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 .
Response to Amendment
Amendments filed on 03/23/2026 are entered. The amendments change the scopes of the previously presented claims. New grounds of rejections are applied to the currently amended claims and the current Office Action is made FINAL as necessitated by the claim amendments.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 8, 13, 15-16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 8, 13, 15-16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yin (US 2022/0377750) in view of Chatterjee (US 2024/0023117 A1).
Yin discloses the following features.
Regarding claim 1, a method for processing uplink transmission (see “uplink channel” recited in paragraph [0203]), comprising:
determining, by a communication device (see UE 102 in Fig. 1), that an uplink transmission of a first priority and an uplink transmission of a second priority overlap in a time domain, and the first priority being higher than the second priority (see Fig. 17 showing overlap of high-priority channel 1702 and low-priority channel 1704), wherein the uplink transmission is a PUCCH transmission (see “determine that a transmission of a first uplink channel with high-priority overlaps in time with a transmission of a second uplink channel with low-priority, where the uplink channel may be a PUCCH…” recited in paragraph [0203]);
determining, by the communication device, a time point, wherein the time point is a start time point of a start position of resource of the uplink transmission of the first priority (see Fig. 17 and paragraph [0170], which recites “In example 17a, the high-priority channel 1702 starts at the same symbol as the low-priority channel 1704. In example 17b, the high-priority channel 1702 starts earlier than the low-priority channel 1704”, during which the start of the high-priority channel is determined); and
wherein after canceling the uplink transmission of the second priority, the uplink transmission of the first priority does not overlap with the uplink transmission of the second priority in the time domain (see Fig. 17b, wherein the low-priority channel 1704 is canceled and therefore does not overlap with the high-priority channel 1702).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the communication device is a terminal (see UE 102 in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13, wherein the communication device is a base station (see “In one example, a base station (gNB), comprises: a higher layer processor configured to determine that a transmission of a first uplink channel with high-priority overlaps in time with a transmission of a second uplink channel with low-priority, where the uplink channel may be a PUCCH or a PUSCH; the higher layer processor configured to drop the second uplink channel with low-priority; and receiving circuitry configured to receive the first uplink channel with high-priority” recited in paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 15, a communication device (see UE 102 in Fig. 1/UE 1302 in Fig. 13), comprising:
a processor; and
a memory configured to store instructions executable by the processor (see memory 1305 and processor 1303 in Fig. 13);
wherein the processor is configured to:
determine that an uplink transmission of a first priority and an uplink transmission of a second priority overlap in a time domain, and the first priority being higher than the second priority (see Fig. 17 showing overlap of high-priority channel 1702 and low-priority channel 1704), wherein the uplink transmission is a PUCCH transmission (see “determine that a transmission of a first uplink channel with high-priority overlaps in time with a transmission of a second uplink channel with low-priority, where the uplink channel may be a PUCCH…” recited in paragraph [0203]);
determine a time point, wherein the time point is a start time point of a start position of resource of the uplink transmission of the first priority (see Fig. 17 and paragraph [0170], which recites “In example 17a, the high-priority channel 1702 starts at the same symbol as the low-priority channel 1704. In example 17b, the high-priority channel 1702 starts earlier than the low-priority channel 1704”, during which the start of the high-priority channel is determined); and
wherein after canceling the uplink transmission of the second priority the uplink transmission of the first priority does not overlap with the uplink transmission of the second priority in the time domain (see Fig. 17b, wherein the low-priority channel 1704 is canceled and therefore does not overlap with the high-priority channel 1702).
Regarding claim 16, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor (see UE 1302 in Fig. 13 including memory 1305 and processor 1303), cause the processor to:
determine that an uplink transmission of a first priority and an uplink transmission of a second priority overlap in a time domain, and the first priority being higher than the second priority (see Fig. 17 showing overlap of high-priority channel 1702 and low-priority channel 1704), wherein the uplink transmission is a PUCCH transmission (see “determine that a transmission of a first uplink channel with high-priority overlaps in time with a transmission of a second uplink channel with low-priority, where the uplink channel may be a PUCCH…” recited in paragraph [0203]);
determine a time point, wherein the time point is a start time point of a start position of resource of the uplink transmission of the first priority (see Fig. 17 and paragraph [0170], which recites “In example 17a, the high-priority channel 1702 starts at the same symbol as the low-priority channel 1704. In example 17b, the high-priority channel 1702 starts earlier than the low-priority channel 1704”, during which the start of the high-priority channel is determined); and
wherein after canceling the uplink transmission of the second priority, the uplink transmission of the first priority does not overlap with the uplink transmission of the second priority in the time domain (see Fig. 17b, wherein the low-priority channel 1704 is canceled and therefore does not overlap with the high-priority channel 1702).
Regarding claim 18, wherein the communication device is a terminal (see UE 102 in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 20, wherein the communication device is a base station (see “In one example, a base station (gNB), comprises: a higher layer processor configured to determine that a transmission of a first uplink channel with high-priority overlaps in time with a transmission of a second uplink channel with low-priority, where the uplink channel may be a PUCCH or a PUSCH; the higher layer processor configured to drop the second uplink channel with low-priority; and receiving circuitry configured to receive the first uplink channel with high-priority” recited in paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 22, wherein the communication device is a terminal (see UE 102 in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 24, wherein the communication device is a base station (see “In one example, a base station (gNB), comprises: a higher layer processor configured to determine that a transmission of a first uplink channel with high-priority overlaps in time with a transmission of a second uplink channel with low-priority, where the uplink channel may be a PUCCH or a PUSCH; the higher layer processor configured to drop the second uplink channel with low-priority; and receiving circuitry configured to receive the first uplink channel with high-priority” recited in paragraph [0007]).
Yin does not disclose the following features: regarding claims 1 and 15-16, canceling, by the communication device, a repetition of the uplink transmission of the second priority before the time point in response to the repetition of the uplink transmission of the second priority overlapping in time with the uplink transmission of the first priority.
Chatterjee discloses the following features.
Regarding claims 1 and 15-16, canceling, by the communication device, a repetition of the uplink transmission of the second priority before the time point in response to the repetition of the uplink transmission of the second priority overlapping in time with the uplink transmission of the first priority (see “wherein: the first UL transmission is a first physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission; the second UL transmission is a repetition of a second PUCCH transmission or a PUSCH transmission; and the processing circuitry is configured to cancel the repetition before a first symbol that would overlap with the first PUCCH transmission” recited in claim 2, wherein “the first UL transmission having a larger priority index than the second UL transmission” as recited in claim 1).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the current application to modify the system of Yin using features, as taught by Chatterjee, in order to provide prioritization of different services (paragraph [0054] of Chatterjee) that includes separate overlap handling of PUCCH repetition (paragraph [0088] of Chatterjee).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 JUTAI KAO whose telephone number is (571)272-9719. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-17:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kwang Yao can be reached at (571)272-3182. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUTAI KAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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