DETAILED ACTION
CONTINUED EXAMINATION UNDER 37 CFR 1.114
1. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 July 6, 2026 has been entered.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. 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
3. Applicant's arguments, filed on July 6, 2026, with respect to objections to claim 12 have been considered and are persuasive. Objections to claim 12 have been withdrawn.
4. Applicant’s arguments regarding rejection of claims 1, 4-5, 10, and 12 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any combination of the references being used in the current rejection. Examiner has applied Guo ‘447 (US 2023/0217447) to clearly teach the amended limitations in claims 1, 4-5, 10, and 12.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. Claims 1, 5, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung ‘957 (US 2023/0123957; “Jung ‘957”; Jung ‘957 was filed on April 8, 2021, claiming priority to US provisional application 63/007,940 filed on April 9, 2020, and thus Jung ‘957 was effectively filed before the claimed invention; further, the US provisional application 63/007,940 fully supports all citations made in the rejection from the Jung ‘957 reference), in view of Guo ‘447 (US 2023/0217447, “Guo ‘447”).
Regarding claims 1 and 5, Jung ‘957 discloses a user equipment (UE) (FIG. 1, para 10; UE 110) comprising:
at least one transceiver (FIG. 4, para 98 and 100; transceiver 470);
at least one processor (FIG. 4, para 98 and 100; controller 420 is a processor); and
at least one computer memory operatively connected to the at least one processor and configured to store instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to perform operations (FIG. 4, para 98 and 100; memory 450 is connected to the controller; the memory stores software and operating system; the controller executes instructions to perform operations) including:
receiving information for resource allocation, wherein a starting symbol within a slot for transmission of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition type B and a number of consecutive symbols counting from the starting symbol are determined based on the information (para 35-37 and 48, page 11, List of Abbreviations; UE receives resource allocation information for PUSCH repetition Type B transmission within a slot, by receiving downlink control information (DCI); DCI includes a start symbol S relative to the start of the slot; DCI further includes a number of consecutive symbols L counting from the symbol S);
determining nominal repetitions for the PUSCH repetition type B based on the starting symbol and the number of the consecutive symbols (para 35-37, 41-44, and 48; UE receives resource allocation information for PUSCH repetition by receiving the DCI, where the DCI includes the start symbol S and the number of consecutive symbols L; nominal repetitions for PUSCH type B are determined based on the start symbol S and the number of consecutive symbols L);
determining actual repetitions for the PUSCH repetition type B from the nominal repetitions (para 41-44 and 48; symbols for nominal repetitions for PUSCH repetition type B are determined, where nominal repetitions consist of actual repetitions); and
based on whether a predetermined condition is satisfied, performing a PUSCH transmission in an actual repetition with a single symbol among the actual repetitions or omitting the actual repetition, wherein the actual repetition with the single symbol is omitted except for a case where the predetermined condition is satisfied (para 48; an actual PUSCH repetition Type B transmission with a single symbol is omitted except for the case of L=1; thus, an actual PUSCH repetition with the single symbol is transmitted with the single symbol in case of L = 1, and PUSCH repetition is omitted in case of L ≠ 1; therefore, an actual PUSCH repetition with the single symbol is omitted except for a case where a condition that L = 1 is satisfied), and
a radio resource control configuration for a time division duplex (TDD) uplink-downlink configuration (para 44 and 55, col. 12:1; PUSCH transmission is configured via RRC signaling, where UL-DL configuration is for time division duplex (TDD)).
Although Jung ‘957 discloses a radio resource control configuration for a time division duplex (TDD) uplink-downlink configuration, Jung ‘957 does not specifically disclose wherein the predetermined condition includes i) an immediately next symbol of the actual repetition with the single symbol is a start symbol of another configured grant PUSCH and ii) a symbol included in the other configured grant PUSCH is configured as an uplink symbol or a flexible symbol through a radio resource control configuration.
Guo ‘447 teaches wherein the predetermined condition includes i) an immediately next symbol of the actual repetition with the single symbol is a start symbol of another configured grant PUSCH (FIGS. 3-4, para 5, 57, 62 and 64; resources are configured for a configured grant (CG) PUSCH; PUSCH repetitions are transmitted without a time gap between the repetitions, where a repetition consists of symbols; thus, an immediately next symbol of a PUSCH repetition is a start symbol of another PUSCH repetition, where a PUSCH repetition is a configured grant PUSCH repetition)
and
ii) a symbol included in the other configured grant PUSCH is configured as an uplink symbol or a flexible symbol through a radio resource control configuration (FIGS. 3-4, para 51-52, 57, and 62; CG configuration for a PUSCH is configured via RRC message, where the CG configuration includes a start and length indictor value (SLIV) for the PUSCH; thus, uplink symbols in the configured grant PUSCH are configured through RRC; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jung ‘957’s UE that omits a PUSCH repetition, to include Guo ‘447’s resources that are configured for a configured grant (CG) PUSCH. The motivation for doing so would have been to further improve radio access technologies to meet an increased demand for mobile broadband access (Guo ‘447, para 4).
Regarding claim 4, Jung ‘957 in combination with Guo ‘447 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 1, as outlined above.
Further, Guo ‘447 teaches wherein i) a number of resources repeated in consecutive symbols (FIGS. 3-4, para 5, 51-52, 57, 62 and 64; resources are configured for a configured grant (CG) PUSCH; PUSCH repetitions are transmitted without a time gap between the repetitions, where a repetition consists of symbols; the CG configuration includes a start and length indictor value (SLIV) for the PUSCH; thus, a number of symbol resources that are repeated in consecutive symbols is determined based on the CG configuration indicates),
ii) a number of slots in which consecutive resources are repeated (para 71; CG configuration indicates a quantity of consecutive slots used for PUSCH repetitions), and
iii) a number of resources used for one transport block are determined based on the information (para 47; resources to be used for transmitting repetitions of a transport block are determined based on CG configuration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined UE of Jung ‘957 and Guo ‘447, to further include Guo ‘447’s configured grant indications. The motivation for doing so would have been to further improve radio access technologies to meet an increased demand for mobile broadband access (Guo ‘447, para 4).
Regarding claim 10, Jung ‘957 discloses a base station (BS) (FIG. 1, para 10; network entity 120 is a base station) comprising:
at least one transceiver (FIG. 4, para 98 and 100; transceiver 470);
at least one processor (FIG. 4, para 98 and 100; controller 420 is a processor); and
at least one computer memory operatively connected to the at least one processor and configured to store instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to perform operations (FIG. 4, para 98 and 100; memory 450 is connected to the controller; the memory stores software and operating system; the controller executes instructions to perform operations) including:
transmitting information for resource allocation to a user equipment (UE), wherein a starting symbol within a slot for transmission of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition type B and a number of consecutive symbols counting from the starting symbol are determined based on the information (para 35-37 and 48, page 11, List of Abbreviations; UE receives resource allocation information for PUSCH repetition Type B transmission within a slot, by receiving downlink control information (DCI) from the network; DCI includes a start symbol S relative to the start of the slot; DCI further includes a number of consecutive symbols L counting from the symbol S);
determining nominal repetitions for the PUSCH repetition type B based on the starting symbol and the number of the consecutive symbols (para 35-37, 41-44, and 48; UE receives resource allocation information for PUSCH repetition by receiving the DCI, where the DCI includes the start symbol S and the number of consecutive symbols L; nominal repetitions for PUSCH type B are determined based on the start symbol S and the number of consecutive symbols L);
determining actual repetitions for the PUSCH repetition type B from the nominal repetitions (para 41-44 and 48; symbols for nominal repetitions for PUSCH repetition type B are determined, where nominal repetitions consist of actual repetitions); and
based on whether a predetermined condition is satisfied, performing a PUSCH reception in an actual repetition with a single symbol among the actual repetitions or omitting the actual repetition, wherein the actual repetition with the single symbol is omitted except for a case where the predetermined condition is satisfied (para 48; an actual PUSCH repetition Type B transmission with a single symbol is omitted except for the case of L=1; thus, an actual PUSCH repetition with the single symbol is transmitted with the single symbol in case of L = 1, and PUSCH repetition is omitted in case of L ≠ 1; therefore, an actual PUSCH repetition with the single symbol is omitted except for a case where a condition that L = 1 is satisfied), and
a radio resource control configuration for a time division duplex (TDD) uplink-downlink configuration (para 44 and 55, col. 12:1; PUSCH transmission is configured via RRC signaling, where UL-DL configuration is for time division duplex (TDD)).
Although Jung ‘957 discloses a radio resource control configuration for a time division duplex (TDD) uplink-downlink configuration, Jung ‘957 does not specifically disclose wherein the predetermined condition includes i) an immediately next symbol of the actual repetition with the single symbol is a start symbol of another configured grant PUSCH and ii) a symbol included in the other configured grant PUSCH is configured as an uplink symbol or a flexible symbol through a radio resource control configuration.
Guo ‘447 teaches wherein the predetermined condition includes i) an immediately next symbol of the actual repetition with the single symbol is a start symbol of another configured grant PUSCH (FIGS. 3-4, para 5, 57, 62 and 64; resources are configured for a configured grant (CG) PUSCH; PUSCH repetitions are transmitted without a time gap between the repetitions, where a repetition consists of symbols; thus, an immediately next symbol of a PUSCH repetition is a start symbol of another PUSCH repetition, where a PUSCH repetition is a configured grant PUSCH repetition)
and
ii) a symbol included in the other configured grant PUSCH is configured as an uplink symbol or a flexible symbol through a radio resource control configuration (FIGS. 3-4, para 51-52, 57, and 62; CG configuration for a PUSCH is configured via RRC message, where the CG configuration includes a start and length indictor value (SLIV) for the PUSCH; thus, uplink symbols in the configured grant PUSCH are configured through RRC; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jung ‘957’s base station that omits a PUSCH repetition, to include Guo ‘447’s resources that are configured for a configured grant (CG) PUSCH. The motivation for doing so would have been to further improve radio access technologies to meet an increased demand for mobile broadband access (Guo ‘447, para 4).
Regarding claim 12, Jung ‘957 in combination with Guo ‘447 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 1, as outlined above.
Further, Guo ‘447 teaches wherein the PUSCH transmission in the actual repetition is performed in an unlicensed band (para 113; configured grant is in an unlicensed frequency band).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined UE of Jung ‘957 and Guo ‘447, to further include Guo ‘447’s configured grant that is in an unlicensed frequency band. The motivation for doing so would have been to further improve radio access technologies to meet an increased demand for mobile broadband access (Guo ‘447, para 4).
Conclusion
Internet Communication
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only. (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.0.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NEVENA SANDHU whose telephone number is (571) 272-0679. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM EST, Friday variable.
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/NEVENA ZECEVIC SANDHU/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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