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 Amendment
This is in response to an amendment/response filed 10/15/2025.
Claims 2, 3, 25, and 26 have been cancelled.
No claims have been added.
Claims 1, 4-24, and 27-30 are now pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/15/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 7-9 of the remarks, in regard to the independent claims the Applicant disagrees with the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. US 20190306878 (hereinafter “Zhang”).
Specifically, the Applicant remarks:
Zhang fails to show that a feedback resource of a subsequence slot is determined "in response to receiving a second transmission in the subsequent slot from the device"
Zhang fails to show that feedback message is transmitted in the feedback resource of the subsequent slot "in response to receiving the second transmission in the subsequent slot from the device"
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Regarding (1), The base station requesting for an ACK feedback by triggering the UE in a "subsequent TTI (e.g. TTI n+2)" maps to "receiving a second transmission in the subsequent slot from the device". FIG. 9 of Zhang also shows the base station transmitting multiple times after the "first transmission" to request for feedback. In response to these transmissions from the base station, the UE prepares and sends HARQ feedback to the base station which maps to "determining of the feedback resource".
Regarding (2), The base station requesting for an ACK feedback by triggering the UE in a "subsequent TTI (e.g. TTI n+2)" maps to "receiving a second transmission in the subsequent slot from the device". FIG. 9 of Zhang also shows the base station transmitting multiple times after the "first transmission" to request for feedback. In response to these transmissions from the base station, the UE prepares and sends HARQ feedback to the base station which maps to "determining of the feedback resource" and Zhang mentions in [0060] that HARQ feedback may be provided in a subsequent slot which maps to transmitting the feedback message in the feedback resource of the subsequent slot.
On page 8-9 of the remarks, in regard to the dependent claims, the Applicant states that the claims are allowable at least due to the deficiencies of the ground of rejection applied to the independent claims.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
The Examiner kindly refer the Applicant to the reasoning pertaining to the independent claims, detailed above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-8, 10-24, and 27-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. US 20190306878 (hereinafter “Zhang”).
As to claim 1 and 24 (claim 1 is the method claim for the UE in claim 24):
Zhang discloses:
A user equipment (UE) (FIG. 3 shows 115-a/UE, Zhang), comprising: a memory storing instructions; and one or more processors coupled with the memory (“A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).”, Zhang [0194]) (“Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.”, Zhang [0196])
A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a device, a first transmission in a first slot; (“UEs 115 and base stations 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. HARQ feedback is one technique of increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link 125.”, Zhang [0060]) preparing, in response to the first transmission being received, a feedback message indicating decoding of the first transmission; (“base station 105-a and UE 115-a may communicate in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., a shared radio frequency spectrum band) and may employ HARQ ACK feedback techniques to indicate whether data has been received correctly at UE 115-a. For example, base station 105-a may transmit one or more downlink messages to UE 115-a on resources of a carrier 305. Accordingly, UE 115-a may transmit an indication of whether the one or more downlink messages were received and decoded correctly on resources of a carrier 310. In some cases, carriers 305 and 310 may be the same carrier. Additionally, base station 105-a may transmit an ACK trigger 315 on carrier 305, where UE 115-a responds with ACK feedback 320 on carrier 310. ACK trigger 315 may be included in a downlink or uplink grant (e.g., downlink message such as PDCCH), or UE 115-a may be explicitly triggered to transmit ACK feedback 320 (e.g., in a separate DCI message).”, Zhang [0085]) determining a feedback resource of a subsequent slot to the first slot to transmit the feedback message; and transmitting, to the device, the feedback message in the feedback resource of the subsequent slot in response to receiving the second transmission in the subsequent slot from the device (“In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.”, Zhang [0060])
wherein the determining of the feedback resource is in response to receiving a second transmission from the device. (“the base station 105 may then request an ACK feedback (e.g., by triggering the UE 115) in a downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c in a subsequent TTI (e.g., TTI n+2), where downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c includes control information for the UE 115 to transmit ACK feedback for downlink messages that span a monitoring occasion duration 715-e in an uplink message 720. As such uplink message 720 may include the missed ACK feedback for the downlink messages associated with downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-a and uplink message 705-a (e.g., downlink messages in monitoring occasion duration 715-b).”, Zhang [0101])
As to claim 4 and 27 (claim 4 is the method claim for the UE in claim 27):
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 2, wherein the second transmission indicates to the UE to transmit the feedback message. (“the base station 105 may then request an ACK feedback (e.g., by triggering the UE 115) in a downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c in a subsequent TTI (e.g., TTI n+2), where downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c includes control information for the UE 115 to transmit ACK feedback for downlink messages that span a monitoring occasion duration 715-e in an uplink message 720. As such uplink message 720 may include the missed ACK feedback for the downlink messages associated with downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-a and uplink message 705-a (e.g., downlink messages in monitoring occasion duration 715-b).”, Zhang [0101])
As to claim 5:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the feedback resource is in response to a resource indication indicating the feedback resource for the transmitting of the feedback message being identified from the first transmission. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 6:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the device, an instruction to enable feedback for the first transmission in one or more of the first transmission or a second transmission. (“the base station 105 may request ACK feedback for a subset of the TTIs in monitoring occasion duration 715-e and may receive ACK feedback for one of the slots while establishing the new monitoring occasion duration 715 in response to the missed ACK feedback transmission.”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 7:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the feedback resource comprises: receiving, from the device, an indication to transmit the feedback message in the subsequent slot; determining one or more available resources of the subsequent slot; and selecting the feedback resource from the one or more available resources. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102]) (“Downlink channel monitoring occasion 810-a may indicate a monitoring occasion duration 815-a for downlink messages (e.g., two (2) slots) for which the UE 115 may transmit ACK feedback in uplink message 820-a. Alternatively, downlink channel monitoring occasion 810-b may indicate for the UE 115 to transmit ACK feedback for the configured HARQ processes (or subset thereof) in uplink message 820-b. Additionally, similar to downlink channel monitoring occasion 810-a, downlink channel monitoring occasion 810-c may indicate a monitoring occasion duration 815-b for downlink messages (e.g., two (2) slots) for which the UE 115 may transmit ACK feedback in uplink message 820-c.”, Zhang [0106]) (“Accordingly, the base station 105 may then request an ACK feedback (e.g., by triggering the UE 115) in a downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c in a subsequent TTI (e.g., TTI n+2), where downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c includes control information for the UE 115 to transmit ACK feedback for downlink messages that span a monitoring occasion duration 715-e in an uplink message 720.”, Zhang [0101])
As to claim 8:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 7, wherein the indication is indicated in one or more of a data transmission of the subsequent slot, a control channel corresponding to the data transmission of the subsequent slot, or a standalone message from the device. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102]) (“Accordingly, the base station 105 may then request an ACK feedback (e.g., by triggering the UE 115) in a downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c in a subsequent TTI (e.g., TTI n+2), where downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c includes control information for the UE 115 to transmit ACK feedback for downlink messages that span a monitoring occasion duration 715-e in an uplink message 720.”, Zhang [0101])
As to claim 10:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining an indication of a range of slots after the first slot that correspond to the subsequent slot. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 11:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the subsequent slot is a fixed number of slots after the first slot. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 12:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing channel access, wherein the transmitting of the feedback message is in response to the channel access. (“The method may include receiving, at the UE, a downlink grant scheduling a downlink channel to be received by the UE, and identifying, in association with the downlink grant, an ACK delay indication, where the ACK delay indication indicates a minimum time by which hybrid access request (HARQ) feedback is to be delayed after receiving the downlink channel. The method may also include receiving, at the UE, the downlink channel, determining whether to transmit HARQ feedback for the downlink channel based on a value of the ACK delay, and transmitting the HARQ feedback based on the determining.”, Zhang [0006])
As to claim 13:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 12, wherein a channel access type for the channel access is indicated in a message from the device, based on a setting of the UE, or implied by a configuration of communications between the UE and the device. (“The trigger for transmitting the ACK feedback may be embedded in a downlink grant, uplink grant, or in a separate trigger DCI. Additionally, the trigger may indicate the type of ACK feedback. For example, the trigger may indicate that the UE 115 reports ACK feedback according to the most recent downlink channel monitoring occasions (e.g., type 1 trigger). Alternatively, the trigger may indicate that the UE reports the ACK feedback for the triggered one or more indicated HARQ processes (e.g., type 2 trigger).”, Zhang [0105])
As to claim 14:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback message may be in a same frequency resource, or part of the same frequency resource, of the subsequent slot used by the device. (“In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating over portions or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a predefined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or RBs) within a carrier (e.g., “in-band” deployment of a narrowband protocol type).”, Zhang [0066])
As to claim 15 and 28 (claim 15 is the method claim for the UE in claim 28):
Zhang discloses:
A user equipment (UE) (FIG. 3 shows 115-a/UE, Zhang), comprising: a memory storing instructions; and one or more processors coupled with the memory (“A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).”, Zhang [0194]) (“Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.”, Zhang [0196])
A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining a first slot to transmit a first transmission and a subsequent slot to the first slot to transmit a second transmission; (“In some cases, a wireless device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.”, Zhang [0060]) transmitting, to a device, the first transmission in the first slot; transmitting, to the device, the second transmission in the subsequent slot; (“In some cases, a wireless device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.”, Zhang [0060]) (“For example, the base station may indicate downlink channel monitoring occasions (e.g., downlink control channel monitoring occasions and/or downlink data channel monitoring occasions) for the UE 115 in each slot of a frame. Accordingly, the UE 115 may then transmit a corresponding HARQ ACK codebook in a same PUCCH based on the monitoring occasions extending from the minimum slot time up to the maximum slot time.”, Zhang [0075]) (“Accordingly, the base station 105 may then request an ACK feedback (e.g., by triggering the UE 115) in a downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c in a subsequent TTI (e.g., TTI n+2), where downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c includes control information for the UE 115 to transmit ACK feedback for downlink messages that span a monitoring occasion duration 715-e in an uplink message 720.”, Zhang [0101]) and receiving, from the device in response to the first transmission being transmitted, and the second transmission being transmitted in the subsequent slot a feedback message in a feedback resource of the subsequent slot, (“In some cases, a wireless device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.”, Zhang [0060]) the feedback message indicating decoding of the first transmission. (“if the ACK ready time occurs before UE 115-a receives ACK trigger 315 (or is similarly triggered), UE 115-a may populate the fields for ACK feedback 320 based on decoding results for the corresponding HARQ process (e.g., ACK if successfully decoded, NACK if unsuccessfully received/decoded). Alternatively, if the ACK ready time extends past the time UE 115-a is triggered for ACK feedback 320, UE 115-a may populate the corresponding fields for ACK feedback 320 with previous values for the HARQ process or with a default value (e.g., ACK or NACK). Base station 105-a may accordingly interpret if the fields for each HARQ process are based on decoding results, previous values, or default values by comparing the ACK delay for each HARQ process with the timeline that ACK feedback 320 was received.”, Zhang [0087])
As to claim 16 and 29 (claim 16 is the method claim for the UE in claim 29):
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 15, wherein the determining of the subsequent slot is based on a processing time for the device to decode the first transmission. (“In some cases, UE 115-a may be explicitly triggered by ACK trigger 315 for ACK feedback 320 along with an indication of a particular TTI (e.g., slot, symbol, etc.) for transmitting ACK feedback 320. Additionally, an ACK delay may be indicated in a downlink grant (e.g., embedded in ACK trigger 315 or by a separate DCI). While the ACK delay in the downlink grant may not implicitly trigger ACK feedback 320, it may determine how UE 115-a populates fields for ACK feedback 320. For example, UE 115-a may determine an ACK ready time based on the ACK delay and the downlink grant (e.g., a PDSCH transmission) for each HARQ process. Accordingly, if the ACK ready time occurs before UE 115-a receives ACK trigger 315 (or is similarly triggered), UE 115-a may populate the fields for ACK feedback 320 based on decoding results for the corresponding HARQ process (e.g., ACK if successfully decoded, NACK if unsuccessfully received/decoded). Alternatively, if the ACK ready time extends past the time UE 115-a is triggered for ACK feedback 320, UE 115-a may populate the corresponding fields for ACK feedback 320 with previous values for the HARQ process or with a default value (e.g., ACK or NACK). Base station 105-a may accordingly interpret if the fields for each HARQ process are based on decoding results, previous values, or default values by comparing the ACK delay for each HARQ process with the timeline that ACK feedback 320 was received.”, Zhang [0087])
As to claim 17 and 30 (claim 17 is the method claim for the UE in claim 30):
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 15, wherein the subsequent slot for the device to transmit the feedback message is indicated in the first transmission. (“the base station 105 may request ACK feedback for a subset of the TTIs in monitoring occasion duration 715-e and may receive ACK feedback for one of the slots while establishing the new monitoring occasion duration 715 in response to the missed ACK feedback transmission. Accordingly, the specific set of downlink channel monitoring occasions and corresponding downlink channels to transmit ACK feedback for may be derived through higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC configuration) and DCI. For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 18:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 17, wherein the first transmission further indicates a resource of the subsequent slot for the device to transmit the feedback message. (“the base station 105 may request ACK feedback for a subset of the TTIs in monitoring occasion duration 715-e and may receive ACK feedback for one of the slots while establishing the new monitoring occasion duration 715 in response to the missed ACK feedback transmission. Accordingly, the specific set of downlink channel monitoring occasions and corresponding downlink channels to transmit ACK feedback for may be derived through higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC configuration) and DCI. For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 19:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting, to the device, an indication to transmit the feedback message in the subsequent slot, (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102]) wherein the receiving of the feedback message is in response to the transmitting of the indication. (“As described herein, the ACK feedback sent on an uplink message (e.g., an uplink message 705) may include the ACK feedback for all slots within the codebook size determination window or may include ACK feedback for a particular ACK resource (e.g., via an ACK resource indicator in a DCI message).”, Zhang [0103])
As to claim 20:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 19, wherein the indication is indicated in one or more of a data transmission of the subsequent slot, a control channel corresponding to the data transmission of the subsequent slot, or a standalone message from the device. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102]) (“Accordingly, the base station 105 may then request an ACK feedback (e.g., by triggering the UE 115) in a downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c in a subsequent TTI (e.g., TTI n+2), where downlink channel monitoring occasion 710-c includes control information for the UE 115 to transmit ACK feedback for downlink messages that span a monitoring occasion duration 715-e in an uplink message 720.”, Zhang [0101])
As to claim 21:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a range of slots after the first slot that correspond to the subsequent slot. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 22:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 15, further comprising: maintaining continuous transmissions between the first slot and the subsequent slot. (“For example, a table configured by the higher layer signaling may indicate which downlink channel monitoring occasion(s) to transmit the ACK feedback based on the originally configured monitoring occasion duration 715 (e.g., TTI n if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled one (1) TTI or TTIs n and n−1 or TTIs n and n−2 if the original monitoring occasion duration 715 equaled two (2) TTIs). DCI may then indicate one of the options if multiple options are present (e.g., by indicating the index or indices of the TTIs).”, Zhang [0102])
As to claim 23:
Zhang discloses:
The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting, to the device, an indication of a channel access type for the feedback message, wherein the receiving of the feedback message is in response to the channel access type. (“The trigger for transmitting the ACK feedback may be embedded in a downlink grant, uplink grant, or in a separate trigger DCI. Additionally, the trigger may indicate the type of ACK feedback. For example, the trigger may indicate that the UE 115 reports ACK feedback according to the most recent downlink channel monitoring occasions (e.g., type 1 trigger). Alternatively, the trigger may indicate that the UE reports the ACK feedback for the triggered one or more indicated HARQ processes (e.g., type 2 trigger).”, Zhang [0105])
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 (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.
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) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Luo et al. WO 2010151550 (hereinafter “Luo”)
As to claim 9:
Zhang as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second transmission subsequent to the first transmission; and comparing a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identification (ID) of the first transmission and a second HARQ process ID of the second transmission, wherein the transmitting of the feedback message is in response to the first HARQ process ID matching the second HARQ process ID.
However, Luo further teaches comparing HARQ ID and sending feedback based on whether the ID matches or not which includes:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second transmission subsequent to the first transmission; and comparing a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identification (ID) of the first transmission and a second HARQ process ID of the second transmission, wherein the transmitting of the feedback message is in response to the first HARQ process ID matching the second HARQ process ID. (“If a UE receiver detects a reception error in a data block with a particular HARQ ID, and sends a repeat request (negative acknowledgement, or NACK) to the base station, the receiver expects to receive a data retransmission with the same HARQ ID no earlier than 8 ms after the original data block was received. Similarly, if the UE receiver decodes a data block without error and sends an acknowledgement (ACK) to the base station for the HARQ ID associated with the data, the receiver expects new data with the same HARQ ID no earlier than 8 ms after the first data block was received.”, Luo [0007])
Zhang and Luo are analogous because they pertain to HARQ process.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include comparing HARQ ID and sending feedback based on whether the ID matches or not as described in Luo into Zhang. By modifying the method to include comparing HARQ ID and sending feedback based on whether the ID matches or not as taught by Luo, the benefits of improved HARQ feedback process (Luo [0007] and Zhang [0105]) are achieved.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471