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 .
This office action is in response to remarks filed 12/04/2025.
Claims 1-2, 17, 19-20, 39, and 42-46 are pending and presented for examination. Claims 1-2, 17, 19-20, and 39 are amended. Claims 3-16, 18, 21-38, and 40-41 are cancelled. Claims 44-46 have been added.
Response to Amendments
Claims 1, 19, and 39 have been re-considered based on remarks.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
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 1, 19, 39, and 42-43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al (US20200045700A1) (hereinafter "Sun") in view of Gao et al (US20230198721A1) (hereinafter "Gao").
Regarding claim 1, Sun discloses a control channel transmission method, applied to a network device, comprising:
sending at least two candidate control channels to a User Equipment (UE) through a plurality of Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs) ([0118] the BS may configure the UE to operate in the multi-TRP mode by transmitting two downlink control information (DCI) transmissions in a same search space set from a same TRP, wherein the DCI identifies a set of physical downlink control channel candidates that is reserved for each TRP, of multiple TRPs, associated with the multi-TRP mode).
Sun fails to disclose a control channel transmission method, applied to a network device, comprising:
wherein there is a first corresponding link between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel:
wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI;
wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET);
wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or
the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs.
However, Gao discloses a control channel transmission method, applied to a network device, comprising:
wherein there is a first corresponding link (TCI state) between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel ([0035] a list of up to 64 TCI-States can be configured in a CORESET p. [0028] These TCI states are used to provide QCL relationships between the source DL RS(s) in one RS Set in the TCI State and the PDCCH DMRS ports (i.e., for DMRS ports for PDCCHs received in one of the search spaces defined over CORESET p). [0153] In this embodiment, the ith (i=0, 1, . . . , NREG−1) REG in the CORESET is associated with TCI state ks (0≤s<NTCI−1) with s=(i)mod(NTCI), where “mod” is a modulo function with i=NTCIq+s and q is an integer. An example is shown in FIG. 9, where NTCI=2 and NREG=18. A first subset of REGs consists of even numbered REGs (i.e., REGs 0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16) and is mapped to TCI state k0 (the first TCI state), and a second subset of REGs consists of odd numbered REGs (i.e., REGs 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17) and is mapped to TCI state k1 (the second TCI state).):
wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI ([0202] In one embodiment, receiving the DCI in step 1804 comprises receiving the DCI carried by the first PDCCH in the first set of REs and the second PDCCH in the second set of REs, and the first PDCCH and the second PDCCH are decoded together by combining signals received in the first and the second sets of REs in the CCEs after channel estimation, or separately.);
wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET) ([0193] At the wireless communication device 812, the wireless communication device 812 receives the one or more messages that activate the first TCI state and the second TCI state for the CORSET comprising the first set of REs associated to the first TCI state and the second set of REs associated to the second TCI state in step 1800. The wireless communication device 812 also receives the configuration of the SS set associated with the CORESET, the one or more ALs, and the number of PDCCH candidates for each AL in the SS set, in step 1802. The wireless communication device 812 also receives a DCI carried by either: (a) a single PDCCH in one of the number of PDCCH candidates that comprises REs in the first set of REs and REs in the second sets of REs or (b) a first PDCCH (e.g., with an AL of 1) in the first set of REs and a second PDCCH (e.g., with an AL of 1) in the second set of REs (step 1804).);
wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or (The examiner does not select this because of the "or" statement.)
the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs ([0052] For a SS set s associated with CORESET p, the CCE indexes for aggregation level L corresponding to PDCCH candidate m (m=0, 1, . . . , M(L)−1) of the SS set in slot ns for an active DL BWP of a serving cell are given by
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where
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for CSS and is a pseudo-random variable based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) of the UE for USS, the CORESET index p, and slot number ns; NCCE,p is the number of CCEs in the CORESET; M(L) is the number of PDCCH candidates configured for aggregation level L; i (0, 1, . . . , L−1) is the contiguous CCE index of the PDCCH candidate m [0103] FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a PDCCH with aggregation level L=2 transmitted in a CORESET with two OFDM symbols and activated with two TCI states, where a first part of the PDCCH is transmitted in REGs {0,2,4,6,8,10} from TRP1 (i.e., TCI state k0) and a second part of the PDCCH is transmitted in REGs {1,3,5,7,9,11} from TRP2 (i.e., TCI state k1), in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure).
Sun and Gao are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of searching for control channels in a shared control channel structure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun with Gao to create a control channel transmission method, applied to a network device, comprising: wherein there is a first corresponding link between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel: wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI; wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET); wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to reduce the decoding complexity in order to save power.
Regarding claim 19, Sun discloses a control channel transmission method, applied to a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving at least two candidate control channels from a network device, wherein the at least two candidate control channels are sent through a plurality of Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs) ([0118] the BS may configure the UE to operate in the multi-TRP mode by transmitting two downlink control information (DCI) transmissions in a same search space set from a same TRP, wherein the DCI identifies a set of physical downlink control channel candidates that is reserved for each TRP, of multiple TRPs, associated with the multi-TRP mode).
Sun fails to disclose a control channel transmission method, applied to a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
wherein there is a first corresponding link between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel:
wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI;
wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET);
wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or
the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs.
However, Gao discloses a control channel transmission method, applied to a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
wherein there is a first corresponding link (TCI state) between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel ([0035] a list of up to 64 TCI-States can be configured in a CORESET p. [0028] These TCI states are used to provide QCL relationships between the source DL RS(s) in one RS Set in the TCI State and the PDCCH DMRS ports (i.e., for DMRS ports for PDCCHs received in one of the search spaces defined over CORESET p). [0153] In this embodiment, the ith (i=0, 1, . . . , NREG−1) REG in the CORESET is associated with TCI state ks (0≤s<NTCI−1) with s=(i)mod(NTCI), where “mod” is a modulo function with i=NTCIq+s and q is an integer. An example is shown in FIG. 9, where NTCI=2 and NREG=18. A first subset of REGs consists of even numbered REGs (i.e., REGs 0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16) and is mapped to TCI state k0 (the first TCI state), and a second subset of REGs consists of odd numbered REGs (i.e., REGs 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17) and is mapped to TCI state k1 (the second TCI state).):
wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI ([0202] In one embodiment, receiving the DCI in step 1804 comprises receiving the DCI carried by the first PDCCH in the first set of REs and the second PDCCH in the second set of REs, and the first PDCCH and the second PDCCH are decoded together by combining signals received in the first and the second sets of REs in the CCEs after channel estimation, or separately.);
wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET) ([0193] At the wireless communication device 812, the wireless communication device 812 receives the one or more messages that activate the first TCI state and the second TCI state for the CORSET comprising the first set of REs associated to the first TCI state and the second set of REs associated to the second TCI state in step 1800. The wireless communication device 812 also receives the configuration of the SS set associated with the CORESET, the one or more ALs, and the number of PDCCH candidates for each AL in the SS set, in step 1802. The wireless communication device 812 also receives a DCI carried by either: (a) a single PDCCH in one of the number of PDCCH candidates that comprises REs in the first set of REs and REs in the second sets of REs or (b) a first PDCCH (e.g., with an AL of 1) in the first set of REs and a second PDCCH (e.g., with an AL of 1) in the second set of REs (step 1804).);
wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or (The examiner does not select this because of the "or" statement.)
the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs ([0052] For a SS set s associated with CORESET p, the CCE indexes for aggregation level L corresponding to PDCCH candidate m (m=0, 1, . . . , M(L)−1) of the SS set in slot ns for an active DL BWP of a serving cell are given by
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where
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for CSS and is a pseudo-random variable based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) of the UE for USS, the CORESET index p, and slot number ns; NCCE,p is the number of CCEs in the CORESET; M(L) is the number of PDCCH candidates configured for aggregation level L; i (0, 1, . . . , L−1) is the contiguous CCE index of the PDCCH candidate m [0103] FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a PDCCH with aggregation level L=2 transmitted in a CORESET with two OFDM symbols and activated with two TCI states, where a first part of the PDCCH is transmitted in REGs {0,2,4,6,8,10} from TRP1 (i.e., TCI state k0) and a second part of the PDCCH is transmitted in REGs {1,3,5,7,9,11} from TRP2 (i.e., TCI state k1), in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure).
Sun and Gao are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of searching for control channels in a shared control channel structure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun with Gao to create a control channel transmission method, applied to a User Equipment (UE), comprising: wherein there is a first corresponding link between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel: wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI; wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET); wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to reduce the decoding complexity in order to save power.
Regarding claim 39, Sun discloses a network device, comprising: a first processor ([0008] a BS for wireless communication may include memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory); and a first communication interface ([0045] At base station 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs may be received by antennas 234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 120.), wherein the first communication interface is configured to send at least two candidate control channels to a User Equipment (UE) through a plurality of Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs) ([0118] the BS may configure the UE to operate in the multi-TRP mode by transmitting two downlink control information (DCI) transmissions in a same search space set from a same TRP, wherein the DCI identifies a set of physical downlink control channel candidates that is reserved for each TRP, of multiple TRPs, associated with the multi-TRP mode),
Sun fails to disclose a network device, wherein there is a first corresponding link between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel: wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI; wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET); wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs.
However, Gao discloses a network device, wherein there is a first corresponding link (TCI state) between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel ([0035] a list of up to 64 TCI-States can be configured in a CORESET p. [0028] These TCI states are used to provide QCL relationships between the source DL RS(s) in one RS Set in the TCI State and the PDCCH DMRS ports (i.e., for DMRS ports for PDCCHs received in one of the search spaces defined over CORESET p). [0153] In this embodiment, the ith (i=0, 1, . . . , NREG−1) REG in the CORESET is associated with TCI state ks (0≤s<NTCI−1) with s=(i)mod(NTCI), where “mod” is a modulo function with i=NTCIq+s and q is an integer. An example is shown in FIG. 9, where NTCI=2 and NREG=18. A first subset of REGs consists of even numbered REGs (i.e., REGs 0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16) and is mapped to TCI state k0 (the first TCI state), and a second subset of REGs consists of odd numbered REGs (i.e., REGs 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17) and is mapped to TCI state k1 (the second TCI state).):
wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI ([0202] In one embodiment, receiving the DCI in step 1804 comprises receiving the DCI carried by the first PDCCH in the first set of REs and the second PDCCH in the second set of REs, and the first PDCCH and the second PDCCH are decoded together by combining signals received in the first and the second sets of REs in the CCEs after channel estimation, or separately.);
wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET) ([0193] At the wireless communication device 812, the wireless communication device 812 receives the one or more messages that activate the first TCI state and the second TCI state for the CORSET comprising the first set of REs associated to the first TCI state and the second set of REs associated to the second TCI state in step 1800. The wireless communication device 812 also receives the configuration of the SS set associated with the CORESET, the one or more ALs, and the number of PDCCH candidates for each AL in the SS set, in step 1802. The wireless communication device 812 also receives a DCI carried by either: (a) a single PDCCH in one of the number of PDCCH candidates that comprises REs in the first set of REs and REs in the second sets of REs or (b) a first PDCCH (e.g., with an AL of 1) in the first set of REs and a second PDCCH (e.g., with an AL of 1) in the second set of REs (step 1804).);
wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or (The examiner does not select this because of the "or" statement.)
the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs ([0052] For a SS set s associated with CORESET p, the CCE indexes for aggregation level L corresponding to PDCCH candidate m (m=0, 1, . . . , M(L)−1) of the SS set in slot ns for an active DL BWP of a serving cell are given by
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where
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for CSS and is a pseudo-random variable based on the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) of the UE for USS, the CORESET index p, and slot number ns; NCCE,p is the number of CCEs in the CORESET; M(L) is the number of PDCCH candidates configured for aggregation level L; i (0, 1, . . . , L−1) is the contiguous CCE index of the PDCCH candidate m [0103] FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a PDCCH with aggregation level L=2 transmitted in a CORESET with two OFDM symbols and activated with two TCI states, where a first part of the PDCCH is transmitted in REGs {0,2,4,6,8,10} from TRP1 (i.e., TCI state k0) and a second part of the PDCCH is transmitted in REGs {1,3,5,7,9,11} from TRP2 (i.e., TCI state k1), in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure).
Sun and Gao are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of searching for control channels in a shared control channel structure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun with Gao to create a network device, wherein there is a first corresponding link between information related to a first candidate control channel of the at least two candidate control channels and information related to other candidate control channels of the at least two candidate control channels except for the first candidate control channel: wherein each of the plurality of TRPs corresponds to a respective one of the at least two candidate control channels, each of the plurality of TRPs is configured to send part of a content of a Downlink Control Information (DCI), and the at least two candidate control channels are combined by the UE based on the first corresponding link to obtain the DCI; wherein the at least two candidate control channels are in one Search Space set or one Control Resource Set (CORESET); wherein the first corresponding link comprises an offset between Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes of the other candidate control channels and a CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and a value of the offset is equal to a number of CCEs divided by 2; or the first corresponding link comprises an index pair of the CCE indexes of the other candidate control channels and the CCE index of the first candidate control channel, and the index pair is determined based on a number of Aggregation Level (AL) and the number of the CCEs.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to reduce the decoding complexity in order to save power.
Regarding claim 42, Sun discloses a User Equipment (UE), comprising:
a second processor; and ([0166] the UE (e.g., using receive processor 258, controller/processor 280, memory 282, and/or the like) may receive configuration information associated with causing the UE to operate in a transmission/reception point (TRP) mode)
a second memory configured to store a computer program executable on the processor ([0166] the UE (e.g., using receive processor 258, controller/processor 280, memory 282, and/or the like) may receive configuration information associated with causing the UE to operate in a transmission/reception point (TRP) mode),
wherein the second processor is configured to implement the method of claim 19 when running the computer program ([0166] the UE (e.g., using receive processor 258, controller/processor 280, memory 282, and/or the like) may receive configuration information associated with causing the UE to operate in a transmission/reception point (TRP) mode).
Regarding claim 43, Sun discloses a non-transitory storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program that when executed by a processor, implements the method of claim 1 ([0014] Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, wireless communication device, and/or processing system as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and specification. [0046] Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for base station 110 and UE 120, respectively.).
Claims 2 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun in view of Gao as applied to claims 1, 19, or 39 above, and further in view of Bagheri et al (US20200053757A1) (hereinafter "Bagheri").
Regarding claim 2, Sun, as modified by Gao, fails to disclose a method wherein contents of the at least two candidate control channels are the same; or the at least two candidate control channels constitute a same DCI.
However, Bagheri discloses a method wherein contents of the at least two candidate control channels are the same; or (The examiner does not select this because of the "or" statement.)
the at least two candidate control channels constitute a same DCI ([0071] In certain embodiments, similar to multi-TRP PDCCH transmissions (e.g., in which multiple PDCCHs carrying the same DCI are transmitted by multiple TRPs), multiple PDSCHs carrying a same TB or TBs may be transmitted by the multiple TRPs to improve a reliability of a UE's PDSCH reception).
Sun, as modified by Gao, and Bagheri are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of techniques for search space design for multi-carrier operation and downlink assignments for downlink control channel.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun, as modified by Gao, with Bagheri to create a method wherein contents of the at least two candidate control channels are the same; or the at least two candidate control channels constitute a same DCI.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to improve the reliability of a UE's PDSCH reception by transmitting multiple PDSCHs, in which multiple PDCCHs carrying the same DCI are transmitted by multiple TRPs.
Regarding claim 20, Sun, as modified by Gao, fails to disclose the method wherein contents of the at least two candidate control channels are the same; or the at least two candidate control channels constitute a same DCI.
However, Bagheri discloses the method wherein contents of the at least two candidate control channels are the same; or (The examiner does not select this because of the "or" statement.)
the at least two candidate control channels constitute a same DCI ([0071] In certain embodiments, similar to multi-TRP PDCCH transmissions (e.g., in which multiple PDCCHs carrying the same DCI are transmitted by multiple TRPs), multiple PDSCHs carrying a same TB or TBs may be transmitted by the multiple TRPs to improve a reliability of a UE's PDSCH reception).
Sun, as modified by Gao, and Bagheri are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of techniques for search space design for multi-carrier operation and downlink assignments for downlink control channel.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun, as modified by Gao, with Bagheri to create the method wherein contents of the at least two candidate control channels are the same; or the at least two candidate control channels constitute a same DCI.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to improve the reliability of a UE's PDSCH reception by transmitting multiple PDSCHs, in which multiple PDCCHs carrying the same DCI are transmitted by multiple TRPs.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun in view of Gao as applied to claims 1, 19, or 39 above, and further in view of Yi et al (US20220039140A1) (hereinafter "Yi").
Regarding claim 17, Sun, as modified by Gao, fails to disclose the method further comprising sending a first information to a User Equipment (UE), the first information being configured to indicate a respective Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of each of the at least two candidate control channels.
However, Yi discloses the method further comprising: sending a first information to a User Equipment (UE), the first information ([0300] first TCI state…second TCI state. i.e., TCI state of each of the two candidate control channels) being configured to indicate a respective Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of each of the at least two candidate control channels ([0300] The base station 2510 may send (e.g., transmit) first DCI/PDCCH (e.g., PDCCH #1 2521) via the first TRP or a first coreset pool…The base station 2510 may send (e.g., transmit) second DCI/PDCCH (e.g., PDCCH #2) via the second TRP or a second coreset pool … A wireless device 2511 may monitor the first DCI/PDCCH 2521 and the third DCI/PDCCH based on a first TCI state … The wireless device 2511 may monitor the second DCI/PDCCH and the fourth DCI/PDCCH 2522 based on a second TCI state).
Sun, as modified by Gao, and Yi are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of techniques for search space design for multi-carrier operation and control channel repetition.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun, as modified by Gao, and Yi to create the method further comprising sending a first information to a User Equipment (UE), the first information being configured to indicate a respective Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state of each of the at least two candidate control channels.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need for the UE to be able to uniquely identify the various PDCCHs.
Claims 44-46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun in view of Gao as applied to claims 1, 19, or 39 above, and further in view of Zhang et al (US20220007400A1) (hereinafter "Zhang").
Regarding claim 44, Sun, as modified by Gao, fails to disclose the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation:
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter.
However, Zhang discloses the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation ([0121] an index of a candidate control channel is m.sub.s,n.sub.CI in Equation (1).):
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter
PNG
media_image9.png
360
689
media_image9.png
Greyscale
.
Sun, as modified by Gao, and Zhang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of techniques for transmitting multiple control channels by different TRPs.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun, as modified by Gao, and Zhang to create the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation:
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to define which CCEs are used in the candidate control channels for the different TRPs.
Regarding claim 45, Sun, as modified by Gao, fails to disclose the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation:
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter.
However, Zhang discloses the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation ([0121] an index of a candidate control channel is m.sub.s,n.sub.CI in Equation (1).):
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter
PNG
media_image9.png
360
689
media_image9.png
Greyscale
.
Sun, as modified by Gao, and Zhang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of techniques transmitting multiple control channels by different TRPs.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun, as modified by Gao, and Zhang to create the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation:
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to define which CCEs are used in the candidate control channels for the different TRPs.
Regarding claim 46, Sun, as modified by Gao, fails to disclose the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation:
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter.
However, Zhang discloses the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation ([0121] an index of a candidate control channel is m.sub.s,n.sub.CI in Equation (1).):
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter
PNG
media_image9.png
360
689
media_image9.png
Greyscale
.
Sun, as modified by Gao, and Zhang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same endeavor of techniques transmitting multiple control channels by different TRPs.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a motivation to combine the teachings of Sun, as modified by Gao, and Zhang to create the method, wherein CCE indexes of the at least two candidate control channels are determined by following equation:
PNG
media_image3.png
54
507
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein L represents the AL; i = 0,...,L - 1 ; for a common Search Space set,
PNG
media_image4.png
27
51
media_image4.png
Greyscale
is 0; for a specific Search Space set for the UE,
PNG
media_image5.png
37
271
media_image5.png
Greyscale
, wherein if pmod 3 = 0, Ap, is 39827; if pmod 3 = 1, Ap, is 39829; if pmod 3 = 2, Ap, is 39839, and D is 65537; NCCE,p represents a number of CCEs in a CORESET p; nci, represents a value of a Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) or is fixed to 0;
PNG
media_image6.png
31
50
media_image6.png
Greyscale
represents a number of candidate control channels at the AL L of a Search Space set s on a serving cell ncI
PNG
media_image7.png
29
59
media_image7.png
Greyscale
represents a maximum value of all
PNG
media_image8.png
31
278
media_image8.png
Greyscale
and C represents a fourth parameter.
The motivation to combine both references would come from the need to define which CCEs are used in the candidate control channels for the different TRPs.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 19, 39, and their respectively associated dependent claims 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Moon et al (US20200221428A1) discloses a method for transmitting and receiving a downlink control channel for transmission of control information and monitoring a downlink control channel by a terminal in a multi-beam based mobile communication system.
Gao et al (US20230156738A1) discloses methods for improving the reliability of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission and reception.
Heo et al (US20230291496A1) discloses techniques to limit the number of blind decodes when PDCCH is repeated.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to D LITTLE whose telephone number is (571)272-5748. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8-6 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nishant Divecha can be reached on 571-270-3125. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/D LITTLE/Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419