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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/8/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed May 8, 2026 has been accepted and entered. Accordingly, claims 1 and 19 are amended and claims 4-5 are canceled.
Claims 1-3 and 6-20 are pending in this application.
In view of the amendment, the 35 USC § 112(a) rejection to claims 1 and 19 has been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 8, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that “Ye consistently treats each bit as independently controlling a respective HARQ process, and does not disclose or suggest a mechanism in which a condition on a single bit determines HARQ feedback behavior for multiple transport blocks (TBs)” (Response filed May 8, 2026, Page 12), “Ying maintains HARQ feedback control at a HARQ process level and does not teach any cross-TB control mechanism” (Response filed May 8, 2026, Page 12) and “Jiang's aggregation is explicitly defined at a HARQ process or process-group level, and does not extend to transport block-level control.” (Response filed May 8, 2026, Page 12).
Ye teaches that “the UE receives a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception, where one or more fields in the DCI format has size of 0 bits when HARQ-ACK information in response to a decoding outcome of a TB for a corresponding HARQ process indicated by the DCI format is disabled; otherwise, the one or more fields have size larger than 0 bits” (Ye [Para. 0085]). According to Ye, enabling or disabling the HARQ feedback is for the TBs corresponding to HARQ processes. The feedback is at the level transport block, not HARQ process level.
Yan teaches “the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback by existing field (s) contained in the DCI according to the first embodiment applies to the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process simultaneously. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process associated with the first TB and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process associated with the second TB are indicated as both enabling or both disabling” (Yan [Para. 0079]). According to Yan, the enabling or disabling HARQ feedback is for the two TBs, rather than HARQ processes.
Yan further provides that “the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling” (Yan [Para. 0087]). Based on Yan, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for the downlink transmission indicates that the feedback is at the level of transport block crossing the two TBs, rather than at HARQ process level.
The teaching of Yan also indicates that both methods of control are supported, enable or disable the HARQ feedback for each TB individually by RRC signaling via bitmap, and enable the HARQ feedback for both TBs or disable the HARQ feedback for both TBs by RRC signaling via 1 bit It is obvious in such case to use any bit in the bitmap to enable or disable the feedback for both TBs when the bitmap is supported.
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 1-3, 6, 14, 16-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ye et al. (US20220109529A1, hereinafter Ye) in view of Yan et al. (WO2023236009A1, hereinafter Yan).
For claim 1. Ye teaches a method ([Para. 0079], methods are disclosed for configuration and enhancements for HARQ-ACK information disabling), comprising: receiving, by a processor ([FIG. 3], processor 340) of a user equipment (UE) ([FIG. 3], UE 116), a configuration ([Para. 0085] and [FIG. 7], At operation 702, a UE receives the configuration information including the indication of enabling or disabling of HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes), and applying, by the processor ([FIG. 3], processor 340), the configuration to disable or enable a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback regarding multiple transport blocks (TBs) ([Para. 0085] and [FIG. 7], At operation 706, the UE receives the PDSCH based on the configuration. At operation 708, the UE transmits a PUCCH or a PUSCH with a HARQ-ACK codebook. The contents of the HARQ-ACK codebook depend on whether HARQ-ACK information is enabled or disabled for HARQ processes of corresponding TBs), wherein the configuration comprises a radio resource control (RRC) bitmap ([Para. 0085], the UE receives a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception, where one or more fields in the DCI format has size of 0 bits when HARQ-ACK information in response to a decoding outcome of a TB for a corresponding HARQ process indicated by the DCI format is disabled; otherwise, the one or more fields have size larger than 0 bits [Examiner’s Note: Enabling and disabling the HARQ-ACK information are for the TB corresponding to the HARQ process, not at the HARQ process level]. [Para. 0086], The configuration information can be provided by UE-specific RRC signaling. [Para. 0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes), each bit of the RRC bitmap indicates enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback regarding a respective HARQ process ([Para. 0086], The configuration information can be provided by UE-specific RRC signaling. [Para. 0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes, such as a length-N bitmap, where a bit of 0 value indicates that HARQ-ACK information is enabled and a bit value of 1 indicates that HARQ-ACK information is disabled, and N is the number of configured HARQ processes).
Although teaching configuration to disable or enable HARQ feedback for TBs corresponding to HARQ processes by RRC bitmap, Ye does not explicitly disclose and wherein, responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating enabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is enabled, and responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating disabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is disabled.
Yan is directed to providing NTN IoT HARQ disabling with DCI indication. More specifically, Yan teaches and wherein, responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating enabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is enabled ([Para. 0079], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback by existing field (s) contained in the DCI according to the first embodiment applies to the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process simultaneously. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process associated with the first TB and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process associated with the second TB are indicated as both enabling or both disabling [Examiner’s Note: Enabling and disabling the HARQ-ACK information are for the two TBs corresponding to the two HARQ processes, not at the HARQ process level]. [Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling [Examiner’s Note: One bit in RRC signaling enables or disables feedback for both TBs corresponding to the two HARQ processes. The HARQ feedback for downlink transmission indicates the feedback is for the two TBs]. [Para. 0089], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner or by a 1-bit RRC signaling [Examiner’s Note: Based the teaching of Yan, it is obvious to use any 1 bit in bitmap in RRC signaling to enable or disable feedback for both TBs]), and responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating disabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is disabled ([Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling. [Para. 0089], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner or by a 1-bit RRC signaling).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye, so that a single bit RRC signaling indicates HARQ feedback enabling or disabling that applies to all TBs, as taught by Yan. The modification would have provided dynamic enabling or disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission by the DCI, to avoid large signaling overhead caused by RRC reconfiguration (Yan [Para. 0041]).
For claim 2, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 1. The references further teach wherein the receiving of the configuration comprises receiving an RRC signaling (Ye [Para. 0085], At operation 702, a UE receives the configuration information including the indication of enabling or disabling of HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes. Ye [Para. 0086], The configuration information can be provided by UE-specific RRC signaling).
For claim 3, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 2. The references further teach wherein the receiving of the RRC signaling comprises receiving a respective UE-specific RRC signaling (Ye [Para. 0085], At operation 702, a UE receives the configuration information including the indication of enabling or disabling of HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes. Ye [Para. 0086], The configuration information can be provided by UE-specific RRC signaling).
For claim 6, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 2. The references further teach wherein the configuration comprises a one-bit field (Yan [Para. 0087], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling), and wherein the configuration comprises a single enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication that is applied to all scheduled multiple TBs (Yan [Para. 0087], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye, so that a single bit RRC signaling indicates HARQ feedback enabling or disabling that applies to all TBs, as taught by Yan. The modification would have provided dynamic enabling or disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission by the DCI, to avoid large signaling overhead caused by RRC reconfiguration (Yan [Para. 0041]).
For claim 14, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 1. The references further teach wherein the receiving of the configuration comprises receiving a downlink control information (DCI) signaling that explicitly indicates the configuration (Ye [Para. 0082], At operation 602, a gNB generates and provides to a UE configuration information for enabling or disabling HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes. Further, the information can be … by an indication in a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception that includes a TB associated with a HARQ process. Ye [Para. 0083], The DCI format schedules a PDSCH reception and includes information indicating whether a HARQ-ACK information report for a decoding outcome of a TB associated with HARQ process indicated by the DCI format is enabled or disabled).
For claim 16, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 14. The references further teach wherein the configuration comprises a single enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication in the DCI signaling that is applied to all scheduled TBs of the multiple TBs (Yan [Para. 0079], If multiple TB scheduling is configured (i.e. a DCI can schedule multiple TBs (e.g. two TBs: a first TB and a second TB) each of which is associated with a different HARQ process (e.g. one of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) ) , the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback by existing field (s) contained in the DCI according to the first embodiment applies to the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process simultaneously. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process associated with the first TB and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process associated with the second TB are indicated as both enabling or both disabling by existing field (s) contained in the DCI according to the first embodiment).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye, so that one DCI indicates HARQ feedback enabling or disabling that applies to all TBs of the multiple TBs, as taught by Yan. The modification would have provided dynamic enabling or disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission by the DCI, to avoid large signaling overhead caused by RRC reconfiguration (Yan [Para. 0041]).
For claim 17, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 14. The references further teach wherein the configuration comprises separate enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indications in the DCI signaling each of which applied to a respective scheduled TB of the multiple TBs (Ye [Para. 0107], a bitmap can be used when the number of configured HARQ processes is not larger than the number of bits in the DCI format that can be used for the bitmap. Ye [Para. 0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes, where for example a bit of 0 value indicates that HARQ-ACK information is enabled and a bit value of 1 indicates that HARQ-ACK information is disabled), wherein responsive to one of the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indications indicating enabling, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is enabled (Yan [Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling), alternatively, responsive to one of the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indications indicating disabling, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is disabled ([Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye, so that a single bit RRC signaling indicates HARQ feedback enabling or disabling that applies to all TBs, as taught by Yan. The modification would have provided dynamic enabling or disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission by the DCI, to avoid large signaling overhead caused by RRC reconfiguration (Yan [Para. 0041]).
For claim 19, Ye teaches a method ([Para. 0079], methods are disclosed for configuration and enhancements for HARQ-ACK information disabling), comprising: generating, by a network node in a network ([Para. 0082] and [FIG. 6], At operation 602, a gNB generates and provides to a UE configuration information for enabling or disabling HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes), a configuration ([Para. 0082], a gNB generates and provides to a UE configuration information for enabling or disabling HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes), and transmitting, by the network node, the configuration to a user equipment (UE) ([Para. 0082], a gNB generates and provides to a UE configuration information for enabling or disabling HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes. [Para. 0085] and [FIG. 7], At operation 702, a UE receives the configuration information including the indication of enabling or disabling of HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes), thereby causing the UE to apply the configuration to disable or enable a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback regarding multiple transport blocks (TBs) ([Para. 0085] and [FIG. 7], At operation 706, the UE receives the PDSCH based on the configuration. At operation 708, the UE transmits a PUCCH or a PUSCH with a HARQ-ACK codebook. The contents of the HARQ-ACK codebook depend on whether HARQ-ACK information is enabled or disabled for HARQ processes of corresponding TBs), wherein the configuration comprises a radio resource control (RRC) bitmap ([Para. 0085], the UE receives a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception, where one or more fields in the DCI format has size of 0 bits when HARQ-ACK information in response to a decoding outcome of a TB for a corresponding HARQ process indicated by the DCI format is disabled; otherwise, the one or more fields have size larger than 0 bits [Examiner’s Note: Enabling and disabling the HARQ-ACK information are for the TB corresponding to the HARQ process, not at the HARQ process level]. [Para. 0086], The configuration information can be provided by UE-specific RRC signaling. [Para. 0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes), each bit of the RRC bitmap indicates enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback regarding a respective HARQ process ([Para. 0086], The configuration information can be provided by UE-specific RRC signaling. [Para. 0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes, such as a length-N bitmap, where a bit of 0 value indicates that HARQ-ACK information is enabled and a bit value of 1 indicates that HARQ-ACK information is disabled, and N is the number of configured HARQ processes).
Although teaching configuration to disable or enable HARQ feedback for TBs corresponding to HARQ processes by RRC bitmap, Ye does not explicitly disclose and wherein, responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating enabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is enabled, and responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating disabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is disabled.
Yan is directed to providing NTN iot harq disabling with DCI indication. More specifically, Yan teaches and wherein, responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating enabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is enabled ([Para. 0079], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback by existing field (s) contained in the DCI according to the first embodiment applies to the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process simultaneously. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process associated with the first TB and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process associated with the second TB are indicated as both enabling or both disabling [Examiner’s Note: Enabling and disabling the HARQ-ACK information are for the two TBs corresponding to the two HARQ processes, not at the HARQ process level]. [Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling [Examiner’s Note: One bit in RRC signaling enables or disables feedback for both TBs corresponding to the two HARQ processes. The HARQ feedback for downlink transmission indicates the feedback is for the two TBs]. [Para. 0089], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner or by a 1-bit RRC signaling [Examiner’s Note: Based the teaching of Yan, it is obvious to use any 1 bit in bitmap in RRC signaling to enable or disable feedback for both TBs]), and responsive to any one bit of the RRC bitmap indicating disabling of the HARQ feedback, the HARQ feedback regarding the multiple TBs is disabled ([Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling. [Para. 0089], the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner or by a 1-bit RRC signaling).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye, so that a single bit RRC signaling indicates HARQ feedback enabling or disabling that applies to all TBs, as taught by Yan. The modification would have provided dynamic enabling or disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission by the DCI, to avoid large signaling overhead caused by RRC reconfiguration (Yan [Para. 0041]).
For claim 20, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 19. The references further teach wherein the transmitting of the configuration comprises transmitting at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) signaling and a downlink control information (DCI) signaling (Ye [Para. 0082], a gNB generates and provides to a UE configuration information for enabling or disabling HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes. Further, the information can be UE-specific and provided by UE-specific RRC signaling or by an indication in a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception that includes a TB associated with a HARQ process. Ye [Para. 0083], At operation 604, the gNB generates and multiplexes a DCI format in a PDCCH transmission. The DCI format schedules a PDSCH reception and includes information indicating whether a HARQ-ACK information report for a decoding outcome of a TB associated with HARQ process indicated by the DCI format is enabled or disabled).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ye et al. (US20220109529A1, hereinafter Ye) in view of Yan et al. (WO2023236009A1, hereinafter Yan), and further in view of Shrestha et al. (US20230132414A1, hereinafter Shrestha).
For claim 7, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 2. The references further teach wherein an enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication that is applied to all scheduled multiple TBs is based on an indication for HARQ process identification (ID) of 0 of the RRC bitmap or a leftmost indication of the RRC bitmap (Ye [Para. 0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes, where for example a bit of 0 value indicates that HARQ-ACK information is enabled and a bit value of 1 indicates that HARQ-ACK information is disabled).
Although teaching Indicating HARQ feedback enabling or disabling in RRC bitmap, Ye and Yan do not explicitly disclose wherein an enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication that is applied to all scheduled multiple TBs is based on an indication for HARQ process identification (ID) of 0 of the RRC bitmap or a leftmost indication of the RRC bitmap.
Shrestha is directed to providing transmission in configured grant and semi-persistent scheduling in non-terrestrial network. More specifically, Shrestha teaches wherein an enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication that is applied to all scheduled multiple TBs is based on an indication for HARQ process identification (ID) of 0 of the RRC bitmap ([Para, 0149], when there are no HARQ process IDs that are equal to zero (e.g., HARQ process is enabled for all HARQ process IDs) [Examiner’s Note: The HARQ processes are enabled when none of the HARQ process identification of zero is used in bitmap]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye and Yan, so that the HARQ process identification of zero enables all HARQ processes, as taught by Shrestha. The modification would have improved communication quality since fewer communications are likely to be dropped as a result of the interfering timers (Shrestha [Para. 0108]).
Claims 8-9, 11-13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ye et al. (US20220109529A1, hereinafter Ye) in view of Yan et al. (WO2023236009A1, hereinafter Yan), and further in view of Sengupta et al. (US20240121033A1, hereinafter Sengupta).
For claim 8, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 2. The references further teach wherein the receiving of the configuration further comprises receiving a downlink control information (DCI) signaling with an enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication that overrides the configuration in the RRC signaling (Ye [Para. 0082], At operation 602, a gNB generates and provides to a UE configuration information for enabling or disabling HARQ-ACK information for one or more HARQ processes. Further, the information can be … by an indication in a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception that includes a TB associated with a HARQ process. Ye [Para. 0083], The DCI format schedules a PDSCH reception and includes information indicating whether a HARQ-ACK information report for a decoding outcome of a TB associated with HARQ process indicated by the DCI format is enabled or disabled).
Although teaching DCI indicating HARQ feedback enabling or disabling, Ye and Yan do not explicitly disclose wherein the receiving of the configuration further comprises receiving a downlink control information (DCI) signaling with an enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication that overrides the configuration in the RRC signaling.
Sengupta is directed to providing systems and techniques for scheduling feedback-less hybrid automatic repeat resource request. More specifically, Sengupta teaches wherein the receiving of the configuration further comprises receiving a downlink control information (DCI) signaling with an enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication that overrides the configuration in the RRC signaling ([Para. 0201], the one or more feedback-enabled TBs are received according to a multi-TB scheduling based on a Downlink Control Information (DCI) associated with the multi-TB scheduling. [Para. 0203], the one or more feedback-disabled TBs are received using a multi-TB scheduling based on a Downlink Control Information (DCI) associated with the multi-TB scheduling. [Para. 0198], a DCI bit can be used to override a feedback-enabled (or feedback-disabled) configuration that is otherwise indicated by an RRC signal. The DCI bit can be included in a DCI used to schedule a transmission on a given HARQ process. In some cases, the DCI override bit can be used to change or modify the RRC-indicated behavior for a given TB on the HARQ process with which the DCI override bit is associated (e.g., the HARQ process scheduled by a DCI that includes the DCI override bit). [Para. 0199], in the context of HARQ-ACK bundling with single-TB scheduling, a feedback-disabled TB may be overridden to a feedback-enabled TB by setting the ‘HARQ ACK Bundling Flag’ to be on (or ‘1’) for the TB, while the flag would otherwise be set to off if feedback is disabled).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye and Yan, so that the HARQ feedback indication configured by RRC signaling is overridden by DCI feedback indication, as taught by Sengupta. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce HARQ stalling by HARQ feedback disabling (Sengupta [Para. 0009]).
For claim 9, Ye, Yan and Sengupta teach the method of claim 8. The references further teach wherein the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback is indicated in either a new DCI field in the DCI signaling (Sengupta [Para. 0199], In some examples, the DCI override bit can be implemented using a newly designated bit in the DCI. In some cases, the DCI override bit can be implemented using an existing bit in the DCI (e.g., by repurposing the existing bit as an override bit) or in an existing DCI field that is re-interpreted, and wherein the existing DCI field that is re-interpreted comprises a HARQ-ACK related field.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye and Yan, so that the DCI overriding bit is either newly introduced bit or existing bit re-purposed for overriding, as taught by Sengupta. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce HARQ stalling by HARQ feedback disabling (Sengupta [Para. 0009]).
For claim 11, Ye, Yan and Sengupta teach the method of claim 8. The references further teach wherein the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication in the DCI signaling comprises a single indication in the DCI signaling that is applied to all scheduled multiple TBs (Yan [Para. 0079], If multiple TB scheduling is configured (i.e. a DCI can schedule multiple TBs (e.g. two TBs: a first TB and a second TB) each of which is associated with a different HARQ process (e.g. one of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) ) , the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback by existing field (s) contained in the DCI according to the first embodiment applies to the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process simultaneously. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process associated with the first TB and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process associated with the second TB are indicated as both enabling or both disabling by existing field (s) contained in the DCI according to the first embodiment).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye and Sengupta, so that one DCI indicates HARQ feedback enabling or disabling that applies to all TBs of the multiple TBs, as taught by Yan. The modification would have provided dynamic enabling or disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission by the DCI, to avoid large signaling overhead caused by RRC reconfiguration (Yan [Para. 0041]).
For claim 12, Ye, Yan and Sengupta teach the method of claim 8. The references further teach wherein the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication in the DCI signaling comprises a bitmap (Ye [Para. 0107], a bitmap can be used when the number of configured HARQ processes is not larger than the number of bits in the DCI format that can be used for the bitmap. Ye [Para. 0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes, where for example a bit of 0 value indicates that HARQ-ACK information is enabled and a bit value of 1 indicates that HARQ-ACK information is disabled), and wherein each bit of the bitmap indicates enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback regarding a respective TB of the multiple TBs (Ye [0087], The configuration information can be indicated via a bitmap having a one-to-one mapping with configured HARQ processes, such as a length-N bitmap, where for example a bit of 0 value indicates that HARQ-ACK information is enabled and a bit value of 1 indicates that HARQ-ACK information is disabled (or vice versa), and N is the number of configured HARQ processes).
For claim 13 Ye, Yan and Sengupta teach the method of claim 12. The references further teach wherein: responsive to one bit of the bitmap indicating enabling of the HARQ feedback regarding a respective TB of the multiple TBs, the HARQ feedback of the multiple TBs is enabled (Yan [Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling), alternatively, responsive to one bit of the bitmap indicating disabling of the HARQ feedback regarding a respective TB of the multiple TB, the HARQ feedback of the multiple TBs is disabled ([Para. 0087], if multiple TB scheduling is configured, the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by RRC signaling via bitmap manner. It means that each of the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured as enabling or disabling. The enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback for downlink transmission (e.g. of a first HARQ process and a second HARQ process) can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling. It means that the HARQ feedback of the first HARQ process and the HARQ feedback of the second HARQ process can be configured by a 1-bit RRC signaling to both enabling or both disabling).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye and Sengupta, so that a single bit RRC signaling indicates HARQ feedback enabling or disabling that applies to all TBs, as taught by Yan. The modification would have provided dynamic enabling or disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission by the DCI, to avoid large signaling overhead caused by RRC reconfiguration (Yan [Para. 0041]).
For claim 15, Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 14. Although teaching DCI indicating HARQ feedback enabling or disabling, Ye and Yan do not explicitly disclose wherein the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback is indicated in either a new DCI field in the DCI signaling or in an existing DCI field that is re-interpreted, and wherein the existing DCI field that is re-interpreted comprises a HARQ-ACK related field.
Sengupta is directed to providing systems and techniques for scheduling feedback-less hybrid automatic repeat resource request. More specifically, Sengupta teaches wherein the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback is indicated in either a new DCI field in the DCI signaling ([Para. 0199], In some examples, the DCI override bit can be implemented using a newly designated bit in the DCI. In some cases, the DCI override bit can be implemented using an existing bit in the DCI (e.g., by repurposing the existing bit as an override bit) or in an existing DCI field that is re-interpreted, and wherein the existing DCI field that is re-interpreted comprises a HARQ-ACK related field.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye and Yan, so that the DCI overriding bit is either newly introduced bit or existing bit re-purposed for overriding, as taught by Sengupta. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce HARQ stalling by HARQ feedback disabling (Sengupta [Para. 0009]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ye et al. (US20220109529A1, hereinafter Ye) in view of Yan et al. (WO2023236009A1, hereinafter Yan) and further Sengupta et al. (US20240121033A1, hereinafter Sengupta), and further in view of Ying et al. (US20240323960A1, hereinafter Ying).
For claim 10, Ye, Yan and Sengupta teach the method of claim 8. Although teaching HARQ feedback indication configured by RRC signaling is overridden by DCI feedback indication, the references do not explicitly disclose wherein the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication in the DCI signaling is only present in an event that the UE is configured with a higher-layer parameter npdsch-MultiTB-Config enabled in NB-loT.
Ying is directed to providing user equipment, base stations and signaling for downlink of narrow-band internet of things over non-terrestrial networks. More specifically, Ying teaches wherein the enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback indication in the DCI signaling is only present in an event that the UE is configured with a higher-layer parameter npdsch-MultiTB-Config enabled in NB-loT ([Para. 0005], a user equipment is configured to receive signaling that comprises a configuration for an Internet-of-Things (IoT) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (NB-IoT PDSCH (NPDSCH)) in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). [Para. 0109], Each HARQ process may be RRC configured whether HARQ feedback for downlink and/or uplink is disabled or enabled. Ying [Para. 0164], If multiple transmission configurations are enabled and/or configured, only DCI format NLX (N1_X) may be used to activate and/or deactivate corresponding SPS. Enabling/disabling on HARQ feedback for SPS transmission may be configurable per SPS configuration via UE specific RRC signaling. [Para. 0196], DCI format N1_X may include a Number of scheduled TB. This field may be only present if multiple TBs are enabled/supported (e.g., higher layer parameter npdsch-MultiTB-Config is enabled) [Examiner’s Note: Since multiple TBs are enabled, the field of Number of scheduled TB in DCI is present and npdsch-MultiTB-Config is required]) or with another higher-layer parameter ce- PDSCH-MultiTB-Config enabled in eMTC.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye, Yan and Sengupta, so that npdsch-MultiTB-Config is enabled in case of multiple transmission configurations and DCI activates/deactivates HARQ feedback, as taught by Ying. The modification would have improved communication flexibility and/or efficiency (Ying [Para. 0004]).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ye et al. (US20220109529A1, hereinafter Ye) in view of Yan et al. (WO2023236009A1, hereinafter Yan), and further in view of Ying et al. (US20240323960A1, hereinafter Ying) and Cheng et al. (US20220330298A1, hereinafter Cheng).
For claim 18. Ye and Yan teach the method of claim 1. Although teaching enabling and disabling HARQ feedback via RRC signaling, the references do not explicitly disclose wherein the HARQ feedback is based on a dedicated radio resource control (RRC) parameter that indicates enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback, and wherein the dedicated RRC parameter is updated by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).
Ying is directed to providing user equipment, base stations and signaling for downlink of narrow-band internet of things over non-terrestrial networks. More specifically, Ying teaches wherein the HARQ feedback is based on a dedicated radio resource control (RRC) parameter that indicates enabling or disabling of the HARQ feedback ([Para. 0109], Each HARQ process may be RRC configured whether HARQ feedback for downlink and/or uplink is disabled or enabled. There may be a higher layer parameter disabledHARQ-ProcessesID (e.g., provided by a dedicated or common RRC message) to indicate a HARQ process or a set of HARQ processes, whose HARQ feedback can be disabled), and wherein the dedicated RRC parameter is updated by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) ([Para. 0114], There may be a higher layer parameter disabledHARQ-ProcessesID (e.g., provided by a dedicated or common RRC message) to indicate a HARQ process or a set of HARQ processes, whose HARQ feedback can be disabled).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye and Yan, so that HARQ feedback is disabled based on RRC parameter disabledHARQ-ProcessesID, as taught by Ying. The modification would have improved communication flexibility and/or efficiency (Ying [Para. 0004]).
Although teaching HARQ disabling based on the RRC parameter, Ye, Yan and Ying do not explicitly disclose and wherein the dedicated RRC parameter is updated by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).
Cheng is directed to providing Methods and apparatuses for hybrid automatic repeat request operations in wireless communication systems. More specifically, Cheng teaches and wherein the dedicated RRC parameter is updated by a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) ([Para. 0200], the HARQ-ACK-less list may be contained in an RRC configuration from the BS. [Para. 0210], the UE may receive an indication from the BS. The indication may identify an exception to the HARQ-ACK-less list by including at least one HARQ process ID from the set of HARQ process IDs. The indication may be received via a MAC CE from the BS. [Para. 0211] and [FIG. 4], the UE may receive a HARQ ACK-less list 420 (e.g., via RRC signaling) at the time point 402 and receive an indication from the BS (e.g., via MAC CE) at the time point 404. The HARQ ACK-less list 420 may include HARQ process ID # 1, HARQ process ID # 2, and HARQ ID # 3, which indicate, respectively, HARQ process # 1, HARQ process # 2, and HARQ process # 3. If the HARQ process # 2 is indicated as an exception by the indication (e.g., the indication includes the HARQ process ID #2), even if the UE receives at the time point 406 a PDSCH associated with the HARQ process # 2 that is indicated by the HARQ-ACK-less list 420, the UE may still transmit the HARQ-ACK information for the PDSCH because the HARQ process # 2 has been indicated as an exception of the HARQ-ACK-less list 420 [Examiner’s Note: MAC CE changes RRC configuration]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ye, Yan and Ying, so that HARQ feedback is changed from RRC configuration by MAC CE, as taught by Cheng. The modification would have improved NR procedures to adapt to the enabling/disabling mechanism of HARQ feedback (Cheng [Para. 0045]).
Conclusion
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/S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417
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