherein each of the plurality of MCS tables indicates modulation orders and code rates [see paragraphs 0029-0030],
wherein the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM and a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM [see paragraphs 0029-0030, wherein “In one embodiment, the secondary table includes a modulation scheme that has an HOM than any of the schemes in the default table. For example, the maximum modulation order in the default table may be 64 QAM while the highest order modulation in the secondary table may be 256 QAM.”],
wherein a number of MCS indexes in the first MCS table is equal to a number of MCS indexes in the second MCS table [see paragraphs 0029-0030, wherein “In one embodiment, the number of entries in each table matches so that the entries can be used in place of each other.”],
wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items [see Tables 5 and/or 6 in paragraphs 0040-0041, shown below:
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], and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items [see Table 4 in paragraph 0039, shown below:
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],
wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table [see Tables 4, 5, and 6 in paragraphs 0039-0041, whereby the 64 QAM entry with the 948 code rate, which is the highest code rate in Table 4, is replaced in both Table 5 and Table 6 with a 256 QAM entry].
Lahetkangas and Kwon are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the UE of Lahetkangas utilize the tables described in Kwon, such that Lahetkangas would have “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 5. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the UE of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Kwon, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the LTE 64 QAM table and the 256 QAM extension table described in Kwon conform with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the tables discussed in Kwon, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Kwon with the UE of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 5.
Regarding claim 6, Lahetkangas and Kwon disclose the UE discussed above in claim 5, and Lahetkangas further teaches wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see page 2, line 20-page 3, line 26, wherein “The first table may support for instance up to 64QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) and the second table may support for instance up to 256QAM, or any other higher order modulation extension.”; also see page 11, lines 24-page 12, line 7, wherein “The modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table comprising entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. In one embodiment, the second maximum modulation order is higher (for instance up to 256QAM) than the first maximum modulation order (for instance up to 64QAM).”].
Further, Kwon teaches that wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table comprise at least one 64 QAM item of the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table [see Tables 4, 5, and 6 in paragraphs 0039-0041].
Lahetkangas and Kwon are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the UE of Lahetkangas utilize the tables described in Kwon, such that Lahetkangas would have “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 5. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Kwon, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the LTE 64 QAM table and the 256 QAM extension table described in Kwon conform with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the tables discussed in Kwon, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Kwon with the UE of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, Lahetkangas and Kwon disclose the UE discussed above in claim 5, and Lahetkangas further teaches wherein the controller is further configured to:
detect a format of the DCI which is at least one of a first DCI format and a second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “One option is that the original table 7.1.7-1 and table with 256QAM extension are switched by eNB with an RRC-message (alternatively also MAC/or control signalling messages could be considered).… The UE may be responsible of switching the MCS index table according to the RRC message and sending an acknowledgement to eNB about the received RRC message (the acknowledgement may not be essential, it may help however to avoid backward compatibility issues as a UE not supporting the switching will not acknowledge the command).”],
process the MCS based on the first MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the first DCI format, and process the MCS based on the second MCS table, if the detected DCI format is the second DCI format [see page 14, lines 11-36, wherein “Since it takes about 100-200 ms for a RRC message to take effect in the UE (processing delays of higher layers haven't been standardized and depend on how often they have to be retransmitted in case of detection errors) and because (1) RRC messages can get lost and (2) there is uncertainty related to the starting time when the new configuration is taken into use by the UE, there may need to be a MCS index area common for both tables, which allows data scheduling also during the time of uncertainty. This may ensure that an MCS from that area is understood correctly no matter whether the switching already took place or not. This common area may be continuous, i.e. has continuous MCS entries to allow a fine adaptation during switching as well. MCS index, modulation order and TBS index may be identical in both MCS index tables on this area.”; also see page 20, lines 11-27, wherein “The user equipment may further comprise a control unit 406 for controlling and configuring the transmission based on information received from the base station being indicative for a selected MCS table.”],
wherein the first DCI format has more bits than the second DCI format [see Table 1 on page 16, and page 15, line 1-page 17, line 23, wherein “An example of the MCS index and modulation table with 256QAM extension is shown in Table 1. The MCS indexes 12 to 31 refer to the continuous common MCS index area. The MCS indexes 0, 5 and 10 refer to a sub-sampled low modulation common MCS index area and the MCS indexes 1 to 4, 6 to 9 and 1 refer to the 256QAM extension.”; also see page 13, lines 1-11].
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed December 4, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
First, the Examiner notes that in the prior non-final Office action dated September 5, 2025, claims 1-3 and 5-7 were rejected in two different manners:
being rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lahetkangas (WIPO Publication WO 2013/123961) in view of Chen (U.S. Patent Application 2014/0192732) [see Office action dated September 5, pages 4-32]; and
being rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lahetkangas in view of Kwon (U.S. Patent Application 2019/0364545) [see Office action dated September 5, pages 32-56].
Here, the instant response dated December 4, 2025 only provides arguments to one of the rejections, only providing arguments with respect to the rejection of Lahetkangas in view of Chen. Thus, the response dated December 4, 2025 does not address the rejection of claims 1-3 and 5-7, as being unpatentable over Lahetkangas in view of Kwon. Therefore, for the reasons discussed above, the rejection of claims 1-3 and 5-7, as being unpatentable over Lahetkangas in view of Kwon, is maintained and repeated in this Office action.
With respect to the rejection of claims 1-3 and 5-7 as being unpatentable over Lahetkangas in view of Chan, the Applicant's arguments filed December 4, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Particularly, beginning on page 5 of the Applicant’s arguments dated December 4, 2025 (hereafter “the “Remarks”), the Applicant argues that that the combination of Lahetkangas in view of Chan fail to teach the features of independent claims 1 and 5. Here, on page 7 of the Remarks, the Applicant argues that “the Examiner’s combination of Lahetkangas in view of Chen improperly relies on hindsight reasoning”.
In response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness is based upon improper hindsight reasoning, it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971).
Here, in review of the reference of Lahetkangas, in the “Art Background” section on page 2 of Lahetkangas, the reference states “In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. These are used for determining and selecting appropriate modulation and coding schemes. The current tables support up to 64 QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256 QAM extension or any6 other higher order modulation extension for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.”
With this, the reference of Lahetkangas describes various options for replacing existing values in LTE versions to make room for 256 QAM values. Here, Lahetkangas illustrates one example in Table 1 on pages 15 and 16 of the reference of an MCS index and modulation table with 256QAM extension. However, Lahetkangas does not specifically illustrate what an existing LTE table would look like, so as to build the MCS MCS index and modulation table with 256QAM extension.
But in this regard, on page 6, lines 14-19, Lahetkangas states “The base station and the UE may use the MCS table having the lower maximum modulation order at the start of each communication. This may provide the advantage that each communication starts with the same table and afterwards the base station may decide whether to change the MCS table or not. The change may then be performed based on the actual channel conditions if the UE can support the MCS table supporting the higher order modulation.” Additionally, Lahetkangas states on page 13, lines 13-17 that “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.”
With this, the secondary reference of Chen discloses a method for communication by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, which comprises processing the received downlink data based on the information on the MCS and an MCS table among a plurality of MCS tables, as seen in Figs. 1, 3, and 13-16.
Here, Chen illustrates that the plurality of MCS tables comprise a first MCS table which supports 256 QAM, seen as Table 2 in paragraph 0084, shown below:
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and also a second MCS table which does not support 256 QAM, seen as Table 1 in paragraph 0083, shown below:
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.
Here, in Chen, the second MCS table, noted above, is seen to be an existing MCS table that only support up to 64 QAM.
Thus, looking back at the primary reference of Lahetkangas, recall that the reference states on page 2 that “The current tables support up to 64 QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256 QAM extension or any6 other higher order modulation extension for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.”, and on page 13, lines 13-17, Lahetkangas further states “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.”
With these teachings, Chen illustrates a legacy 64 QAM table, as illustrated in Table 1 in paragraph 0083, shown below:
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With the reference of Lahetkangas expressly describing that the new 256 QAM extension table can replace every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values. Using the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, replacing every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values would be as follows:
[AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)][AltContent: textbox (256 QAM)]
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Thus, with the teachings of Lahetkangas in view of the example of a legacy CQI table described in Chen, the combination of Lahetkangas and Chen are seen to teach “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in independent claim 1, as the 64 QAM entry with the highest code rate of 948 would be replaced by a 256 QAM entry in the first MCS table.
Here, this combination of Lahetkangas and Chen is deemed to be proper, as it utilizes an embodiment expressly taught in the teachings of Lahetkangas that utilizes a legacy 64 QAM table to create a new 256 QAM extension table. Here, the combination of the references is not seen to utilize hindsight reasoning, as the reference of Chen simply illustrates a legacy 64 QAM table. Thus, this combination of Lahetkangas and Chen only takes into account “knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper”. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971).
Continuing, on page 8 of the Remarks, the Applicant further argues that “While Lahetkangas does describe that the MCS/CQI index table can replace every third entry to make room for 256 QAM values, none of the tables with replaced values in Lahetkangas provide a new table, wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table, as in the present application.”
But in response, the reference of Lahetkangas is seen to disclose of having two tables with one coding scheme being created having a higher order modulation of 256 QAM from an existing first table with a maximum modulation of 64 QAM. Again, Lahetkangas states on page 2 that “The current tables support up to 64 QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256 QAM extension or any other higher order modulation extension for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Further, on page 13, lines 13-17, Lahetkangas describes one way to introduce a 256 QAM extension, stating “Another possible solution would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.” Additionally, Lahetkangas describes other ways to introduce a modulation of 256 QAM, whereby on page 18, line 27-page 19, line 2, Lahetkangas states “Also the process can be extended to cover more than two tables to switch between. …For example, there may be three tables, low, mid and high. Then the mid table can include every second MCS entry in the low modulation area, while the high table only uses every 4th entry there (similar to Table 1)…” Thus, these teachings in Lahetkangas would appear to teach the claimed limitation that requires “wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and a second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items”, as currently required in independent claim 1, and similarly in independent claim 5.
With the teachings of Lahetkangas and the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the method of Lahetkangas utilize the legacy 64 QAM table described in Chen, whereby this would lead to Lahetkangas having “the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in claim 1.
Lahetkangas and Chen are combinable because they are from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication systems that utilize at least two MCS tables, one of which includes up to 64 QAM items and the other which includes up to 256 QAM items. Here, the suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with legacy LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Chen, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the legacy LTE 64 QAM table described in Chen conforms with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the legacy table discussed in Chen, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chen with the method of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 1, and similarly in claim 5.
Continuing, on page 8 of the Remarks, the Applicant further argues that the reference of Chen “fails to teach or suggest the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table, as in the present application.” But here, the reference of Chen is not being relied on to teach this feature. Rather, the teachings in the primary reference of Lahetkangas appear to teach the claimed elements, when viewed with the legacy 64 QAM table illustrated by Chen. Thus the combination of Lahetkangas in view of Chen can be interpreted as teaching the limitation that requires “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in independent claim 1 and similarly in independent claim 5.
Continuing, on page 9 of the Remarks, the Applicant argues that “as Chen already provides a new table supporting 256 QAM (Table 2), the Examiner’s assertion that it would be obvious to combine the method of Lahetkangas to Table 1 in Chen appears to be illogical, as a person of ordinary skill in the art would have no reason to not just use Table 2 in Chen”. But again, Chen is utilized to show an existing legacy modulation table that has a maximum value of only 64 QAM. As discussed herein, the primary reference of Lahetkangas is seen to disclose creating a second table to include a 256 QAM extension from an modulation table that has maximum modulation values of only 64 QAM.
Again, the suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the method of Lahetkangas would “avoid complexity”, conforming with legacy LTE networks standards, as discussed in both Chen, as well as in Lahetkangas, itself, which discusses on page 1, line 32-page 2, line 6 that “In LTE (and LTE-Advanced), theoretical spectral efficiency is restricted to 64QAM modulation. …In the LTE standard, there is defined a MCS (modulation and coding scheme) index and modulation table and CQI (channel quality indicator) table. …The current tables support up to 64QAM. The problem is how to introduce a 256QAM extension …for LTE while maintaining backward compatibility and avoiding too much complexity.” Here, the legacy LTE 64 QAM table described in Chen conforms with well-known standards for an LTE network, whereby Lahetkangas would easily include the legacy table discussed in Chen, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Chen with the method of Lahetkangas to obtain the invention specified in claim 1, and similarly in claim 5.
With this, the reference of Lahetkangas is seen to disclose “wherein the first MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items and a plurality of 256 QAM items, and the second MCS table comprises a plurality of 64 QAM items”, as recited in claims 1 and similarly in claim 5. Here, Lahetkangas describes various ways to introduce a higher order modulation values of 256 QAM in a table using 64QAM modulation tables, as discussed on pages 1 and 2 of Lahetkangas, as well as in further sections throughout the reference.
But since Lahetkangas does not specifically illustrate a legacy 64QAM table, only stating that a possible solution “would be to take the existing MCS/CQI index table as a basis and change the usage of it so that only a subset of the current MCS values would be used, e.g. drop every third to make room for the additional 256QAM values.”, as discussed on page 13, lines 13-17. With this, the reference of Chen appears to illustrate a possible solution to the same problem expressed in Lahetkangas, which creates a second table of values to accommodate for 256 QAM modulation values. Here, Chen illustrates an existing old CQI index table in Fig. 4B.
With the teachings of Lahetkangas, in light of the existing old CQI index table illustrated in Chen, the combination of Lahetkangas and Chen can be interpreted as teaching the limitation that requires “wherein the plurality of 64 QAM items in the first MCS table does not comprise a 64 QAM item with a highest coding rate among the plurality of 64 QAM items in the second MCS table”, as recited in independent claim 1 and similarly in independent claim 5.
Therefore, the rejection of independent claims 1 and 5, as well as dependent claims 2-3 and 6-7, as being unpatentable over Lahetkangas in view of Chen, is deemed to be proper, and the rejection is maintained herein.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Joseph R. Pokrzywa, whose telephone number is (571) 272-7410. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm.
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Signed:
/JOSEPH R POKRZYWA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992
Conferees:
/ROBERT J HANCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992 /M.F/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3992