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 .
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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.
Claims 1-3, 8-10, and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cirik et al. (US 20240372687 A1), hereinafter Cirik in view of Campos et al. (US 20230327804 A1), and Ouchi et al. (US 20250063564 A1), hereinafter Ouchi.
Re. Claim 14, Cirik teaches a method for receiving, from a first node, first information on a first synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block for a first physical cell identity (PCI) cell (¶0130 - The PSS and the SSS may be transmitted by the base station and used by the UE to synchronize the UE to the base station. & ¶0131 - It will be understood that FIG. 11A is an example, and that these parameters (number of SS/PBCH blocks per burst, periodicity of bursts, position of burst within the frame) may be configured based on, for example: a carrier frequency of a cell in which the SS/PBCH block is transmitted; a numerology or subcarrier spacing of the cell; a configuration by the network (e.g., using RRC signaling); or any other suitable factor. In an example, the UE may assume a subcarrier spacing for the SS/PBCH block based on the carrier frequency being monitored) and second information on a second SS/PBCH block for a second PCI cell (¶0130-0131 – See above, & ¶0138 - In an example, within a frequency span of a carrier, a base station may transmit a plurality of SS/PBCH blocks.); receive, from the first node, the first SS/PBCH block based on the first information (¶0130 - The PSS and the SSS may be provided in a synchronization signal (SS)/physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block that includes the PSS, the SSS, and the PBCH. The base station may periodically transmit a burst of SS/PBCH blocks); wherein a first PCI of the first PCI cell is different from a second PCI of the second PCI cell (¶0138 - In an example, within a frequency span of a carrier, a base station may transmit a plurality of SS/PBCH blocks. In an example, a first PCI of a first SS/PBCH block of the plurality of SS/PBCH blocks may be different from a second PCI of a second SS/PBCH block of the plurality of SS/PBCH blocks. The PCIs of SS/PBCH blocks transmitted in different frequency locations may be different or the same).
However, Cirik does not expressly teach wherein the UE is set to receive, from a second node, the second SS/PBCH block based on the second information, as well as a slot for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition is not counted when an available slot counting is enabled and at least one symbol of the slot overlaps with a symbol corresponding to the first SS/PBCH block or the second SS/PBCH block.
However, Campos explicitly teaches where a UE is set to receive, from a second node, the second SS/PBCH block based on the second information (¶0013 – MIB mapped to PBCH, ¶0017 – two SS’s (PSS and SSS) are paired with the MIB. Claim 5 - the user equipment devices, calculating a time of arrival difference between a first synchronization signal received from the first base station and a second synchronization signal received from a second base station)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Campos to the teaching of Cirik and Campos. The motivation for such would be to improve transmission efficiency via two base stations sending their information in tandem as Campos provides that two different base stations can send their SS/PBCH block occasions to the same UE (¶0013, ¶0017, Claim 5, Campos). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
However, the combination of Cirik and Campos does not expressly teach wherein a slot for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition is not counted when an available slot counting is enabled and at least one symbol of the slot overlaps with a symbol corresponding to the first SS/PBCH block or the second SS/PBCH block.
Yet, Ouchi explicitly teaches wherein a slot for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition is not counted when an available slot counting is enabled and at least one symbol of the slot overlaps with a symbol corresponding to the first SS/PBCH block or the second SS/PBCH block (¶0261 - if the UE is provided with a slot-counting type configuration which indicates the PUSCH repetition to be counted based on available slots, the following may be applied. For both Type 1 and Type 2 PUSCH transmissions with a configured grant, when K>1, the UE may repeat the TB across the K available slots (i.e. the first K slots which are available for the PUSCH transmission) applying the same symbol allocation in each slot. & ¶0287 - for reception of SS/PBCH blocks, the UE may not transmit PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH in the slot if a transmission would overlap with any symbol from the set of symbols and the UE does not transmit SRS in the set of symbols of the slot. & ¶0289 - If a PUSCH (or a repetition of a PUSCH) in a slot is determined to be transmitted, the slot may be considered as available for the PUSCH transmission. If a PUSCH (or a repetition of a PUSCH) in a slot is determined to be cancelled or not to be transmitted, the slot may be considered as not available for the PUSCH transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Ouchi to the teaching of Cirik and Campos. The motivation for such would be to improve transmission efficiency by ignoring and not counting a transmission repetition when there is a known overlap in the timing slots as Ouchi provides that a PUSCH repetition is not counted when there is a detected overlap in the slots (¶0261, ¶0287, ¶0289 Ouchi). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 1, Claim 1 recites the user equipment that performs the method claim outlined in Claim 14, comprising: a processor; and a transceiver operably coupled with the processor. Cirik further teaches a UE comprising: a processor; and a transceiver operably coupled with the processor (Fig. 15).
Re. Claim 8, Claim 8 recites a node in the communication system that performs the method claim outlined in Claim 14, comprising: a processor; and a transceiver operably coupled with the processor. Cirik further teaches a node comprising: a processor; and a transceiver operably coupled with the processor (Fig. 15).
Re. Claims 2, 9 and 15, Cirik, Campos, and Ouchi teach Claims 1, 8 and 14.
Additionally, Cirik further teaches wherein the first information and the second information are configured by each of different radio resource control (RRC) parameters (Fig. 11A, & ¶0131 - that these parameters (number of SS/PBCH blocks per burst, periodicity of bursts, position of burst within the frame) may be configured based on, for example: a carrier frequency of a cell in which the SS/PBCH block is transmitted; a numerology or subcarrier spacing of the cell; a configuration by the network (e.g., using RRC signaling); or any other suitable factor).
Re. Claims 3, 10 and 16, Cirik, Campos, and Ouchi teach Claims 1, 8 and 14.
Yet, the combination of Cirik and Campos does not expressly teach an uplink signal is not received in a slot when a reception of the uplink signal overlaps with at least one symbol of the slot corresponding to the first SS/PBCH block or the second SS/PBCH block.
Yet, Ouchi explicitly teaches an uplink signal is not received in a slot when a reception of the uplink signal overlaps with at least one symbol of the slot corresponding to the first SS/PBCH block or; the second SS/PBCH block (¶0389 - in a case that an instance overlaps with another uplink signal with a higher priority than the priority for the PUSCH, transmission of the instance may be omitted. ¶0393 - For example, a slot may be available in a case that a set of OFDM symbols allocated for an instance in the slot doesn't overlap with any downlink symbol which is determined by a slot configuration. Examiner interprets that, while the reference does not expressly state that the signal is “not received in a slot”, the disclosure that the slot is “available” when it is empty implies that if there is overlap in the slot then it would not be deemed “available” for the purposes of this disclosure. Likewise, if the slot is not available or if there is overlap in the reception, the subsequent transmission is omitted, implying that the information is not received to be transmitted).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Ouchi to the teaching of Cirik and Campos. The motivation for such would be to improve transmission efficiency by ignoring and not counting a transmission repetition when there is a known overlap in the timing slots as Ouchi provides that an uplink signal is not received when an overlap occurs between the signal and the slot of a SS/PBCH block (¶0389, ¶0393, Ouchi). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3, 8-10, and 14-16 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection. Examiner has reviewed the arguments provided and has provided a new pair of references, Cirik et al. (US 20240372687 A1) (A US based disclosure of similar status to the previous Cirik but not of the same application family) and Campos (US 20230327804 A1), and maintained the use of Ouchi for the purposes of the rejection. Regarding Applicant’s arguments against Ouchi, found on Page 16 of the appeal brief, Examiner has included ¶0289 (If a PUSCH (or a repetition of a PUSCH) in a slot is determined to be transmitted, the slot may be considered as available for the PUSCH transmission. If a PUSCH (or a repetition of a PUSCH) in a slot is determined to be cancelled or not to be transmitted, the slot may be considered as not available for the PUSCH transmission) which clarifies that if a slot is determined to be unable to be transmitted or cancelled, it would not be counted in the repetition. The core argument put forth is that Ouchi does not suggest that not sending an SRS does not mean it will not be counted and as such, Examiner finds that Ouchi does in fact suggest this fact. As such, Examiner upholds the rejections provided previously to claims 1-3, 8-19, and 14-16 in light of these new references.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yi et al. (2022/0225360) - ¶0150-¶0200
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/N.J.S./ Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/ supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
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