DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/15/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant’s arguments filed on 01/15/2026 regarding claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-22 and 24-30 in the remarks are fully considered but moot in view of new ground(s) of rejection; however, examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant’s characterization of the previously applied prior art Jang (US PG Pub. No. 2022/0240160).
(i) Applicant argues that Jang generally disclose the capability of PDCCH repetition and DCI transmission but not explicitly the limitation(s) of capability indication “comprising a first indication and a second indication, wherein the first indication specifies that the UE supports repetition of a downlink control channel…wherein the second indication specifies whether the UE supports inter-slot repetition, intra-slot repetition, or both for the downlink control channel” (please see pages 19 and 20 under arguments and remarks).
(i) (Response) In the previous office action, examine relied on figure 18 and paragraph [0430] as disclosing the UE transmitting capability information indicating the UE supporting PDCCH repetition and thus addressing said first indication. That is the first indication specifies that the UE supports repetition of a downlink control channel that includes downlink control information (as recited in independent claims 7 and 28). Paragraph [0141] and table 13 of the prior art also disclose the UE sending other capability information to the UE. An example of such capability is the index 3-5b (please see table 13 of the prior art). According to index 3-5b, the UE has the capability of monitoring PDCCH in every slot, with each slot spanning a number of OFDM symbols. Since, according to table 13, from index 3-5b, the UE can monitor PDCCH in every slot, it is evident that the UE supports said inter-slot repetition. Therefore, the cited portion(s) of Jang address the limitation(s) of wherein the second indication specifies whether the UE supports inter-slot repetition, intra-slot repetition, or both for the downlink control channel.
Response to Amendments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
4. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sogabe (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0379825) in view of Oh (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0247648).
As per claim 1:
Sogabe teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) (see Figure 4, paragraph [0055], terminal 10), comprising:
one or more processors (see Figure 4, processor 11);
memory coupled with the one or more processors (see Figure 4, storage device 12 coupled to processor 11);
and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors (see paragraph [0057], storage device 12 for storing various information required perform processing by the processor 11) to cause the apparatus to:
receive an indication that a first common search space set is configured for a downlink control channel that includes first downlink control information (see paragraph [0088], the terminal 10 receives configuration information on the common search spaces from the base station 20 using system information. Example of such common search spaces include(s): Type0-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0089], Type0A-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0090], Type1-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0091], Type2-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0092] and Type3-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0093]. The examples listed in paragraphs [0089]-[0093] are all common search spaces to which downlink control information indicates a radio resource in which information/data is transmitted) associated with a random access procedure (see paragraph [0091], the common search space (i.e., Type1-PDCCH CSS set) is associated with a random access procedure), scheduling of system information (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), or a paging procedure (see paragraph [0092], the common search space (i.e., Type2-PDCCH CSS set) is associated with paging information).
Sogabe does not teach the first common search space set being an only common search space set configured for the downlink control channel in accordance with a confirmatory rule that a common search space set having an index of 0 or including downlink control information associated with the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure is not to be linked to another common search space set;
and monitor the first common search space set for the downlink control
channel based at least in part on the first common search space set being configured in
accordance with the confirmatory rule.
Oh teaches the first common search space set being an only common search space set configured for the downlink control channel in accordance with a confirmatory rule that a common search space set having an index of 0 (see paragraph [0227], the UE is provided with 0 as a search space ID for a C-RNTI and type 0/0A/2 PDCCH CSS set and may determine a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the type 0/0A/2 PDCCH set, and monitor PDCCH candidates at a PDCCH monitoring occasion associated with an SS/PBCH) or including downlink control information associated with the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure is not to be linked to another common search space set (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record);
and monitor the first common search space set for the downlink control
channel based at least in part on the first common search space set being configured in
accordance with the confirmatory rule (as explained earlier, see paragraph [0227], the UE is provided with 0 as a search space ID for a C-RNTI and type 0/0A/2 PDCCH CSS set and may determine a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the type 0/0A/2 PDCCH set, and monitor PDCCH candidates at a PDCCH monitoring occasion associated with an SS/PBCH).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the search space ID of 0 for a C-RNTI and a common search space set (as disclosed in Oh) into Sogabe as a way of enabling the UE to monitor a PDCCH candidates at a PDCCH monitoring occasion (please see paragraph [0227] of Oh). Therefore, a UE provided with a search space ID, may perform contention-based random access procedure (please see paragraph [0229] of Oh).
5. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sogabe in view of Oh and further in view of Si (US PG Pub. No. 2021/0235419).
As per claim 4:
Sogabe teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a base station (see Figure 4, paragraph [0055], base station 20), comprising:
one or more processors (see Figure 4, processor 11);
memory coupled with the one or more processors (see Figure 4, storage device 12 coupled to processor 11);
and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors (see paragraph [0057], storage device 12 for storing various information required perform processing by the processor 11) to cause the apparatus to:
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), an indication that a first common search space set is configured for a downlink control channel that includes first downlink control information (see paragraph [0088], the terminal 10 receives configuration information on the common search spaces from the base station 20 using system information. Example of such common search spaces include(s): Type0-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0089], Type0A-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0090], Type1-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0091], Type2-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0092] and Type3-PDCCH CSS set, please see paragraph [0093]. The examples listed in paragraphs [0089]-[0093] are all common search spaces to which downlink control information indicates a radio resource in which information/data is transmitted) associated with a random access procedure (see paragraph [0091], the common search space (i.e., Type1-PDCCH CSS set) is associated with a random access procedure), scheduling of system information (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), or a paging procedure(see paragraph [0092], the common search space (i.e., Type2-PDCCH CSS set) is associated with paging information).
Sogabe does not teach the first common search space set being an only common search space set configured for the downlink control channel in accordance with a confirmatory rule that a common search space set having an index of 0 or including downlink control information associated with the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure is not to be linked to another common search space set.
Oh teaches the first common search space set being an only common search space set configured for the downlink control channel in accordance with a confirmatory rule that a common search space set having an index of 0 (see paragraph [0227], the UE is provided with 0 as a search space ID for a C-RNTI and type 0/0A/2 PDCCH CSS set and may determine a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the type 0/0A/2 PDCCH set, and monitor PDCCH candidates at a PDCCH monitoring occasion associated with an SS/PBCH) or including downlink control information associated with the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure is not to be linked to another common search space set (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the search space ID of 0 for a C-RNTI and a common search space set (as disclosed in Oh) into Sogabe as a way of enabling the UE to monitor a PDCCH candidates at a PDCCH monitoring occasion (please see paragraph [0227] of Oh). Therefore, a UE provided with a search space ID, may perform contention-based random access procedure (please see paragraph [0229] of Oh).
The combination of Sogabe and Oh do not clearly teach encode the first downlink control information in the first common search space set based at least in part on the first common search space set being configured in accordance with the confirmatory rule;
and transmit the encoded first downlink control information.
Si teaches encode the first downlink control information in the first common search space set based at least in part on the first common search space set being configured in accordance with the confirmatory rule (see paragraph [0305], the MIB in the payload of the PBCH includes a field containing the Type0-PDCCH CSS set is jointly coded with a first RB of the SS/PBCH block using 4bits);
and transmit the encoded first downlink control information (paragraph [0006] disclose encoding the configured content of the PBCH in a SS/PBCH block and transmitting the SS/PBCH block over the downlink channels).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the multiplexing of SS/PBCH block with a CORESET#0 (as disclosed in Si) into both Sogabe and Oh as a way of achieving an operation with shared spectrum channel access (please see paragraph [0304] of Si).
6. Claims 7, 28 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang (US PG Pub. No. 2022/0240160) in view of Moon.
As per claim 7:
Jang teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) (see Figure 19, UE), comprising:
one or more processors (see Figure 19, UE processor 19-05);
memory coupled with the one or more processors (paragraph [0436] disclose transmitter 19-10, memory and processor 1905 may be implemented in the form of a single chip);
and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus (paragraph [0439], disclose memory may store program and data required for the operation of the UE. Paragraph [0440] disclose processor 19-05 executing the program stored in the memory) to:
transmit a capability indication comprising a first indication (see Figure 18, step 1800, paragraph [0430], BS receiving UE capability related to PDCCH repetition transmission (at least one or part of PDCCH repetition transmission scheme)) and a second indication (see paragraph [0141], disclose UE capability 3 can be reported to the BS), wherein the first indication specifies that the UE supports repetition of a downlink control channel (see Figure 18, step 1800, paragraph [0430], BS receiving UE capability related to PDCCH repetition transmission (at least one or part of PDCCH repetition transmission scheme)) that includes downlink control information (paragraph [0081], discloses DCI may be transmitted through a PDCCH) associated with a random access procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), scheduling of system information (paragraph [0066] for example disclose DCI for scheduling an SIB can be transmitted from an MIB of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH)), a paging procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), or a combination thereof (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), and wherein the second indication specifies whether the UE supports inter-slot repetition (see paragraph [0141], table 13, disclose UE may report capability such as index 3-5b. For index 3-5b, any two different PDCCH monitoring occasions belong to different spans and the span pattern repeats in every slot), intra-slot-repetition (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), or both (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record) for the downlink control channel that includes downlink control information associated with the random access procedure (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), the scheduling of system information (see paragraph [0141], table 13, for capability with index 3-5b, for the set of monitoring occasions which are within the same span: processing one unicast DCI scheduling DL and one unicast DCI scheduling UL per scheduled component carrier (CC) across this set of monitoring occasions for FDD) or the paging procedure (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record);
receive, based at least in part on transmitting the capability indication, an indication that a first common search space set and a second common search space set are linked for the repetition of the downlink control channel (see Figure 18, steps 801, 802, paragraph [0431], thereafter, the BS transmits first configuration information for a PDCCH to the UE in step 801. The first configuration information may include control resource set configuration and search space configuration information. One or more search spaces may be configured based on the first configuration information. The UE receives second configuration information for PDCCH repetition transmission in step 1802. The second configuration may include repeated transmission method, a PDCCH monitoring occasion in which repeated transmission is assumed, whether a connection (linkage or association) between repeated transmissions can be identified. Note: Paragraph [0096] disclose said search space may be classified into common search space and UE-specific search space) that includes downlink control information (as explained earlier in paragraph [0081], DCI may be transmitted through a PDCCH) associated with the random access procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), the scheduling of system information (paragraph [0066] for example disclose DCI for scheduling an SIB can be transmitted from an MIB of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH)), or the paging procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art);
monitor the first common search space set and the second common search space set for the downlink control information based at least in part on the indication (see Figure 17, step 1704, paragraph [0428], the UE having received the configuration, identifies that transmission is performed using a plurality of control resource sets and search spaces for which repeated transmission is configured in step 1704. A linkage between one or more PDCCH candidates of a first search space and one or more PDCCH candidates of a second search space may be identified based on the configuration information).
Jang does not teach and decode the downlink control information using at least one of a first physical downlink control channel candidate of the first common search space set or a second physical downlink control channel candidate of the second common search space set, where the first physical downlink control channel candidate is linked with the second physical downlink control channel candidate.
Moon teaches decode the downlink control information using at least one of a first physical downlink control channel candidate of the first common search space set or a second physical downlink control channel candidate of the second common search space set (see paragraph [0142], the terminal may receive configuration information of the first and second search space sets from the base station. The first and second search space sets may be associated with each other and may correspond to first and second PDCCH respectively, please see paragraph [0143]. Also, information of the association between the first and second search space sets may be received from the base station via signaling such as RRC, MAC CE and/or DCI signaling, please see paragraph [0143] and thus linked search space sets. Last sentence of paragraph [0146] also disclose, the first and second search space sets associated with each other may be CSS sets. Paragraph [0156] also disclose the terminal may perform blind decoding operation on PDCCH candidates belonging to the mapped search space sets. Note: Examiner is reading said mapping of the search space sets as said confirmatory rule), where the first physical downlink control channel candidate is linked with the second physical downlink control channel candidate (as explained earlier in paragraph [0156], the terminal may perform blind decoding operation on PDCCH candidates belonging to the mapped search space sets).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the linking/association of search space sets (as disclosed in Moon) into Jang as a way of enabling the terminal to monitor PDCCHs repeatedly transmitted in the search space sets associated with each other (please see paragraph [0134] of Moon).
As per claim 28:
Jang teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a base station (see Figure 20, paragraph [0442], BS), comprising:
a processor (see Figure 20, processor 20-05);
memory coupled with the processor (paragraph [0442], disclose transceiver 20-10, memory and processor 20-5 may be implemented in the form of a single chip);
and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus (445] disclose memory for storing program and data. Paragraph [0446] disclose processor executing the program stored in the memory) to:
receive, from a user equipment (UE), a capability indication comprising a first indication (see Figure 18, step 1800, paragraph [0430], BS receiving UE capability related to PDCCH repetition transmission (at least one or part of PDCCH repetition transmission scheme)) and a second indication (see paragraph [0141], disclose UE capability 3 can be reported to the BS), wherein the first indication specifies that the UE supports repetition of a downlink control channel (see Figure 18, step 1800, paragraph [0430], BS receiving UE capability related to PDCCH repetition transmission (at least one or part of PDCCH repetition transmission scheme)) that includes downlink control information (paragraph [0081], discloses DCI may be transmitted through a PDCCH) associated with a random access procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), scheduling of system information (paragraph [0066] for example disclose DCI for scheduling an SIB can be transmitted from an MIB of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH)), a paging procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), or a combination thereof (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), and wherein the second indication specifies whether the UE supports inter-slot repetition (see paragraph [0141], table 13, disclose UE may report capability such as index 3-5b. For index 3-5b, any two different PDCCH monitoring occasions belong to different spans and the span pattern repeats in every slot), intra-slot-repetition (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), or both (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record) for the downlink control channel that includes downlink control information associated with the random access procedure (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), the scheduling of system information (see paragraph [0141], table 13, for capability with index 3-5b, for the set of monitoring occasions which are within the same span: processing one unicast DCI scheduling DL and one unicast DCI scheduling UL per scheduled component carrier (CC) across this set of monitoring occasions for FDD) or the paging procedure (Note: limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record);
transmit, to the user equipment based at least in part on receiving the capability indication, an indication that a first common search space set and a second common search space set are linked for the repetition of the downlink control channel (see Figure 18, steps 801, 802, paragraph [0431], thereafter, the BS transmits first configuration information for a PDCCH to the UE in step 801. The first configuration information may include control resource set configuration and search space configuration information. One or more search spaces may be configured based on the first configuration information. The UE receives second configuration information for PDCCH repetition transmission in step 1802. The second configuration may include repeated transmission method, a PDCCH monitoring occasion in which repeated transmission is assumed, whether a connection (linkage or association) between repeate4d transmissions can be identified. Note: Paragraph [0096] disclose said search space may be classified into common search space and UE-specific search space) that includes downlink control information (as explained earlier in paragraph [0081], DCI may be transmitted through a PDCCH) associated with the random access procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), the scheduling of system information (paragraph [0066] for example disclose DCI for scheduling an SIB can be transmitted from an MIB of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH)), or the paging procedure (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art).
Jang does not teach encode the downlink control information in a first downlink control channel candidate and a second downlink control channel candidate that is linked to the first downlink control channel candidate based at least in part on the indication;
and transmit, to the UE, the encoded downlink control information in the first common search space set that includes the first downlink control channel candidate and in the second common search space set that includes the second downlink control channel candidate.
Moon teaches encode the downlink control information in a first downlink control channel candidate and a second downlink control channel candidate that is linked to the first downlink control channel candidate based at least in part on the indication (see paragraph [0103], disclose channel coding and resource mapping may be applied to the PDCCH and DCIs in the configured search spaces prior to transmission to the terminal);
and transmit, to the UE, the encoded downlink control information in the first common search space set that includes the first downlink control channel candidate and in the second common search space set that includes the second downlink control channel candidate (see paragraph [0103], as explained earlier, channel coding and resource mapping may be applied to the PDCCH and DCIs in the configured search spaces prior to transmission to the terminal).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the linking/association of search space sets (as disclosed in Moon) into Jang as a way of enabling the terminal to monitor PDCCHs repeatedly transmitted in the search space sets associated with each other (please see paragraph [0134] of Moon).
As per claim 30:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 28.
Jang does not teach wherein the instructions to transmit the indication are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit a control message that indicates that both the first common search space set and the second common search space set are linked and are to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure.
Moon teaches wherein the instructions to transmit the indication are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit a control message that indicates that both the first common search space set and the second common search space set are linked (see paragraph [0143], disclose terminal receiving signaling of the association or linking of the search space sets or PDCCH candidates. Paragraph [0146] disclose the search spaces are common search spaces) and are to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure (see paragraph [0156], the UE monitoring the search space sets sequentially mapped based on IDs of the search space sets when scheduling DCI is transmitted).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the linking/association of search space sets (as disclosed in Moon) into Jang as a way of enabling the terminal to monitor PDCCHs repeatedly transmitted in the search space sets associated with each other (please see paragraph [0134] of Moon).
7. Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi in view of Sogabe in view of Oh and further in view of He (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0292267).
As per claim 2:
Sogabe in view of Oh teaches the apparatus of claim 1 with the exception of
wherein the confirmatory rule is that a type 0, type 0a, type 1, or type 2 common search space set is not to be linked to another search space set.
He teaches wherein the confirmatory rule is that a type 0, type 0a, type 1, or type 2 common search space set is not to be linked to another search space set (see paragraphs [0042], disclose current SSB in a given grid offset is not associated with RMSI or Type0-PDCCH common search space).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the introduction of RMSI presence flag information (as disclosed in He) into Sogabe and Oh as a way of indicating whether or not the current SSB is associated with either RMSI or Type0-PDCCH common search space (please see paragraph [0043] of He).
8. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi in view of Sogabe in view of Oh and further in view of Si and He (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0292267).
As per claim 5:
Sogabe in view of Oh and further in view of Si teaches the apparatus of claim 4 with the exception of
wherein the confirmatory rule is that a type 0, type 0a, type 1, or type 2 common search space set is not to be linked to another search space set.
He teaches wherein the confirmatory rule is that a type 0, type 0a, type 1, or type 2 common search space set is not to be linked to another search space set (see paragraphs [0042], disclose current SSB in a given grid offset is not associated with RMSI or Type0-PDCCH common search space).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the introduction of RMSI presence flag information (as disclosed in He) into Sogabe, Oh and Si as a way of indicating whether or not the current SSB is associated with either RMSI or Type0-PDCCH common search space (please see paragraph [0043] of He).
9. Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Yi (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0232421).
As per claim 8:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 7 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions to receive the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive a first control message that includes a configuration that links, for repetition, the first common search space set with the second common search space set; and receive a second control message that indicates that the first common search space set is to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure.
Yi teaches wherein the instructions to receive the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive a first control message that includes a configuration that links, for repetition, the first common search space set with the second common search space set (see paragraph [0274], receiving first DCI formats, the DCIs scheduled via CSS and/or USS. The base station may enable control channel repetition applied for the one or more DCI formats); and receive a second control message that indicates that the first common search space set is to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure (see paragraph [0274], base station may also configure second parameters for the second control channel repetition (e.g. via pdcch-config). A wireless device may apply the control channel repetition for one or more DCI formats associated with the CSSs, please see paragraph [0275]. The pddch-config may comprise search space for paging (i.e. pagingSearchSpace), please see paragraph [0225]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the pdcch-ConfigCommon (as disclosed in Yi) into both Jang and Moon as a way of configuring a search space for either paging or system information blocks (please see paragraph [0225] of Yi).
As per claim 9:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 7 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions to receive the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive a control message that indicates that both the first common search space set and the second common search space set are linked and are to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure.
Yi teaches wherein the instructions to receive the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive a control message that indicates that both the first common search space set and the second common search space set are linked and are to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure (see paragraph [0274], receiving first DCI formats, the DCIs scheduled via CSS and/or USS. The base station may enable control channel repetition applied for the one or more DCI formats. see paragraph [0274], base station may also configure second parameters for the second control channel repetition (e.g., via pdcch-config). A wireless device may apply the control channel repetition for one or more DCI formats associated with the CSSs, please see paragraph [0275]. The pddch-config may comprise search space for paging (i.e. pagingSearchSpace), please see paragraph [0225]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the pdcch-ConfigCommon (as disclosed in Yi) into both Jang and Moon as a way of configuring a search space for either paging or system information blocks (please see paragraph [0225] of Yi).
10. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Yi and Zhou (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0337288).
As per claim 10:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Yi teaches the apparatus of claim 9 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions to receive the control message are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive a common physical downlink control channel configuration message that indicates that both a first index associated with the first common search space set and a second index associated with the second common search space set correspond to a same common search space set type.
Zhou teaches wherein the instructions to receive the control message (see paragraph [0336], the wireless device receive from the base station one or more RRC messages (e.g., MIB(s), SIB1(s), etc. Note: Examiner is reading said RRC messages as said control message) are executable by the one or more processors (see Figure 15, wireless device 1502 comprising processing system 1518) to cause the apparatus to:
receive a common physical downlink control channel configuration message (see paragraph [0336], the one or more RRC messages comprise PDCCH configuration parameters. Note: Examiner is reading said PDCCH configuration parameters as said common physical downlink control channel configuration message) that indicates that both a first index associated with the first common search space set and a second index associated with the second common search space set correspond to a same common search space set type (paragraphs [0336]-[0337], disclose said PDCCH configuration parameters indicates one or more type1-PDCCH common SS. As shown in figure 37A, “PDCCH configuration parameters” indicate said “one or more type1 PDCCH CSSs. Note: Examiner is reading said “one or more type 1 PDCCH CSSs” as said first and second index respectively since they indicate CSSs of the same type1).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the PDCCH configuration parameters (as disclosed in Zhou) into Jang, Moon and Yi as a way of enabling a wireless device to select the corresponding type1 PDCCH CSS from the one or more type1-PDCCH CSSs for monitoring PDCCH for receiving a DCI (please see paragraphs [0338]-[0339] of Zhou).
11. Claims 11-14, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic (US PG Pub. No. 2013/0089048).
As per claim 11:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 7 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
determine a number of downlink control channel candidates for the first common search space set and the second common search space set for a control channel element aggregation level of a set of control channel element aggregation levels, wherein the UE monitors the first common search space set and the second common search space set based at least in part on the determined number of downlink control channel candidates.
Damnjanovic teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
determine a number of downlink control channel candidates for the first common search space set and the second common search space set (see figure 11, paragraphs [0079]-[0081], disclose three independent PDCCH, each associated with common search space) for a control channel element aggregation level of a set of control channel element aggregation levels, wherein the UE monitors the first common search space set and the second common search space set based at least in part on the determined number of downlink control channel candidates (see paragraphs [0081]-[0082], the UE can monitor search space based on the common aggregation level of the PDCCH candidates).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the aggregation levels for the respective PDCCH region (as disclosed in Damnjanovic) into Jang and Moon as a way of decoding a portion of the PDCCH candidates (please see paragraph [0082] of Damnjanovic).
As per claim 12:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic teaches the apparatus of claim 11.
Jang and Moon do not teach wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level;
and assign the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set.
Damnjanovic teaches wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level (see paragraph [0081], table 1, shows the search type (e.g., common) associated with the aggregation level, size of CCEs of entire search space and the number of PDCCH candidates);
and assign the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set (see paragraph [0082] only a number of PDCCH candidates in a single control region for the search space are decoded).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the aggregation levels for the respective PDCCH region (as disclosed in Damnjanovic) into Jang and Moon as a way of decoding a portion of the PDCCH candidates (please see paragraph [0082] of Damnjanovic).
As per claim 13:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic teaches the apparatus of claim 11.
Jang and Moon do not teach wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level;
and assign a half of the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set.
Damnjanovic teaches wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level (see paragraph [0081], table 1, shows the search type (e.g., common) associated with the aggregation level, size of CCEs of entire search space and the number of PDCCH candidates);
and assign a half of the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set (paragraph [0082], by splitting the control region into two, one in the base transmission bandwidth and the other in the extended transmission bandwidth, only half the number of PDCCH candidates needs to be decoded in each control region).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the aggregation levels for the respective PDCCH region (as disclosed in Damnjanovic) into Jang and Moon as a way of decoding a portion of the PDCCH candidates (please see paragraph [0082] of Damnjanovic).
As per claim 14:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic teaches the apparatus of claim 11.
Jang and Moon do not teach wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level;
and assign the number of downlink control channel candidates common search space set and the second common search space set based at least in part on whether the first common search space set and the second common search space set are positioned within a same transmission time interval.
Damnjanovic teaches wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level (see paragraph [0081], table 1, shows the search type (e.g., common) associated with the aggregation level, size of CCEs of entire search space and the number of PDCCH candidates);
and assign the number of downlink control channel candidates common search space set and the second common search space set based at least in part on whether the first common search space set and the second common search space set are positioned within a same transmission time interval (see paragraph [0082], the UE may be able to monitor a set of PDCCH candidates in every subframe in a specific search space).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the aggregation levels for the respective PDCCH region (as disclosed in Damnjanovic) into Jang and Moon as a way of decoding a portion of the PDCCH candidates (please see paragraph [0082] of Damnjanovic).
As per claim 18:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic teaches the apparatus of claim 11.
Jang and Moon do not teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
determine a total number of downlink control channel candidates by determining the number for each control channel element aggregation level of the set of control channel element aggregation levels.
Damnjanovic teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
determine a total number of downlink control channel candidates by determining the number for each control channel element aggregation level of the set of control channel element aggregation levels (see table 1, paragraph [0082], the number of PDCCH candidates can be determined based on the aggregation level).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the aggregation levels for the respective PDCCH region (as disclosed in Damnjanovic) into Jang and Moon as a way of decoding a portion of the PDCCH candidates (please see paragraph [0082] of Damnjanovic).
12. Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic and Ihm (US PG Pub. No. 2014/0348092).
As per claim 15:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic teaches the apparatus of claim 14 with the exception of:
wherein:
the UE assigns half of the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set when the first common search space set and the second common search space set are positioned within the same transmission time interval, or;
and the UE assigns the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set when the first common search space set and the second common search space set are positioned within separate transmission time intervals.
Ihm teaches the UE assigns half of the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set when the first common search space set and the second common search space set are positioned within the same transmission time interval (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), or;
and the UE assigns the number of downlink control channel candidates to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set when the first common search space set and the second common search space set are positioned within separate transmission time intervals (see paragraphs [0137]-[0140], within a subframe, UE may monitor first CSS for a PDCCH CRC scrambled with some RNTIs and search for the second CSS 106 in another E-PDCCH CRC scrambled with the remaining RNTIs. Also, as shown in figures 10 and 11, first and second CSSs are in different slots (i.e. 1st and 2nd slots respectively).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the association of PDCCH to different search spaces (as disclosed in Ihm) into Jang, Moon and Damnjanovic as a way of supporting different transmission services such as RA-RNTI, TPC_PUCCH-RNTI (please see paragraph [0138] of Ihm).
13. Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic and Kim (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0070761).
As per claim 16:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic teaches the apparatus of claim 11 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level based at least in part on the first common search space set or the second common search space set having an index of zero.
Kim teaches wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
identify a mapping between the control channel element aggregation level and the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level based at least in part on the first common search space set or the second common search space set having an index of zero (see paragraph [0103], for all SS sets in slot n, 0<=i<lcss denotes the number of PDCCH candidates counted for monitoring the CSS set).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the teachings of Kim into Jang, NPL and Damnjanovic. The motivation for doing so would be to transmission and reception efficiency since a number of PDCCH candidates configured in the slot is skipped when performing reception monitoring (please see paragraphs [0015]-[0016] of Kim).
14. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic and Seo (US PG Pub. No. 2022/0369354).
As per claim 17:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Damnjanovic teaches the apparatus of claim 11 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level based at least in part on a search space set configuration corresponding to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set.
Seo teaches wherein the instructions to determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
determine the number of downlink control channel candidates for the control channel element aggregation level based at least in part on a search space set configuration corresponding to both the first common search space set and the second common search space set (see paragraph [0130], disclose the number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level and whether the search space set is either CSS or USS).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the teachings of Seo into Jang, Moon and Damnjanovic. The motivation for doing so would be to minimize the search space occasion to be monitored (please see paragraph [0131] of Seo).
15. Claims 24 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Jang and Jang (US PG Pub. No. 2022/0240160), hereinafter referred to as Jang’160
As per claim 24:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Jang teaches the apparatus of claim 7. The combination of Jang, Moon and Jang do not teach wherein the instructions to transmit the capability indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
transmit the indication of support per radio network temporary identifier type, transmitting the indication of support of linkage of search space sets with search space set zero, transmitting the indication of support of inter-slot linkage, transmitting the indication of support of intra-slot linkage, transmitting the indication of support for UE-specific search space set linkage, transmitting the indication of support for type 3 search space set linkage, or a combination thereof.
Jang’160 teaches wherein the instructions to transmit the capability indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
transmit the indication of support per radio network temporary identifier type (Note: Limitation is recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), transmitting the indication of support of linkage of search space sets with search space set zero (Note: Limitation is recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), transmitting the indication of support of inter-slot linkage (Note: Limitation is recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), transmitting the indication of support of intra-slot linkage (Note: Limitation is recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), transmitting the indication of support for UE-specific search space set linkage (see paragraph [0037], the terminal may report terminal capability for linked SS sets/connected PDCCH candidates. Note: The search spaces could be either common search spaces or UE-specific search spaces, please see paragraph [0412]), transmitting the indication of support for type 3 search space set linkage (Note: Limitation is recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art), or a combination thereof (Note: Limitation is recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the transmission of UE capability information (as disclosed in Jang’160) into Jang, Moon and Jang as a way of enabling the UE to receive configuration information for a PDCCH from the base station (please see paragraph [0425] of Jang’160).
As per claim 26:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Jang teaches the apparatus of claim 7.
The combination of Jang, Moon and Jang do not teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive, based at least in part on transmitting the capability indication, a first control message that includes a configuration that links, for repetition, the first common search space set with the second common search space set.
Jang’160 teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive, based at least in part on transmitting the capability indication, a first control message that includes a configuration that links, for repetition, the first common search space set with the second common search space set (see figure 17, step 1700 and paragraph [0424], the UE reports UE capability related to PDCCH repetition to a BS. The UE capability information may include maximum number of linked search spaces. Thereafter, the UE receives first configuration information for a PDCCH from the BS in step 1701, please see paragraph [0425]. The first configuration information includes search space configuration information (e.g., search space list configured for a PDCCH. The UE also receives a second configuration information for PDCCH repetition transmission in step 1702, please see paragraph [0426]. Paragraph [0428] explicitly states: “The UE, having received the configuration information, identifies that transmission is performed using a plurality of control resource sets and search spaces for which repeated transmission is configured in step 1704. A linkage between one or more PDCCH candidates of a first search space (search space set) and one or more PDCCH candidates of a second search space (search space set) may be identified based on the configuration information”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the transmission of UE capability information (as disclosed in Jang’160) into Jang, Moon and Jang as a way of enabling the UE to receive configuration information for a PDCCH from the base station (please see paragraph [0425] of Jang’160).
16. Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Chen (US PG Pub. No. 2022/0053470).
As per claim 27:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 7 with the exception of:
wherein both the first common search Space set and the second common search space set are type 0 common search space sets associated with a system information radio network temporary identifier, a type OA common search space sets associated with the system information radio network temporary identifier, type 1 common search space sets associated a random access radio network temporary identifier, a MsgB radio network temporary identifier, or a temporary cell rando network temporary identifier, or a type 2 common search space sets associated with a paging radio network temporary identifier.
Chen teaches wherein both the first common search Space set and the second common search space set are type 0 common search space sets associated with a system information radio network temporary identifier, a type OA common search space sets associated with the system information radio network temporary identifier, type 1 common search space sets associated a random access radio network temporary identifier, a MsgB radio network temporary identifier, or a temporary cell rando network temporary identifier, or a type 2 common search space sets associated with a paging radio network temporary identifier (paragraph [0181], explicitly states: “For example, when the type of first SS set is the type 2, the second SS set is also an SS set of the type 2, and a size of DCI corresponding to the power saving signal may be the same as the size of the DCI that corresponds to a DCI format 1_0 and that is scrambled using a paging radio network temporary identifier (paging radio network temporary identifier, P-RNTI)”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the configuration of control channel candidates corresponding to different types of search spaces (as disclosed in Chen) into Jang and Moon as a way of ensuring that the terminal monitors all the search space sets in a slot (please see paragraph [0217] of Chen).
17. Claims 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Liu (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0224865).
As per claim 19:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 7 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive an indication that the first common search space set has an index of zero; receive an indication of a first configuration for the first common search Space set in accordance with the first common search space set having the index of zero; and receive in indication of a second configuration for the second common search space set that corresponds to the first configuration.
Liu teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive an indication that the first common search space set has an index of zero (see paragraph [0167], UE may receive from the base station a first information related to a CORESET and a first search space set. The first information may be further separated into two parts (e.g. controlResourceSetZero and searchSpaceZero));
receive an indication of a first configuration for the first common search Space set in accordance with the first common search space set having the index of zero (see paragraph [0167], additionally, UE may receive from the base station RRC parameter indication the first information);
and receive in indication of a second configuration for the second common search space set that corresponds to the first configuration (see paragraph [0247], based on the received first information, the UE may determine a first CORESET (or a first set of one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions in the first CORESET) for the first search set of PDCCH monitoring. The first CORESET for the first search space set has CORESET index 0 and the first search space set (the Type0-PDCCH CSS set) has a search space set index 0. The first information corresponds to searchSpaceZero while the second information corresponds to controlResourceSetZero. Figure 6 also for a number of search spaces per slot (such as 2) the first symbol index is 0 for even numbers. Thus, there could be more than one CSS with index 0).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the first information indicating the search space and resource set (as disclosed in Liu) into both Jang and Moon as a way of enabling the UE to determine the CORESET for the first search space set for PDCCH monitoring in terms of the time domain and the frequency domain (please see paragraph [0168] of Liu).
As per claim 20:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 7 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive an indication that the first common search space set has an index of zero, wherein the first common search space set is associated with one or more first monitoring occasions;
and monitor one or more second monitoring occasions of the second common search space set that map to the one or more first monitoring occasions of the first common search space set based in accordance with the first common search space set having the index of zero.
Liu teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive an indication that the first common search space set has an index of zero (see paragraph [0167], UE may receive from the base station a first information related to a CORESET and a first search space set. The first information may be further separated into two parts (e.g. controlResourceSetZero and searchSpaceZero)), wherein the first common search space set is associated with one or more first monitoring occasions (see paragraph [0247], based on the received first information, the UE may determine a first CORESET (or a first set of one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions in the first CORESET) for the first search set of PDCCH monitoring. The first CORESET for the first search space set has CORESET index 0 and the first search space set (the Type0-PDCCH CSS set) has a search space set index 0. The first information corresponds to searchSpaceZero while the second information corresponds to controlResourceSetZero. Figure 6 also for a number of search spaces per slot (such as 2) the first symbol index is 0 for even numbers. Thus, there could be more than one CSS with index 0);
and monitor one or more second monitoring occasions of the second common search space set that map to the one or more first monitoring occasions of the first common search space set based in accordance with the first common search space set having the index of zero (see paragraph [0247], the UE in response to receiving the first information may monitor the search space with index 0 corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring occasions. Figures 6-7 shows there could be multiple search spaces with symbol index 0 if M is even).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the first information indicating the search space and resource set (as disclosed in Liu) into both Jang and Moon as a way of enabling the UE to determine the CORESET for the first search space set for PDCCH monitoring in terms of the time domain and the frequency domain (please see paragraph [0168] of Liu).
18. Claims 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Liu and Huang (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0354371).
As per claim 21:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Liu teaches the apparatus of claim 20 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: refrain from monitoring a second monitoring occasion of the second common search space set that does not map to any of the one or more first monitoring occasions of the first common search space set.
Huang teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: refrain from monitoring a second monitoring occasion of the second common search space set that does not map to any of the one or more first monitoring occasions of the first common search space set (see paragraph [0242], the terminal may skip PDCCH monitoring on some monitoring occasions (or not to perform PDCCH monitoring on monitoring occasions outside a first monitoring range) in response to receiving the first indication as a way of reducing power consumption. A “0” indicates that PDCCH monitoring is not performed on some monitoring occasions (or PDCCH monitoring is not performed on the monitoring occasions outside the first monitoring range)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the monitoring of some PDCCH occasions in configured search spaces (as disclosed in Huang) into Jang, Moon and Liu as a way of reducing power consumption since monitoring in within a given range (please see paragraph [0242] of Huang).
As per claim 22:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Liu teaches the apparatus of claim 20 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine that the one or more second monitoring occasions of the second common search space set map to the one or more first monitoring occasion of the first common search space set in accordance with the first common search space set and the second common search space set being positioned within a same slot or within consecutive slots, a first quantity of the one or more first monitoring occasions relative to a second quantity of the monitoring occasions of the second common search space set, or a combination thereof (see paragraph [0276], in a process in which the terminal performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set group 0, the terminal performs PDCCH monitoring on the monitoring occasion corresponding to the SS set 1. For an SS set 2, when a monitoring occasion corresponding to the SS set 2 and the monitoring occasion corresponding to the SS set 1 are located in a same slot, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the monitoring occasion corresponding to the SS set 2).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the monitoring of some PDCCH occasions in configured search spaces (as disclosed in Huang) into Jang, Moon and Liu as a way of reducing power consumption since monitoring in within a given range (please see paragraph [0242] of Huang).
19. Claim 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Liu (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0371022), hereinafter referred to as Liu’022.
As per claim 29:
Jang in view of Moon teaches the apparatus of claim 28.
Jang does not teach wherein the instructions to transmit the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a first control message that includes a configuration that links, for repetition, the first common search space set with the second common search space set;
Moon teaches wherein the instructions to transmit the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a first control message that includes a configuration that links, for repetition, the first common search space set with the second common search space set (see paragraph [0143], information of the association between the first and second search space sets may be received from the base station via signaling such as RRC, MAC CE and/or DCI signaling, and thus linked search space sets. Last sentence of paragraph [0146] also disclose, the first and second search space sets associated with each other may be CSS sets).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the linking/association of search space sets (as disclosed in Moon) into Jang as a way of enabling the terminal to monitor PDCCHs repeatedly transmitted in the search space sets associated with each other (please see paragraph [0134] of Moon).
The combination of Jang and Moon do not teach and transmit a second control message that indicates that the first common search space set is to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure.
Liu’022 teaches and transmit a second control message that indicates that the first common search space set is to be monitored for the downlink control channel based at least in part on the downlink control information being associated with one of the random access procedure, the scheduling of system information, or the paging procedure (see paragraph [0185], the UE may be provided with more than one maximum number of PDCCH repetition by the second information. The UE may further determine, based on a received RRC parameter, which one of the more than one maximum numbers of PDCCH repetition is applied to the PDCCH repetitions for the first search space set. Paragraph [0131] disclose a type1-PDCCH CSS set configured by a random access SearchSpace in PDCCH-ConfigCommon for a DCI format with CRC scrambled by a RA-RNTI).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the second information (as disclosed in Liu’022) into Jang and Moon as a way of enabling the UE to monitor a number of PDCCH repetitions within the search space set (please see paragraph [0182] of Liu’022).
20. Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Jang and Li (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0354369).
As per claim 25:
Jang in view of Moon and further in view of Jang teaches the apparatus of claim 23 with the exception of:
wherein the instructions to transmit the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: transmit a separate indication specifying support for each of type 0, type 0A, type 1, and type 2 downlink control channel common search space set linkage.
Li teaches wherein the instructions to transmit the indication are executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: transmit a separate indication (see paragraph [0234], after determining the PDCCH capability, the UE may send the PDCCH monitoring capability to the network-side device. See paragraphs [0230]-[0231], the PDCCH monitoring capability includes any one or a combination of (1) a monitoring occasion is only on a predetermined slot of a radio frame, a radio subframe, or a slot group or (2) a monitoring occasion is on any slot of a radio frame, a radio subframe or a slot group) specifying support for each of type 0, type 0A, type 1, and type 2 downlink control channel common search space set linkage (see paragraphs [0268]-[0270], said monitoring occasion is related to a second preset case as a condition for all search space or a condition for type 0, type 0A, type 2 common search space and type 1 with non-dedicated RRC configuration).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the UE PDCCH monitoring capability including said monitoring occasion (as disclosed in Li) into Jang, Moon and Jang as a way of enabling the network side to determine on which slots the UE performs monitoring on the PDCCH (please see paragraph [0254] of Li). Therefore, compared with the related art in which the PDCCH monitoring capability is mechanically defined according to granularity of per slot or per span, complexity of PDCCH monitoring implemented by the UE may be effectively reduced, thereby significantly improving communication efficiency and reducing energy consumption of the UE (please see paragraph [0333] of Li).
Conclusion
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PRINCE AKWASI. MENSAH
Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/PRINCE A MENSAH/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/Michael Thier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474