DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-14 are presented for examination.
Claims 1, 6, and 11 are amended.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 June 8, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed June 8, 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments regarding amended claim 1, applicant argues the cited references fail to disclose or suggest the limitations of claim 1, specifically “at least a subset of the 2N first retransmission bits are generated from exclusive-OR combinations of the N information bits that are different from exclusive-OR combinations used to generate corresponding ones of the 2N initial transmission bits” (Remarks, pages 10-14). Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Noh discloses a retransmission method according to a first example in Fig. 25. [0189] In the first example, all data may be retransmitted. Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder (for example the polar encoder of Fig. 19B). In second transmission of the right side (retransmission), the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order (interleaved). That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder (for example the polar encoder of Fig. 19B).
The encoders of Fig. 25 can be the polar encoder of channel length 8 such as the one shown in Fig. 19B. Since the data bits are rearranged (interleaved) for the second transmission, it follows that the new 2N retransmission bits are generated from different exclusive-OR combinations than those used to generate the 2N initial transmission bits. For example, looking at the polar encoder of Fig. 19B, in the initial transmission bit D.sub.1 would be at position U.sub.4, but in the retransmission bit D.sub.1 would be at position U.sub.8. Likewise, D.sub.2 would have been in position U.sub.6 of polar encoder in Fig. 19B for the initial transmission but would be in position U.sub.7 for the retransmission. To calculate the output, the input bits are subject to exclusive-OR operations as depicted in Fig. 19B. By changing the positions of the input data bits for a retransmission, it is obvious that the exclusive-OR operations performed on the data bits to be retransmitted will be different from the exclusive OR operations performed on the initial data bits that were located in different input positions of the polar encoder.
Therefore, since Noh teaches the retransmission bits are generated from different exclusive-OR combinations used to generate the initial 2N transmission bits, then Noh teaches “at least a subset of the 2N first retransmission bits are generated from exclusive-OR combinations of the N information bits that are different from exclusive-OR combinations used to generate corresponding ones of the 2N initial transmission bits”.
Regarding the rejection of independent claims 6 and 11, claims 6 and 11 recite similar limitations as set forth in claim 1, the response to claim 1 is also applicable to claims 6 and 11, and thus please refer to the response to claim 1 above.
Regarding the dependent claims 2-5, 7-10, and 12-14, applicant has not made specific arguments pertaining to why the cited references do not teach the recited claims. Without such arguments, the Examiner cannot respond and is not persuaded by such argument.
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 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 nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ge (US 20190268094 A1) in view of Noh (US 20190140663 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ge teaches an operation method of a transmitting node in a communication system, the operation method comprising: generating 2N initial transmission bits by encoding N information bits to be transmitted to a receiving node of the communication system in a polar coding scheme, wherein N is a natural number equal to or greater than 1 ([0094] The encoding at 1410 based on a chained generator matrix produces codewords that each correspond to the product of an input vector and the chained generator matrix. The input vector could include information bits (including decoding-assistant bits) and frozen bits. This is shown by way of example for an Arikan polar code in FIGS. 2 and 3. For the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, an N=8-bit input vector is formed from K=4 information bits and N−K=4 frozen bits. (N information bits (K) are encoded to produce 2N initial transmission bits (N))); transmitting, to the receiving node, an initial transmission signal generated by modulating the 2N initial transmission bits ([0093] Codewords are then transmitted at 1412. [0187] The transceiver 2202 is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna or Network Interface Controller (NIC) 2204); generated by modulating the 2N first retransmission bits ([0187] The transceiver 2202 is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna or Network Interface Controller (NIC) 2204)).
Ge does not teach receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that the initial transmission signal is not normally received; interleaving the N information bits through an interleaver to generate N interleaved bits; generating 2N first retransmission bits by encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme; and transmitting, to the receiving node, a first retransmission signal generated by modulating the 2N first retransmission bits, wherein at least a subset of the 2N first retransmission bits are generated from exclusive-OR combinations of the N information bits that are different from exclusive-OR combinations used to generate corresponding ones of the 2N initial transmission bits.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding teaches receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that the initial transmission signal is not normally received ([0225] Retransmission of the first data block may be performed based on a NACK response from the receiver); interleaving the N information bits through an interleaver to generate N interleaved bits ([0189] Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder. In second transmission of the right side, the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order. That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively); generating 2N first retransmission bits by encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme ([0188] FIG. 25 illustrates retransmission according to a first example. [0189] The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder. In this example, the channel length is 8 and the number of data bits is 4, thus generating 8 first retransmission bits by encoding 4 interleaved bits. The encoders of Fig. 25 can be the polar encoder of Fig. 19B.); and transmitting, to the receiving node, a first retransmission signal generated by modulating the 2N first retransmission bits ([0189] In the first example, all data may be retransmitted. [0059] The transmitter may perform encoding and modulation with respect to each block which consists of a code block and code block CRC bits), wherein at least a subset of the 2N first retransmission bits are generated from exclusive-OR combinations of the N information bits that are different from exclusive-OR combinations used to generate corresponding ones of the 2N initial transmission bits (Fig. 25 and Fig. 19B; [0189] Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder. In second transmission of the right side, the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order. That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder. The encoders of Fig. 25 can be the polar encoder of Fig. 19B. Since the retransmission data bits are rearranged on the input to the second encoder, it would be obvious that those data bits experience different exclusive-OR combinations to generate the encoded output. The exclusive-OR operations for each channel of the polar encoder are shown in Fig. 19B.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Regarding claim 2, Ge teaches the operation method according to claim 1, wherein the generating of the 2N initial transmission bits comprises: inputting the N information bits and N frozen bits to a first polar encoder having 2N bit channels; and obtaining the 2N initial transmission bits output from the first polar encoder ([0032] FIGS. 2 and 3 show an example use of a polar coding generator matrix for producing codewords and a schematic illustration of an example polar encoder. In FIG. 2, the generator matrix G.sub.2.sup..Math..sup.3 104 is used to produce codewords of length 2.sup.3=8. A codeword x is formed by the product of an input vector u=[0 0 0 u.sub.3 0 u.sub.5 u.sub.6 u.sub.7] and the generator matrix G.sub.2.sup..Math..sup.3 104 as indicated at 200. The input vector u is composed of information bits and fixed or frozen bits. In the specific example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, N=8, so the input vector u is an 8-bit vector, and the codeword x is an 8-bit vector. The input vector has frozen bits in positions 0,1,2 and 4, and has information bits at positions 3,5,6, and 7).
Regarding claim 3, Ge does not teach the operation method according to claim 1, wherein the generating of the 2N first retransmission bits comprises: inputting the N interleaved bits and N frozen bits to a second polar encoder having 2N bit channels; and obtaining the 2N first retransmission bits output from the second polar encoder.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches the operation method according to claim 1, wherein the generating of the 2N first retransmission bits comprises: inputting the N interleaved bits and N frozen bits to a second polar encoder having 2N bit channels (Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder. In second transmission of the right side, the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order. That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder); and obtaining the 2N first retransmission bits output from the second polar encoder ([0192] An encoder 2600 may include a module A 2601 and a module B 2602. The module A 2601 may be used for first transmission and the module B 2602 may be used for retransmission. (These can be viewed as first and second encoders)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Regarding claim 4, Ge does not teach the operation method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that a k-th retransmission signal transmitted to the receiving node is not normally received, wherein k is a natural number equal to or greater than 1; generating 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits; and transmitting, to the receiving node, a (k+1)-th retransmission signal generated by modulating the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits, wherein the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits correspond to a result of encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an odd number, and correspond to a result of encoding the N information bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an even number.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches the operation method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that a k-th retransmission signal transmitted to the receiving node is not normally received, wherein k is a natural number equal to or greater than 1 (([0189] In third transmission… (this implies the receiver did not normally receive the 1st retransmission); generating 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits (The mapped 4 data bits and 4 frozen bits are encoded through an encoder as shown on the left hand side of Fig. 25); and transmitting, to the receiving node, a (k+1)-th retransmission signal generated by modulating the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits ([0059] The transmitter may perform encoding and modulation with respect to each block which consists of a code block), wherein the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits correspond to a result of encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an odd number, and correspond to a result of encoding the N information bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an even number ([0189] In third transmission, the data bits of second transmission may be mapped in reverse order. In every transmission, the data bits of previous transmission may be mapped in reverse order. The positions of the frozen bits may be mapped in every transmission. (This is equivalent to interleaving the N bits every other transmission, when k is an odd number.)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Regarding claim 5, Ge teaches the operation method according to claim 1, wherein the polar coding scheme means an encoding scheme by a polar encoder having 2N bit channels, and N bit channels to which N frozen bits are inputted among the 2N bit channels are determined based on mutual information (MI) values of the respective 2N bit channels ([0032] For the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, an N=8-bit input vector is formed from K=4 information bits and N−K=4 frozen bits. [0036] In polar code construction, ideally the more “reliable” positions of an input vector are used to carry the information bits, and the more “unreliable” positions of an input vector are used to carry the frozen bits (i.e., bits already known to both encoder and decoder)).
Ge does not explicitly teach the placement of the bits is based on mutual information (MI) values of the respective 2N bit channels.
Noh teaches the operation method according to claim 1, wherein the polar coding scheme means an encoding scheme by a polar encoder having 2N bit channels, and N bit channels to which N frozen bits are inputted among the 2N bit channels are determined based on mutual information (MI) values of the respective 2N bit channels ([0144] The locations of the data bits are determined in consideration of a code rate in ascending order of channel capacity. FIG. 18 illustrates exemplary location determination of data bits and frozen bits of a polar code with a code rate of ½ and a channel length of N=8 with respect to a binary erasure channel (BEC) having an erasure rate of 0.5. In FIG. 18, 4 locations having a high channel capacity C(W.sub.i) are the data bits and the other bits are determined to be the frozen bits. (C(W.sub.i) is the mutual information between the input bit u.sub.i and the received signal y)).
Regarding claim 6, Ge teaches an operation method of a receiving node in a communication system, the operation method comprising: receiving a first transmission signal initially transmitted from a transmitting node of the communication system ([0041] The codeword is transmitted over a channel, and a receiver, in turn, receives a word); performing a decoding operation on 2N first received bits obtained by demodulating the first transmission signal in a polar coding scheme, wherein N is a natural number equal to or greater than 1 ([0045] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a portion of an example decision list tree 300 used in an SCL polar decoder with 5 levels, used to decode 4 information bits (N) of an 8 bit codeword (2N). [0187] The transceiver 2202 is also configured to demodulate data or other content received by the at least one antenna 2204); demodulating the second transmission signal to obtain 2N second received bits ([0187] The transceiver 2202 is also configured to demodulate data or other content received by the at least one antenna 2204); and restoring N information bits based on a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits ([0043] The decoder then outputs as a decoded vector the information bits in the surviving path that passes the CRC check. If more than one path passes the CRC check, then the decoder selects for output the path that passes the CRC check and has the highest likelihood, which may be determined according to a metric. If no path passes the CRC check, or if the codeword does not include encoded CRC bits, then the decoder selects for output the path that has the highest likelihood, which as noted above may be determined according to a metric).
Ge does not teach transmitting, to the transmitting node, a signal indicating that the initially transmitted first transmission signal is not normally received, when an error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N first received bits; generating 2N first interleaved bits by interleaving 2N first output bits output as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N first received bits; receiving a second transmission signal transmitted from the transmitting node based on the signal indicating that the initially transmitted first transmission signal is not normally received; performing a decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the 2N first interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme; and restoring N information bits based on a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits, wherein the interleaving is performed so that the 2N first retransmission bits are more polarized as compared to the 2N initial transmission bits, wherein the interleaving is performed so that the 2N first retransmission bits are more polarized as compared to the 2N initial transmission bits.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches transmitting, to the transmitting node, a signal indicating that the initially transmitted first transmission signal is not normally received, when an error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N first received bits ([0225] Retransmission of the first data block may be performed based on a NACK response from the receiver); generating 2N first interleaved bits by interleaving 2N first output bits output as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N first received bits ([0206] Re-decoding for first received data may be performed. A decoding scheme for a polar code base module may be performed as described above in relation to Equation 11 to Equation 14. In this case, an XOR operation may be performed using an LLR value for even-numbered data. Therefore, the reliability of odd-numbered data may increase by additionally using an LLR value of decoded data from retransmission. Since a hard decision value for the odd-numbered data is used for the even-numbered data, the reliability of the even-numbered data may also increase); receiving a second transmission signal transmitted from the transmitting node based on the signal indicating that the initially transmitted first transmission signal is not normally received ([0189] In the first example, all data may be retransmitted); performing a decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the 2N first interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme ([0203] Accordingly, decoding may be performed using a decoded result in each retransmission. [0204] For example, an LLR value of a decoded bit may be updated in reception of every retransmission.), wherein the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits is performed based on the 2N first interleaved bits corresponding to a reversed bit order of the N information bits, and coded bits associated with the second transmission signal are generated from exclusive-OR combinations of the N information bits that differ from exclusive-OR combinations used to generate coded bits associated with the first transmission signal (Fig. 25 and Fig. 19B; [0189] Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder. In second transmission of the right side, the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order. That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder. The encoders of Fig. 25 can be the polar encoder of Fig. 19B. Since the retransmission data bits are rearranged on the input to the second encoder, it would be obvious that those data bits experience different exclusive-OR combinations to generate the encoded output. The exclusive-OR operations for each channel of the polar encoder are shown in Fig. 19B.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Regarding claim 7, Ge teaches the operation method according to claim 6, wherein the performing of the decoding operation on the 2N first received bits comprises: inputting the 2N first received bits to a first polar decoder having 2N bit channels (Fig. 19 shows an example apparatus for a polar decoder. The examples used with respect to figs. 2, 3 and 4 use a polar decoder having 8 bit channels (2N) with 4 information bits (N)) ; performing, by the first polar decoder, the decoding operation on the 2N first received bits (([0045] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a portion of an example decision list tree 300 used in an SCL polar decoder with 5 levels, used to decode 4 information bits (N) of an 8 bit codeword (2N)); obtaining the 2N first output bits output from the first polar decoder, when no error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N first received bits ([0162] Decoded bits are output at 1920 for further receiver processing); and determining remaining N first output bits excluding N first output bits corresponding to frozen bits among the 2N first output bits as a result of restoring the N information bits ([0042] During decoding of a codeword encoded from an input vector, the locations and values of frozen bits in the input vector are treated as known. For descriptive simplicity, bits of the input vector that are not known to the decoder in advance will be referred to as “unknown” bits. For example, the information bits including any CRC bits are unknown bits).
Regarding claim 11, Ge teaches a transmitting node transmitting signals to a receiving node in a communication system, the transmitting node comprising: a processor (Fig. 18; code processing module 1810); a memory electronically communicating with the processor (A memory 1812…is coupled to…code processing module 1810); and instructions stored in the memory, wherein when executed by the processor, the instructions cause the transmitting node to perform ([0132] In some embodiments, the memory 1812 is a non-transitory computer readable medium, that includes instructions for execution by a processor to implement and/or control operation of the code processing module 1810, the encoder module 1804, the post-encoding processing module 1814, and the transmitter module 1806 in FIG. 18, and/or to otherwise control the execution of functionality and/or embodiments described herein.): generating 2N initial transmission bits by encoding N information bits to be transmitted to a receiving node of the communication system in a polar coding scheme, wherein N is a natural number equal to or greater than 1 ([0094] The encoding at 1410 based on a chained generator matrix produces codewords that each correspond to the product of an input vector and the chained generator matrix. The input vector could include information bits (including decoding-assistant bits) and frozen bits. This is shown by way of example for an Arikan polar code in FIGS. 2 and 3. For the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, an N=8-bit input vector is formed from K=4 information bits and N−K=4 frozen bits. (N information bits (K) are encoded to produce 2N initial transmission bits (N))); transmitting, to the receiving node, an initial transmission signal generated by modulating the 2N initial transmission bits ([0093] Codewords are then transmitted at 1412. [0187] The transceiver 2202 is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna or Network Interface Controller (NIC) 2204).
Ge does not teach receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that the initial transmission signal is not normally received; interleaving the N information bits through an interleaver to generate N interleaved bits; generating 2N first retransmission bits by encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme; and transmitting, to the receiving node, a first retransmission signal generated by modulating the 2N first retransmission bits, wherein at least a subset of the 2N first retransmission bits are generated from exclusive-OR combinations of the N information bits that are different from exclusive-OR combinations used to generate corresponding ones of the 2N initial transmission bits.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding teaches receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that the initial transmission signal is not normally received ([0225] Retransmission of the first data block may be performed based on a NACK response from the receiver); interleaving the N information bits through an interleaver to generate N interleaved bits ([0189] Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder. In second transmission of the right side, the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order. That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively); generating 2N first retransmission bits by encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme ([0188] FIG. 25 illustrates retransmission according to a first example. [0189] The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder. In this example, the channel length is 8 and the number of data bits is 4, thus generating 8 first retransmission bits by encoding 4 interleaved bits. The encoders of Fig. 25 can be the polar encoder of Fig. 19B.); and transmitting, to the receiving node, a first retransmission signal ([0189] In the first example, all data may be retransmitted.), wherein at least a subset of the 2N first retransmission bits are generated from exclusive-OR combinations of the N information bits that are different from exclusive-OR combinations used to generate corresponding ones of the 2N initial transmission bits (Fig. 25 and Fig. 19B; [0189] Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder. In second transmission of the right side, the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order. That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder. The encoders of Fig. 25 can be the encoder of Fig. 19B. Since the retransmission data bits are rearranged on the input to the second encoder, it would be obvious that those data bits experience different exclusive-OR combinations to generate the encoded output. The exclusive-OR operations for each channel of the polar encoder are shown in Fig. 19B.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Regarding claim 12, Ge teaches the transmitting node according to claim 11, wherein in the generating of the 2N initial transmission bits, the instructions further cause the transmitting node to perform: inputting the N information bits and N frozen bits to a first polar encoder having 2N bit channels; and obtaining the 2N initial transmission bits output from the first polar encoder ([0032] FIGS. 2 and 3 show an example use of a polar coding generator matrix for producing codewords and a schematic illustration of an example polar encoder. In FIG. 2, the generator matrix G.sub.2.sup..Math..sup.3 104 is used to produce codewords of length 2.sup.3=8. A codeword x is formed by the product of an input vector u=[0 0 0 u.sub.3 0 u.sub.5 u.sub.6 u.sub.7] and the generator matrix G.sub.2.sup..Math..sup.3 104 as indicated at 200. The input vector u is composed of information bits and fixed or frozen bits. In the specific example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, N=8, so the input vector u is an 8-bit vector, and the codeword x is an 8-bit vector. The input vector has frozen bits in positions 0,1,2 and 4, and has information bits at positions 3,5,6, and 7).
Regarding claim 13, Ge teaches claim 11 but does not teach wherein in the generating of the 2N first retransmission bits, the instructions further cause the transmitting node to perform: inputting the N interleaved bits and N frozen bits to a second polar encoder having 2N bit channels; and obtaining the 2N first retransmission bits output from the second polar encoder.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teach wherein in the generating of the 2N first retransmission bits, the instructions further cause the transmitting node to perform: inputting the N interleaved bits and N frozen bits to a second polar encoder having 2N bit channels; and obtaining the 2N first retransmission bits output from the second polar encoder (Referring to FIG. 25, in first transmission of the left side, data bits D.sub.1, D.sub.2, D.sub.3, and D.sub.4 are mapped to input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits F are encoded through an encoder. In second transmission of the right side, the data bits are mapped to the input bits in reverse order. That is, the data bits D.sub.4, D.sub.3, D.sub.2, and D.sub.1 are mapped to the input bits U.sub.3, U.sub.5, U.sub.6, and U.sub.7, respectively. The mapped data bits and frozen bits are encoded through an encoder); and obtaining the 2N first retransmission bits output from the second polar encoder ([0192] An encoder 2600 may include a module A 2601 and a module B 2602. The module A 2601 may be used for first transmission and the module B 2602 may be used for retransmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Regarding claim 14, Ge teaches the transmitting node according to claim 11, but does not teach, wherein the instructions further cause the transmitting node to perform: receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that a k-th retransmission signal transmitted to the receiving node is not normally received, wherein k is a natural number equal to or greater than 1; generating 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits; and transmitting, to the receiving node, a (k+1)-th retransmission signal generated by modulating the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits, wherein the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits correspond to a result of encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an odd number, and correspond to a result of encoding the N information bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an even number.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches wherein the instructions further cause the transmitting node to perform: receiving, from the receiving node, a signal indicating that a k-th retransmission signal transmitted to the receiving node is not normally received, wherein k is a natural number equal to or greater than 1 ([0189] In third transmission… (this implies the receiver did not normally receive the 1st retransmission); generating 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits (The mapped 4 data bits and 4 frozen bits are encoded through an encoder as shown on the left hand side of Fig. 25); and transmitting, to the receiving node, a (k+1)-th retransmission signal generated by modulating the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits ([0059] The transmitter may perform encoding and modulation with respect to each block which consists of a code block), wherein the 2N (k+1)-th retransmission bits correspond to a result of encoding the N interleaved bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an odd number, and correspond to a result of encoding the N information bits in the polar coding scheme when k is an even number ([0189] In third transmission, the data bits of second transmission may be mapped in reverse order. In every transmission, the data bits of previous transmission may be mapped in reverse order. The positions of the frozen bits may be mapped in every transmission. (This is equivalent to interleaving the N bits every other transmission, when k is an odd number.)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ge (US 20190268094 A1) in view of Noh (US 20190140663 A1); further in view of Hui (WO 2018029628 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Ge teaches some of the limitations of claim 6, but does not teach wherein the performing of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits comprises: inputting the 2N first interleaved bits to a second polar decoder having 2N bit channels; updating a second priori information term used in a decoding operation in the second polar decoder based on the 2N first interleaved bits; inputting the 2N second received bits to the second polar decoder; performing, by the second polar decoder, the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the updated second priori information term and the 2N second received bits; obtaining 2N second output bits output from the second polar decoder as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits, when no error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits; and determining N remaining second output bits excluding N second output bits corresponding to frozen bits among the 2N second output bits as a result of restoring the N information bits.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches some of the limitations of claim 6 but does not teach wherein the performing of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits comprises: inputting the 2N first interleaved bits to a second polar decoder having 2N bit channels; updating a second priori information term used in a decoding operation in the second polar decoder based on the 2N first interleaved bits; inputting the 2N second received bits to the second polar decoder; performing, by the second polar decoder, the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the updated second priori information term and the 2N second received bits; obtaining 2N second output bits output from the second polar decoder as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits, when no error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits; and determining N remaining second output bits excluding N second output bits corresponding to frozen bits among the 2N second output bits as a result of restoring the N information bits.
Hui, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches wherein the performing of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits comprises: inputting the 2N first interleaved bits to a second polar decoder having 2N bit channels (Fig. 5 of Hui shows a second polar decoder used for the second transmission. Pg. 17 lines 1-2; step 4.a. Input: i. Extrinsic-LLR of repeated info bits from Polar decoder of 1 st transmission 505a is interpreted as the 2N first interleaved bits from the first transmission); updating a second priori information term used in a decoding operation in the second polar decoder based on the 2N first interleaved bits (Pg. 16 line 31; Step 3. Set the a priori info of information bits u.sub.t extrinsic-LLR( j, 1.sup.st tx) for all information bits); inputting the 2N second received bits to the second polar decoder (Pg. 17 line 3; Step 4.a. Input ii. LLR of channel bits); performing, by the second polar decoder, the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the updated second priori information term and the 2N second received bits (Pg. 22 lines 14-18; The method may comprise determining, at the second polar decoder associated with the second transmission of the plurality of transmissions, soft information for each information bit in the subset of information bits shared by the first transmission and the second transmission); obtaining 2N second output bits output from the second polar decoder as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits, when no error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits ((Pg. 22 lines 20-24; In certain embodiments, the method may comprise determining, by the first polar decoder, a hard decision for each information bit of the first transmission based on the soft information provided by the second polar decoder for each information bit in the subset of information bits shared by the first transmission and the second transmission); and determining N remaining second output bits excluding N second output bits corresponding to frozen bits among the 2N second output bits as a result of restoring the N information bits (Pg. 22 lines 20-24; In certain embodiments, the method may comprise determining, by the first polar decoder, a hard decision for each information bit of the first transmission based on the soft information provided by the second polar decoder for each information bit in the subset of information bits shared by the first transmission and the second transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the iterative decoding methods of Hui with the error correction methods of Ge and the retransmission methods of Noh to include the soft output polar code decoders. The motivation to do so would have been to effectively take advantage of the aggregated block lengths after multiple transmissions to improve the block error rate and the number of retransmissions needed to pass CRC for a target block error rate. (Hui; Pg. 6 lines 13-15).
Regarding claim 9, Ge teaches some of the limitations of claim 6 but does not teach the operation method according to claim 6, wherein the performing of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits comprises: inputting the 2N first interleaved bits to a second polar decoder having 2N bit channels; updating a second prior information term used in a decoding operation in the second polar decoder based on the 2N first interleaved bits; inputting the 2N second received bits to the second polar decoder; performing, by the second polar decoder, the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the updated second prior information term and the 2N second received bits; transmitting, to the transmitting node, a signal indicating that the second transmission signal is not normally received, when an error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits; generating 2N first deinterleaved bits by deinterleaving 2N second output bits output from the second polar decoder as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits; and inputting the 2N first deinterleaved bits to a first polar decoder having 2N bit channels.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches some of the limitations of claim 6 and transmitting, to the transmitting node, a signal indicating that the second transmission signal is not normally received, when an error is identified in the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits ([0225] Retransmission of the first data block may be performed based on a NACK response from the receiver).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Noh does not teach the operation method according to claim 6, wherein the performing of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits comprises: inputting the 2N first interleaved bits to a second polar decoder having 2N bit channels; updating a second prior information term used in a decoding operation in the second polar decoder based on the 2N first interleaved bits; inputting the 2N second received bits to the second polar decoder; performing, by the second polar decoder, the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the updated second prior information term and the 2N second received bits; generating 2N first deinterleaved bits by deinterleaving 2N second output bits output from the second polar decoder as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits; and inputting the 2N first deinterleaved bits to a first polar decoder having 2N bit channels.
Hui, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches wherein the performing of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits comprises: inputting the 2N first interleaved bits to a second polar decoder having 2N bit channels (Fig. 5 of Hui shows a second polar decoder used for the second transmission. Pg. 17 lines 1-2; step 4.a. Input: i. Extrinsic-LLR of repeated info bits from Polar decoder of 1 st transmission 505a is interpreted as the 2N first interleaved bits from the first transmission); updating a second priori information term used in a decoding operation in the second polar decoder based on the 2N first interleaved bits (Pg. 16 line 31; Step 3. Set the a priori info of information bits u.sub.t extrinsic-LLR( j, 1.sup.st tx) for all information bits); inputting the 2N second received bits to the second polar decoder (Pg. 17 line 3; Step 4.a. Input ii. LLR of channel bits); performing, by the second polar decoder, the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits based on the updated second priori information term and the 2N second received bits (Pg. 22 lines 14-18; The method may comprise determining, at the second polar decoder associated with the second transmission of the plurality of transmissions, soft information for each information bit in the subset of information bits shared by the first transmission and the second transmission); generating 2N first deinterleaved bits by deinterleaving 2N second output bits output from the second polar decoder as a result of the decoding operation on the 2N second received bits (Pg. 22 lines 14-17; The method may comprise determining, at the second polar decoder associated with the second transmission of the plurality of transmissions, soft information for each information bit in the subset of information bits shared by the first transmission and the second transmission); and inputting the 2N first deinterleaved bits to a first polar decoder having 2N bit channels (Pg. 22 lines 17-20; The method may comprise providing, from the second polar decoder associated with the second transmission to the first polar decoder associated with the first transmission, the soft information for each information bit in the subset of information bits shared by the first transmission and the second transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the iterative decoding methods of Hui with the error correction methods of Ge and the retransmission methods of Noh to include the soft output polar code decoders. The motivation to do so would have been to effectively take advantage of the aggregated block lengths after multiple transmissions to improve the block error rate and the number of retransmissions needed to pass CRC for a target block error rate. (Hui; Pg. 6 lines 13-15).
Regarding claim 10, Ge teaches some limitations in claim 6 and the operation method according to claim 9, further comprising: demodulating a (k+1)-th transmission signal transmitted from the transmitting node to obtain 2N (k+1)-th received bits, ([0187] The transceiver 2202 is also configured to demodulate data or other content received by the at least one antenna 2204).
Ge does not teach based on a signal indicating that a k-th transmission signal is not normally received, wherein k is a natural number equal to or greater than 1; updating a j-th priori information term used in a decoding operation in a j-th polar decoder, based on 2N k-th interleaved bits obtained by interleaving 2N k-th output bits output as a result of a decoding operation on 2N k-th received bits obtained by demodulating the k-th transmission signal; inputting the 2N-th (k+1)-th received bits to the j-th polar decoder; and performing, by the j-th polar decoder, a decoding operation on the 2N (k+1)-th received bits, based on the updated j-th priori information term and the 2N (k+1)-th received bits, wherein the j-th polar decoder corresponds to the second polar decoder when k is an odd number, and the j-th polar decoder corresponds to the first polar decoder when k is an even number.
Noh, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches based on a signal indicating that a k-th transmission signal is not normally received, wherein k is a natural number equal to or greater than 1 ([0225] Retransmission of the first data block may be performed based on a NACK response from the receiver).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the data retransmission methods of Noh with the error correction methods of Ge to handle retransmissions when the first transmission is not normally received. The motivation to do so would have been to increase the reliability of data bits that were sent with lower reliability in an initial transmission (Noh; [0184]).
Noh does not teach demodulating a (k+1)-th transmission signal transmitted from the transmitting node to obtain 2N (k+1)-th received bits; updating a j-th priori information term used in a decoding operation in a j-th polar decoder, based on 2N k-th interleaved bits obtained by interleaving 2N k-th output bits output as a result of a decoding operation on 2N k-th received bits obtained by demodulating the k-th transmission signal; inputting the 2N-th (k+1)-th received bits to the j-th polar decoder; and performing, by the j-th polar decoder, a decoding operation on the 2N (k+1)-th received bits, based on the updated j-th priori information term and the 2N (k+1)-th received bits, wherein the j-th polar decoder corresponds to the second polar decoder when k is an odd number, and the j-th polar decoder corresponds to the first polar decoder when k is an even number.
Hui, in the same field of endeavor of polar encoding, teaches updating a j-th priori information term used in a decoding operation in a j-th polar decoder, based on 2N k-th interleaved bits obtained by interleaving 2N k-th output bits output as a result of a decoding operation on 2N k-th received bits obtained by demodulating the k-th transmission signal (Fig. 6 shows the flow for the nth transmission. Step 2. Set the a priori info of information bits .sub.n + to extrinsic-LLR(uj, (n+l).sup.th to N.sup.th tx) for i £ Ι.sub.ηΛ , and set a priori info for all other bits in u.sub.In to extrinsic-LLR(U.sub.[, 1.sup.st to (n-l).sup.th tx) for i e /_.sub.j71.) ; inputting the 2N-th (k+1)-th received bits to the j-th polar decoder (Step 2. LLR of channel bits y.sub.n = (y„,o,y.sub.n,i» - .sub.< y.sub.n,.sub.2.sup.M) (received from demodulator), where =3 for the example shown in Figure 1 -3); and performing, by the j-th polar decoder, a decoding operation on the 2N (k+1)-th received bits, based on the updated j-th priori information term and the 2N (k+1)-th received bits, wherein the j-th polar decoder corresponds to the second polar decoder when k is an odd number, and the j-th polar decoder corresponds to the first polar decoder when k is an even number (In certain embodiments, after each of the n-th transmission (i.e., (n-l)-th retransmission), 2<n<N, the extrinsic LLR is stored. When N-th transmission is received, the polar decoder corresponding to n-th transmission, 2<n<N are not re-run, but the extrinsic LLR of the n-th transmission is retrieved from memory and used in the polar coder of N-th transmission and first transmission. This has the benefit of never having to run more than 2 polar decoders, even if there are more than 2 HARQ (re-)transmissions done for one block of information bits).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the iterative decoding methods of Hui with the error correction methods of Ge and the retransmission methods of Noh to include the soft output polar code decoders. The motivation to do so would have been to effectively take advantage of the aggregated block lengths after multiple transmissions to improve the block error rate and the number of retransmissions needed to pass CRC for a target block error rate. (Hui; Pg. 6 lines 13-15).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Xu (US 20210288668 A1) discloses techniques for multiplexing dedicated control information for a plurality of users in a single information block and polar coding the information block to produce a polar code block of dedicated control information for transmission over a wireless air interface. Interleaving before encoding is also disclosed.
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/NANCY SIXTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/GARY MUI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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