DETAILED ACTION
Status of Case
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 the RCE filed on 3/13/2026.
Claims 1, 8, 13, 14, 21, 26, and 49-52 are pending.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/13/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1, 8, 14, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZTE, “Consideration on scheduling enhancement for MTC,” 3GPP Draft; R1-1913318, Reno, Nevada, November 2019 (cited in Applicant’s IDS filed on 3/22/2023) (hereinafter “ZTE”) in view of Takeda (USPAN 2018/0310281).
Consider claim 1, ZTE discloses a method implemented in a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD, (see figure 2, reproduced below for convenience) the method comprising: scheduling using a single downlink control information, DCI, message a first transmission with repetition of a first transport block, TB, and a second transmission with repetition of a second TB (see section 3: “multi-TBs scheduling with DCI for unicast”; also, see figures 2 and 3), the repetitions of the first and second TBs being mapped to non-overlapping time-domain resources and the repetitions of first and second TBs being mapped to a same physical resource block, PRB, set (see section 3: in figures 2 and 3, the TBs use the same frequencies, in contrast to figure 4 where frequency hopping is used); and
triggering the first transmission with repetition of the first TB and the second transmission with repetition of the second TB based on the single DCI scheduling (see section 3: “multi-TBs scheduling with DCI for unicast” and see figures 2 and 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
412
1062
media_image1.png
Greyscale
ZTE discloses a first transmission with repetition of the first TB and the second transmission with repetition of the second TB (see above). However, ZTE does not specifically disclose scheduling in one downlink control information, DCI, message a first transmission with a repetition of a first transport block and a second transmission with repetition of a second TB, and triggering via a scheduling command in the one DCI message to dynamically signal transmission of multiple transport blocks, the first TB associated with a first value for a scheduling parameter of the scheduling command, and the second TB associated with a second value for the scheduling parameter of the scheduling command. Takeda discloses scheduling in one downlink control information, DCI, message a first transmission with a repetition of a first transport block and a second transmission with repetition of a second TB, and triggering via a scheduling command in the one DCI message to dynamically signal transmission of multiple transport blocks, the first TB associated with a first value for a scheduling parameter of the scheduling command, and the second TB associated with a second value for the scheduling parameter of the scheduling command (see paragraph 52: The “repetition transmission method information” may include the number of DCI-mapped resource units to which DCI is mapped, the number of times signals of the DCI-mapped resource units are repeatedly transmitted (the number of repetitions of signals of DCI-mapped resource units), the number of TB-mapped resource units to which TB is mapped, the number of times signals of the TB-mapped resource units are repeatedly transmitted (the number of repetitions of signals of TB-mapped resource units), and information (e.g., a subframe number, a subframe number+a radio frame number, or a parameter to be inserted in a predetermined formula used to identify a subframe number and/or a radio frame number) indicating a subframe location at which the transmission of a physical downlink control channel is started; see paragraph 54: A part of the “repetition transmission method information” may be transmitted via DCI. For example, the number of repetitions of signals of TB-mapped resource units may be included in DCI to enable dynamic control of the number of repetitions of signals of TB-mapped resource units; see paragraph 55: Similarly, the number of repetitions of signals of DCI-mapped resource units may also be included in DCI to enable the user device UE successfully receiving the DCI to identify the number of repetitions; also, see figure 6B, reproduced below for convenience).
PNG
media_image2.png
270
592
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Examiner further notes that Takeda also discloses that the repetitions of the first and second TBs being mapped to non-overlapping time-domain resources and the repetitions of first and second TBs being mapped to a same physical resource block, PRB, set (see figure 6B and paragraphs 52-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of ZTE and combine it with the noted teachings of Takeda. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for repeating each resource of multiple resources a number of times indicated by a repetition number and to thereby achieve a coverage expansion in MTC (see paragraphs 17 and 18 of Takeda).
Consider claims 8 and 21, ZTE discloses that the first transmission comprises a first number of repetitions of the first TB and the second transmission comprises a second number of repetitions of the second TB, the first number being different than the second number (see section 3).
Consider claims 13 and 26, ZTE discloses skipping a repetition of at least one of the first and second TB (see section 3.2: early termination).
Consider claim 14, ZTE discloses a method implemented in a wireless device, WD, configured to communicate with a network node (see figure 2, reproduced below for convenience), the method comprising: receiving a single downlink control information, DCI, message scheduling a first transmission with repetition of a first transport block, TB, and a second transmission with repetition of a second TB (see section 3: “multi-TBs scheduling with DCI for unicast”; also, see figures 2 and 3), the repetitions of the first and second TBs being mapped to non-overlapping time-domain resources and the repetitions of first and second TBs being mapped to a same physical resource block, PRB, set (see section 3: in figures 2 and 3, the TBs use the same frequencies, in contrast to figure 4 where frequency hopping is used); and
processing the repetitions of the first TB and the repetitions of the second TB based at least in part on the single DCI scheduling (see section 3: “multi-TBs scheduling with DCI for unicast” and see figures 2 and 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
412
1062
media_image1.png
Greyscale
ZTE discloses a first transmission with repetition of the first TB and the second transmission with repetition of the second TB (see above). However, ZTE does not specifically disclose scheduling in one downlink control information, DCI, message a first transmission with a repetition of a first transport block and a second transmission with repetition of a second TB, and triggering via a scheduling command in the one DCI message to dynamically signal transmission of multiple transport blocks, the first TB associated with a first value for a scheduling parameter of the scheduling command, and the second TB associated with a second value for the scheduling parameter of the scheduling command. Takeda discloses scheduling in one downlink control information, DCI, message a first transmission with a repetition of a first transport block and a second transmission with repetition of a second TB, and triggering via a scheduling command in the one DCI message to dynamically signal transmission of multiple transport blocks, the first TB associated with a first value for a scheduling parameter of the scheduling command, and the second TB associated with a second value for the scheduling parameter of the scheduling command (see paragraph 52: The “repetition transmission method information” may include the number of DCI-mapped resource units to which DCI is mapped, the number of times signals of the DCI-mapped resource units are repeatedly transmitted (the number of repetitions of signals of DCI-mapped resource units), the number of TB-mapped resource units to which TB is mapped, the number of times signals of the TB-mapped resource units are repeatedly transmitted (the number of repetitions of signals of TB-mapped resource units), and information (e.g., a subframe number, a subframe number+a radio frame number, or a parameter to be inserted in a predetermined formula used to identify a subframe number and/or a radio frame number) indicating a subframe location at which the transmission of a physical downlink control channel is started; see paragraph 54: A part of the “repetition transmission method information” may be transmitted via DCI. For example, the number of repetitions of signals of TB-mapped resource units may be included in DCI to enable dynamic control of the number of repetitions of signals of TB-mapped resource units; see paragraph 55: Similarly, the number of repetitions of signals of DCI-mapped resource units may also be included in DCI to enable the user device UE successfully receiving the DCI to identify the number of repetitions; also, see figure 6B, reproduced below for convenience).
PNG
media_image2.png
270
592
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Examiner further notes that Takeda also discloses that the repetitions of the first and second TBs being mapped to non-overlapping time-domain resources and the repetitions of first and second TBs being mapped to a same physical resource block, PRB, set (see figure 6B and paragraphs 52-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of ZTE and combine it with the noted teachings of Takeda. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for repeating each resource of multiple resources a number of times indicated by a repetition number and to thereby achieve a coverage expansion in MTC (see paragraphs 17 and 18 of Takeda).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 49-52 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jamal Javaid whose telephone number is 571-270-5137 and email address is Jamal.Javaid@uspto.gov.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Jiang, can be reached on 571-270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/JAMAL JAVAID/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
Prosecution Insights