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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/08/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s silence with respect to the priority to the prior-filed application (Provisional application number 63/269,958) has been noted. Based on the amendment filed 01/08/2026, claims 7-9 and 16-18 are examined based on filing date 03/24/2023 because claim limitation “log2(N)” in the claims is unsupported.
Applicant's arguments filed 01/08/2026 with respect to claim(s) 1, 10, and 19 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Papasakellariou et al. (US 2022/0086894 A1) in view of new references Wei et al. (US 2021/0105101 A1) and Ohuchi et al. (US 2021/0218542 A1).
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) as follows: the instant application recites a claim limitation that does not have support in the provisional application 63/269958. The unsupported claim limitation is “log2(N)” in claims 7-9 and 16-18. Therefore, claims 7-9 and 16-18 are examined based on filing date 03/24/2023.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 10, 12, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Papasakellariou et al. (US 2022/0086894 A1) in view of Wei et al. (US 2021/0105101 A1) and Ohuchi et al. (US 2021/0218542 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Papasakellariou discloses A method for performing, by a user equipment (UE), a plurality of receptions or transmissions on a plurality of serving cells, the method comprising (claim 1) and A user equipment (UE) for performing a plurality of receptions or transmissions on a plurality of serving cells (claim 10) (Fig. 10, [0117]-[0118]: UE performs PDSCH reception on a respective cell based on information in the DCI with the base station. Fig. 15, [0152]-[0153]: UE performs PUSCH transmission on a respective cell based on information in the DCI with the base station), the UE comprising: at least one processor (Fig. 3, [0056]: processor 340); and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Fig. 3, [0056]: processor 340 coupled to memory 360 comprising OS and processor 340 executes the OS), cause the UE to:
receiving control information for scheduling a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) or a plurality of physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) on the plurality of serving cells (Fig. 10, [0117]: UE receives, from a BS ([0072]), a DCI scheduling two PDSCH receptions on two respective cells from the set of scheduled cells. Fig. 15, [0151]: UE receives, from a BS ([0072]), a DCI scheduling two PUSCH transmissions on two respective cells from the set of scheduled cells);
performing, based on the control information, receptions of the plurality of PDSCHs on the plurality of serving cells or transmissions of the plurality of PUSCHs on the plurality of serving cells, wherein (Fig. 10, [0117]-[0118]: UE performs PDSCH reception on a respective cell based on information in the DCI. Fig. 15, [0152]-[0153]: UE performs PUSCH transmission on a respective cell based on information in the DCI):
the control information comprises a plurality of fields ([0087], table 1, [0088], table 2: DCI scheduling a PDSCH reception and DCI scheduling a PUSCH transmission include various fields),
the plurality of fields comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number field, a PDSCH-to-HARQ timing indicator field, and a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) field (tables 1-2: HARQ process number field, PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK timing field, and/or TDRA field), and
the TDRA field is used to allocate time domain resources for all of the plurality of PDSCHs or all of the plurality of PUSCHs (tables 1-2: the TDRA field allocates time domain resources for the PDSCH reception and/or the PUSCH transmission. [0117], [0151]: scheduling of two PDSCH receptions or two PUSCH transmissions), and
Papasakellariou does not disclose, but Wei discloses determining, based on the HARQ process number field, a plurality of HARQ process identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the plurality of PDSCHs or the plurality of PUSCHs ([0249]: The list of HARQ process IDs may be configured by the gNB … per serving cell... Each entry in the configured list may indicate a value that indicates a HARQ process ID assigned by the gNB to the UE for a corresponding HARQ process. For example, when the UE receives a compact DCI with the HARQ process number field having a value x, the UE may apply the x.sup.th entry in the configured list of HARQ process IDs. [0230]: The HARQ process number field in other DCI formats (such as DCI format 0_1 for scheduling of PUSCH, DCI format 1_1 for scheduling of PDSCH) may have a fixed bit length); and
determining a number of bits of the HARQ process number field based on [information] ([0237]: the bit length of the HARQ process number field may be determined according to individual configurations that are configured per cell. Referring to the method 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10, the first BWP may be in the first cell, and the second BWP may be in the second cell different from the first cell. [0231]: the UE may receive, from a BS, an RRC message that includes a first configuration indicating a first parameter associated with a first BWP and a second configuration indicating a second parameter associated with a second BWP. For example, the first parameter may indicate a first bit length of the HARQ process number field in the specific DCI format for scheduling data reception/transmission in the first BWP. The second parameter may indicate a second bit length of the HARQ process number field in the specific DCI format for scheduling data reception/transmission in the second BWP.), wherein:
the total number of the HARQ process IDs for each serving cell is provided via downlink radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from a base station ([0249]: A list of HARQ process IDs may be preconfigured by the gNB via a DL RRC message. The list of HARQ process IDs may be configured by the gNB per UE … per serving cell), and
the total number of the HARQ process IDs for each serving cell is different ([0249]: A list of HARQ process IDs may be preconfigured by the gNB via a DL RRC message. The list of HARQ process IDs may be configured by the gNB per UE … per serving cell … The configured list of the HARQ process IDs may contain zero, one or multiple entries).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Papasakellariou, to determine the HARQ process IDs corresponding to PUSCH or PDSCH per serving cell and the bit length of the HARQ process number field according to configurations per cell, where a list of HARQ process IDs are preconfigured by the gNB via a DL RRC message per serving cell that may contain zero, one, or multiple entries, as taught by Wei.
Doing so allows the UE to apply the received information for data reception or data transmission (Wei: [0233], [0249]).
Papasakellariou in view of Wei does not disclose, but Ohuchi discloses determining a number of bits of the HARQ process number field based on a total number of HARQ process IDs, in the plurality of HARQ process IDs, for each serving cell, in the plurality of serving cells ([0270]: The number of bits in the HPN field may be determined depending on the maximum number of the HARQ processes (downlink HARQ processes) in the serving cell. [0268]: the terminal apparatus may simultaneously process up to 16 downlink HARQ processes for each serving cell. [0192]: The HARQ process is managed with IDs).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Papasakellariou, to determine the bit length of the HARQ process number field per cell, as taught by Wei, based on the maximum number of HARQ processes in the serving cell where the UE may be able to process up to 16 HARQ processes for each serving cell and where the HARQ process is managed with IDs, as taught by Ohuchi.
Doing so allows the terminal to indicate its capability so that the number of bits in the HPN field is determined depending on the maximum number of HARQ processes in the serving cell (Ohuchi: [0268], [0270).
Regarding claim(s) 3 and 12, Papasakellariou in view of Wei and Ohuchi discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 10 as outlined above.
Papasakellariou discloses transmitting, after receiving the plurality of PDSCHs, a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgements (HARQ-ACKs) corresponding to the plurality of PDSCHs in a slot on one of the plurality of serving cells based on the PDSCH-to-HARQ timing indicator field ([0103]: a PUCCH transmission with HARQ-ACK information corresponding to multiple PDSCH receptions in a slot indicated by the PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK timing field. Fig. 13, [0139]: UE places HARQ-ACK information in response to PDSCH receptions on cells).
Regarding claim 19, Papasakellariou discloses A base station (BS) for performing a plurality of receptions or transmissions on a plurality of serving cells, the BS comprising (Fig. 2: base station 102. Fig. 10, [0117]-[0118]: UE performs PDSCH reception on a respective cell based on information in the DCI with the base station. Fig. 15, [0152]-[0153]: UE performs PUSCH transmission on a respective cell based on information in the DCI with the base station):
at least one processor (Fig. 2, [0048]: processor 225);
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Fig. 2, [0048]: processor 225 coupled to memory 230 comprising programs and processor 225 executes the programs), cause the BS to:
transmit control information for scheduling a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) or a plurality of physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) on the plurality of serving cells (Fig. 10, [0117]: UE receives, from a BS ([0072]), a DCI scheduling two PDSCH receptions on two respective cells from the set of scheduled cells. Fig. 15, [0151]: UE receives, from a BS ([0072]), a DCI scheduling two PUSCH transmissions on two respective cells from the set of scheduled cells);
perform, based on the control information, transmissions of the plurality of PDSCHs on the plurality of serving cells or receptions of the plurality of PUSCHs on the plurality of serving cells, wherein (Fig. 10, [0117]-[0118]: UE performs PDSCH reception on a respective cell based on information in the DCI with the base station. Fig. 15, [0152]-[0153]: UE performs PUSCH transmission on a respective cell based on information in the DCI with the base station):
the control information comprises a plurality of fields ([0087], table 1, [0088], table 2: DCI scheduling a PDSCH reception and DCI scheduling a PUSCH transmission include various fields),
the plurality of fields comprise at least one of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number field, a PDSCH-to-HARQ timing indicator field, and a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) field (tables 1-2: HARQ process number field, PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK timing field, and/or TDRA field), and
the TDRA field is used to allocate time domain resources for all of the plurality of PDSCHs or all of the plurality of PUSCHs (tables 1-2: the TDRA field allocates time domain resources for the PDSCH reception and/or the PUSCH transmission. [0117], [0151]: scheduling of two PDSCH receptions or two PUSCH transmissions. Note: based on claim language for the previous limitation “the plurality field comprise at least one of,” the TDRA field may not be included in the fields. Therefore, this limitation may be given no patentable weight because the TDRA may not be included in the fields), and
Papasakellariou does not disclose, but Wei discloses determine, based on the HARQ process number field, a plurality of HARQ process identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the plurality of PDSCHs or the plurality of PUSCHs ([0249]: The list of HARQ process IDs may be configured by the gNB … per serving cell... Each entry in the configured list may indicate a value that indicates a HARQ process ID assigned by the gNB to the UE for a corresponding HARQ process. For example, when the UE receives a compact DCI with the HARQ process number field having a value x, the UE may apply the x.sup.th entry in the configured list of HARQ process IDs. [0230]: The HARQ process number field in other DCI formats (such as DCI format 0_1 for scheduling of PUSCH, DCI format 1_1 for scheduling of PDSCH) may have a fixed bit length); and
determine a number of bits of the HARQ process number field based on [information] ([0237]: the bit length of the HARQ process number field may be determined according to individual configurations that are configured per cell. Referring to the method 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10, the first BWP may be in the first cell, and the second BWP may be in the second cell different from the first cell. [0231]: the UE may receive, from a BS, an RRC message that includes a first configuration indicating a first parameter associated with a first BWP and a second configuration indicating a second parameter associated with a second BWP. For example, the first parameter may indicate a first bit length of the HARQ process number field in the specific DCI format for scheduling data reception/transmission in the first BWP. The second parameter may indicate a second bit length of the HARQ process number field in the specific DCI format for scheduling data reception/transmission in the second BWP.), wherein:
the total number of the HARQ process IDs for each serving cell is provided via downlink radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from a base station ([0249]: A list of HARQ process IDs may be preconfigured by the gNB via a DL RRC message. The list of HARQ process IDs may be configured by the gNB per UE … per serving cell), and
the total number of the HARQ process IDs for each serving cell is different ([0249]: A list of HARQ process IDs may be preconfigured by the gNB via a DL RRC message. The list of HARQ process IDs may be configured by the gNB per UE … per serving cell … The configured list of the HARQ process IDs may contain zero, one or multiple entries).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the base station, as taught by Papasakellariou, to determine the HARQ process IDs corresponding to PUSCH or PDSCH per serving cell and the bit length of the HARQ process number field according to configurations per cell, where a list of HARQ process IDs are preconfigured by the gNB via a DL RRC message per serving cell that may contain zero, one, or multiple entries, as taught by Wei.
Doing so allows the UE to apply the received information for data reception or data transmission (Wei: [0233], [0249]).
Papasakellariou in view of Wei does not disclose, but Ohuchi discloses determining a number of bits of the HARQ process number field based on a total number of HARQ process IDs, in the plurality of HARQ process IDs, for each serving cell, in the plurality of serving cells ([0270]: The number of bits in the HPN field may be determined depending on the maximum number of the HARQ processes (downlink HARQ processes) in the serving cell. [0268]: the terminal apparatus may simultaneously process up to 16 downlink HARQ processes for each serving cell. [0192]: The HARQ process is managed with IDs).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the base station, as taught by Papasakellariou, to determine the bit length of the HARQ process number field per cell, as taught by Wei, based on the maximum number of HARQ processes in the serving cell where the UE may be able to process up to 16 HARQ processes for each serving cell and where the HARQ process is managed with IDs, as taught by Ohuchi.
Doing so allows the terminal to indicate its capability so that the number of bits in the HPN field is determined depending on the maximum number of HARQ processes in the serving cell (Ohuchi: [0268], [0270).
Claim(s) 2 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Papasakellariou et al. (US 2022/0086894 A1) in view of Wei et al. (US 2021/0105101 A1), Ohuchi et al. (US 2021/0218542 A1), and Tsai et al. (US 2023/0371039 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 2 and 11, Papasakellariou in view of Wei and Ohuchi discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 10 as outlined above.
Papasakellariou does not disclose, but Tsai discloses a value in the TDRA field corresponds to a row index in the TDRA table ([0056]: a value m in the TDRA field points to row number m+1 within a look-up table),
the row index includes a plurality of start and length indicator values (SLIVs) for the plurality of PDSCHs or the plurality of PUSCHs ([0056]: row number m+1 indicates SLIV and PDSCH mapping type. [0080]: some rows contain multiple SLIV values applied to multiple PDSCHs), and
each of the plurality of SLIVs corresponds to each of the plurality of PDSCHs or each of the plurality of PUSCHs, respectively ([0080]: multiple SLIV values applied to PDSCH1 and PDSCH2, respectively).
Therefore, 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 TDRA field, as taught by Papasakellariou, to include a value m pointing to a row number within a look-up table, wherein the row number contains multiple SLIV values applied to multiple PDSCHs, as taught by Tsai.
Doing so provides a single DCI scheduling multiple PDSCHs for a serving cell which reduces PDCCH decoding efforts for a UE because the TDRA field can be shared for scheduled PDSCHs (Tsai: [0061], [0068]).
Claim(s) 7-8 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Papasakellariou et al. (US 2022/0086894 A1) in view of Wei et al. (US 2021/0105101 A1), Ohuchi et al. (US 2021/0218542 A1), and Bi et al. (US 2022/0022021 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 7 and 16, Papasakellariou in view of Wei and Ohuchi discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 10 as outlined above.
Papasakellariou does not disclose, but Bi discloses each of the plurality of HARQ process IDs corresponds, respectively, to each of the plurality of PDSCHs or each of the plurality of PUSCHs ([0325]: HARQ process IDs correspond to TBs. [0443]-0444]: information transmitted/received may be PDSCH or PUSCH),
the plurality of the HARQ process IDs is determined based on a plurality of groups of log2(N) bits in the HARQ process number field ([0325]: the HARQ process numbers of TBs are HARQ process IDs based on log 2(N) bits in the DCI), and
N is the number of the plurality of HARQ process IDs ([0318]: N is a quantity of HARQ process ID values).
Therefore, 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 HARQ process number fields, as taught by Papasakellariou, to include HARQ process IDs corresponding to TBs based on log 2(N) bits in the DCI, where N is a quantity of HARQ process ID values, as taught by Bi.
Doing so effectively reduces signaling overheads (Bi: [0316]).
Regarding claim(s) 8 and 17, Papasakellariou in view of Wei, Ohuchi, and Bi discloses all features of claim(s) 7 and 16 as outlined above.
Papasakellariou does not disclose, but Bi discloses a first HARQ process ID of the plurality of HARQ process IDs for a first PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs or a first PUSCH of the plurality of PUSCHs is determined based on a first group of the plurality of groups of log2(N) bits in the HARQ process number field ([0325]: HARQ process number of HARQ process ID 1 for first TB is in the range {0 to N−1} by using log 2(N) bits in the DCI),
a second HARQ process ID of the plurality of HARQ process IDs for a second PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs or a second PUSCH of the plurality of PUSCHs is determined based on a second group of the plurality of groups of log2(N) bits in the HARQ process number field ([0325]: HARQ process number of HARQ process ID 2 for second TB is in the range {0 to N−1} by using log 2(N) bits in the DCI), and
a third HARQ process ID of the plurality of HARQ process IDs for a third PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs or a third PUSCH of the plurality of PUSCHs is determined based on a third group of the plurality of groups of log2(N) bits in the HARQ process number field ([0325] teaches two TBs but [0135], [0369]: DCI may schedule a plurality of TBs, i.e., 4 TBs, and the DCI indicates a plurality of HARQ process numbers, each corresponding to one TB. [0064]: “a plurality of” refers to two or more than two. Therefore, based on the recited paragraph, there may be a HARQ process number of HARQ process ID 3 for third TB is in the range {0 to N−1} by using log 2(N) bits in the DCI).
Therefore, 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 HARQ process number fields, as taught by Papasakellariou, to include HARQ process IDs for TBs in the range {0 to N−1} by using log 2(N) bits in the DCI, as taught by Bi.
Doing so effectively reduces signaling overheads (Bi: [0316]).
Claim(s) 9 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Papasakellariou et al. (US 2022/0086894 A1) in view of Wei et al. (US 2021/0105101 A1), Ohuchi et al. (US 2021/0218542 A1), and Bi et al. (US 2022/0022021 A1), and Panteleev et al. (US 2021/0314982 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 9 and 18, Papasakellariou in view of Wei and Ohuchi discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 10 as outlined above.
Papasakellariou does not disclose, but Bi discloses the plurality of HARQ process IDs is determined by grouping consecutive log2(N) bits ([0319]: log 2(N) bits in the DCI are used to indicate a HARQ process ID 1 and other log 2(N) bits in the DCI are used to indicate a HARQ process ID 2), ([0318]: N is a quantity of HARQ process ID values).
Therefore, 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 HARQ process number fields, as taught by Papasakellariou, to include HARQ process IDs for TBs in log 2(N) bits in the DCI, as taught by Bi.
Doing so effectively reduces signaling overheads (Bi: [0316]).
Panteleev discloses which starts with the Most Significant Bit (MSB) or the Least Significant Bit (LSB) of the HARQ process number field ([0085]: log 2(N) least a significant bit (LSB) or most significant bit (MSB) bits of HARQ-ID field can be utilized).
Therefore, 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 HARQ process number fields, as taught by Papasakellariou, to include HARQ process IDs for TBs in log 2(N) bits in the DCI, as taught by Bi, to utilize log 2(N) least a significant bit (LSB) or most significant bit (MSB) bits of HARQ-ID field, as taught by Panteleev.
Doing so keeps the monitored DCI size the same as for usual scheduling (Panteleev: [0085]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THE HY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3813. The examiner can normally be reached on Mo-Fr: 8am-4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Avellino, can be reached on (571) 272-3905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THE HY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
TheHy.Nguyen@USPTO.gov
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