DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to Amendment filed on 1/28/2026. Claims 1 and 20 have been amended. Claims 1, 3-4, 6-18, 20, and 22-24 remain pending in the application.
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
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/28/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 1/28/2026 has been entered.
Response to Remarks/Arguments
Applicant’s remarks/arguments (page 10-13), filed on 1/28/2026, with respect to the 103 rejections of
claims 1 and 20 have been fully considered but are moot because new ground of rejections using a newly introduced reference (YU et al.) are applied in the current rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103
(or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that
are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3-4, 6-8, 11-14, 16-18, 20, and 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable
over Chen et al. (US 2016/0261391 Al, hereinafter “Chen”) in view of Lee et al. (US 2022/0394702 Al, hereinafter “Lee”) and in further view of YE et al. (US 2021/0258104 Al, hereinafter “Ye”) and in further view of YU et al. (US 2022/0386329 Al, hereinafter “Yu”).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses:
A data transmission method, comprising (method may include receiving a data transmission, Chen: [0010]):
receiving, by a terminal device, first indication information from a network device, the first indication information being configured to determine a state of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback function corresponding to a first pre-configured resource, and the state of the HARQ feedback function comprising a disabled state or an enabled state (receiving an indication in a control channel that HARQ feedback for the data transmission is to be turned off. base station may make HARQ feedback operation determination based on a preconfigured state or based on an estimate of uplink channel conditions. HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration, Chen: [0011], [0082]-[0084]),
determining, by the terminal device, the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource based on the first indication information (UE may be configured to turn off HARQ feedback based on specific MCS scheduled for PDSCH. UE may be configured to determine to modify its HARQ feedback operations, Chen: [0084]-[0090]); and
in response to the state of the HARQ feedback function of the downlink SPS resource being the disabled state HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration. the UE 115-b evaluates a condition to determine whether HARQ feedback is to be turned off. HARQ feedback may be modified using a dynamic UE-specific indicator. For example, the base station may include an indicator in a control channel (such as in a PDCCH, uPDCCH, or EPDCCH). in response to HARQ feedback being turned off, performing no HARQ feedback to base station when receiving PDSCH transmission by PDCCH, Chen: [0084]-[0090]); and
in response to the state of the HARO feedback function of the downlink SPS resource being the enabled state, performing a HARO feedback to the network device (HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration. the HARQ feedback operation modification determination module 805 may evaluate channel or traffic conditions and autonomously determine that HARQ feedback operations are to be modified, Chen: [0115]-[0116]),
Chen does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the first pre-configured resource comprises one downlink pre-configured resource, the one downlink pre-configured resource comprises a downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resource;
which is for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data transmission on the downlink SPS resource activated by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling,
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
wherein the first pre-configured resource comprises one downlink pre-configured resource, the one downlink pre-configured resource comprises a downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resource (FIG. 15 shows an example of semi-static HARQ codebook for DL and SL. in case of semi-static HARQ codebook, bit position of SPS PDSCH reception is determined based on the position of the PDSCH time resource. DL SPS PDSCH reception, Lee: Fig. 15, [0225] [0228], [0230]-[0242]);
which is for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data transmission on the downlink SPS resource activated by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling (HARQ-ACK for PDSCH scheduled by PDCCH or for PDCCH indicating DL SPS release or for SPS PDSCH reception. HARQ-ACK for PDCCH scheduling SL grant or for configured grant for SL. HARQ-ACK for PDCCH scheduling SL grant. HARQ-ACK for SPS PDSCH reception, Lee: [0230]-[0240], [0242]-[0246]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen in view of Lee in order to further modify disabling HARQ feedback corresponding to PDSCH reception for downlink SPS resource and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data transmission on the downlink SPS resource activated by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Yet, Chen in view of Lee does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the first indication information is a first radio resource control (RRC) signaling for configuring the first pre-configured resource,
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ye teaches:
wherein the first indication information is a first radio resource control (RRC) signaling for configuring the first pre-configured resource (the RRC/MAC CE message 603 may indicate a starting time, an ending time, a duration of the HARQ feedback being enabled or disabled, Ye: [0096]-[0098]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen and Lee in view of Ye in order to further modify the first indication information as a first radio resource control (RRC) signaling for configuring the first pre-configured resource from the teachings of Ye.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because there are some proposals of HARQ optimization to increase throughput (Ye: [0092]).
Yet, Chen-Lee-Ye does not explicitly disclose:
so that the first RRC signaling is not only used to indicate the state of the HARO feedback function, but also used to configure the downlink SPS resource.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Yu teaches:
so that the first RRC signaling is not only used to indicate the state of the HARO feedback function, but also used to configure the downlink SPS resource (One HARQ state feedback opportunity in an uplink (UL) may need to cover both HARQ-less transmission(s) and regular HARQ transmission (s). A HARQ-less operation may exist for dynamic scheduling and SPS scheduling. To control the HARQ operation semi-statically, a radio resource control (RRC) signaling may be used where a UE is configured to perform the HARQ-less operation. In general, a HARQ-less operation may include feedback-less (no HARQ state feedback), ACK-only (no NACK feedback), and NACK-only (no ACK feedback) operations. To determine a HARQ process number (or called a HARQ process ID) for a DL SPS transmission, the network (NW) side may provide an RRC parameter, such as “nrofHARQ- Processes,” to define a range of HARQ process IDs for an SPS physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, Yu: [0007], [0032]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Lee-Ye in view of Yu in order to further modify the first RRC signaling that is not only used to indicate the state of the HARO feedback function but also used to configure the downlink SPS resource from the teachings of Yu.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because with an SPS transmission, periodic physical resources are provided to a configured UE in a certain time duration. SPS transmission(s) may be activated via a physical layer signaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)/physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)). For SPS transmission(s), the HARQ-less operation may be configured via the RRC, or may dynamically be indicated in an SPS activation phase (Yu: [0009]).
Regarding claim 3, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises (UE may be configured to turn off HARQ feedback based on specific MCS scheduled for PDSCH. UE may be configured to determine to modify its HARQ feedback operations, Chen: [0084], [0090]):
determining the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource being the disabled state, the downlink SPS resource corresponding to an HARQ process of a first type, and the HARQ process of the first type comprising an HARQ process in which an HARQ-ACK message feedback is not performed (base station may transmit to the device a HARQ feedback operation modification indicator, which may indicate that the device is to modify its HARQ feedback operation in accordance with the indicator. the HARQ feedback operation modification indicator may come in many forms. HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static specific configuration. base station may indicate that the device is to obtain an updated configuration which may disable HARQ feedback, Chen: [0115]); or
Regarding claim 4, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises (UE may be configured to turn off HARQ feedback based on specific MCS scheduled for PDSCH. UE may be configured to determine to modify its HARQ feedback operations, Chen: [0084], [0090]):
determining the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource being the disabled state, the first pre-configured resource determining an HARQ process of a first type, and the HARQ process of the first type comprising an HARQ process in which an HARQ-ACK message feedback is not performed (HARQ feedback turn off module may disable HARQ feedback operations by applying a semi-static configuration or by using a dynamic HARQ ON/OFF operation based on either explicit or implicit signaling from a base station. HARQ feedback turn off module may elect to disable HARQ feedback operations based on an autonomous decision of the HARQ feedback operation, Chen: [0117]); or
Regarding claim 6, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein a case in which the first indication information is configured to determine the state of the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises at least one of the following (UE may be configured to turn off HARQ feedback based on specific MCS scheduled for PDSCH. UE may be configured to determine to modify its HARQ feedback operations, Chen: [0084], [0090]):
a case in which the first indication information indicates that the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the pre-configured resource configured for the terminal device is the disabled state or the enabled state (HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration, Chen: [0115]);
Regarding claim 7, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen further discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises a first information field of configuration information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and the first information field is configured to determine the state of the HARQ feedback function (base station may make determination of HARQ feedback operation and transmit a HARQ feedback operation modification indicator to the UE based on a preconfigured state or based on an estimate of uplink channel conditions, Chen: [0089]).
Regarding claim 8, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises a second information field of configuration information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and
the second information field comprises at least one information field of the following: an information field of downlink data to uplink ACK feedback sequence, and an information field of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises a second information field of configuration information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource (BS may inform the UE of the resource pool. UE may use a pre-configured resource pool, Lee: [0114]-[0115]), and
the second information field comprises at least one information field of the following: an information field of downlink data to uplink ACK feedback sequence, and an information field of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource (UE will decide whether ACK sequence is transmitted or NACK sequence is transmitted by comparing correlation values for ACK sequence and NACK sequence. timing and resource for PUCCH used for conveying HARQ feedback to the gNB are based on the indication(s) in the corresponding PDCCH, Lee: [0137], [0453]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Ye-Yu in view of Lee in order to further modify information field of downlink data to uplink ACK feedback sequence and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Regarding claim 11, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, by the terminal device, second indication information from the network device, the second indication information being configured to determine a retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource; and
determining, by the terminal device, the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource based on the second indication information.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
receiving, by the terminal device, second indication information from the network device, the second indication information being configured to determine a retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource (based on the HARQ feedback from the UE, UE requests additional resources for retransmission and the gNB schedules the dynamic grant resources to the UE, Lee: [0157]); and
determining, by the terminal device, the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource based on the second indication information (UE is expected to know the linkage between the transmission resources of a transport block data before additional scheduling and the retransmission resources, Lee: [0157]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Ye-Yu in view of Lee in order to further modify receiving and determining the retransmission times from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Regarding claim 12, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
Chen-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 11, wherein determining the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises:
determining that a transmission block transmitted by each HARQ process corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises N retransmissions.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
wherein determining the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises (UE is expected to know the linkage between the transmission resources of a transport block data before additional scheduling and the retransmission resources, Lee: [0157]):
determining that a transmission block transmitted by each HARQ process corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises N retransmissions (additional resources for retransmission are requested by HARQ feedback report, a dynamic grant allocates the additional resources. The dynamic grant indicates which transmission resources are associated to the additional retransmission resources, Lee: [0158]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Ye-Yu in view of Lee in order to further modify determining a transmission block from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Regarding claim 13, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
Chen-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 11, wherein determining the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises:
determining that a transmission block transmitted by each HARQ process determined by the downlink SPS resource comprises N retransmissions.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
wherein determining the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises (UE is expected to know the linkage between the transmission resources of a transport block data before additional scheduling and the retransmission resources, Lee: [0157]):
determining that a transmission block transmitted by each HARQ process determined by the downlink SPS resource comprises N retransmissions (additional resources for retransmission are requested by HARQ feedback report, a dynamic grant allocates the additional resources. The dynamic grant indicates which transmission resources are associated to the additional retransmission resources, Lee: [0264]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Ye-Yu in view of Lee in order to further modify determining a transmission block from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Regarding claim 14, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
Chen-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 11, wherein the second indication information comprises at least one of: radio resource control RRC signaling, downlink control information (DCI), and a media access control (MAC) control unit (CE).
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
The method of claim 11, wherein the second indication information comprises at least one of: radio resource control RRC signaling, downlink control information (DCI), and a media access control (MAC) control unit (CE) (actual transmission of PUCCH for HARQ feedback is RRC-configured, Lee: [0203]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Ye-Yu in view of Lee in order to further modify replacing the radio resource control RRC signaling from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Regarding claim 16, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
Chen-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 11, wherein the second indication information comprises a fifth information field of configuration information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and the fifth information field is configured to determine the retransmission times N.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
wherein the second indication information comprises a fifth information field of configuration information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and the fifth information field is configured to determine the retransmission times N (UE is expected to know the linkage between the transmission resources of a transport block data before additional scheduling and the retransmission resources, Lee: [0157]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Ye-Yu in view of Lee in order to further modify determining the retransmission times from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Regarding claim 17, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
Chen-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 11, wherein the second indication information comprises a sixth information field of activation information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and the sixth information field is configured to determine the retransmission times N.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
wherein the second indication information comprises a sixth information field of activation information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and the sixth information field is configured to determine the retransmission times N (UE is expected to know the linkage between the transmission resources of a transport block data before additional scheduling and the retransmission resources, Lee: [0157]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Ye-Yu in view of Lee in order to further modify determining the retransmission times from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Regarding claim 18, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
Chen further discloses:
The method of claim 11, wherein before receiving, by the terminal device, the first indication information from the network device, the method further comprises (dynamic HARQ ON/OFF operation based on either explicit or implicit signaling from a base station, Chen: [0117]):
sending, by the terminal device, capability information to the network device, the capability information being configured to indicate whether the terminal device supports the state of the HARQ feedback function to be the disabled state (HARQ feedback turn off module may disable HARQ feedback operations by applying a semi-static device-specific configuration, Chen: [0117]).
Regarding claim 20, Chen discloses:
A terminal device, comprising (a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, Chen: [0067]):
a transceiver, a processor, and a memory (UE may include a transceiver module, a processor module, and memory including software, Chen: [0121]);
wherein the memory stores a computer-executable instruction (UE memory may store computer-readable, computer-executable software/firmware code containing instructions, Chen: [0123]);
wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instruction stored in the memory, to cause the terminal device to implement a data transmission method, comprising (UE HARQ feedback operation module 715 may be used to evaluate a condition for determining how to provide HARQ feedback in response to a received data transmission. memory may store computer-executable software/firmware code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the UE processor to perform various functions, Chen: [0112], [0123]):
receiving first indication information from a network device, the first indication information being configured to determine a state of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback function corresponding to a first pre-configured resource, and the state of the HARQ feedback function comprising a disabled state or an enabled state (receiving an indication in a control channel that HARQ feedback for the data transmission is to be turned off. base station may make HARQ feedback operation determination based on a preconfigured state or based on an estimate of uplink channel conditions. HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration, Chen: [0011], [0082]-[0084]),
determining the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource based on the first indication information (UE may be configured to turn off HARQ feedback based on specific MCS scheduled for PDSCH. UE may be configured to determine to modify its HARQ feedback operations, Chen: [0084]-[0090]); and
in response to the state of the HARQ feedback function of the downlink SPS resource being the disabled state HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration. the UE 115-b evaluates a condition to determine whether HARQ feedback is to be turned off. HARQ feedback may be modified using a dynamic UE-specific indicator. For example, the base station may include an indicator in a control channel (such as in a PDCCH, uPDCCH, or EPDCCH). in response to HARQ feedback being turned off, performing no HARQ feedback to base station when receiving PDSCH transmission by PDCCH, Chen: [0084]-[0090]).
in response to the state of the HARO feedback function of the downlink SPS resource being the enabled state, performing a HARO feedback to the network device (HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration. the HARQ feedback operation modification determination module 805 may evaluate channel or traffic conditions and autonomously determine that HARQ feedback operations are to be modified, Chen: [0115]-[0116]),
Chen does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the first pre-configured resource comprises one downlink pre-configured resource, the one downlink preconfigured resource comprises a downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resource;
which is for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data transmission on the downlink SPS resource activated by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling,
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches:
wherein the first pre-configured resource comprises one downlink pre-configured resource, the one downlink preconfigured resource comprises a downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resource (FIG. 15 shows an example of semi-static HARQ codebook for DL and SL. in case of semi-static HARQ codebook, bit position of SPS PDSCH reception is determined based on the position of the PDSCH time resource. DL SPS PDSCH reception, Lee: Fig. 15, [0225], [0228], [0230]-[0242]);
which is for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data transmission on the downlink SPS resource activated by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling (HARQ-ACK for PDSCH scheduled by PDCCH or for PDCCH indicating DL SPS release or for SPS PDSCH reception. HARQ-ACK for PDCCH scheduling SL grant or for configured grant for SL. HARQ-ACK for PDCCH scheduling SL grant. HARQ-ACK for SPS PDSCH reception, Lee: [0230]-[0240], [0242]-[0246]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen in view of Lee in order to further modify disabling HARQ feedback corresponding to PDSCH reception for downlink SPS resource and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data transmission on the downlink SPS resource activated by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling from the teachings of Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have a solution to the overhead of the wireless network caused by rapidly increasing data traffic (Lee: [0002]).
Yet, Chen in view of Lee does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the first indication information is a first radio resource control (RRC) signaling for configuring the first pre-configured resource,
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ye teaches:
wherein the first indication information is a first radio resource control (RRC) signaling for configuring the first pre-configured resource (the RRC/MAC CE message 603 may indicate a starting time, an ending time, a duration of the HARQ feedback being enabled or disabled, Ye: [0096]-[0098]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen and Lee in view of Ye in order to further modify the first indication information as a first radio resource control (RRC) signaling for configuring the first pre-configured resource from the teachings of Ye.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because there are some proposals of HARQ optimization to increase throughput (Ye: [0092]).
Yet, Chen-Lee-Ye does not explicitly disclose:
so that the first RRC signaling is not only used to indicate the state of the HARO feedback function, but also used to configure the downlink SPS resource.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Yu teaches:
so that the first RRC signaling is not only used to indicate the state of the HARO feedback function, but also used to configure the downlink SPS resource (One HARQ state feedback opportunity in an uplink (UL) may need to cover both HARQ-less transmission(s) and regular HARQ transmission (s). A HARQ-less operation may exist for dynamic scheduling and SPS scheduling. To control the HARQ operation semi-statically, a radio resource control (RRC) signaling may be used where a UE is configured to perform the HARQ-less operation. In general, a HARQ-less operation may include feedback-less (no HARQ state feedback), ACK-only (no NACK feedback), and NACK-only (no ACK feedback) operations. To determine a HARQ process number (or called a HARQ process ID) for a DL SPS transmission, the network (NW) side may provide an RRC parameter, such as “nrofHARQ- Processes,” to define a range of HARQ process IDs for an SPS physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, Yu: [0007], [0032]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Lee-Ye in view of Yu in order to further modify the first RRC signaling that is not only used to indicate the state of the HARO feedback function but also used to configure the downlink SPS resource from the teachings of Yu.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because with an SPS transmission, periodic physical resources are provided to a configured UE in a certain time duration. SPS transmission(s) may be activated via a physical layer signaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)/physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)). For SPS transmission(s), the HARQ-less operation may be configured via the RRC, or may dynamically be indicated in an SPS activation phase (Yu: [0009]).
Regarding claim 22, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 20 above.
Chen further discloses:
The terminal device of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instruction stored in the memory, to cause the terminal device to perform operations of (UE HARQ feedback operation module 715 may be used to evaluate a condition for determining how to provide HARQ feedback in response to a received data transmission. memory may store computer-executable software/firmware code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the UE processor to perform various functions, Chen: [0112], [0123]):
determining the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource being the disabled state, the downlink SPS resource corresponding to an HARQ process of a first type, and the HARQ process of the first type comprising an HARQ process in which an HARQ-ACK message feedback is not performed (base station may transmit to the device a HARQ feedback operation modification indicator, which may indicate that the device is to modify its HARQ feedback operation in accordance with the indicator. the HARQ feedback operation modification indicator may come in many forms. HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static specific configuration. base station may indicate that the device is to obtain an updated configuration which may disable HARQ feedback, Chen: [0115]); or
Regarding claim 23, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 20 above.
Chen further discloses:
The terminal device of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instruction stored in the memory, to cause the terminal device to perform operations of (UE HARQ feedback operation module 715 may be used to evaluate a condition for determining how to provide HARQ feedback in response to a received data transmission. memory may store computer-executable software/firmware code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the UE processor to perform various functions, Chen: [0112], [0123]):
determining the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource being the disabled state, the first pre-configured resource determining an HARQ process of a first type, and the HARQ process of the first type comprising an HARQ process in which an HARQ-ACK message feedback is not performed (HARQ feedback turn off module may disable HARQ feedback operations by applying a semi-static configuration or by using a dynamic HARQ ON/OFF operation based on either explicit or implicit signaling from a base station. HARQ feedback turn off module may elect to disable HARQ feedback operations based on an autonomous decision of the HARQ feedback operation, Chen: [0117]); or
Regarding claim 24, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 20 above.
Chen further discloses:
The terminal device of claim 20, wherein a case in which the first indication information is configured to determine the state of the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback function corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises at least one of the following (UE may be configured to turn off HARQ feedback based on specific MCS scheduled for PDSCH. UE may be configured to determine to modify its HARQ feedback operations, Chen: [0084], [0090]):
a case in which the first indication information indicates that the state of the HARQ feedback function corresponding to the pre-configured resource configured for the terminal device is the disabled state or the enabled state (HARQ feedback may be enabled or disabled using a semi-static UE-specific configuration, Chen: [0115]);
Claims 9, 10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu
and in further view of Cheng et al. (US 2022/0239417 Al, hereinafter “Cheng”).
Regarding claim 9, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises a third information field of activation information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and the third information field is configured to determine the state of the HARQ feedback function.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cheng teaches:
wherein the first indication information comprises a third information field of activation information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and the third information field is configured to determine the state of the HARQ feedback function (network may activate and deactivate the configured HARQ process set by sending a HARQ Process Set Activation/Deactivation MAC CE. default state (activation or deactivation) of a configured HARQ Process set may be indicated in RRC signaling, Cheng: [0237], [0244]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu in view of Cheng in order to further modify the activation information from the teachings of Cheng.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have improved reliability of a data packet with the considered retransmissions with some compromise on resource efficiency (Cheng: [0148]).
Regarding claim 10, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information comprises a fourth information field of activation information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource, and
the fourth information field comprises at least one information field of the following: an indication field for feedback time from a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to the HARQ, an information field of HARQ process number, and an information field of redundant version.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cheng teaches:
wherein the first indication information comprises a fourth information field of activation information corresponding to the downlink SPS resource (network may activate and deactivate the configured HARQ process set by sending a HARQ Process Set Activation/Deactivation MAC CE. default state (activation or deactivation) of a configured HAQR Process set may be indicated in RRC signaling, Cheng: [0237], [0244]), and
the fourth information field comprises at least one information field of the following: an indication field for feedback time from a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to the HARQ, an information field of HARQ process number, and an information field of redundant version (HARQ information may include HARQ process identity (ID) and Redundancy Version (RV), Cheng: [0050]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu in view of Cheng in order to further modify the information field of HARQ process number and redundant version from the teachings of Cheng.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have improved reliability of a data packet with the considered retransmissions with some compromise on resource efficiency (Cheng: [0148]).
Regarding claim 15, Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 11 above.
Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu does not explicitly disclose:
The method of claim 11, wherein a case in which the second indication information is configured to determine the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises at least one of the following: a case in which the second indication information indicates the retransmission times N corresponding to a pre-configured resource configured for the terminal device; a case in which the second indication information indicates the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource; a case in which the retransmission times N corresponding to the pre-configured resource configured for the terminal device is equal to 1, in response to the second indication information being not received; and a case in which the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource is equal to 1, in response to the second indication information being not received.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cheng teaches:
wherein a case in which the second indication information is configured to determine the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource comprises at least one of the following: a case in which the second indication information indicates the retransmission times N corresponding to a pre-configured resource configured for the terminal device; a case in which the second indication information indicates the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource; a case in which the retransmission times N corresponding to the pre-configured resource configured for the terminal device is equal to 1, in response to the second indication information being not received; and a case in which the retransmission times N corresponding to the downlink SPS resource is equal to 1, in response to the second indication information being not received (UE may receive a second PDSCH associated with the first HARQ process. the second PDSCH includes a retransmission of a transport block transmitted in the first PDSCH. UE may report the number of transmissions for a transport block. the reporting may take place after receiving the first transmission and may indicate the number of retransmissions, which may be implicitly carried by HARQ-ACK information bits via uplink control information (UCI) reporting, Cheng: [0149]-[0150], [0383]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen-Lee-Ye-Yu in view of Cheng in order to further modify the retransmission times from the teachings of Cheng.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have improved reliability of a data packet with the considered retransmissions with some compromise on resource efficiency (Cheng: [0148]).
Conclusion
In the case of amendments, applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the
specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and support, for ascertaining the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
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/S.C.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2467
/Robert C Scheibel/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467 February 10, 2026