DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5 December 2025 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5 December 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 1, 17, 20-32, 35, 51, and 54-66, the applicant argued, “…Dudda discloses identifying a HARQ process ID corresponding to a particular subframe…a subframe corresponds to an SPS occasion…” on pages 16-21.
In response to applicant’s argument, the examiner respectfully disagrees with the above argument.
In ¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5 Dudda clearly teaches conducting a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a first HARQ process ID for the first information in the first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on first downlink data received in first sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the first sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable); and conducting a second HARQ process associated with a second HARQ process ID for the second information in the second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on second downlink data received in second sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the second sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable).
The cited portions of Dudda disclose a sub-subframe based SPS. In the exemplary embodiment of figure 5 and the corresponding written description, the SPS period is 2 subframes with five consecutive sub-subframes comprising five transmission opportunities. Each sub-subframe has its own HARQ process ID as shown in the formulae disclosed in ¶¶71-73. The HARQ Process ID is based on CURRENT_TTI and CURRENT_TTI is based on ssf_pos which is the index of the particular sub-subframe within the subframe.
Regarding claim 25, the applicant argued, “…Takeda simply discloses that one base station may use one type of carrier at 2 GHz to communicate with UEs and that another base station may use another type of carrier at 3.5 GHz, etc., to communicate with UEs…” on pages 19-20.
In response to applicant’s argument, the examiner respectfully disagrees with the above argument.
In ¶81 Takeda clearly teaches receive the first information in the first communication opportunity on a first radio frequency (RF) band (¶81: 2 GHz band); and receive the second information in the second communication opportunity on a second RF band that is different from the first RF band (¶81: 3.5GHz or 5GHz band).
In the context of ¶¶79-81 and figure 3 to which the citation of ¶81 pertains, the UEs communicate with macro cell base station 11 and small cell base station(s) 12 at the same time. As such, a UE receiving on 2GHz band from base station 11 and, at the same time, receiving on 3.5GHz or 5GHz band from base station 12 teaches the claimed limitation.
Applicant’s other arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 17, 20-32, 35, 51, and 54-66 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 17, 20-32, 35, 51, and 54-66 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-26 of U.S. Patent No. 12,348,316 (published patent of previously relied upon Application No. 17/904,784). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1, 17, 20-32, 35, 51, and 54-66 of the instant application are in the same scope as claims 1-26 of 12,348,316.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 17, 27-28, 35, 51, and 61-62 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dudda et al. US 2019/0289624 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Dudda”). Note: Dudda was cited by the applicant in the IDS received 17 September 2024.
As to claim 1, Dudda teaches a method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving a message from a network entity, the message indicating a periodicity between semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) occasions for a configured SPS (¶¶55 and 58; figure 5: UE 105 receives signaling from BS 110 including configuration message 210 configuring SPS and indicating periodicity of the SPS occasions);
receiving, from the network entity, a transmission for a first SPS occasion of the SPS occasions, the first SPS occasion comprising a plurality of communication opportunities (¶¶55 and 59; figure 5: receive initial data transmission 240a for initial SPS occasion 230a, of SPS occasions 230a, 230b, and 230c, initial SPS occasion 230a comprising five communication opportunities on five sub-subframes);
decoding downlink information included in at least two of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶29, 55, and 59; figure 5: decode transmissions according to the resource allocation and pattern in at least two of the five sub-subframes of data transmission 240a in SPS occasion 230a), wherein the downlink information comprises a first information in a first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion, and wherein the downlink information further comprises a second information in a second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶59; see figure 5: downlink data transmission 240a includes first and second communication opportunities via first and second sPDSCH in first and second sub-subframes of SPS occasion 230a);
conducting a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a first HARQ process ID for the first information in the first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on first downlink data received in first sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the first sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable); and
conducting a second HARQ process associated with a second HARQ process ID for the second information in the second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on second downlink data received in second sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the second sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable).
As to claim 17, claim 17 Dudda teaches a user equipment (see figure 11), comprising:
a transceiver (see figure 11);
one or more memories that store processor-executable code (see figure 11); and
one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the UE to (see figure 11):
receive a message from a network entity via the transceiver, the message indicating a periodicity between semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) occasions for a configured SPS (¶¶55 and 58; figure 5: UE 105 receives signaling from BS 110 including configuration message 210 configuring SPS and indicating periodicity of the SPS occasions);
receive, from the network entity via the transceiver, a transmission for a first SPS occasion of the SPS occasions, the first SPS occasion comprising a plurality of communication opportunities (¶¶55 and 59; figure 5: receive initial data transmission 240a for initial SPS occasion 230a, of SPS occasions 230a, 230b, and 230c, initial SPS occasion 230a comprising five communication opportunities on five sub-subframes);
decode downlink information included in at least two of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶29, 55, and 59; figure 5: decode transmissions according to the resource allocation and pattern in at least two of the five sub-subframes of data transmission 240a in SPS occasion 230a), wherein the downlink information comprises a first information in a first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion, and wherein the downlink information further comprises a second information in a second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶59; see figure 5: downlink data transmission 240a includes first and second communication opportunities via first and second sPDSCH in first and second sub-subframes of SPS occasion 230a);
conduct a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a first HARQ process ID for the first information in the first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on first downlink data received in first sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the first sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable); and
conduct a second HARQ process associated with a second HARQ process ID for the second information in the second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on second downlink data received in second sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the second sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable).
As to claim 27, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17, wherein:
the first communication opportunity and the second communication opportunity comprise a plurality of communication sub-opportunities (¶¶29, 50, 55, and 59; figure 5: first communication opportunity comprises first and second sub-subframes and second communication opportunity comprises third and fourth sub-subframes); and
the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the UE to decode information included in at least two of the plurality of communication sub-opportunities (¶¶29, 50, 55, and 59; figure 5: decode data in the sub-subframes).
As to claim 28, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17, wherein:
the first communication opportunity and the second communication opportunity comprise a plurality of communication sub-opportunities (¶¶29, 50, 55, and 59; figure 5: first communication opportunity comprises first and second sub-subframes and second communication opportunity comprises third and fourth sub-subframes): and
the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the UE to:
conduct a third hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process for a first communication sub-opportunity of the plurality of communication sub-opportunities (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on third downlink data received in third sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the third sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable); and
conduct a fourth HARQ process for a second communication sub-opportunity of the plurality of communication sub-opportunities (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: UE performs HARQ process on fourth downlink data received in fourth sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the fourth sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable).
As to claim 35, Dudda teaches a method of wireless communication at a network entity, the method comprising:
generating a message indicating a periodicity between semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) occasions for a configured SPS;
transmitting the message to a UE (¶¶55 and 58; figure 5: BS 110 generates and transmits to UE 105 signaling including configuration message 210 configuring SPS and indicating periodicity of the SPS occasions);
transmitting, to the UE, downlink information for a first SPS occasion of the SPS occasions, the first SPS occasion comprising a plurality of communication opportunities (¶¶55 and 59; figure 5: transmit initial data transmission 240a for initial SPS occasion 230a, of SPS occasions 230a, 230b, and 230c, initial SPS occasion 230a comprising five communication opportunities on five sub-subframes), wherein the downlink information comprises a first information in a first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion, and wherein the downlink information further comprises a second information in a second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶59; see figure 5: downlink data transmission 240a includes first and second communication opportunities via first and second sPDSCH in first and second sub-subframes of SPS occasion 230a); and
conducting a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a first HARQ process ID for the first information in the first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: BS performs HARQ process on first downlink data in first sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the first sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable); and
conducting a second HARQ process associated with a second HARQ process ID for the second information in the second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: BS performs HARQ process on second downlink data in second sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the second sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable).
As to claim 51, Dudda teaches a network entity (see figure 9), comprising:
a transceiver (see figure 9);
one or more memories that store processor-executable code (see figure 9); and
one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the network entity to (see figure 9):
generate a message indicating a periodicity between semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) occasions for a configured SPS;
transmit the message to a UE via the transceiver (¶¶55 and 58; figure 5: BS 110 generates and transmits to UE 105 signaling including configuration message 210 configuring SPS and indicating periodicity of the SPS occasions); and
transmit, to the UE via the transceiver, downlink information for a first SPS occasion of the SPS occasions, the first SPS occasion comprising a plurality of communication opportunities (¶¶55 and 59; figure 5: transmit initial data transmission 240a for initial SPS occasion 230a, of SPS occasions 230a, 230b, and 230c, initial SPS occasion 230a comprising five communication opportunities on five sub-subframes), wherein the downlink information comprises a first information in a first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion, and wherein the downlink information further comprises a second information in a second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶59; see figure 5: downlink data transmission 240a includes first and second communication opportunities via first and second sPDSCH in first and second sub-subframes of SPS occasion 230a); and
conduct a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a first HARQ process ID for the first information in the first communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: BS performs HARQ process on first downlink data in first sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the first sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable); and
conduct a second HARQ process associated with a second HARQ process ID for the second information in the second communication opportunity of the plurality of communication opportunities of the first SPS occasion (¶¶58-59 and 71-73; see figure 5: BS performs HARQ process on second downlink data in second sub-subframe of first SPS occasion 230a, the second sub-subframe having a HARQ process identifier determined according to a formula in which ssf_pos (index of the particular sub-subframe) is a variable).
As to claim 61, claim 61 is rejected the same way as claim 27.
As to claim 62, claim 62 is rejected the same way as claim 28.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 20-26, 29-32, 54-60, and 63-66 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dudda in view of Takeda et al. US 2021/0153204 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Takeda”).
As to claim 20, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17.
Although Dudda teaches “The UE of claim 17,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “transmit, to…second information”.
However, Takeda teaches transmit, to the network entity, a physical uplink control channel (PUSCH) message (¶27: acknowledgement transmitted via PUSCH) comprising:
a first acknowledgement for the first information (¶¶23-32 and 46-52: first acknowledgement for first data); and
a second acknowledgement for the second information (¶¶23-32 and 46-52: second acknowledgement for second data).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “transmit, to…second information” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 21, Dudda in view of Takeda teaches the wireless communication device of claim 20.
Takeda further teaches receive a downlink control information (DCI) from the network entity after transmitting the PUSCH message, the DCI indicating at least one of:
a first resource for a retransmission of the first information;
a second resource for a retransmission of the second information; or
a combination thereof (¶¶92-94: DCI in response to HARQ-ACK on PUSCH includes retransmission control information).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda in view of Takeda by including “receive a downlink…combination thereof” as further taught by Takeda for the same rationale as set forth in claim 20 (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 22, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17.
Although Dudda teaches “The UE of claim 17,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “the first…transport block”.
However, Takeda teaches the first information is for a first transport block (¶51: first TB of two TBs); and
the second information is for a second transport block (¶51: second TB of two TBs).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “the first…transport block” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 23, Dudda in view of Takeda teaches the UE of claim 22.
Takeda further teaches the first communication opportunity is two slots in length; and
the second communication opportunity is one slot in length (¶¶163-169: two slots and one slot).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda in view of Takeda by including “the first…in length” as further taught by Takeda for the same rationale as set forth in claim 22 (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 24, Dudda in view of Takeda teaches the UE of claim 23.
Takeda further teaches generate a first acknowledgement for the first information (¶¶23-32 and 46-52: first acknowledgement for first data); and
generate a second acknowledgement for the second information (¶¶23-32 and 46-52: second acknowledgement for second data).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda in view of Takeda by including “generate a first…the second information” as further taught by Takeda for the same rationale as set forth in claim 22 (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 25, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17.
Although Dudda teaches “The UE of claim 17,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “receive the first…first RF band”.
However, Takeda teaches receive the first information in the first communication opportunity on a first radio frequency (RF) band (¶81: 2 GHz band); and
receive the second information in the second communication opportunity on a second RF band that is different from the first RF band (¶81: 3.5GHz or 5GHz band).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “receive the first…first RF band” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 26, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17.
Although Dudda teaches “The UE of claim 17,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “receive the first…first RF beam”.
However, Takeda teaches receive the first information in the first communication opportunity via a first (RF) beam (¶81: first beam of 2 GHz band); and
receive the second information in the second communication opportunity on a second RF beam that is different from the first RF beam (¶81: second beam of 3.5GHz or 5GHz band).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “receive the first…first RF beam” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 29, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17, wherein:
the first communication opportunity comprises a first communication sub-opportunity;
the second communication opportunity comprises a second communication sub-opportunity (¶¶29, 50, 55, and 59; figure 5: first communication opportunity comprises first and second sub-subframes and second communication opportunity comprises third and fourth sub-subframes).
Although Dudda teaches “The UE…communication sub-opportunity,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “the one…RF band”.
However, Takeda teaches the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the UE to receive the first information in the first communication sub-opportunity on a first radio frequency (RF) band (¶81: 2 GHz band); and
the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the UE to receive the second information in the second communication sub-opportunity on a second RF band that is different from the first RF band (¶81: 3.5GHz or 5GHz band).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “the one…RF band” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 30, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17, wherein:
the first communication opportunity comprises a first communication sub-opportunity;
the second communication opportunity comprises a second communication sub-opportunity (¶¶29, 50, 55, and 59; figure 5: first communication opportunity comprises first and second sub-subframes and second communication opportunity comprises third and fourth sub-subframes).
Although Dudda teaches “The UE…communication sub-opportunity,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “the one…RF beam”.
However, Takeda teaches the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the UE to receive the first information in the first communication sub-opportunity on a first (RF) beam (¶81: 2 GHz band); and
the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the UE to receive the second information in the second communication sub-opportunity on a second RF beam that is different from the first RF beam (¶81: 3.5GHz or 5GHz band).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “the one…RF beam” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 31, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17.
Although Dudda teaches “The UE of claim 17,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “receive a…combination thereof”.
However, Takeda further teaches receive a downlink control information (DCI) from the network entity, the DCI indicating (¶¶34 and 112) at least one of:
a first start and length indicator (SLIV) for the first communication opportunity and a second SLIV that is different from the first SLIV for the second communication opportunity (¶30);
a first frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) for the first communication opportunity and a second FDRA that is different from the first FDRA for the second communication opportunity (¶30);
a first time domain resource allocation (TDRA) for the first communication opportunity and a second TDRA that is different from the first TDRA for the second communication opportunity (¶169);
a first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for the first communication opportunity and a second MCS that is different from the first MCS for the second communication opportunity (¶112);
a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) for the first communication opportunity and a second TCI that is different from the first TCI for the second communication opportunity;
any combination thereof.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “receive a…combination thereof” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 32, Dudda teaches the UE of claim 17.
Although Dudda teaches “The UE of claim 17,” Dudda does not explicitly disclose “receive a…combination thereof”.
However, Takeda further teaches receive a downlink control information (DCI) from the network entity, the DCI indicating (¶¶34 and 112) at least one of:
a start and length indicator (SLIV) for the plurality of communication opportunities (¶30);
a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) for the plurality of communication opportunities (¶30);
a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) for the plurality of communication opportunities (¶169);
a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for the plurality of communication opportunities (¶112);
a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) for the plurality of communication opportunities; or
any combination thereof.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Dudda by including “receive a…combination thereof” as taught by Takeda because it provides Dudda’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of flexible HARQ-ACK codebooks (Takeda, ¶¶23-32 and 46-52).
As to claim 54, claim 54 is rejected the same way as claim 20.
As to claim 55, claim 55 is rejected the same way as claim 21.
As to claim 56, claim 56 is rejected the same way as claim 22.
As to claim 57, claim 57 is rejected the same way as claim 23.
As to claim 58, claim 58 is rejected the same way as claim 24.
As to claim 59, claim 59 is rejected the same way as claim 25.
As to claim 60, claim 60 is rejected the same way as claim 26.
As to claim 63, claim 63 is rejected the same way as claim 29.
As to claim 64, claim 64 is rejected the same way as claim 30.
As to claim 65, claim 65 is rejected the same way as claim 31.
As to claim 66, claim 66 is rejected the same way as claim 32.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN T VAN ROIE whose telephone number is (571)270-0308. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm.
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/JUSTIN T VAN ROIE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469