DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to RCE dated 3/10/26. Claims 1-4, 6-13, 15, 17-22, 24-27, and 29-34 have been examined. Claims 5, 14, 16, 23, and 28 have been cancelled.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/10/26 has been entered.
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 . 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 6, 8, 10-13, 15, 17-22, 24-25, 27, and 29-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Sarkis (US 2020/0145077) in view of Lou (CA 2337657).
Regarding Claim 1 (Currently Amended),
A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving a message indicating a multi-level coding procedure for communications associated with the UE [Sarkis: multi-level coding procedure == first and second CQI Tables include CQI indices associated with code rate; 0054; a configuration generating component 354 for generating and/or transmitting a configuration indicating one or more parameters for reporting CQI using one or more offset values; 0058; CQI reporting component 242 can obtain this table from a configuration stored in memory 216 and/or otherwise obtained from base station 102 and/or another network component to use in reporting CQI for BLER target=0.1; CQI reporting component 242 may obtain a radio resource control (RRC) configuration specifying the CQI table relating to the target BLER, and CQI reporting component 242 can accordingly determine to report CQI for the target BLER; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0060; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with … CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0072; a configuration can be received indicating to report CQI for both the first BLER and the second BLER];
transmitting a coding level indicator report comprising a plurality of code rate indicator values including one code rate indicator value per each coding level of the multi-level coding procedure, wherein a first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values corresponds to a first code rate for a first coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0057; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the first CQI related to the first BLER; for example, the received channel may correspond to a downlink channel received from the base station 102; 0058; in a specific example, in determining the first CQI at Block 402, optionally at Block 404, a first CQI index for the first CQI can be determined from a first CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the first CQI index for the first CQI from the first CQI table; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; value determining component 252 can determine the CQI index from the CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel], and
wherein a second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values corresponds to a second code rate for a second coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0059; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the second CQI related to the second BLER; 0060; in determining the second CQI at Block 406, optionally at Block 408, a second CQI index for the second CQI can be determined from a second CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0061; value determining component 252 can determine the second CQI index from the second CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel]; and
communicating at least one data packet via a first transmission using the multi-level coding procedure based at least in part on the coding level indicator report [Sarkis: 0058; value determining component 252 can determine the CQI index from the CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel; 0061; in this example, value determining component 252 can determine the second CQI index from the second CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel; 0062; CQI reporting component 242, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, etc., can report (e.g., by transmitting the report to a base station 102) the first CQI as the absolute value and the second CQI as the relative value from the absolute value; for example, in CQI reporting component 242 can transmit a report indicating both values (or separate reports) to the base station 102 using an assigned control channel (e.g., physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)), shared channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), etc.; 0077; with the CQIs determined, for example, the base station 102 can determine a MCS to apply for transmitting communications to the UE 104 over the channel, where the MCS can be applied based on the target BLER to be achieved; for example, the base station 102 can apply the MCS determined based on one CQI (e.g., for the lower BLER) for an initial transmission, and can apply the MCS determined based on the other CQI (e.g., for the higher BLER) for a retransmission of the initial transmission],
Note:
The claim limitation recites “at least one data packet via a first transmission”, where no time limits or bounds have been specified for what constitutes a first transmission. As a result, a data packet in Sarkis [para. 0077] that fails in an initial transmission using CQI with absolute value and is then retransmitted using CQI with relative value would read on “at least one data packet via a first transmission” because both initial transmission and retransmission complete a transmission of successfully transmitting one such data packet of interest. For purposes of compact prosecution, Lou in Sarkis-Lou combination has been brought in to teach “at least one data packet via a first transmission” as one data packet sent within only one transmission attempt (see Remarks, p. 13).
However, Sarkis does not explicitly teach … the at least one data packet via the first transmission … a first subset of bits … with the first code rate for the first coding level … and … a second subset of bits … with the second code rate for the second coding level.
POSITA would have considered Lou’s frame having different classes of bits and would have incorporated them as first and second subset of bits in Sarkis’s communication.
Lou teaches:
wherein communicating the at least one data packet via the first transmission comprises: encoding or decoding a first subset of bits of the at least one data packet included in the first transmission in accordance with the first code rate for the first coding level; and encoding or decoding a second subset of bits of the at least one data packet included in the first transmission in accordance with the second code rate for the second coding level [Lou: p. 10 / lines 21-27; FIG. 5 shows the manner in which the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 4 can be utilized to provide unequal error protection. In this figure, a given frame 500 of source-coded bits includes four different classes of bits, i.e., Class I, Class II, Class III and Class IV, denoted 502-1, 502-2, 502-3 and 502-4, respectively; the different classes of bits have different levels of importance, i.e., the Class 1 bits are the most important bits of the frame S00 and the Class IV bits are the least important bits of the frame 500; the Class I bits are coded using the concatenated RS-convolutional codes provides by RS coder element 410-1 and convolutional coder 412; the Class II and Class III bits are coded using the RS coder elements 410-2 and 410-3, respectively; the Class IV bits correspond to the highest two levels of the multilevel coding process, and are passed uncoded to the QAM modulator 406; p. 11 / lines 10-15; in this embodiment, which includes coder elements 410-I, 410-2 and 410-3 and QAM modulator 406, the multilevel code is configured such that the highest level is more reliable than that of the lower levels; this may be a feature of the particular multilevel code used, and the rates of the RS 1, RS2 and RS3 codes used in respective coder elements 410-l, 410-2 and 410-3 may be fixed to is implement this feature].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis and Lou in order to have error flags of different detection capability, thereby facilitating error mitigation and/or concealment in the source decoder [Lou: p. 11 / lines 6-8].
Regarding Claim 2 (Previously Presented),
further comprising: selecting the first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values and the second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values based at least in part on a spectral efficiency value for communicating the at least one data packet via the first transmission, a power consumption value for communicating the at least one data packet via the first transmission, or both [Sarkis: spectral efficiency value == efficiency factor; 0058; For example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0005; a code rate to use in communicating over the corresponding channel based on the CQI, and/or an efficiency factor achievable using the CQI]; and
communicating the at least one data packet via the first transmission using the multi-level coding procedure in accordance with the selected first code rate indicator value and the selected second code rate indicator value [Sarkis: 0062; CQI reporting component 242, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, etc., can report (e.g., by transmitting the report to a base station 102) the first CQI as the absolute value and the second CQI as the relative value from the absolute value; for example, in CQI reporting component 242 can transmit a report indicating both values (or separate reports) to the base station 102 using an assigned control channel (e.g., physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)), shared channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), etc.].
Regarding Claim 4,
wherein different combinations of the first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values and the second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values correspond to different spectral efficiency values and different power consumption values [Sarkis: 0058; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; see Table 1 (corresponding list of code rate & efficiency); 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; see Table 2 (corresponding list of code rate & efficiency)].
Note:
Code rate is related to power consumption, where a higher code rate lowers power consumption.
Regarding Claim 6,
further comprising:
selecting the first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values from a first channel quality indicator table, the first channel quality indicator table comprising the plurality of code rate indicator values associated with the first coding level, a first set of one or more corresponding modulation orders, a first set of one or more corresponding code rates, or any combination thereof [Sarkis: 0057; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the first CQI related to the first BLER; for example, the received channel may correspond to a downlink channel received from the base station 102; 0058; in a specific example, in determining the first CQI at Block 402, optionally at Block 404, a first CQI index for the first CQI can be determined from a first CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the first CQI index for the first CQI from the first CQI table; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; value determining component 252 can determine the CQI index from the CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel], and
selecting the second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values from a second channel quality indicator table, the second channel quality indicator table comprising the plurality of code rate indicator values associated with the second coding level, and a second set of one or more corresponding code rates [Sarkis: 0059; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the second CQI related to the second BLER; 0060; in determining the second CQI at Block 406, optionally at Block 408, a second CQI index for the second CQI can be determined from a second CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0061; value determining component 252 can determine the second CQI index from the second CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel].
Regarding Claim 8,
further comprising:
selecting the first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values from a first channel quality indicator table, the first channel quality indicator table comprising the plurality of code rate indicator values associated with the first coding level and a first set of corresponding code rates [Sarkis: 0058; For example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc];
selecting the second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values from a second channel quality indicator table, the second channel quality indicator table comprising the plurality of code rate indicator values associated with the second code rate, and a second set of one or more corresponding code rates [Sarkis: 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.]; and
selecting a third code rate indicator value from a third channel quality indicator table, the third channel quality indicator table comprising a modulation order associated with the first code rate indicator value and the second code rate indicator value [Sarkis: third code rate indicator value == relative value from the first CQI; 0067; n this example, value determining component 252 can determine and report one absolute CQI index and d for determining the other CQI index; CQI reporting component 242, in this example, can report either CQI.sub.10.sub.−5 and d, which can be used to deduce CQI.sub.10.sub.−1, or can report CQI.sub.10.sub.−1 and d, which can be used to deduce CQI.sub.10.sub.−5; 0070; CQI reporting component 242, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, etc., can determine whether to report the second CQI as a relative value from the first CQI. In one example, CQI reporting component 242 can determine to always report the higher BLER using the absolute value and the lower BLER using a relative value, and/or vice versa. In another example, optionally at Block 422, a configuration can be received indicating to report the second CQI as the relative value from the first CQI].
Regarding Claim 10 (Previously Presented),
further comprising: receiving, in response to the coding level indicator report, one or more control messages that indicate a set of code rate indicator values for the UE to use, the set of code rate indicator values corresponding to the first code rate for the first coding level of the multi-level coding procedure and to the second code rate for the second coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: indication == configuration; 0054; CQI processing component 342 can optionally include a value determining component 352 for determining CQI from values received in a CQI report from one or more other devices, and/or a configuration generating component 354 for generating and/or transmitting a configuration indicating one or more parameters for reporting CQI using one or more offset values; 0079; as described, the one or more offsets can include a fixed offset (e.g., Δ in the above examples). For example, the fixed offset may be the same value for each report, may be configured (e.g., by the base station 102) for each report, may be related to, and/or configured for, the first and second BLERs or their corresponding CQI tables, etc. In an example, value determining component 352 can apply the offset and relative value to the absolute value of the first CQI using the formulas described above to determine the absolute value for the second CQI; see also 0058].
Regarding Claim 11,
wherein the one or more control messages comprise a downlink control information message, a medium access control- control element, a radio resource control message, or any combination thereof [Sarkis: 0005; the base station can use the CQI index to schedule data channels for the device (which may include determining a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or set of resources to use in communicating with the device) and/or infer information about downlink control channel performance based on the CQI reported for each target BLER].
Regarding Claim 12,
further comprising: receiving the one or more control messages that indicate the set of code rate indicator values based at least in part on a reporting granularity associated with the first code rate and the second code rate [Sarkis: 0078; for example, applying the relative value to the absolute value may result in another CQI index (the second CQI) index into a second CQI table related to the second BLER (e.g., Table 2 in the above examples). In this example, using the relative value can allow for receiving the report using a less number of total bits than if both CQIs were absolute values; 0079; In determining the second CQI at Block 508, optionally at Block 512, the second CQI can be determined at least in part by applying one or more offsets to the relative value. In an aspect, value determining component 352, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, CQI processing component 342, etc., can determine the second CQI at least in part by applying the one or more offsets to the relative value. As described, the one or more offsets can include a fixed offset (e.g., Δ in the above examples). For example, the fixed offset may be the same value for each report, may be configured (e.g., by the base station 102) for each report, may be related to, and/or configured for, the first and second BLERs or their corresponding CQI tables, etc. In an example, value determining component 352 can apply the offset and relative value to the absolute value of the first CQI using the formulas described above to determine the absolute value for the second CQI].
Regarding Claim 13,
wherein the coding level indicator report comprises a channel quality indicator report, a precoding matrix indicator report, or a rank indicator report [Sarkis: 0050; CQI reporting component 242 can optionally include a value determining component 252 for determining one or more values to indicate CQI, and/or a configuration receiving component 254 for obtaining and/or processing a configuration for determining and/or reporting the one or more values to indicate CQI; 0005; devices communicating in a wireless network can report channel quality achieving multiple block error rates (BLER) by using a channel quality indicator (CQI) for each target BLER].
Regarding Claim 15 (Currently Amended),
A method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:
transmitting a message indicating a multi-level coding procedure for communications associated with a user equipment (UE) [Sarkis: multi-level coding procedure == first and second CQI Tables include CQI indices associated with code rate; 0054; a configuration generating component 354 for generating and/or transmitting a configuration indicating one or more parameters for reporting CQI using one or more offset values; 0058; CQI reporting component 242 can obtain this table from a configuration stored in memory 216 and/or otherwise obtained from base station 102 and/or another network component to use in reporting CQI for BLER target=0.1; CQI reporting component 242 may obtain a radio resource control (RRC) configuration specifying the CQI table relating to the target BLER, and CQI reporting component 242 can accordingly determine to report CQI for the target BLER; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0060; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with … CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0072; a configuration can be received indicating to report CQI for both the first BLER and the second BLER];
receiving, from the UE, a coding level indicator report comprising a plurality of code rate indicator values including one code rate indicator value per each coding level of the multi-level coding procedure, wherein a first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator corresponds to a first code rate for a first coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0057; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the first CQI related to the first BLER; for example, the received channel may correspond to a downlink channel received from the base station 102; 0058; in a specific example, in determining the first CQI at Block 402, optionally at Block 404, a first CQI index for the first CQI can be determined from a first CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the first CQI index for the first CQI from the first CQI table; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; value determining component 252 can determine the CQI index from the CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel], and
wherein a second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values corresponds to a second code rate for a second coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0059; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the second CQI related to the second BLER; 0060; in determining the second CQI at Block 406, optionally at Block 408, a second CQI index for the second CQI can be determined from a second CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0061; value determining component 252 can determine the second CQI index from the second CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel]; and
communicating at least one data packet via a first transmission based at least in part on the coding level indicator report [Sarkis: 0062; CQI reporting component 242, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, etc., can report (e.g., by transmitting the report to a base station 102) the first CQI as the absolute value and the second CQI as the relative value from the absolute value; for example, in CQI reporting component 242 can transmit a report indicating both values (or separate reports) to the base station 102 using an assigned control channel (e.g., physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)), shared channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), etc.; 0077; with the CQIs determined, for example, the base station 102 can determine a MCS to apply for transmitting communications to the UE 104 over the channel, where the MCS can be applied based on the target BLER to be achieved; for example, the base station 102 can apply the MCS determined based on one CQI (e.g., for the lower BLER) for an initial transmission, and can apply the MCS determined based on the other CQI (e.g., for the higher BLER) for a retransmission of the initial transmission],
Note:
The claim limitation recites “at least one data packet via a first transmission”, where no time limits or bounds have been specified for what constitutes a first transmission. As a result, a data packet in Sarkis [para. 0077] that fails in an initial transmission using CQI with absolute value and is then retransmitted using CQI with relative value would read on “at least one data packet via a first transmission” because both initial transmission and retransmission complete a transmission of successfully transmitting one such data packet of interest. For purposes of compact prosecution, Lou in Sarkis-Lou combination has been brought in to teach “at least one data packet via a first transmission” as one data packet sent within only one transmission attempt (see Remarks, p. 13).
However, Sarkis does not explicitly teach … the at least one data packet via the first transmission … a first subset of bits … with the first code rate for the first coding level … and … a second subset of bits … with the second code rate for the second coding level.
POSITA would have considered Lou’s frame having different classes of bits and would have incorporated them as first and second subset of bits in Sarkis’s communication.
Lou teaches:
wherein communicating the at least one data packet via the first transmission comprises: encoding or decoding a first subset of bits of the at least one data packet in accordance with the first code rate for the first coding level; and encoding or decoding a second subset of bits of the at least one data packet in accordance with the second code rate for the second coding level [Lou: p. 10 / lines 21-27; FIG. 5 shows the manner in which the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 4 can be utilized to provide unequal error protection. In this figure, a given frame 500 of source-coded bits includes four different classes of bits, i.e., Class I, Class II, Class III and Class IV, denoted 502-1, 502-2, 502-3 and 502-4, respectively; the different classes of bits have different levels of importance, i.e., the Class 1 bits are the most important bits of the frame S00 and the Class IV bits are the least important bits of the frame 500; the Class I bits are coded using the concatenated RS-convolutional codes provides by RS coder element 410-1 and convolutional coder 412; the Class II and Class III bits are coded using the RS coder elements 410-2 and 410-3, respectively; the Class IV bits correspond to the highest two levels of the multilevel coding process, and are passed uncoded to the QAM modulator 406; p. 11 / lines 10-15; in this embodiment, which includes coder elements 410-I, 410-2 and 410-3 and QAM modulator 406, the multilevel code is configured such that the highest level is more reliable than that of the lower levels; this may be a feature of the particular multilevel code used, and the rates of the RS 1, RS2 and RS3 codes used in respective coder elements 410-l, 410-2 and 410-3 may be fixed to is implement this feature].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis and Lou in order to have error flags of different detection capability, thereby facilitating error mitigation and/or concealment in the source decoder [Lou: p. 11 / lines 6-8].
Regarding Claim 17,
further comprising: selecting a first set of one or more modulation orders and a first set of one or more code rates for the first coding level [Sarkis: 0058; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc. One specific example of a CQI table is shown below in Table 1, which can correspond to a BLER target=1e−1];
selecting a second set of one or more modulation orders and a second set of one or more code rates for the second coding level [Sarkis: 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc. Another specific example of a CQI table for a different target BLER is shown below in Table 2, which can correspond to a BLER target=1e−5]; and
transmitting an indication of the first set of one or more modulation orders for the first coding level, the first set of one or more code rates for the first coding level, the second set of one or more modulation orders for the second coding level, the second set of one or more code rates for the second coding level, or any combination thereof [Sarkis: 0068; configuration receiving component 254, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can receive the one or more offset values in the configuration. For example, configuration receiving component 254 can receive the configuration from the base station 102 (e.g., in RRC signaling) or otherwise and/or CQI reporting component 242 can determine the one or more offset values from one or more parameters in the configuration (e.g., from the BLER tables or known target BLER values). The base station 102 can configure the offset value semi-statically (e.g., as a global value or per CSI report)].
Regarding Claim 18,
further comprising: encoding or decoding the at least one data packet in accordance with the first set of one or more modulation orders for the first coding level, the first set of one or more code rates for the first coding level, the second set of one or more modulation orders for the second coding level, the second set of one or more code rates for the second coding level, or any combination thereof [Sarkis: 0063; Thus, for example, CQI reporting component 242 can report the first CQI as a 4-bit absolute value from Table 1 above (e.g., a value from 0-15), and can report the second CQI as an offset from the absolute value, which can use a smaller bitwidth (a less number of bits) than the 4-bit absolute value; 0064; CQI reporting component 242 may transmit a single channel state information (CSI) report to the base station 102 indicating both values, as opposed to using separate CSI reports for each CQI; 0067; value determining component 252 can determine and report one absolute CQI index and d for determining the other CQI index. Accordingly, base station 102 can determine the CQI indices, as described further herein, by determining one absolute CQI index from the report, and compute the other absolute CQI index based on the determined absolute CQI index, A, and the reported relative value, d, using the above formulas; 0057; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the first CQI related to the first BLER; for example, the received channel may correspond to a downlink channel received from the base station 102].
Regarding Claim 19 (Previously Presented),
further comprising: transmitting, in response to the coding level indicator report, one or more control messages that indicate a set of code rate indicator values for the UE to use, the set of code rate indicator values corresponding to the first code rate for the first coding level of the multi-level coding procedure and to the second code rate for the second coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0054; CQI processing component 342 can optionally include a value determining component 352 for determining CQI from values received in a CQI report from one or more other devices, and/or a configuration generating component 354 for generating and/or transmitting a configuration indicating one or more parameters for reporting CQI using one or more offset values; 0079; as described, the one or more offsets can include a fixed offset (e.g., Δ in the above examples). For example, the fixed offset may be the same value for each report, may be configured (e.g., by the base station 102) for each report, may be related to, and/or configured for, the first and second BLERs or their corresponding CQI tables, etc. In an example, value determining component 352 can apply the offset and relative value to the absolute value of the first CQI using the formulas described above to determine the absolute value for the second CQI; see also 0058].
Regarding Claim 20,
wherein the one or more control messages comprise a downlink control information message, a medium access control- control element, a radio resource control message, or any combination thereof [Sarkis: 0005; the base station can use the CQI index to schedule data channels for the device (which may include determining a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and/or set of resources to use in communicating with the device) and/or infer information about downlink control channel performance based on the CQI reported for each target BLER].
Regarding Claim 21,
further comprising: transmitting the one or more control messages that indicate the set of code rate indicator values based at least in part on a reporting granularity associated with the first code rate and the second code rate [Sarkis: 0078; for example, applying the relative value to the absolute value may result in another CQI index (the second CQI) index into a second CQI table related to the second BLER (e.g., Table 2 in the above examples). In this example, using the relative value can allow for receiving the report using a less number of total bits than if both CQIs were absolute values; 0079; In determining the second CQI at Block 508, optionally at Block 512, the second CQI can be determined at least in part by applying one or more offsets to the relative value. In an aspect, value determining component 352, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, CQI processing component 342, etc., can determine the second CQI at least in part by applying the one or more offsets to the relative value. As described, the one or more offsets can include a fixed offset (e.g., Δ in the above examples). For example, the fixed offset may be the same value for each report, may be configured (e.g., by the base station 102) for each report, may be related to, and/or configured for, the first and second BLERs or their corresponding CQI tables, etc. In an example, value determining component 352 can apply the offset and relative value to the absolute value of the first CQI using the formulas described above to determine the absolute value for the second CQI].
Regarding Claim 22,
wherein the coding level indicator report comprises a channel quality indicator report, a precoding matrix indicator report, or a rank indicator report [Sarkis: 0050; CQI reporting component 242 can optionally include a value determining component 252 for determining one or more values to indicate CQI, and/or a configuration receiving component 254 for obtaining and/or processing a configuration for determining and/or reporting the one or more values to indicate CQI; 0005; devices communicating in a wireless network can report channel quality achieving multiple block error rates (BLER) by using a channel quality indicator (CQI) for each target BLER].
Regarding Claim 24 (Currently Amended),
An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive a message indicating a multi-level coding procedure for communications associated with the UE [Sarkis: multi-level coding procedure == first and second CQI Tables include CQI indices associated with code rate; 0054; a configuration generating component 354 for generating and/or transmitting a configuration indicating one or more parameters for reporting CQI using one or more offset values; 0058; CQI reporting component 242 can obtain this table from a configuration stored in memory 216 and/or otherwise obtained from base station 102 and/or another network component to use in reporting CQI for BLER target=0.1; CQI reporting component 242 may obtain a radio resource control (RRC) configuration specifying the CQI table relating to the target BLER, and CQI reporting component 242 can accordingly determine to report CQI for the target BLER; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0060; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with … CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0072; a configuration can be received indicating to report CQI for both the first BLER and the second BLER];
transmit a coding level indicator report comprising a plurality of code rate indicator values including one code rate indicator value per each coding level of the multi-level coding procedure, wherein a first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values corresponds to a first code rate for a first coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0057; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the first CQI related to the first BLER; for example, the received channel may correspond to a downlink channel received from the base station 102; 0058; in a specific example, in determining the first CQI at Block 402, optionally at Block 404, a first CQI index for the first CQI can be determined from a first CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the first CQI index for the first CQI from the first CQI table; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; .; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; value determining component 252 can determine the CQI index from the CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel], and
wherein a second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values corresponds to a second code rate for a second coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0059; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the second CQI related to the second BLER; 0060; in determining the second CQI at Block 406, optionally at Block 408, a second CQI index for the second CQI can be determined from a second CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0061; value determining component 252 can determine the second CQI index from the second CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel]; and
communicate at least one data packet via a first transmission using the multi-level coding procedure based at least in part on the coding level indicator report [Sarkis: 0062; CQI reporting component 242, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, etc., can report (e.g., by transmitting the report to a base station 102) the first CQI as the absolute value and the second CQI as the relative value from the absolute value; for example, in CQI reporting component 242 can transmit a report indicating both values (or separate reports) to the base station 102 using an assigned control channel (e.g., physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)), shared channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), etc.; 0077; with the CQIs determined, for example, the base station 102 can determine a MCS to apply for transmitting communications to the UE 104 over the channel, where the MCS can be applied based on the target BLER to be achieved; for example, the base station 102 can apply the MCS determined based on one CQI (e.g., for the lower BLER) for an initial transmission, and can apply the MCS determined based on the other CQI (e.g., for the higher BLER) for a retransmission of the initial transmission],
Note:
The claim limitation recites “at least one data packet via a first transmission”, where no time limits or bounds have been specified for what constitutes a first transmission. As a result, a data packet in Sarkis [para. 0077] that fails in an initial transmission using CQI with absolute value and is then retransmitted using CQI with relative value would read on “at least one data packet via a first transmission” because both initial transmission and retransmission complete a transmission of successfully transmitting one such data packet of interest. For purposes of compact prosecution, Lou in Sarkis-Lou combination has been brought in to teach “at least one data packet via a first transmission” as one data packet sent within only one transmission attempt (see Remarks, p. 13).
However, Sarkis does not explicitly teach … the at least one data packet via the first transmission … a first subset of bits … with the first code rate for the first coding level … and … a second subset of bits … with the second code rate for the second coding level.
POSITA would have considered Lou’s frame having different classes of bits and would have incorporated them as first and second subset of bits in Sarkis’s communication.
Lou teaches:
wherein, to communicate the at least one data packet via the first transmission, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: encode or decode a first subset of bits of the at least one data packet included in the first transmission in accordance with the first code rate for the first coding level; and encode or decode a second subset of bits of the at least one data packet included in the first transmission in accordance with the second code rate for the second coding level [Lou: p. 10 / lines 21-27; FIG. 5 shows the manner in which the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 4 can be utilized to provide unequal error protection. In this figure, a given frame 500 of source-coded bits includes four different classes of bits, i.e., Class I, Class II, Class III and Class IV, denoted 502-1, 502-2, 502-3 and 502-4, respectively; the different classes of bits have different levels of importance, i.e., the Class 1 bits are the most important bits of the frame S00 and the Class IV bits are the least important bits of the frame 500; the Class I bits are coded using the concatenated RS-convolutional codes provides by RS coder element 410-1 and convolutional coder 412; the Class II and Class III bits are coded using the RS coder elements 410-2 and 410-3, respectively; the Class IV bits correspond to the highest two levels of the multilevel coding process, and are passed uncoded to the QAM modulator 406; p. 11 / lines 10-15; in this embodiment, which includes coder elements 410-I, 410-2 and 410-3 and QAM modulator 406, the multilevel code is configured such that the highest level is more reliable than that of the lower levels; this may be a feature of the particular multilevel code used, and the rates of the RS 1, RS2 and RS3 codes used in respective coder elements 410-l, 410-2 and 410-3 may be fixed to is implement this feature].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis and Lou in order to have error flags of different detection capability, thereby facilitating error mitigation and/or concealment in the source decoder [Lou: p. 11 / lines 6-8].
Regarding Claim 25 (Previously Presented),
wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: select the first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values and the second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values based at least in part on a spectral efficiency value for communicating the at least one data packet via the first transmission, a power consumption value for communicating the at least one data packet via the first transmission, or both [Sarkis: spectral efficiency value == efficiency factor; 0058; For example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0005; a code rate to use in communicating over the corresponding channel based on the CQI, and/or an efficiency factor achievable using the CQI]; and
communicate the at least one data packet via the first transmission using the multi-level coding procedure in accordance with the selected first code rate indicator value and the selected second code rate indicator value [Sarkis: 0062; CQI reporting component 242, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, etc., can report (e.g., by transmitting the report to a base station 102) the first CQI as the absolute value and the second CQI as the relative value from the absolute value; for example, in CQI reporting component 242 can transmit a report indicating both values (or separate reports) to the base station 102 using an assigned control channel (e.g., physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)), shared channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), etc.].
Regarding Claim 27,
wherein different combinations of the first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values and the second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values correspond to different spectral efficiency values and different power consumption values Sarkis: 0058; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; see Table 1 (corresponding list of code rate & efficiency); 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; see Table 2 (corresponding list of code rate & efficiency)].
Note:
Code rate is related to power consumption, where a higher code rate lowers power consumption.
Regarding Claim 29 (Previously Presented),
wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
select the first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values from a first channel quality indicator table, the first channel quality indicator table comprising the plurality of code rate indicator values associated with the first coding level, a first set of one or more corresponding modulation orders, a first set of one or more corresponding code rates, or any combination thereof [Sarkis: 0057; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the first CQI related to the first BLER; for example, the received channel may correspond to a downlink channel received from the base station 102; 0058; in a specific example, in determining the first CQI at Block 402, optionally at Block 404, a first CQI index for the first CQI can be determined from a first CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the first CQI index for the first CQI from the first CQI table; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; value determining component 252 can determine the CQI index from the CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel], and
select the second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values from a second channel quality indicator table, the second channel quality indicator table comprising the plurality of code rate indicator values associated with the second coding level, and a second set of one or more corresponding code rates [Sarkis: 0059; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the second CQI related to the second BLER; 0060; in determining the second CQI at Block 406, optionally at Block 408, a second CQI index for the second CQI can be determined from a second CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0061; value determining component 252 can determine the second CQI index from the second CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel].
Regarding Claim 30 (Currently Amended),
An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a message indicating a multi-level coding procedure for communications associated with a user equipment (UE) [Sarkis: 0054; a configuration generating component 354 for generating and/or transmitting a configuration indicating one or more parameters for reporting CQI using one or more offset values; 0058; CQI reporting component 242 can obtain this table from a configuration stored in memory 216 and/or otherwise obtained from base station 102 and/or another network component to use in reporting CQI for BLER target=0.1; CQI reporting component 242 may obtain a radio resource control (RRC) configuration specifying the CQI table relating to the target BLER, and CQI reporting component 242 can accordingly determine to report CQI for the target BLER; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0060; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with … CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with … code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0072; a configuration can be received indicating to report CQI for both the first BLER and the second BLER];
receive, from the UE, a coding level indicator report comprising a plurality of code rate indicator values including one code rate indicator value per each coding level of the multi-level coding procedure, wherein a first code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values corresponds to a first code rate for a first coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0057; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the first CQI related to the first BLER; for example, the received channel may correspond to a downlink channel received from the base station 102; 0058; in a specific example, in determining the first CQI at Block 402, optionally at Block 404, a first CQI index for the first CQI can be determined from a first CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the first CQI index for the first CQI from the first CQI table; for example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; value determining component 252 can determine the CQI index from the CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel], and
wherein a second code rate indicator value of the plurality of code rate indicator values corresponds to a second code rate for a second coding level of the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0059; value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine, for the received channel, the second CQI related to the second BLER; 0060; in determining the second CQI at Block 406, optionally at Block 408, a second CQI index for the second CQI can be determined from a second CQI table; in an aspect, value determining component 252, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, CQI reporting component 242, etc., can determine the second CQI index for the second CQI from the second CQI table; for example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; in this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0061; value determining component 252 can determine the second CQI index from the second CQI table to report to the base station 102 for the received channel]; and
communicate at least one data packet via a first transmission based at least in part on the coding level indicator report [Sarkis: 0062; CQI reporting component 242, e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 212, memory 216, transceiver 202, etc., can report (e.g., by transmitting the report to a base station 102) the first CQI as the absolute value and the second CQI as the relative value from the absolute value; for example, in CQI reporting component 242 can transmit a report indicating both values (or separate reports) to the base station 102 using an assigned control channel (e.g., physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)), shared channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), etc.; 0077; with the CQIs determined, for example, the base station 102 can determine a MCS to apply for transmitting communications to the UE 104 over the channel, where the MCS can be applied based on the target BLER to be achieved; for example, the base station 102 can apply the MCS determined based on one CQI (e.g., for the lower BLER) for an initial transmission, and can apply the MCS determined based on the other CQI (e.g., for the higher BLER) for a retransmission of the initial transmission],
Note:
The claim limitation recites “at least one data packet via a first transmission”, where no time limits or bounds have been specified for what constitutes a first transmission. As a result, a data packet in Sarkis [para. 0077] that fails in an initial transmission using CQI with absolute value and is then retransmitted using CQI with relative value would read on “at least one data packet via a first transmission” because both initial transmission and retransmission complete a transmission of successfully transmitting one such data packet of interest. For purposes of compact prosecution, Lou in Sarkis-Lou combination has been brought in to teach “at least one data packet via a first transmission” as one data packet sent within only one transmission attempt (see Remarks, p. 13).
However, Sarkis does not explicitly teach … the at least one data packet via the first transmission … a first subset of bits … with the first code rate for the first coding level … and … a second subset of bits … with the second code rate for the second coding level.
POSITA would have considered Lou’s frame having different classes of bits and would have incorporated them as first and second subset of bits in Sarkis’s communication.
Lou teaches:
wherein, to communicate the at least one data packet via the first transmission, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: encode or decode a first subset of bits of the at least one data packet included in the first transmission in accordance with the first code rate for the first coding level; and encode or decode a second subset of bits of the at least one data packet included in the first transmission in accordance with the second code rate for the second coding level [Lou: p. 10 / lines 21-27; FIG. 5 shows the manner in which the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 4 can be utilized to provide unequal error protection. In this figure, a given frame 500 of source-coded bits includes four different classes of bits, i.e., Class I, Class II, Class III and Class IV, denoted 502-1, 502-2, 502-3 and 502-4, respectively; the different classes of bits have different levels of importance, i.e., the Class 1 bits are the most important bits of the frame S00 and the Class IV bits are the least important bits of the frame 500; the Class I bits are coded using the concatenated RS-convolutional codes provides by RS coder element 410-1 and convolutional coder 412; the Class II and Class III bits are coded using the RS coder elements 410-2 and 410-3, respectively; the Class IV bits correspond to the highest two levels of the multilevel coding process, and are passed uncoded to the QAM modulator 406; p. 11 / lines 10-15; in this embodiment, which includes coder elements 410-I, 410-2 and 410-3 and QAM modulator 406, the multilevel code is configured such that the highest level is more reliable than that of the lower levels; this may be a feature of the particular multilevel code used, and the rates of the RS 1, RS2 and RS3 codes used in respective coder elements 410-l, 410-2 and 410-3 may be fixed to is implement this feature].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis and Lou in order to have error flags of different detection capability, thereby facilitating error mitigation and/or concealment in the source decoder [Lou: p. 11 / lines 6-8].
Regarding Claim 31 (Previously Presented),
Sarkis teaches that the base station 102 can apply the MCS determined based on one CQI (e.g., for the lower BLER) for an initial transmission, and can apply the MCS determined based on the other CQI (e.g., for the higher BLER) for a retransmission of the initial transmission [Sarkis: 0077].
However, Sarkis does not teach that the first subset of bits and the second subset of bits are non-overlapping sets of bits.
Lou teaches:
wherein the first subset of bits and the second subset of bits are non-overlapping sets of bits [Lou: p. 10 / lines 21-27; FIG. 5 shows the manner in which the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 4 can be utilized to provide unequal error protection. In this figure, a given frame 500 of source-coded bits includes four different classes of bits, i.e., Class I, Class II, Class III and Class IV, denoted 502-1, 502-2, 502-3 and 502-4, respectively; the different classes of bits have different levels of importance, i.e., the Class 1 bits are the most important bits of the frame S00 and the Class IV bits are the least important bits of the frame 500; the Class I bits are coded using the concatenated RS-convolutional codes provides by RS coder element 410-1 and convolutional coder 412; the Class II and Class III bits are coded using the RS coder elements 410-2 and 410-3, respectively; the Class IV bits correspond to the highest two levels of the multilevel coding process, and are passed uncoded to the QAM modulator 406].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis and Lou in order to have error flags of different detection capability, thereby facilitating error mitigation and/or concealment in the source decoder [Lou: p. 11 / lines 6-8].
Regarding Claim 32, which recites the same claim limitations as those in claim 31 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claim 31 is applicable.
Regarding Claim 33, which recites the same claim limitations as those in claim 31 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claim 31 is applicable.
Regarding Claim 34, which recites the same claim limitations as those in claim 31 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claim 31 is applicable.
Claim(s) 3, 7, 9, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sarkis-Lou in view of Huawei et al., “MCS/CQI design for URLLC transmission”, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting # 92, R1-1801354, Athens, Greece, Feb. 26, Mar. 2, 2018 (included in IDS) hereafter Huawei354.
Regarding Claim 3 (Previously Presented),
In Sarkis-Lou, Sarkis teaches:
further comprising: selecting the first code rate indicator value and the second code rate indicator value based at least in part on the spectral efficiency value … and the power consumption value satisfying a power consumption threshold for the multi-level coding procedure [Sarkis: 0058; For example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc. In this example, based on the CQI table, value determining component 252 can determine a CQI index to report to achieve the second target BLER based on the efficiency factor, the channel conditions, etc.; 0005; a code rate to use in communicating over the corresponding channel based on the CQI, and/or an efficiency factor achievable using the CQI].
Note:
Code rate is related to power consumption, where a higher code rate lowers power consumption.
However, Sarkis-Lou does not teach the limitation, which recites “… the spectral efficiency value satisfying a spectral efficiency threshold ….”
Huawei354 teaches:
selecting the first code rate indicator value and the second code rate indicator value based at least in part on the spectral efficiency value satisfying a spectral efficiency threshold … [Huawei354: Sec. 2.2; CQI Table; the code rates and SEs at these boundary SNR points are calculated using the above mentioned polynomials; a modulation order with the highest SE (spectral efficiency) is chosen at each boundary SNR point to form the final CQI table; see Table 1 CQI table design procedure (LDPC BG2, Target BLER – 1e-5); Table 2 CQI table at target BLER = 1e-5 with LDPC BG2 only; Table 3 CQI table at target BLER = 1e-5 with LDPC BG2 and Polar; Proposal 2: adopt Table 2 and Table 3 as the CQI table with target BLER 2e-5 for URLLC].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis-Lou and Huawei354 in order to improve resource efficiency given strict requirement on latency and reliability [Huawei354: Sec. 1].
Regarding Claim 7,
In Sarkis-Lou, Sarkis teaches:
wherein the first channel quality indicator table and the second channel quality indicator table have a … quantity of rows and columns based at least in part on the first coding level and the second coding level [Sarkis: 0058; For example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc.; 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.].
However, Sarkis-Lou does not teach the element “a different quantity of rows and columns based at least in part on the first coding level and the second coding level.”
Huawei354 teaches:
wherein the first channel quality indicator table and the second channel quality indicator table have a different quantity of rows and columns based at least in part on the first coding level and the second coding level [Huawei354: Sec. 2.2; Table 2 CQI table at target BLER = 1e-5 with LDPC BG2 only; Table 3 CQI table at target BLER = 1e-5 with LDPC BG2 and Polar; Proposal 2: adopt Table 2 and Table 3 as the CQI table with target BLER 2e-5 for URLLC].
Note:
Table 2 and Table 3 have different number of columns because of an additional column for Code titled Polar and LDPC BG2. Seven rows are associated with Polar, while eight rows are associated with LDPC BG2 in Table 3. Table 2 in comparison has 15 rows associated with CR, SE, and Mod.
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis-Lou and Huawei354 in order to improve resource efficiency given strict requirement on latency and reliability [Huawei354: Sec. 1].
Regarding Claim 9,
In Sarkis-Lou, Sarkis teaches:
wherein the first channel quality indicator table, the second channel quality indicator table, and the third channel quality indicator table have a … quantity of rows and columns based at least in part on the first coding level and the second coding level [Sarkis: 0058; For example, the first CQI table may relate to a target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 64-QAM, etc.), code rate, efficiency factor, etc; 0060; For example, the second CQI table may relate to a different target BLER, and may include a list of CQI indices (e.g., 0-15), where each CQI index can be associated with a modulation type, code rate, efficiency factor, etc.].
However, Sarkis-Lou does not teach the element, which recites “a different quantity of rows and columns based at least in part on the first coding level and the second coding level.”
Huawei354 teaches:
wherein the first channel quality indicator table, the second channel quality indicator table, and the third channel quality indicator table have a different quantity of rows and columns based at least in part on the first coding level and the second coding level [Huawei354: Sec. 2.2; this procedure is shown in Table 1, where LDPC BG2 only and target BLER = 1e-5 are used; Table 2 CQI table at target BLER = 1e-5 with LDPC BG2 only; Table 3 CQI table at target BLER = 1e-5 with LDPC BG2 and Polar; Proposal 2: adopt Table 2 and Table 3 as the CQI table with target BLER 2e-5 for URLLC].
Note:
Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3 have different number of columns because of an additional column for Code titled Polar and LDPC BG2. Seven rows are associated with Polar, while eight rows are associated with LDPC BG2 in Table 3. Table 2 in comparison has 15 rows associated with CR, SE, and Mod.
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Sarkis-Lou and Huawei354 in order to improve resource efficiency given strict requirement on latency and reliability [Huawei354: Sec. 1].
Regarding Claim 26, which recites the same claim limitations as those in claim 3 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claim 3 is applicable.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/10/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues regarding claim 1 on pages 13-14 of the Remarks section that Sarkis describes how CQIs are computed to achieve two target BLERs for a received channel [Sarkis: para. 0057; 0059]. Sarkis does not show (a) CQIs that are indexed by, or are per any coding level of a multi-level coding procedure; and (b) multi-level coding in which component codes (with distinct code rates) are assigned to different levels of the same transmission and then reported as one code rate indicator value per MLC level. Therefore, Sarkis does not teach “one code rate indicator value per each coding level of the multi-level coding procedure.”
Examiner’s Response:
Sarkis not only teaches determining first CQI related to first BLER [Sarkis: 0057], but it also teaches determining both a first CQI (i.e. 402 of Fig. 4) and optionally a first CQI index for the first CQI (i.e. 404 of Fig. 4) [Sarkis: 0058]. Each first CQI index from a list of CQI indices (e.g. 0-15) can be associated with a corresponding value of code rate and is also a part of first CQI table (see Table 1) related to a target BLER [Sarkis: 0058]. This CQI index can be reported to achieve a target BLER; moreover, this CQI index can be reported to a base station for a received channel [Sarkis: 0058]. Same aforementioned analysis also applies to determining both a second CQI (i.e. 406 of Fig. 4) and optionally a second CQI index for the second CQI (i.e. 408 of Fig. 4) from second CQI table (see Table 2) [Sarkis: 0060-61]. Thus, Sarkis’s CQI index corresponding to a code rate from a list of CQI indices reads on one code rate indicator value per coding level of the multi-level coding procedure.
Conclusion
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SAAD A. WAQAS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2468
/Saad A. Waqas/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468