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
2. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/25/2025 with respect to claims 1 – 3,7, 27, 29, 30, 34 has been entered. Claims 4-6, 8-26, 28, 31-33, 35-37 are cancelled.
3. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 – 3,7, 27, 29, 30, 34 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to new combinations of references including new prior arts being used in the current rejection. The new grounds of rejection are necessitated by amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
Claim(s) 1, 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 20220295561 A1) hereinafter Wang and further in view of Talarico et al. (US 20220070922 A1)hereinafter Talarico
As to claim 1, Wang teaches A method for configuring a configured grant (CG), comprising: configuring at least one CG for a terminal, ([0111] Fig. 9, ConfiguredGrantConfig information element (IE) used for RRC configuration of NR type-1 and type-2 UL configured grants)
wherein the at least one CG comprises a second type of CG, ([0111] Fig. 9, ConfiguredGrantConfig information element (IE) used for RRC configuration of NR type-1 and type-2 UL configured grants)
and the second type of CG is used for a shared spectrum access operation;([0028][0029][0030]Type-2 CG is CG retransmission timer for uplink data in shared spectrum)
and
the second parameter comprises at least one of following configuration parameters:
a first HARQ process offset harq-ProcID-Offset; or a CG retransmission timer CG-RetransmissionTimer.([0029] new UE timer referred to as “CG retransmission timer”)
wherein a second parameter of the second type of CG;([0028][0029][0030]Type-2 CG is CG retransmission timer for uplink data in shared spectrum)
Wang does not explicitly teach A method for configuring a configured grant (CG) in an interference- controlled scenario under new radio-unlicense (NR-U), operational parameter
Talarico teaches A method for configuring a configured grant (CG) in an interference- controlled scenario under new radio-unlicense (NR-U)([0021] [0029] a shared/unlicensed spectrum in 5G NR with Configured Grant operation: NR Type-1 and Type-2 configured grant mechanisms are the baseline for NR-U operation)
Operational parameter ([0177] Fig. 4, UEs 401 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel, e.g., operational parameter, downlink scheduling or assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 401b within a cell is performed at any of the RAN nodes 411)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Talarico with the teachings of Wang because Talarico teaches that NR-U enabling both configured grant and grant-based UL transmissions thereby utilizing the channel in efficiently by performing a single LBT, and increasing likelihood of transmission success. (Talarico [0032])
Claim 27 is/are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1.
As to claim 2 the combination of Wang and Talarico specifically Talarico teaches wherein: the second type of CG comprises a CG configuration when an unlicensed spectrum or a NR-U new radio unlicensed (NR U) system supports the uplink service. ([0028] [0029] Scheduling multiple TTIs for PUSCH in-line with agreements from the study phase. Configured Grant operation: NR Type-1 and Type-2 configured grant mechanisms are the baseline for NR-U operation)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Talarico with the teachings of Wang because Talarico teaches that NR-U enabling both configured grant and grant-based UL transmissions thereby utilizing the channel in efficiently by performing a single LBT, and increasing likelihood of transmission success. (Talarico [0032])
Claim 29 is/are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 2.
Claim(s) 3, 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Talarico and further in view of Ying et al. (US 20210185718 A1) hereinafter Ying
to claim 3. the combination of Wang and Talarico does not teach wherein the at least one CG further comprises a first type of CG, and a first parameter of the first type of CG is an optional parameter, and
wherein the first type of CG comprises a CG configuration that supports a high-reliability and low-latency service, or
the first type of CG is a CG configuration when an uplink service is supported on a licensed band or a new radio (NR) system, or
the first type of CG is a CG configuration when the high-reliability and low-latency service is supported on the licensed band or NR system
Ying teaches wherein the at least one CG further comprises a first type of CG, and a first parameter of the first type of CG is an optional parameter, and ([0058] Fig. 1, in NR, a UE 102 may support multiple types of uplink transmissions without grant (also referred to as grant-free (GF) uplink transmission or GF transmission or transmission by configured grant i.e., unconfigured grant, optional parameter)
wherein the first type of CG comprises a CG configuration that supports a high-reliability and low-latency service, or
the first type of CG is a CG configuration when an uplink service is supported on a licensed band or a new radio (NR) system, or
the first type of CG is a CG configuration when the high-reliability and low-latency service is supported on the licensed band or NR system
([0058] Fig. 1,in New Radio, A first type (Type 1) of GF transmission may be a UL data transmission without grant that is only based on RRC (re)configuration without any L1 signaling. ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Ying with the teachings of Wang and Talarico because Ying teaches that UL data transmission without grant t is based on both RRC configuration and L1 signaling for activation/deactivation for UL data transmission without grant. ( Ying [0058])
Claim 30 is/are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 3.
Claim(s) 7, 34, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Talarico, Ying and further in view of Oh et al. (US 20220361231 A1) hereinafter Oh
As to claim 7 The combination of Wang, Talarico, Ying does not teach wherein the first parameter comprises at least one of following configuration parameters: a second HARQ process offset harq-ProcID-Offset2; a redundant version of repeated transmission repK_RV;an autonomous transmission autonomousTX.
Oh teaches wherein the first parameter comprises at least one of following configuration parameters: a second HARQ process offset harq-ProcID-Offset2; a redundant version of repeated transmission repK_RV;an autonomous transmission autonomousTX. ([0178][0185] Type 1: repK-RV: RV pattern applied to each repeated transmission during repeated transmission)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Oh with the teachings of Wang, Talarico Ying because Oh teaches UE may transmit a pre-configured uplink resource when uplink transmission is required, an uplink transmission delay time may be greatly reduced. (Oh [0212])
Claim 34 is/are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 7.
Conclusion
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
XIONG; Gang et al. [US 20220191935 A1] TWO-STEP RACH FOR NEW RADIO (NR) WITH UNLICENSED OPERATION
LEE; Anthony et al. [US 20220183049 A1] CONFIGURED GRANT IMPROVEMENT FOR NEW RADIO (NR) UNLICENSED
LI; Yingyang et al. [US 20220174735 A1] GRANT BASED PHYSICAL UPLINK SHARED CHANNEL (PUSCH) TRANSMISSION AND CONFIGURED GRANT BASED PUSCH TRANSMISSION IN NEW RADIO (NR) SYSTEMS OPERATING ON UNLICENSED SPECTRUM
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ATIQUE AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-6244. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 - 7:30 PM M-F Eastern.
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, Un Cho can be reached at 5712727919. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ATIQUE AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413