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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/2/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 8-15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by AIBA; TATSUSHI et al. US PGPUB 20220346086 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Aiba teaches A method, comprising:
receiving, by a processor of an apparatus implemented in a user equipment (UE), a signal from a network; ([0007] In one example, a communication method of a user equipment comprising: receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message comprising information used for configuring a simultaneous transmission of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the information being configured for a special cell, the information being associated with an index of an uplink bandwidth part (UL BWP), and performing the simultaneous transmission of the PUCCH and the PUSCH based on the information, the transmission of the PUCCH being performed on an UL BWP of the special cell, the transmission of the PUSCH being performed on an UL BWP identified by the index of the UL BWP associated with the information.) and
performing, by the processor, simultaneous physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions over different cells of the network responsive to receiving the signal, ([0120] Additionally or alternatively, the simultaneous transmission(s) of the PUCCH and the PUSCH on a different serving cell(s) may be supported.)
wherein the performing of the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions comprises:
enabling the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions responsive to in an event that the a PUCCH and the a PUSCH having have different physical (PHY)-level priorities; ([0166] Additionally or alternatively, in a case that the simultaneous transmission of the PUCCH and PUSCH is configured for a serving cell(s)… the UE 102 may perform on the serving cell(s) (and/or the UL BWP(s)), the simultaneous transmission of the low priority PUSCH (e.g., and/or the low priority UCI) and the high priority UCI (e.g., the high priority PUCCH).) and
multiplexing the PUCCH and PUSCH responsive to in an event that the PUCCH and the PUSCH have a same PHY-level priority on a same cell. ([0166] Namely, the UE 102 may perform multiplexing the low priority UCI with the low priority uplink data on the PUSCH.) and
wherein the enabling and the multiplexing are determined by the UE according to at least one PHY-level priority associated with the PUCCH and the PUSCH. ([0166] see above).
Regarding claim 2. Aiba teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the signal comprises a higher-layer parameter configured per PUCCH group. (([0007] In one example, a communication method of a user equipment comprising: receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message comprising information used for configuring a simultaneous transmission of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the information being configured for a special cell, the information being associated with an index of an uplink bandwidth part (UL BWP), and performing the simultaneous transmission of the PUCCH and the PUSCH based on the information, the transmission of the PUCCH being performed on an UL BWP of the special cell, the transmission of the PUSCH being performed on an UL BWP identified by the index of the UL BWP associated with the information.
[0075] Additionally or alternatively, the gNB 160 may transmit, by using the RRC message, information used for configuring a cell group(s) (e.g., a cell group(s) associated with the dual connectivity operation (e.g., the MCG(s) and/or the SCG(s))).)
Regarding claim 3. Aiba teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the signal comprises a higher-layer parameter configured per cell group. ([0075] Additionally or alternatively, the gNB 160 may transmit, by using the RRC message, information used for configuring a cell group(s) (e.g., a cell group(s) associated with the dual connectivity operation (e.g., the MCG(s) and/or the SCG(s))).)
Regarding claim 4, Aiba teaches The method of Claim 1, wherein the signal comprises a higher-layer parameter used to enable and disable the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions of different priorities. ([0121] Additionally or alternatively, the gNB 160 may transmit, by using the RRC message, third information used for indicating (e.g., configuring) the simultaneous transmission(s) of the PUCCH and the PUSCH is configured (e.g., indicated, and/or allowed).)
Regarding claim 5. Aiba teaches The method of Claim 1, wherein the receiving of the signal comprises receiving a radio resource control (RRC) signal containing an RRC parameter. ([0023] A communication method of a user equipment is described. The communication method includes receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message comprising information used for configuring a simultaneous transmission of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The information is configured for a special cell. The information being associated with an index of an uplink bandwidth part (UL BWP). The communication method further includes performing the simultaneous transmission of the PUCCH and the PUSCH based on the information. The transmission of the PUCCH is performed on an UL BWP of the special cell. The transmission of the PUSCH is performed on an UL BWP identified by the index of the UL BWP associated with the information.)
Regarding claim 8. Aiba teach The method of claim 1, but they do not teach wherein the performing of the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions comprises performing the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions between a PUCCH and a PUSCH of different priorities. ([0166] Additionally or alternatively, in a case that the simultaneous transmission of the PUCCH and PUSCH is configured for a serving cell(s)… the UE 102 may perform on the serving cell(s) (and/or the UL BWP(s)), the simultaneous transmission of the low priority PUSCH (e.g., and/or the low priority UCI) and the high priority UCI (e.g., the high priority PUCCH).)
Regarding claim 9. Aiba teaches The method of Claim 8, wherein the signal enables the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions (([0121] Additionally or alternatively, the gNB 160 may transmit, by using the RRC message, third information used for indicating (e.g., configuring) the simultaneous transmission(s) of the PUCCH and the PUSCH is configured (e.g., indicated, and/or allowed).)) responsive to the PUCCH and the PUSCH having different physical layer (PHY)-level priorities. ([0166] Additionally or alternatively, in a case that the simultaneous transmission of the PUCCH and PUSCH is configured for a serving cell(s)… the UE 102 may perform on the serving cell(s) (and/or the UL BWP(s)), the simultaneous transmission of the low priority PUSCH (e.g., and/or the low priority UCI) and the high priority UCI (e.g., the high priority PUCCH).)
Regarding claim 10. Aiba teaches The method of Claim 8, wherein the performing of the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions comprise performing simultaneous transmissions of: a high-priority PUCCH (HP-PUCCH) and alow-priority PUSCH (LP-PUSCH), or alow-priority PUCCH (LP-PUCCH) and a high-priority PUSCH (HP-PUSCH). ([0166] Additionally or alternatively, in a case that the simultaneous transmission of the PUCCH and PUSCH is configured for a serving cell(s)… the UE 102 may perform on the serving cell(s) (and/or the UL BWP(s)), the simultaneous transmission of the low priority PUSCH (e.g., and/or the low priority UCI) and the high priority UCI (e.g., the high priority PUCCH).)
Regarding claim 11. Aiba teaches The method of Claim 8, wherein the performing of the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions comprise performing simultaneous transmissions of Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) and enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB) over different cells. ([0031] The 5th generation communication systems, dubbed NR (New Radio technologies) by 3GPP, envision the use of time/frequency/space resources to allow for services, such as eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broad-Band) transmission, URLLC (Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication) transmission, and eMTC (massive Machine Type Communication) transmission. And, in NR, transmissions for different services may be specified (e.g., configured) for one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) in a serving cell and/or for one or more serving cells. A user equipment (UE) may perform a reception(s) of a downlink signal(s) and/or a transmission(s) of an uplink signal(s) in the BWP(s) of the serving cell(s).)
Regarding claim 12-15 and 17-20. Aiba teaches An apparatus implementable in a user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a network; (Fig. 7, Transceiver 718) and a processor coupled to the transceiver (Fig. 7, Processor 703 and configured to perform operations comprising the steps in claim 1-5 and 8-11.. They are rejected for the same reasons.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aiba as applied to claims 1 above, and further in view of Takeda; Kazuki et al. US 20210243779 A1 (hereinafter Takeda ‘779) supported by provisional application 62/970,084 filed on 2/4/2020.
Regarding claim 6. Aiba teaches The method of claim 5, but it does not teach wherein the performing of the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions with different or same priorities is disabled or enabled responsive to an absence or a presence of the RRC parameter.
However, Taketa ‘779 teaches
wherein the performing of the simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions with different or same priorities is disabled or enabled responsive to an absence or a presence of the RRC parameter. ([0004] The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support simultaneous physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)-physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) with different priorities. … For example, wireless communications systems may configure (e.g., via radio resource control (RRC) signaling) simultaneous PUCCH-PUSCH across two or more carriers, where piggybacking of feedback information on an uplink shared channel transmission may be disabled.
Supported by ‘084, [0003])
In order to improve data throughput and control information handling by decoupling operations of two uplink carriers. ([0041])
Aiba and Takeda ‘779 are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Aiba with the technique of decoupled uplink carriers in Takeda ‘779 in order to improve data throughput and control information handling.
Regarding claim 16. Aiba and Takeda ‘779 teach The apparatus of claim 12, performing the steps recited in claims 6. they are rejected for the same reasons.
Claims 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aiba as applied to claims 6 above, and further in view of Cirik; Ali et al. US PGPUB 20210029650 A1.
Regarding claim 7. Aibateaches The method of claim 6, but they don’t teach wherein the RRC parameter is configured separately for inter-band and intra-band simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions.
However, Cirik teaches
wherein the RRC parameter is configured separately for inter-band and intra-band simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions. ([0112] FIG. 10A shows example CA configurations based on CCs. As shown in FIG. 10A, three types of CA configurations may comprise an intraband (contiguous) configuration 1002, an intraband (non-contiguous) configuration 1004, and/or an interband configuration 1006.)
in order to reduce uplink overhead/retransmissions and interference ([0247])
Aiba and Cirik are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Aiba with the technique of inter- and intra-band transmission in Cirik in order to reduce uplink overhead/retransmissions and interference.
Conclusion
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/ZHAOHUI YANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468