DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 2/9/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-7 and 15-27 under 35 USC § 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of 35 USC § 103.
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.
Claims 1, 4-7, 15-16, 19-22, 25-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao et al. (US 20220124773 A1) in view of Kim et al. (US 20240284494 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Gao et al. teaches a method for transmitting uplink control information, comprising: determining that a plurality of physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) overlap in a time domain, wherein the plurality of PUCCHs respectively carry uplink control information with different priorities (Paragraph 63, 66, 78, These passages teach overlapping PUCCHs in the time domain that carry different UCI with explicitly different priority levels); combining the uplink control information with different priorities carried on the plurality of PUCCHs respectively (Paragraph 63, 66, 125, These passages teach combining multiple UCI of different priorities via multiplexing onto a single PUCCH resource (i.e., combined UCI transmission)); determining a target PUCCH, wherein a time domain end position of the target PUCCH is not later than a time domain end position of a PUCCH located by uplink control information with a highest priority (Paragraph 75, 78, These passages teach selecting the first uplink channel (carrying the highest-priority UCI) as the transmission channel when another candidate channel would end later, such that the selected (target) PUCCH is the same as the highest-priority PUCCH and therefore has an end position not later than itself); and transmitting the combined uplink control information through the target PUCCH (Paragraph 63, 80, These passages teach transmitting combined (multiplexed) UCI on a selected PUCCH resource (target PUCCH)); wherein the plurality of PUCCHs comprise two PUCCHs, a PUCCH format (PF) of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority is PF0 or PF1, a number of bits of uplink control information that each PUCCH carries is 1, and the target PUCCH is the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority (Paragraph 117-119, These passages teach two PUCCHs, PF1 format for the higher-priority UCI, and selecting that higher-priority PUCCH as the transmission (target) channel; HARQ-ACK/SR signaling corresponds to minimal UCI payloads (single-bit acknowledgments/requests), satisfying the claimed bit constraint).
Gao et al. does not explicitly teach wherein determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH.
However, Kim et al. teaches wherein determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH (Paragraph 341, 370, 402–403, These passages teach comparing the combined UCI bit amount to format-dependent limits and, when within the bit capacity of the highest-priority UL control channel format, using that same UL control channel (i.e., not switching to another), thereby determining the PUCCH of the highest-priority UCI as the transmission channel when the bit count does not exceed its upper limit).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH as taught by Kim et al. in the system of Gao et al., so that it would ensure that multiplexed uplink control information is transmitted on the highest-priority PUCCH when its payload capacity is sufficient, thereby improving efficient utilization of PUCCH resources while maintaining the priority-based transmission framework already implemented by Gao et al.
Regarding claim 4, Gao et al. anticipates the uplink control information comprises at least one of: a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement, a scheduling request, or channel state information (Paragraph 61, This passage explicitly discloses that the uplink control information (UCI) contains at least one of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), channel state information (CSI), or a scheduling request (SR)).
Regarding claim 5, Gao et al. anticipates uplink control information carried on at least one PUCCH of the plurality of PUCCHs is the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (Paragraph 117, This discloses HARQ-ACK as uplink control information carried on at least one of multiple PUCCHs within a slot), and determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being greater than an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining an indicated PUCCH based on downlink control information corresponding to the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (Paragraph 124, This teaches selecting a new indicated PUCCH based on DCI when the bit number of combined HARQ-ACK and CSI exceeds what the original high-priority PUCCH can carry); and in response to a time domain end position of the indicated PUCCH being not later than a time domain end position of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority, determining the indicated PUCCH as the target PUCCH (Paragraph 125, This discloses determining that when the end position of the indicated PUCCH is not later than the original high-priority PUCCH, the indicated PUCCH (new resource) is used as the target PUCCH for transmission).
Regarding claim 6, Gao et al. anticipates in response to the time domain end position of the indicated PUCCH being later than the time domain end position of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority, transmitting the uplink control information with the highest priority through the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority (Paragraph 119, Teaches that when the indicated PUCCH (SR) ends later than the higher-priority PUCCH (HARQ-ACK), only the higher-priority UCI is sent on its original PUCCH).
Regarding claim 7, Gao et al. anticipates determining the indicated PUCCH based on the downlink control information corresponding to the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement comprises: in response to the plurality of PUCCHs comprising at least two hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgements, determining the indicated PUCCH based on downlink control information with a latest time domain resource in downlink control information corresponding to the at least two hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgements (Paragraph 117-119, teaches selecting the PUCCH for HARQ-ACK transmission based on DCI and comparing end-time positions of overlapping PUCCHs, choosing the one associated with the latest time-domain resource).
Regarding claim 15, Gao et al. teaches an electronic device, comprises: a processor; and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor; wherein the processor is configured to: determine that a plurality of physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) overlap in a time domain, wherein the plurality of PUCCHs respectively carry uplink control information with different priorities (Paragraph 63, 66, 78, These passages teach overlapping PUCCHs in the time domain that carry different UCI with explicitly different priority levels); combine the uplink control information with different priorities carried on the plurality of PUCCHs respectively (Paragraph 63, 66, 125, These passages teach combining multiple UCI of different priorities via multiplexing onto a single PUCCH resource (i.e., combined UCI transmission)); determine a target PUCCH, wherein a time domain end position of the target PUCCH is not later than a time domain end position of a PUCCH located by uplink control information with a highest priority (Paragraph 75, 78, These passages teach selecting the first uplink channel (carrying the highest-priority UCI) as the transmission channel when another candidate channel would end later, such that the selected (target) PUCCH is the same as the highest-priority PUCCH and therefore has an end position not later than itself); and transmit the combined uplink control information through the target PUCCH (Paragraph 63, 80, These passages teach transmitting combined (multiplexed) UCI on a selected PUCCH resource (target PUCCH)); wherein the plurality of PUCCHs comprise two PUCCHs, a PUCCH format (PF) of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority is PF0 or PF1, a number of bits of uplink control information that each PUCCH carries is 1, and the target PUCCH is the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority (Paragraph 117-119, These passages teach two PUCCHs, PF1 format for the higher-priority UCI, and selecting that higher-priority PUCCH as the transmission (target) channel; HARQ-ACK/SR signaling corresponds to minimal UCI payloads (single-bit acknowledgments/requests), satisfying the claimed bit constraint).
Gao et al. does not explicitly teach wherein in determining the target PUCCH, the processor is further configured to: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determine the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH.
However, Kim et al. teaches wherein in determining the target PUCCH, the processor is further configured to: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determine the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH (Paragraph 341, 370, 402–403, These passages teach comparing the combined UCI bit amount to format-dependent limits and, when within the bit capacity of the highest-priority UL control channel format, using that same UL control channel (i.e., not switching to another), thereby determining the PUCCH of the highest-priority UCI as the transmission channel when the bit count does not exceed its upper limit).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein in determining the target PUCCH, the processor is further configured to: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determine the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH as taught by Kim et al. in the system of Gao et al., so that it would ensure that multiplexed uplink control information is transmitted on the highest-priority PUCCH when its payload capacity is sufficient, thereby improving efficient utilization of PUCCH resources while maintaining the priority-based transmission framework already implemented by Gao et al.
Regarding claim 16, Gao et al. teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer programs that, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a method for transmitting uplink control information, the method comprising: determining that a plurality of physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) overlap in a time domain, wherein the plurality of PUCCHs respectively carry uplink control information with different priorities (Paragraph 63, 66, 78, These passages teach overlapping PUCCHs in the time domain that carry different UCI with explicitly different priority levels); combining the uplink control information with different priorities carried on the plurality of PUCCHs respectively (Paragraph 63, 66, 125, These passages teach combining multiple UCI of different priorities via multiplexing onto a single PUCCH resource (i.e., combined UCI transmission)); determining a target PUCCH, wherein a time domain end position of the target PUCCH is not later than a time domain end position of a PUCCH located by uplink control information with a highest priority (Paragraph 75, 78, These passages teach selecting the first uplink channel (carrying the highest-priority UCI) as the transmission channel when another candidate channel would end later, such that the selected (target) PUCCH is the same as the highest-priority PUCCH and therefore has an end position not later than itself); and transmitting the combined uplink control information through the target PUCCH (Paragraph 63, 80, These passages teach transmitting combined (multiplexed) UCI on a selected PUCCH resource (target PUCCH)), wherein the plurality of PUCCHs comprise two PUCCHs, a PUCCH format (PF) of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority is PF0 or PF1, a number of bits of uplink control information that each PUCCH carries is 1, and the target PUCCH is the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority (Paragraph 117-119, These passages teach two PUCCHs, PF1 format for the higher-priority UCI, and selecting that higher-priority PUCCH as the transmission (target) channel; HARQ-ACK/SR signaling corresponds to minimal UCI payloads (single-bit acknowledgments/requests), satisfying the claimed bit constraint).
Gao et al. does not explicitly teach wherein determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH.
However, Kim et al. teaches wherein determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH (Paragraph 341, 370, 402–403, These passages teach comparing the combined UCI bit amount to format-dependent limits and, when within the bit capacity of the highest-priority UL control channel format, using that same UL control channel (i.e., not switching to another), thereby determining the PUCCH of the highest-priority UCI as the transmission channel when the bit count does not exceed its upper limit).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being less than or equal to an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority as the target PUCCH as taught by Kim et al. in the system of Gao et al., so that it would ensure that multiplexed uplink control information is transmitted on the highest-priority PUCCH when its payload capacity is sufficient, thereby improving efficient utilization of PUCCH resources while maintaining the priority-based transmission framework already implemented by Gao et al.
Regarding claim 19, Gao et al. anticipates the uplink control information comprises at least one of: a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement, a scheduling request, or channel state information (Paragraph 61, This passage explicitly discloses that the uplink control information (UCI) contains at least one of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), channel state information (CSI), or a scheduling request (SR)).
Regarding claim 20, Gao et al. anticipates uplink control information carried on at least one PUCCH of the plurality of PUCCHs is the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (Paragraph 117, This discloses HARQ-ACK as uplink control information carried on at least one of multiple PUCCHs within a slot), and the processor is further configured to: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being greater than an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determine an indicated PUCCH based on downlink control information corresponding to the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (Paragraph 124, This teaches selecting a new indicated PUCCH based on DCI when the bit number of combined HARQ-ACK and CSI exceeds what the original high-priority PUCCH can carry); and in response to a time domain end position of the indicated PUCCH being not later than a time domain end position of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority, determine the indicated PUCCH as the target PUCCH (Paragraph 125, This discloses determining that when the end position of the indicated PUCCH is not later than the original high-priority PUCCH, the indicated PUCCH (new resource) is used as the target PUCCH for transmission).
Regarding claim 21, Gao et al. anticipates in response to the time domain end position of the indicated PUCCH being later than the time domain end position of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority, transmit the uplink control information with the highest priority through the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority (Paragraph 119, Teaches that when the indicated PUCCH (SR) ends later than the higher-priority PUCCH (HARQ-ACK), only the higher-priority UCI is sent on its original PUCCH).
Regarding claim 22, Gao et al. anticipates in response to the plurality of PUCCHs comprising at least two hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgements, determine the indicated PUCCH based on downlink control information with a latest time domain resource in downlink control information corresponding to the at least two hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgements (Paragraph 117-119, teaches selecting the PUCCH for HARQ-ACK transmission based on DCI and comparing end-time positions of overlapping PUCCHs, choosing the one associated with the latest time-domain resource).
Regarding claim 25, Gao et al. anticipates the uplink control information comprises at least one of: a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement, a scheduling request, or channel state information (Paragraph 61, This passage explicitly discloses that the uplink control information (UCI) contains at least one of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), channel state information (CSI), or a scheduling request (SR)), wherein uplink control information carried on at least one PUCCH of the plurality of PUCCHs is the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (Paragraph 117, This discloses HARQ-ACK as uplink control information carried on at least one of multiple PUCCHs within a slot), and determining the target PUCCH comprises: in response to a number of bits of the combined uplink control information being greater than an upper limit of a number of bits of uplink control information that the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority carries, determining an indicated PUCCH based on downlink control information corresponding to the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (Paragraph 124, This teaches selecting a new indicated PUCCH based on DCI when the bit number of combined HARQ-ACK and CSI exceeds what the original high-priority PUCCH can carry); and in response to a time domain end position of the indicated PUCCH being not later than a time domain end position of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority, determining the indicated PUCCH as the target PUCCH (Paragraph 125, This discloses determining that when the end position of the indicated PUCCH is not later than the original high-priority PUCCH, the indicated PUCCH (new resource) is used as the target PUCCH for transmission).
Regarding claim 26, Gao et al. anticipates in response to the time domain end position of the indicated PUCCH being later than the time domain end position of the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority, transmitting the uplink control information with the highest priority through the PUCCH located by the uplink control information with the highest priority (Paragraph 119, Teaches that when the indicated PUCCH (SR) ends later than the higher-priority PUCCH (HARQ-ACK), only the higher-priority UCI is sent on its original PUCCH).
Regarding claim 27, Gao et al. anticipates determining the indicated PUCCH based on the downlink control information corresponding to the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement comprises: in response to the plurality of PUCCHs comprising at least two hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgements, determining the indicated PUCCH based on downlink control information with a latest time domain resource in downlink control information corresponding to the at least two hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgements (Paragraph 117-119, teaches selecting the PUCCH for HARQ-ACK transmission based on DCI and comparing end-time positions of overlapping PUCCHs, choosing the one associated with the latest time-domain resource).
Allowable Subject Matter
The applicant could consider adding concepts that more explicitly emphasize the delay-avoidance objective described in the specification, such as clarifying that the target PUCCH is selected to ensure that transmission timing of the highest-priority UCI is not later than its originally scheduled transmission timing so as to avoid delay of the highest-priority UCI. The applicant could also add concepts specifying that when the number of bits of the combined UCI exceeds the upper limit supported by the highest-priority PUCCH, an indicated PUCCH is determined based on downlink control information (DCI) corresponding to a HARQ-ACK, including determining the indicated PUCCH based on DCI having a latest time-domain resource when multiple HARQ-ACKs are present. Further, the applicant could incorporate fallback behavior concepts, such as transmitting only the highest-priority UCI on its original PUCCH when the indicated PUCCH would end later than the highest-priority PUCCH, thereby preserving timely transmission of critical control information. The applicant could also add concepts specifying particular UCI types involved in the priority handling, such as HARQ-ACK, scheduling request, or channel state information, and describing that priority differentiation among these UCI types drives the channel selection logic. Additionally, the applicant could incorporate device-side functional concepts (e.g., modules configured for overlap determination, UCI combining, channel determination, and conditional transmission control) to more fully reflect the coordinated processing architecture disclosed in the specification.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim et al. (US 20210360610 A1)
Jung et al. (US 20250227776 A1)
Ouchi et al. (US 20220183079 A1)
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/ANDREW SHAJI KURIAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2464
/IQBAL ZAIDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464