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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/11/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/18/2025 with respect to claim(s) 1, 23, 40, and 62 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection under 103 based on new references Wong et al. (US 2023/0054490 A1) and Seo et al. (US 2012/0320852 A1) for claims 1 and 40, and based on Wong, Seo and previously cited reference Heo et al. (US 2005/0249120 A1) for claims 23 and 62.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, 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) 1, 11, 40, and 50 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong et al. (US 2023/0054490 A1) in view of Seo et al. (US 2012/0320852 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 40, Wong discloses A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising and An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors, one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to (Fig. 13, [0093] The communications device 131 is configured to transmit data to or receive data from the wireless communications network, for example, to and from the infrastructure equipment 132. Fig. 3, [0046]: controller 44 configured to carry out instructions stored on a computer-readable medium):
determining that a first repetition of a control information communication is to be transmitted in a first uplink communication, and that a second repetition of the control information communication is to be transmitted in a second uplink communication ([0148] the UCI is repeated in the selected multiple actual PUSCH repetitions. In other words, the control information is fully multiplexed into each of the selected plurality of the repetitions of the second uplink signal. Fig. 13, [0094] the second uplink signal 136 is to be transmitted a plurality of times 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4, each of the plurality of transmissions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136 being a repetition of the second uplink signal 136 … to multiplex 138 the control information into the resources of a selected one or more of the repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136), (Fig. 13, [0094] wherein each repetition 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136 is to be transmitted in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface to the other repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136);
determining, based at least in part on the first transmission parameters and the second transmission parameters, a number of resource elements for transmitting each of the first repetition and the second repetition of the control information communication such that each of the first repetition and the second repetition have a same number of coded bits ([0067] the UCI bits and data bits are multiplexed and transmitted on the PUSCH … The number of resources (i.e. Resource Elements) that can be used is determined by … a scaling factor α … this scaling factor sets the maximum number of REs (Resource Elements) as a percentage of the number of PUSCH REs that can be used for UCI. [0068] The UE then determines the maximum allowed PUSCH REs that can be used for UCI by multiplying the scaling factor α with the number of PUSCH REs M.sub.PUSCH. [0103] M.sub.Actual is the total REs available in the actual PUSCH repetition. … a total amount of available resources … determined by the communications device dependent on a scaling factor. [0104] all the resources in the actual PUSCH repetition can be used for UCI. That is the available resource, Q.sub.Available=M.sub.Actual. [0130] the 4.sup.th and 5.sup.th actual repetitions have the same number of resources);
encoding, based at least in part on the determined number of resource elements, the first repetition of the control information communication and the second repetition of the control information communication to generate an encoded first repetition and an encoded second repetition that each have the same number of coded bits (Fig. 13, [0094] to multiplex 138 the control information into the resources of a selected one or more of the repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136. [0068] The UE then determines the maximum allowed PUSCH REs that can be used for UCI by multiplying the scaling factor α with the number of PUSCH REs M.sub.PUSCH. [0104] all the resources in the actual PUSCH repetition can be used for UCI. That is the available resource, Q.sub.Available=M.sub.Actual. [0148] the UCI is repeated in the selected multiple actual PUSCH repetitions. In other words, the control information is fully multiplexed into each of the selected plurality of the repetitions of the second uplink signal. [0130] the 4.sup.th and 5.sup.th actual repetitions have the same number of resources); and
transmitting the first uplink communication with the encoded first repetition and the second uplink communication with the encoded second repetition (Fig. 13, [0094] to multiplex 138 the control information into the resources of a selected one or more of the repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136, and to transmit 139 the multiplexed signal to the wireless communications network (e.g. to the infrastructure equipment 132)).
Wong does not disclose, but Seo discloses wherein the first uplink communication and the second uplink communication use one or more of a different modulation and coding scheme or a different number of transmission layers (Figs. 11, 12, [0130] UCI is multiplexed to all codewords … effectively utilize PUSCH resources because only the number of resources actually required for UCI multiplexing is used … a first codeword is mapped to one layer and a second codeword is mapped to two layers. [0133] the same amount of UCI resources is multiplexed to individual layers. In other words, the same amount of resources used for UCI multiplexing is assigned to each of all the corresponding layers).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to use different layers, as taught by Seo.
Doing so may be helpful to a base station (BS) that uses the SIC receiver (Seo: [0133]).
Regarding claim(s) 11 and 50, Wong in view of Seo discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 40 as outlined above.
Wong discloses wherein the first uplink communication uses the first PUSCH resource and the second uplink communication uses the second PUSCH resource (Fig. 13, [0094] wherein each repetition 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136 is to be transmitted in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface to the other repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136).
Claim(s) 12-14, 16-17, 51-53, 55-56 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshioka et al. (US 2022/0053483 A1) in view of Xiong et al. (US 2021/0410165 A1) and Choi et al. (US 2021/0092762 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 12 and 51, Wong in view of Seo discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 40 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein the determining the same number of coded bits further comprises:
calculating a first number of coded bits for the first repetition of the control information communication using the first PUSCH resource ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first and second repetitions of the control information communication using first and second PUSCH resources), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=calculating a first and a second number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission);
calculating a second number of coded bits for the second repetition of the control information communication using the second PUSCH resource ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first and second repetitions of the control information communication using first and second PUSCH resources), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=calculating a first and a second number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission); and
selecting the first number of coded bits or the second number of coded bits to be used for both the first repetition and the second repetition of the control information communication ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first and second repetitions of the control information communication using first and second PUSCH resources), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=calculating a first and a second number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI (=selecting the first or second number of coded bits), among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to multiplex the UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units and determine the number of bits of UCI to be the same, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Regarding claim(s) 13 and 52, Wong in view of Seo and Choi discloses all features of claim(s) 12 and 51 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein a minimum or a maximum of the first number of coded bits or the second number of coded bits is selected to be used for both the first repetition and the second repetition of the control information communication based at least in part on a configuration of the UE ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first and second repetitions of the control information communication using first and second PUSCH resources), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=calculating a first and a second number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI (=maximum of the first or second number of coded bits), among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission. At this time, the UE may pad 0 to the UCI (=configuration of the UE), thereby configuring the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to multiplex the UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units and determine the number of bits of UCI to be the same, i.e., by having the UE pad 0 to the UCI, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Regarding claim(s) 14 and 53, Wong in view of Seo and Choi discloses all features of claim(s) 12 and 51 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein the first number of coded bits associated with the first PUSCH resource or the second number of coded bits associated with the second PUSCH resource is selected based at least in part on a configuration of the UE ([0166]: When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to make the determination of the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Regarding claim(s) 16 and 55, Wong in view of Seo and Choi discloses all features of claim(s) 12 and 51 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein:
the coded bits of the first repetition or the second repetition of the control information communication are padded with zeros when the selected number of coded bits is less than the first number of coded bits or the second number of coded bits ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first and second repetitions of the control information communication), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same. Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission. At this time, the UE may pad 0 (=padded with zeros) to the UCI, thereby configuring the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI (=when the selected number of coded bits is less than the first and second numbers of coded bits), among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI as the maximum number of bits of UCI by padding 0 to the UCI , as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Regarding claim(s) 17 and 56, Wong in view of Seo discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 40 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein the determining the same number of coded bits further comprises:
calculating a first number of coded bits for the first repetition of the control information communication using the first PUSCH resource ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first repetition of the control information communication using the first PUSCH resource), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=calculating a first number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission. At this time, the UE may pad 0 to the UCI, thereby configuring the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission);
mapping the first number of coded bits to a first number of resource elements on the first PUSCH resource ([0167]: When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of slots, the UE may dispose the UCI to the RE (=map the first number of coded bits to a first number of RE on the first PUSCH) at the same position (or in the same pattern) in all of the slots in which the UCI is multiplexed, thereby multiplexing the same); and
calculating a second number of coded bits based on the first number of coded bits, wherein the second number of coded bits associated with a second number of resource elements is equal to the first number of coded bits ([0167]: When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of slots, the UE may dispose the UCI to the RE at the same position (or in the same pattern) in all of the slots in which the UCI is multiplexed, thereby multiplexing the same).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to multiplex the UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units and determine the number of bits of UCI to be the same and dispose the UCI to the RE at the same position, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Claim(s) 15, 54 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshioka et al. (US 2022/0053483 A1) in view of Xiong et al. (US 2021/0410165 A1), Choi et al. (US 2021/0092762 A1), and Takagi et al. (US 2011/0317598 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 15 and 54, Wong in view of Seo and Choi discloses all features of claim(s) 12 and 51 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Takagi discloses wherein an encoding sequence and a rate-matching output sequence associated with the first repetition of the control information communication and the second repetition of the control information communication have a same length that allows for soft combining of multiple repetitions of the control information communication ([0024]: to execute the combining process (=soft combining, see [0019]), rate matching of the signal sequence is executed to make the signal sequence have the same number of bits as the signal sequence after encoding, where a first transmission format is used for a signal sequence at a predetermined time interval, and a second transmission format is used for the signal sequence at a different time interval).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to execute soft combining by rate matching the signal sequence to make the signal sequence have the same number of bits as the signal sequence after encoding, where the signal sequence has been transmitted at multiple time intervals, as taught by Takagi.
Doing so enhances transmission efficiency by HARQ in the case of receiving a signal sequence via a physical data channel (Takagi: [0025]).
Claim(s) 23, 30, 62 and 69 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wong et al. (US 2023/0054490 A1) in view of Seo et al. (US 2012/0320852 A1) and Heo et al. (US 2005/0249120 A1).
Regarding claims 23 and 62, Wong discloses A method for wireless communication at an access network entity, comprising and An apparatus for wireless communication at an access network entity, comprising: one or more processors, one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to (Fig. 13, [0093] The communications device 131 is configured to transmit data to or receive data from the wireless communications network, for example, to and from the infrastructure equipment 132. Fig. 3, [0046]: controller 34 configured to carry out instructions stored on a computer-readable medium):
determining that a first repetition of a control information communication from a user equipment (UE) is to be received in a first uplink communication, and that a second repetition of the control information communication is to be transmitted in a second uplink communication from the UE ([0148] the UCI is repeated in the selected multiple actual PUSCH repetitions. In other words, the control information is fully multiplexed into each of the selected plurality of the repetitions of the second uplink signal. Fig. 13, [0094] the second uplink signal 136 is to be transmitted a plurality of times 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4, each of the plurality of transmissions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136 being a repetition of the second uplink signal 136 … to multiplex 138 the control information into the resources of a selected one or more of the repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136), (Fig. 13, [0094] wherein each repetition 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136 is to be transmitted in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface to the other repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136);
determining, based at least in part on the first transmission parameters and the second transmission parameters, a number of resource elements for transmitting each of the first repetition and the second repetition of the control information communication such that each of the first repetition and the second repetition have a same number of coded bits ([0067] the UCI bits and data bits are multiplexed and transmitted on the PUSCH … The number of resources (i.e. Resource Elements) that can be used is determined by … a scaling factor α … this scaling factor sets the maximum number of REs (Resource Elements) as a percentage of the number of PUSCH REs that can be used for UCI. [0068] The UE then determines the maximum allowed PUSCH REs that can be used for UCI by multiplying the scaling factor α with the number of PUSCH REs M.sub.PUSCH. [0103] M.sub.Actual is the total REs available in the actual PUSCH repetition. … a total amount of available resources … determined by the communications device dependent on a scaling factor. [0104] all the resources in the actual PUSCH repetition can be used for UCI. That is the available resource, Q.sub.Available=M.sub.Actual. [0130] the 4.sup.th and 5.sup.th actual repetitions have the same number of resources);
(Fig. 13, [0094] to multiplex 138 the control information into the resources of a selected one or more of the repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136, and to transmit 139 the multiplexed signal to the wireless communications network (e.g. to the infrastructure equipment 132));
(Fig. 13, [0094] to multiplex 138 the control information into the resources of a selected one or more of the repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136, and to transmit 139 the multiplexed signal to the wireless communications network (e.g. to the infrastructure equipment 132)); and
Wong does not disclose, but Seo discloses wherein the first uplink communication and the second uplink communication use one or more of a different modulation and coding scheme or a different number of transmission layers (Figs. 11, 12, [0130] UCI is multiplexed to all codewords … effectively utilize PUSCH resources because only the number of resources actually required for UCI multiplexing is used … a first codeword is mapped to one layer and a second codeword is mapped to two layers. [0133] the same amount of UCI resources is multiplexed to individual layers. In other words, the same amount of resources used for UCI multiplexing is assigned to each of all the corresponding layers).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the communications device 131 when retransmitting UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to use different layers, as taught by Seo.
Doing so may be helpful to a base station (BS) that uses the SIC receiver (Seo: [0133]).
Wong does not disclose, but Heo discloses buffering received signals of the first repetition in a soft combining buffer ([0099]: Node B receives initially transmitted data and stores the data in the soft combining buffer);
adding received signals of the second repetition to the soft combining buffer ([0099]: Node B receives retransmitted data and performs soft combining the data with the pre-stored data in the soft combining buffer); and
decoding the buffered signals in the soft combining buffer to determine the control information communication ([0099]: Node B decodes the data output from the soft combining buffer and determines if there is an error).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the infrastructure equipment 132 when receiving UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to store the initially transmitted data in a soft combining buffer, perform soft combining with a retransmitted data, and decode the data output from the soft combining buffer, as taught by Heo.
Doing so allows the base station to determine if there is any error in the data output of the soft combining buffer (Heo: [0099]).
Regarding claim(s) 30 and 69, Wong in view of Seo and Heo discloses all features of claim(s) 23 and 62 as outlined above.
Wong discloses wherein the first uplink communication uses the first PUSCH resource and the second uplink communication uses the second PUSCH resource (Fig. 13, [0094] wherein each repetition 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136 is to be transmitted in a different set of uplink resources of the wireless access interface to the other repetitions 136.1, 136.2, 136.3, 136.4 of the second uplink signal 136).
Claim(s) 31-34, 70-73 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshioka et al. (US 2022/0053483 A1) in view of Xiong et al. (US 2021/0410165 A1), Heo et al. (US 2005/0249120 A1), and Choi et al. (US 2021/0092762 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 31 and 70, Wong in view of Seo and Heo discloses all features of claim(s) 23 and 62 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein the determined number of coded bits is selected from a first number of coded bits associated with the first PUSCH resource or from a second number of coded bits associated with the second PUSCH resource ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=using first and second PUSCH resources), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=first and second number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI (=selecting the first or second number of coded bits), among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the infrastructure equipment 132 when receiving UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to receive the UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units where the number of bits of UCI are the same, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Regarding claim(s) 32 and 71, Wong in view of Seo, Heo, and Choi discloses all features of claim(s) 31 and 70 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein a minimum or a maximum of the first number of coded bits or the second number of coded bits is selected to be used for both the first repetition and the second repetition of the control information communication based at least in part on a configuration of the UE ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first and second repetitions of the control information communication using first and second PUSCH resources), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=calculating a first and a second number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI (=maximum of the first or second number of coded bits), among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission. At this time, the UE may pad 0 to the UCI (=configuration of the UE), thereby configuring the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the infrastructure equipment 132 when receiving UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to receive the UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units where the number of bits of UCI are be the same, i.e., by having the UE pad 0 to the UCI, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Regarding claim(s) 33 and 72, Wong in view of Seo, Heo, and Choi discloses all features of claim(s) 31 and 70 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein a number of coded bits associated with the first PUSCH resource or the second PUSCH resource is selected based at least in part on a configuration of the UE ([0166]: When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the infrastructure equipment 132 when receiving UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to receive the UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units where the UE makes the determination of the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Regarding claim(s) 34 and 73, Wong in view of Seo and Heo discloses all features of claim(s) 23 and 62 as outlined above.
Wong does not disclose, but Choi discloses wherein the determining the same number of coded bits comprises:
determining a first number of coded bits associated with the first PUSCH resource associated with the first repetition of the control information communication, and wherein a second number of coded bits associated with the second repetition of the control information communication using the second PUSCH resource is determined based on the first number of coded bits ([0166]: if a PUSCH is repeatedly transmitted in one slot, the UE may perform multiplexing of UCI in at least one of a plurality of repetition units in which PUSCH transmission is performed. When the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units (=first and second PUSCH resources associated with first and second repetitions of the control information communication), the UE may determine the numbers of bits of UCI to be the same (=first and second number of coded bits). Specifically, when the UE multiplexes UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units, the UE may configure the number of bits of all pieces of UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission as the maximum number of bits of UCI, among the UCI multiplexed with PUSCH transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the infrastructure equipment 132 when receiving UCI in different PUSCH repetitions, as taught by Wong, to receive the UCI with PUSCH transmission in a plurality of repetition units where the number of bits of UCI are the same, as taught by Choi.
Doing so provides a method for efficiently transmitting signals in a wireless communication system by providing a method for multiplexing UCI in the wireless communication system (Choi: [0009], [0030]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THE HY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3813. The examiner can normally be reached on Mo-Fr: 8am-4pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Avellino, can be reached on (571) 272-3905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THE HY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
TheHy.Nguyen@USPTO.gov