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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/23/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/23/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues:
“The combination of Byun, Babei and Lin fails to disclose the features of Claims 1- 4 and 14.” and “None of the cited references teaches or suggests the features now recited in amended Claims 1-4 and 14.”
However, BYUN and BABEI teach the disclosed amendments of claims 1-4 and 14. The amendment to the claims 1-4 and 14 reads, “and the transmission utilizing the control information container comprises transmission utilizing at least a second container representing resources of a resource range used for the second container, one or both of information and bits included in the second container are subject to an acknowledgement process, the control information container and the second container being one or both of demodulatable and decodable independently.” BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated” (paragraph 0063). BYUN continues, “A PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of the resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN adds, “In 3GPP LTE of FIG. 2, a resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a resource grid for a downlink slot. In this case, the downlink slot includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time domain” (paragraph 0061). BYUN notes, “A PHICH carries hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK)/not-acknowledgement (NACK) information as a response to uplink data transmission (paragraph 0063). UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN explains, “In general, if a 1/3 coding rate and a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation scheme are used, 54 resource elements (REs) are required in total for a DL grant. If it is assumed that a data channel of the sTTI has REs twice more than the control channel, 162 REs are required in total (54+54×2=162) in order for one UE to transmit a downlink signal” (paragraph 0108). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control and data regions are separated. BYUN mentions that a PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. BYUN already informs us that the transmission consists of a control region and data region. BYUN states the resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a downlink slot. BYUN indicates an acknowledgement process is conducted regarding the uplink data transmission. Further, BYUN informs the reader the control information may be decoded. Lastly, BYUN explains a QPSK modulation scheme may be used for a downlink signal on a data channel, thereby, indicating the data container being demodulatable.
The applicant’s arguments are not persuasive and the rejections of claims 1-4 and 14 remain.
Since the rejection of the independent claims remain, the rejections of the dependent claims 5, 7-11, 13, 16, and 18-21 persists.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 9, 14, 16, 18, and 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BYUN, et al. (US 20180375613 A1, hereinafter, "BYUN") in view of BABAEI, et al. (US 20200100170 A1, hereinafter, "BABAEI").
Regarding claim 2, BYUN teaches transmit control information in a control information container,
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of
the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to
which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols
become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated (paragraph
0063; figure 3). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a
control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The
remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control
and data regions are separated.
the control information container representing resources out of a resource range available to
the transmitting radio node for transmission on a physical uplink data channel,
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of
the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to
which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols
become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated (paragraph
0063; figure 3). BYUN adds, “A PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of the
resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. UE may read downlink user data transmitted
through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH. Furthermore, the
PDCCH may carry control information, used for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduling, to
the UE. The control information used for PUSCH scheduling is an uplink grant that provides notification
of the resource allocation of uplink transmission” (paragraph 0064). BYUN indicates that there are two
slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a control region, consisting of a maximum of three
OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a
data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control and data regions are separated. BYUN, further states,
“the PDCCH may carry control information, used for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduling,
to the UE.”
the control information container having a container size of a set of container sizes,
BYUN writes, “A total number of [control channel elements (CCEs)] within a subframe may also be
different in each subframe because the number of OFDM symbols included in a control region within a
subframe may be different in each subframe” (paragraph 0065). BYUN indicates that the number of
OFDM symbols included in a control region within a subframe may be different in each subframe.
Therefore, the container size may vary. As indicated above the number of OFDM symbols in a control
region has a maximum value of three, hence the control region container can vary in size consisting of 1,
2, or 3 OFDM symbols (i.e., a set of container sizes).
and the transmission utilizing the control information container comprises transmission utilizing at least a second container representing resources of a resource range used for the second container,
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated” (paragraph 0063). BYUN continues, “A PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of the resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN adds, “In 3GPP LTE of FIG. 2, a resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a resource grid for a downlink slot. In this case, the downlink slot includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time domain” (paragraph 0061). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control and data regions are separated. BYUN mentions that a PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. BYUN already informs us that the transmission consists of a control region and data region. BYUN states the resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a downlink slot.
one or both of information and bits included in the second container are subject to an acknowledgement process,
BYUN notes, “A PHICH carries hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK)/not-acknowledgement (NACK) information as a response to uplink data transmission (paragraph 0063). UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN indicates an acknowledgement process is conducted regarding the uplink data transmission. Further, BYUN informs the reader the control information may be decoded.
the control information container and the second container being one or both of demodulatable and decodable independently.
BYUN explains, “In general, if a 1/3 coding rate and a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation scheme are used, 54 resource elements (REs) are required in total for a DL grant. If it is assumed that a data channel of the sTTI has REs twice more than the control channel, 162 REs are required in total (54+54×2=162) in order for one UE to transmit a downlink signal” (paragraph 0108). BYUN explains a QPSK modulation scheme may be used for a downlink signal on a data channel, thereby, indicating the data container being demodulatable.
BYUN fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “a transmitting radio node for a wireless
communication network, the transmitting radio node configured to:” and “the control information
container not being subject to an acknowledgement process.”
However, in analogous art, BABAEI teaches a transmitting radio node for a wireless communication network, the transmitting radio node configured to:
BABAEI writes, “FIG. 1 is an example Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture as per an aspect of an
embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in this example, a RAN node may be a next
generation Node B (gNB) (e.g. 120A, 120B) providing New Radio (NR) user plane and control plane
protocol terminations towards a first wireless device (e.g. 110A). In this disclosure, wireless device 110A
and 110B are structurally similar to wireless device 110. Base stations 120A and/or 120B may be
structurally similarly to base station 120. Base station 120 may comprise at least one of a gNB (e.g. 122A
and/or 122B), ng-eNB (e.g. 124A and/or 124B), and or the like” (paragraph 0185).
the control information container not being subject to an acknowledgement process.
BABAEI writes, “In an example, the wireless device may switch from the first uplink carrier to the second
uplink carrier, without transmitting a confirmation/acknowledgement in response to receiving the first
downlink control information” (paragraph 0467).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention and method of BYUN to include aspects of the method and apparatus described by BABAEI that “relate to uplink carrier or bandwidth part switching in multicarrier communication systems.” BABAEI provides motivation for modification of the invention noting, “The amount of data traffic carried over cellular networks is expected to increase for many years to come. The number of users/devices is increasing and each user/device accesses an increasing number and variety of services, e.g. video delivery, large files, images. This requires not only high capacity in the network, but also provisioning very high data rates to meet customers' expectations on interactivity and responsiveness. More spectrum is therefore needed for cellular operators to meet the increasing demand Considering user expectations of high data rates along with seamless mobility, it is beneficial that more spectrum be made available for deploying macro cells as well as small cells for cellular systems” (paragraph 0304). BABAEI adds, “Striving to meet the market demands, there has been increasing interest from operators in deploying some complementary access utilizing unlicensed spectrum to meet the traffic growth. This is exemplified by the large number of operator-deployed Wi-Fi networks and the 3GPP standardization of LTE/WLAN interworking solutions. This interest indicates that unlicensed spectrum, when present, can be an effective complement to licensed spectrum for cellular operators to help addressing the traffic explosion in some scenarios, such as hotspot areas. LAA offers an alternative for operators to make use of unlicensed spectrum while managing one radio network, thus offering new possibilities for optimizing the network's efficiency” (paragraph 0305).
Regarding claim 4, BYUN teaches receive, from a transmitting radio node, signaling comprising
control information,
BYUN writes, “A PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of the resource allocation
of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by
decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH. Furthermore, the PDCCH may carry
control information, used for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduling, to the UE. The control
information used for PUSCH scheduling is an uplink grant that provides notification of the resource
allocation of uplink transmission” (paragraph 0064). BYUN indicates the PDCCH may carry a downlink
grant that provides notification of the resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. The UE
will receive the PDCCH and decode the control information, BYUN informs the reader.
the control information being transmitted in a control information container,
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of
the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to
which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols
become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated (paragraph
0063; figure 3). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a
control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The
remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control
and data regions are separated.
the control information container representing resources out of a resource range available to
the transmitting radio node for transmission on a physical uplink data channel,
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of
the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to
which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols
become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated (paragraph
0063; figure 3). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a
control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The
remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control
and data regions are separated.
the control information container having a container size of a set of container sizes,
BYUN writes, “A total number of [control channel elements (CCEs)] within a subframe may also be
different in each subframe because the number of OFDM symbols included in a control region within a
subframe may be different in each subframe” (paragraph 0065). BYUN indicates that the number of
OFDM symbols included in a control region within a subframe may be different in each subframe.
Therefore, the container size may vary. As indicated above the number of OFDM symbols in a control
region has a maximum value of three, hence the control region container can vary in size consisting of 1,
2, or 3 OFDM symbols (i.e., a set of container sizes).
and the transmission utilizing the control information container comprises transmission utilizing at least a second container representing resources of a resource range used for the second container, one or both of information and bits included in the second container are subject to an acknowledgement process, the control information container and the second container being one or both of demodulatable and decodable independently.
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated” (paragraph 0063). BYUN continues, “A PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of the resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN adds, “In 3GPP LTE of FIG. 2, a resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a resource grid for a downlink slot. In this case, the downlink slot includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time domain” (paragraph 0061). BYUN notes, “A PHICH carries hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK)/not-acknowledgement (NACK) information as a response to uplink data transmission (paragraph 0063). UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN explains, “In general, if a 1/3 coding rate and a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation scheme are used, 54 resource elements (REs) are required in total for a DL grant. If it is assumed that a data channel of the sTTI has REs twice more than the control channel, 162 REs are required in total (54+54×2=162) in order for one UE to transmit a downlink signal” (paragraph 0108). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control and data regions are separated. BYUN mentions that a PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. BYUN already informs us that the transmission consists of a control region and data region. BYUN states the resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a downlink slot. BYUN indicates an acknowledgement process is conducted regarding the uplink data transmission. Further, BYUN informs the reader the control information may be decoded. Lastly, BYUN explains a QPSK modulation scheme may be used for a downlink signal on a data channel, thereby, indicating the data container being demodulatable.
BYUN fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “a target radio node for a wireless
communication network, the target radio node configured to:” and “the control information container not being subject to an acknowledgement process.”
However, in analogous art, BABAEI teaches a target radio node for a wireless communication
network, the target radio node configured to:
BABAEI writes, “FIG. 1 is an example Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture as per an aspect of an
embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in this example, a RAN node may be a next
generation Node B (gNB) (e.g. 120A, 120B) providing New Radio (NR) user plane and control plane
protocol terminations towards a first wireless device (e.g. 110A). In this disclosure, wireless device 110A
and 110B are structurally similar to wireless device 110. Base stations 120A and/or 120B may be
structurally similarly to base station 120. Base station 120 may comprise at least one of a gNB (e.g. 122A
and/or 122B), ng-eNB (e.g. 124A and/or 124B), and or the like” (paragraph 0185).
the control information container not being subject to an acknowledgement process.
BABAEI writes, “In an example, the wireless device may switch from the first uplink carrier to the second
uplink carrier, without transmitting a confirmation/acknowledgement in response to receiving the first
downlink control information” (paragraph 0467).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention and method of BYUN to include aspects of the method and apparatus described by BABAEI that “relate to uplink carrier or bandwidth part switching in multicarrier communication systems.” BABAEI provides motivation for modification of the invention noting, “The amount of data traffic carried over cellular networks is expected to increase for many years to come. The number of users/devices is increasing and each user/device accesses an increasing number and variety of services, e.g. video delivery, large files, images. This requires not only high capacity in the network, but also provisioning very high data rates to meet customers' expectations on interactivity and responsiveness. More spectrum is therefore needed for cellular operators to meet the increasing demand Considering user expectations of high data rates along with seamless mobility, it is beneficial that more spectrum be made available for deploying macro cells as well as small cells for cellular systems” (paragraph 0304). BABAEI adds, “Striving to meet the market demands, there has been increasing interest from operators in deploying some complementary access utilizing unlicensed spectrum to meet the traffic growth. This is exemplified by the large number of operator-deployed Wi-Fi networks and the 3GPP standardization of LTE/WLAN interworking solutions. This interest indicates that unlicensed spectrum, when present, can be an effective complement to licensed spectrum for cellular operators to help addressing the traffic explosion in some scenarios, such as hotspot areas. LAA offers an alternative for operators to make use of unlicensed spectrum while managing one radio network, thus offering new possibilities for optimizing the network's efficiency” (paragraph 0305).
Claims 1 and 3 are method claims corresponding to the apparatus claims 2 and 4 that have
already been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 2 and 4.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under the same rational as claims 2 and 4.
Regarding claim 5, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 1,
Additionally, BYUN teaches wherein the set of container sizes comprised one of 2, 3, 4 or more
different sizes.
BYUN writes, “BYUN writes, “A total number of [control channel elements (CCEs)] within a subframe
may also be different in each subframe because the number of OFDM symbols included in a control
region within a subframe may be different in each subframe” (paragraph 0065). BYUN indicates that the
number of OFDM symbols included in a control region within a subframe may be different in each
subframe. Therefore, the container size may vary. As indicated above the number of OFDM symbols in a
control region has a maximum value of three, hence the control region container can vary in size
consisting of 1, 2, or 3 OFDM symbols (i.e., a set of container sizes).
Regarding claim 7, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 1,
Additionally, BYUN teaches wherein the control information comprises acknowledgement
information and/or measurement information.
BYUN writes, “Control channels, such as a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) and a
physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), in addition to a PDCCH may be allocated to the control
region. In this case, the inclusion of the three OFDM symbols in the control region is only an example.
The number of OFDM symbols included in the control region of a subframe may be aware through a
PCFICH. A PHICH carries hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK)/not -
acknowledgement (NACK) information as a response to uplink data transmission” (paragraph 0063).
BYUN indicates that the PHICH may be allocated to the control region, and that the PHICH carries HARQ
ACK/NACK information.
Regarding claim 9, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 1,
Additionally, BABAEI teaches wherein at least one container size coincides with the size
associated to a block symbol.
BABAEI writes, “As shown in FIG. 8, a resource block 806 may comprise 12 subcarriers” (paragraph
0237). BABAEI continues, “In an example, a gNB may transmit a downlink control information
comprising a downlink or uplink resource block assignment to a wireless device. A base station may
transmit to or receive from, a wireless device, data packets (e.g. transport blocks) scheduled and
transmitted via one or more resource blocks and one or more slots according to parameters in a
downlink control information and/or RRC message(s)” (paragraph 0237).
Regarding claim 14, BYUN teaches transmitting control information in a control information
container,
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of
the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to
which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols
become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated (paragraph
0063; figure 3). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a
control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The
remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control
and data regions are separated.
the control information container representing resources out of a resource range available to
the transmitting radio node for transmission on a physical uplink data channel,
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of
the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to
which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols
become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated (paragraph
0063; figure 3). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a
control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The
remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control
and data regions are separated.
the control information container having a container size of a set of container sizes,
BYUN writes, “A total number of [control channel elements (CCEs)] within a subframe may also be
different in each subframe because the number of OFDM symbols included in a control region within a
subframe may be different in each subframe” (paragraph 0065). BYUN indicates that the number of
OFDM symbols included in a control region within a subframe may be different in each subframe.
Therefore, the container size may vary. As indicated above the number of OFDM symbols in a control
region has a maximum value of three, hence the control region container can vary in size consisting of 1,
2, or 3 OFDM symbols (i.e., a set of container sizes).
and the transmission utilizing the control information container comprises transmission utilizing at least a second container representing resources of a resource range used for the second container, one or both of information and bits included in the second container are subject to an acknowledgement process, the control information container and the second container being one or both of demodulatable and decodable independently.
BYUN writes, “Referring to FIG. 3, a downlink subframe includes two contiguous slots. In the first slot of the downlink subframe, a maximum of the former three OFDM symbols become a control region to which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols become a data region to which physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) are allocated” (paragraph 0063). BYUN continues, “A PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of the resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN adds, “In 3GPP LTE of FIG. 2, a resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a resource grid for a downlink slot. In this case, the downlink slot includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time domain” (paragraph 0061). BYUN notes, “A PHICH carries hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK)/not-acknowledgement (NACK) information as a response to uplink data transmission (paragraph 0063). UE may read downlink user data transmitted through a PDSCH by decoding control information transmitted through the PDCCH” (paragraph 0064). BYUN explains, “In general, if a 1/3 coding rate and a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation scheme are used, 54 resource elements (REs) are required in total for a DL grant. If it is assumed that a data channel of the sTTI has REs twice more than the control channel, 162 REs are required in total (54+54×2=162) in order for one UE to transmit a downlink signal” (paragraph 0108). BYUN indicates that there are two slots within a subframe, and that within the first slot a control region, consisting of a maximum of three OFDM symbols, which a PDCCH is allocated. The remaining OFDM symbols, BYUN specifies, become a data region which PDSCHs allocated. The control and data regions are separated. BYUN mentions that a PDCCH may carry a downlink grant that provides notification of resource allocation of downlink transmission on a PDSCH. BYUN already informs us that the transmission consists of a control region and data region. BYUN states the resource grid for a single uplink slot may also be applied to a downlink slot. BYUN indicates an acknowledgement process is conducted regarding the uplink data transmission. Further, BYUN informs the reader the control information may be decoded. Lastly, BYUN explains a QPSK modulation scheme may be used for a downlink signal on a data channel, thereby, indicating the data container being demodulatable.
BYUN fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “a non-transitory computer storage
medium storing a computer program comprising instructions causing processing circuitry to at least
one of control and perform a method of operating a transmitting radio node in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:” and “the control information container not being subject to an acknowledgement process.”
However, in analogous art, BABAEI teaches a non-transitory computer storage medium storing
a computer program comprising instructions causing processing circuitry to at least one of control and
perform a method of operating a transmitting radio node in a wireless communication network, the
method comprising:
BABAEI writes, “Many of the elements described in the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as
modules. A module is defined here as an element that performs a defined function and has a defined
interface to other elements. The modules described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware,
software in combination with hardware, firmware, wetware (i.e. hardware with a biological element) or
a combination thereof, all of which may be behaviorally equivalent. For example, modules may be
implemented as a software routine written in a computer language configured to be executed by a
hardware machine (such as C, C++, Fortran, Java, Basic, Matlab or the like) or a modeling/simulation
program such as Simulink, Stateflow, GNU Octave, or LabVIEWMathScript” (paragraph 0490).
the control information container not being subject to an acknowledgement process.
BABAEI writes, “In an example, the wireless device may switch from the first uplink carrier to the second
uplink carrier, without transmitting a confirmation/acknowledgement in response to receiving the first
downlink control information” (paragraph 0467).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention and method of BYUN to include aspects of the method and apparatus described by BABAEI that “relate to uplink carrier or bandwidth part switching in multicarrier communication systems.” BABAEI provides motivation for modification of the invention noting, “The amount of data traffic carried over cellular networks is expected to increase for many years to come. The number of users/devices is increasing and each user/device accesses an increasing number and variety of services, e.g. video delivery, large files, images. This requires not only high capacity in the network, but also provisioning very high data rates to meet customers' expectations on interactivity and responsiveness. More spectrum is therefore needed for cellular operators to meet the increasing demand Considering user expectations of high data rates along with seamless mobility, it is beneficial that more spectrum be made available for deploying macro cells as well as small cells for cellular systems” (paragraph 0304). BABAEI adds, “Striving to meet the market demands, there has been increasing interest from operators in deploying some complementary access utilizing unlicensed spectrum to meet the traffic growth. This is exemplified by the large number of operator-deployed Wi-Fi networks and the 3GPP standardization of LTE/WLAN interworking solutions. This interest indicates that unlicensed spectrum, when present, can be an effective complement to licensed spectrum for cellular operators to help addressing the traffic explosion in some scenarios, such as hotspot areas. LAA offers an alternative for operators to make use of unlicensed spectrum while managing one radio network, thus offering new possibilities for optimizing the network's efficiency” (paragraph 0305).
Regarding claim 21, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 5,
Additionally, BABAEI teaches wherein the different sizes are non-contiguous.
BABAEI writes, “Carriers in a multicarrier OFDM communication system may be contiguous carriers,
non-contiguous carriers, or a combination of both contiguous and non-contiguous carriers” (paragraph
0235).
Claims 16, 18, and 20 are method claims corresponding to the method claims 5, 7, and 9 that
have already been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 5, 7,
and 9. Claims 16, 18, and 20 are rejected under the same rational as claims 5, 7, and 9.
Claim(s) 8 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BYUN and BABAEI as applied to claims 1 and 3 above, and further in view of TSAI, et al. (US 20170332359 A1, hereinafter, "TSAI").
Regarding claim 8, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 1,
BYUN and BABAEI fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “wherein the set of
container sizes is at least one of predefined, configured, and configurable.”
However, in analogous art, TSAI teaches wherein the set of container sizes is at least one of
predefined, configured, and configurable.
TSAI writes, “Currently 3GPP standardization efforts are underway to define the NR frame structure.
Consensus is to build the so called ‘self-contained’ time intervals for NR. A self-contained time interval is
understood to contain the control information for a grant, the data and its acknowledgement (i.e.,
ACK/NACK) all within a time interval and is expected to have configurable UL/DL/side link allocations
and reference signals within its resources. See, e.g., 3GPP R1-164694 Frame Structure Requirements,
Qualcomm, May 2016” (paragraph 0097). TSAI indicates that the self-contained time interval that
contains the control information for a grant, the data, and its acknowledgement is expected to have
configurable UL/DL/side link allocations and reference signals within its resources.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention and method of BYUN and BABAEI to include aspects of the method and apparatus described by TSAI where “New radio download numerology allocation information may be obtained through master information block data, system information block data, radio resource control signals, or signals or a physical downlink numerology indication channel, and used along with a reference signal detected in a search space to obtain resource element positions in an antenna port reference signal in a resource block that belongs to a particular band slice according to a reference signal allocation scheme for a band slice numerology. A physical download control may then be decoded based upon one or more resource elements of the reference signal, allowing the connection of, e.g., an enhanced mobile broadband, massive machine type communication, or ultra-reliable/low-latency application to a communications network thereby.” TSAI provides motivation for modification of the invention noting, “...dynamic transmission mode switching be supported which takes advantage of the fast fading channel, and may provide more flexibility and improve a user's experience.” (paragraph 0007). TSAI adds, “In order to address the problems associated with the large latency of transmission mode switching in the current 3GPP system, the following example mechanisms to enable dynamic transmission mode switching, while not increasing the number of blind decoding attempts...” (paragraph 0008).
Claim 19 is a method claim corresponding to the method claim 8 that has already been rejected
above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 8. Claim 19 is rejected under the
same rational as claim 8.
Claim(s) 10 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BYUN and BABAEI as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of YOU et al. (US 20160353420 A1, hereinafter, "YOU").
Regarding claim 10, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 1,
BYUN and BABAEI fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “wherein at least one
of a container size and the sizes in the set of container sizes is/are based on at least one of an
allocated and used bandwidth.”
However, in analogous art, YOU teaches wherein at least one of a container size and the sizes
in the set of container sizes is/are based on at least one of an allocated and used bandwidth.
YOU writes, “Referring to FIG. 2, a slot includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
(OFDM) symbols in the time domain and includes a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency
domain. The OFDM symbol may refer to one symbol duration. Referring to FIG. 2, a signal transmitted in
each slot may be expressed by a resource grid including N.sup.DL/UL.sub.RB*N.sup.RB.sub.sc
subcarriers and N.sup.DL/UL.sub.symb OFDM symbols. N.sup.DL.sub.RB denotes the number of RBs in a
DL slot and N.sup.UL.sub.RB denotes the number of RBs in a UL slot. N.sup.DL.sub.RB and
N.sup.UL.sub.RB depend on a DL transmission bandwidth and a UL transmission bandwidth,
respectively. N.sup.DL.sub.symb denotes the number of OFDM symbols in a DL slot, N.sup.UL.sub.symb
denotes the number of OFDM symbols in a UL slot, and N.sup.RB.sub.sc denotes the number of
subcarriers configuring one RB” (paragraph 0064). YOU explains that figure 2 displays a slot which
includes OFDM symbols and a plurality of resource blocks. The OFDM symbols, YOU specifies, denotes
the number of RBs in a DL/UL slot, and that number of OFDM symbols depends on the bandwidth of the
DL/UL transmission.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention and method of BYUN and BABAEI to include aspects of the method and apparatus described by YOU that “relates to a wireless communication system and, more particularly, to a method for transmitting or receiving a signal and an apparatus therefor.” YOU provides motivation for modification of the invention stating, “uplink/downlink signals can be efficiently transmitted/received. Therefore, overall throughput of a radio communication system can be improved” (paragraph 0020).
Regarding claim 13, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 1,
BYUN and BABAEI fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “wherein the error coding bits pertaining to the control information are included in the control information container.”
However, in analogous art, YOU teaches wherein the error coding bits pertaining to the control information are included in the control information container.
YOU writes, “A plurality of PDCCHs may be transmitted within a control region. A UE may monitor the
plurality of PDCCHs. An eNB determines a DCI format depending on the DCI to be transmitted to the UE,
and attaches cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to the DCI. The CRC is masked (or scrambled) with an
identifier (for example, a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)) depending on usage of the PDCCH
or owner of the PDCCH. For example, if the PDCCH is for a specific UE, the CRC may be masked with an
identifier (for example, cell-RNTI (C-RNTI)) of the corresponding UE. If the PDCCH is for a paging
message, the CRC may be masked with a paging identifier (for example, paging-RNTI (P-RNTI)). If the
PDCCH is for system information (in more detail, system information block (SIB)), the CRC may be
masked with system information RNTI (SI-RNTI). If the PDCCH is for a random access response, the CRC
may be masked with a random access RNTI (RA-RNTI). For example, CRC masking (or scrambling)
includes XOR operation of CRC and RNTI at the bit level” (paragraph 0082). YOU states that a plurality of
PDCCHs may be transmitted within a control region. YOU indicates that the CRC is attached to the DCI.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention and method of BYUN and BABAEI to include aspects of the method and apparatus described by YOU that “relates to a wireless communication system and, more particularly, to a method for transmitting or receiving a signal and an apparatus therefor.” YOU provides motivation for modification of the invention stating, “uplink/downlink signals can be efficiently transmitted/received. Therefore, overall throughput of a radio communication system can be improved” (paragraph 0020).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BYUN and BABAEI as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of KHOSHNEVISAN, et al. (US 20200015202 A1, hereinafter, "KHOSHNEVISAN").
Regarding claim 11, BYUN and BABAEI teach the method according to claim 1,
BYUN and BABAEI fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “wherein at least one
of a buffer status report, user data, a control element, and packet data unit of a higher layer are
included in the second container.”
However, in analogous art, KHOSHNEVISAN teaches wherein at least one of a buffer status
report, user data, a control element, and packet data unit of a higher layer are included in the second
container.
KHOSHNEVISAN writes, “FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 showing an example of a DL-centric slot or wireless
communication structure. The DL-centric slot may include a control portion 302” (paragraph 0046;
figure 3). KHOSHNEVISAN continues, “The DL-centric slot may also include a DL data portion 304”
(paragraph 0047; figure 3). KHOSHNEVISAN adds, “The DL-centric slot may also include an UL short burst
portion 306. The UL short burst portion 306 may sometimes be referred to as an UL burst, an UL burst
portion, a common UL burst, a short burst, an UL short burst, a common UL short burst, a common UL
short burst portion, and/or various other suitable terms. In some aspects, the UL short burst portion 306
may include one or more reference signals. Additionally, or alternatively, the UL short burst portion 306
may include feedback information corresponding to various other portions of the DL-centric slot. For
example, the UL short burst portion 306 may include feedback information corresponding to the control
portion 302 and/or the data portion 304. Non-limiting examples of information that may be included in
the UL short burst portion 606 include an acknowledgement (ACK) signal (e.g., a physical uplink control
channel (PUCCH) ACK, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) ACK, an immediate ACK), a negative
acknowledgement (NACK) signal (e.g., a PUCCH NACK, a PUSCH NACK, an immediate NACK), a
scheduling request (SR), a buffer status report (BSR), a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD)
indicator, a channel state indication (CSI), a channel quality indicator (CQI), a sounding reference signal
(SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PUSCH data, and/or various other suitable types of
information. The UL short burst portion 306 may include additional or alternative information, such as
information pertaining to random access channel (RACH) procedures, scheduling requests, and various
other suitable types of information” (paragraph 0048; figure 3). KHOSHNEVISAN provides a diagram of a
DL-centric slot in figure 3. The DL-centric slot includes a control portion, a DL data portion, and a UL
short burst portion. KHOSHNEVISAN explains the UL short burst portion may include feedback
information corresponding to the control portion and/or the data portion, which may include
acknowledgement (ACK) signal, a scheduling request (SR), a buffer status report (BSR), PUSCH data,
and/or various other suitable types of information.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention and method of BYUN and BABAEI to include aspects of the method and apparatus described by KHOSHNEVISAN that “relate to wireless communication, and more particularly to techniques and apparatuses for transmitting downlink control information (DCI) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).” KHOSHNEVISAN provides motivation for modification of the invention specifying, “Some techniques and apparatuses described herein provide a base station that is capable of transmitting DCI on a PDSCH. For example, the DCI may be concatenated with a payload associated with the PDSCH (e.g., the DCI and a downlink shared channel (DSCH) of the PDSCH may be jointly encoded) and the BS may transmit the DCI on the PDSCH rather than (or, in some aspects, in addition to) on a PDCCH. This reduces or eliminates a blocking probability in the absence of limited search space per UE. In addition, this facilitates use of MU-MIMO, coherent CoMP, coordinated scheduling, and/or the like in association with transmitting DCI, which can improve a DCI transmission by providing capabilities that are not otherwise available or are limited when DCI is transmitted on the PDCCH. Further, this reduces or eliminates a need for a UE to perform blind decoding for multiple hypotheses, thereby conserving processing resources of the UE, reducing a complexity of decoding communications from a BS, conserving power resources of the UE, and/or the like” (paragraph 0062). KHOSHNEVISAN continues, “Further, this reduces or eliminates cyclic redundancy check (CRC) overhead for DCI (e.g., which may be as much as 24 bits in NR), thereby conserving network resources used to provide the DCI from the BS to a UE. Further, this improves a coding gain of a UE as a result of a larger block length, thereby improving a reliability of communications between a UE and a BS. For example, information bits associated with DCI are typically small (e.g., between approximately 16 bits and 40 bits). If the information bits are transmitted as a separate packet (as in the case of DCI on PDCCH), coding gain is smaller than if the information bits are sent as part of a larger packet, such as on PDSCH. Further, this increases a frequency diversity of transmitting DCI by increasing a block length for a concatenated packet of DCI and downlink data (e.g., by causing the DCI to be allocated across a wider set of resource elements), thereby improving a transmission of DCI” (paragraph 0063).
Claims 6, 12, 15, and 17 have been cancelled by the applicant, respectfully.
Conclusion
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/Christopher A. Reyes/Examiner, Art Unit 2475 2/13/2026
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475