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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filled on 11/12/2025 has been entered.
Claims 1, 2, 8, 15, 23, 31, and 37 are amended.
Claim 33 is cancelled.
Claims 1-8, 15-23, 31, 32, and 34-37 are pending
Response to Arguments
Applicant arguments filed on 11/12/2025 have been fully considered and but are moot in view of the new ground of rejection(s)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1,8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS",3GPP DRAFT; R1-2006671, from IDS "SCell scheduling PCell", from IDS in view of Shaheen to (US 20180092085 A1)
Regarding claims 1,8, “Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS", teaches first network node configured to communicate with a second network node and a wireless device, WD, the first network node comprising processing circuitry configured to: determine a cross-carrier scheduling based at least in part on a first network load on the first network node; (Section 2.2 "Current Cross-carrier scheduling (CCS) [...] 1. UE has a primary cell (i.e., PCell for MCG or PSCell for SCG)" Section 2.3 "Enhanced CCS (eCCS) framework For enabling support of PDCCH on SCell scheduling PDSCH/PUSCH on primary cell, we propose the following high-level framework [...] 1. For a UE configured with DL CA, at least one SCell is configured via RRC such that PDCCH on that SCell can schedule PUSCH and/or PDSCH on the primary cell (PCell/PSCell). Such an SCell can be called e.g. a special SCell (sSCell). When UE is configured with sSCell, a. PDCCH on sSCell can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH on i. PCell if the sSCell is in MCG and PSCell if the sSCell is in SCG"
where in "dual connectivity” terms, a MCG implicitly corresponds to a Master Cell Group,MCG, associated with a master eNB, MeNB, and an SCG corresponds to a Secondary Cell Group, SCG, associated with secondary eNB, SeNB)
and determine a signaling based on the determined cross-carrier scheduling, (Section 2.1 "When UE is configured with DL CA, providing the ability to use SCell PDCCH to schedule primary cell PDSCH/PUSCH (e.g. as shown by red arrows in the figure) helps in reducing the loading of primary cell PDCCH." Section 2.3 "2. When UE is configured with sSCell, a. PDCCH on sSCell can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH on i. PCell if the sSCell is in MCG and PSCell if the sSCell is in SCG i [...] Main motivation of configuring an sSCell is to reduce PDCCH load on primary cell") the signaling including a control signal transmitted at least to the WD by the second network node and uplink, UL, data transmitted by the WD to the first network node in response to the control signal(Fig. 1, where the PDCCH on the SCell schedules an PUSCH transmission on the PCell)
“Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS", does not explicitly teach determine whether the WD supports the cross-carrier scheduling based on a field of a WD capability message
However, Shaheen teaches determine whether the WD supports the cross-carrier scheduling based on a field of a WD capability message(col.28, table 18, UE-EUTRA-Capability field descriptions..indicates whether the UE supports cross-carrier scheduling from a licensed carrier for license-assisted access (LAA) cell(s) for downlink. ates whether the UE supports cross-carrier scheduling from a licensed carrier for license-assisted access (LAA) cell(s) for downlink)
Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" to include determine whether the WD supports the cross-carrier scheduling based on a field of a WD capability message, as suggested by Shaheen. This modification would benefit the system to efficiently utilize available resources.
Claim(s) 15-21,23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", from IDS in view of Shaheen to (US 20180092085 A1)
Regarding claims 15,23 "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", teaches second network node configured to communicate at least with a first network node and a wireless device, WD, the second network node comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the second network node to: receive a signal from the first network node, the signal comprising an indication of cross-carrier scheduling of the WD; (Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled
by an SCell within the SCG.") and send a control signal to the WD,( the SCell is
provided with the scheduling information/DCI of the PCell and could be even
considered implicitly disclosed. The required interface between the nodes is
also mentioned in Section 2.2.3 "The OOO is introduced because the backhaul of multiple TRPs in one cell may be non-idea) the control signal including at least one of an uplink grant for transmitting UL data to the first network node and a request to transmit a channel state information, CSI, report to the first network node (Section 2.1 "According to the PDCCH loads of a PCell and an SCell, gNB can select the preferred cell to configure Type3-PDCCH CSS set and the RNTIs needs to be monitored." Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB")
"Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" does not explicitly teach the signal being based on the WD having indicated support for the cross-carrier scheduling in a field of a WD capability message
However, Shaheen teaches the signal being based on the WD having indicated support for the cross-carrier scheduling in a field of a WD capability message (col.28, table 18, UE-EUTRA-Capability field descriptions.. indicates whether the UE supports cross-carrier scheduling from a licensed carrier for license-assisted access (LAA) cell(s) for downlink. ates whether the UE supports cross-carrier scheduling from a licensed carrier for license-assisted access (LAA) cell(s) for downlink)
Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" to include the signal being based on the WD having indicated support for the cross-carrier scheduling in a field of a WD capability message, as suggested by Shaheen. This modification would benefit the system to efficiently utilize available resources.
Regarding claims 16, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to at least one of: determine an alignment time interval based on network variations and an inter-network delay; and after the alignment time interval elapses, align slots and resources in which: the second network node transmits downlink control information, DCI; (Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB")and the first network node one of receives the UL data on a PUSCH from the WD and transmits downlink data on a physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, to the WD (Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB")
Regarding claim 17, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the second network node to: receive, from the first network node, a request to build and transmit the control signal including a DCI grant to the WD, the request including information for building the DCI grant; (Section 2.1 "According to the PDCCH loads of a PCell and an SCell, gNB can select the preferred cell to configure Type3-PDCCH CSS set and the RNTIs needs to be monitored." Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB") transmit, to the first network node, a confirmation based on the received request; and transmit, to the WD, the control signal("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" , Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell within the SCG").
Regarding claim 18, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the second network node to: receive, from the first network node, a retransmission request associated with at least one of UL data on a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, not being decoded by the first network node and the control signal not being received by the WD; (Section 2.1 "According to the PDCCH loads of a PCell and an SCell, gNB can select the preferred cell to configure Type3-PDCCH CSS set and the RNTIs needs to be monitored." Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB") and retransmit the control signal to the WD and including one of a UL scheduling information, an elevated PDCCH aggregation level, and an elevated power level("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB").
Regarding claim 19, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the second network node to: transmit, to a third network node, the control signal including the DCI grant indicating a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, grant(Section 2.1 "According to the PDCCH loads of a PCell and an SCell, gNB can select the preferred cell to configure Type3-PDCCH CSS set and the RNTIs needs to be monitored." Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB").
Regarding claim 20, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: after receiving the request to build and transmit the control signal, determine an amount of PDCCH resources to serve the WD based at least one of a current downlink, DL, channel conditions and a traffic load("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB")..
Regarding claim 21, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a DCI associated with DL data scheduling, the DCI to be transmitted by the second network node to the WD(Section 2.1 "According to the PDCCH loads of a PCell and an SCell, gNB can select the preferred cell to configure Type3-PDCCH CSS set and the RNTIs needs to be monitored." Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB").
Claim(s) 31,37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over INTERDIGITAL ET AL: "SCell scheduling PCell", from IDS in view of Shaheen to (US20180092085 A1)
Regarding claims 31,37, "SCell scheduling PCell", teaches a wireless device, WD, configured to communicate at least with a first network node and a second network node, the first network node being a Primary Cell, PCell, operating within a first Frequency Range, FR1, and the second network node being a Secondary Cell, Scell, operating within a second Frequency Range, FR2,( Section 2 "The motivation of such enhancement is for the use case where NR PCell spectrum is within lower frequency range (FR1) andthe spectrum is shared with LTE cell. A secondary cell within higher frequency range (FR2) can be configured and activated for NR UEs to increase the data rate.In that case, allowing SCell to schedule PCell can reduce the load on the downlink control channels of PCell and to take advantage of the available spectrum in the SCell [...] The gNB can configure the UE with UE-specific search space sets on both PCell and SCell for scheduling on PCell.") the WD comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the WD to: receive a control signal transmitted by the second network node; (Section 2 "One of the objectives is to enhance PDCCH for cross-carrier scheduling to support a PDCCH of SCell scheduling PDSCH or PUSCH on PCell") and transmit WD data including uplink, UL, data to the first network node in response to the received control signal(Section 2 "One of the objectives is to enhance PDCCH for cross- carrier scheduling to support a PDCCH of SCell scheduling PDSCH or PUSCH on PCell")
"SCell scheduling PCell" does not explicitly teach transmit a message indicating the WD supports communication with the first network node and the second network node using cross-carrier scheduling
However, Shaheen teaches transmit a message indicating the WD supports communication with the first network node and the second network node using cross-carrier scheduling
Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of "SCell scheduling PCell" to include transmit a message indicating the WD supports communication with the first network node and the second network node using cross-carrier scheduling, as suggested by Shaheen. This modification would benefit the system to efficiently utilize available resources.
Claim(s) 2-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS",3GPP DRAFT; R1-2006671, from IDS "SCell scheduling PCell", from IDS in view of Shaheen to (US20180092085 A1) and further in view of "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", from IDS
Regarding claims 2, "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to at least one of:; and configure the WD to decode downlink control information, DCI, in the control signal transmitted by the second network node and at least one of: decode downlink, DL, data from the first network node; and transmit UL data
However, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to at least one of: determine whether the WD supports the cross-carrier scheduling based on a field of a WD capability message; and configure the WD to decode downlink control information, DCI, in the control signal transmitted by the second network node and at least one of: decode downlink, DL, data from the first network node; and transmit UL data ("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" , Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell within the SCG").
Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" to include wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to at least one of: determine whether the WD supports the cross-carrier scheduling based on a field of a WD capability message; and configure the WD to decode downlink control information, DCI, in the control signal transmitted by the second network node and at least one of: decode downlink, DL, data from the first network node; and transmit UL data, as suggested by "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH." This modification would benefit the system to efficiently utilize available resources.
Regarding claims 3, "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" and "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, of the first network node is congested; ("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" , Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell within the SCG") select the second network node for transmission of the control signal to the WD, the selection of the second network node being based at least on an inter-network delay between the first and second network nodes and a PDCCH demand of the WD; ("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" , Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell within the SCG")and determine UL data requirements for communication between the WD and the first network node("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" , Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell within the SCG").
Regarding claims 4, "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" and "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to at least one of: determine an alignment time interval based on network variations and an inter-network delay; and after the alignment time interval elapses, align slots ("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" ,Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB")and resources in which: the second network node transmits the DCI; and the first network node one of receives UL data on a PUSCH from the WD and transmits downlink data on a physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, to the WD("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" ,Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB").
Regarding claims 5, "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" and "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, when at least one of the second network node and the WD is not available for the cross-carrier scheduling, at least one of: increase downlink resources of one of the first network node and the second network node; offload the second network node from other WDs to decrease a second network load on the second network node; and modify a UL scheduling process("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" ,Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell within the SCG").
Regarding claims 6, "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" and "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the first network node to at least one of: transmit, to the second network node, a request to build and transmit the control signal including a DCI grant to the WD, the request including information for building the DCI grant; receive, from the second network node, a confirmation based on the request; receive WD data and update network load information and inter-network delay information based on the received WD data; and transmit, to the second network node, a retransmission request when one of UL data on a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, is not decoded and the control signal on PDCCH is not received by the WD("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" ,Section 2.1 "According to the PDCCH loads of a PCell and an SCell, gNB can select the preferred cell to configure Type3-PDCCH CSS set and the RNTIs needs to be monitored." Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB").
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" from IDS in view of Shaheen to (US20180092085 A1) and further in view of "SCell scheduling PCell", from IDS
Regarding claim 7, "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" does not explicitly teach wherein the first network node is a Primary Cell, PCell, operating within a first Frequency Range, FR1, and the second network node is Secondary Cell, SCell, operating within a second Frequency Range, FR2
However; "SCell scheduling PCell", teaches wherein the first network node is a Primary Cell, PCell, operating within a first Frequency Range, FR1, and the second network node is Secondary Cell, SCell, operating within a second Frequency Range, FR2(Section 2 "The motivation of such enhancement is for the use case where NR PCell spectrum is within lower frequency range (FR1) andthe spectrum is shared with LTE cell. A secondary cell within higher frequency range (FR2) can be configured and activated for NR UEs to increase the data rate.In that case, allowing SCell to schedule PCell can reduce the load on the downlink control channels of PCell and to take advantage of the available spectrum in the SCell [...] The gNB can configure the UE with UE-specific search space sets on both PCell and SCell for scheduling on PCell.")
Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" to include wherein the first network node is a Primary Cell, PCell, operating within a first Frequency Range, FR1, and the second network node is Secondary Cell, SCell, operating within a second Frequency Range, FR2, as suggested by "SCell scheduling PCell." This modification would benefit the system to efficiently utilize available resources.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", from IDS in view of Shaheen to (US20180092085 A1) and further in view of "SCell scheduling PCell" from IDS
Regarding claim 22, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", does not explicitly teach wherein the first network node is a Primary Cell, PCell, operating within a first Frequency Range, FR1, and the second network node is Secondary Cell, SCell, operating within a second Frequency Range, FR2
However; "SCell scheduling PCell", teaches wherein the first network node is a Primary Cell, PCell, operating within a first Frequency Range, FR1, and the second network node is Secondary Cell, SCell, operating within a second Frequency Range, FR2(Section 2 "The motivation of such enhancement is for the use case where NR PCell spectrum is within lower frequency range (FR1) andthe spectrum is shared with LTE cell. A secondary cell within higher frequency range (FR2) can be configured and activated for NR UEs to increase the data rate.In that case, allowing SCell to schedule PCell can reduce the load on the downlink control channels of PCell and to take advantage of the available spectrum in the SCell [...] The gNB can configure the UE with UE-specific search space sets on both PCell and SCell for scheduling on PCell.")
Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of "Enhanced cross-carrier scheduling for DSS" to include wherein the first network node is a Primary Cell, PCell, operating within a first Frequency Range, FR1, and the second network node is Secondary Cell, SCell, operating within a second Frequency Range, FR2, as suggested by "SCell scheduling PCell." This modification would benefit the system to efficiently utilize available resources.
Claim(s) 32,34-36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over "SCell scheduling PCell", from IDS in view of Shaheen to (US20180092085 A1) and further in view of "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH", from IDS
Regarding claim 32, "SCell scheduling PCell", does not explicitly teach wherein the control signal includes a downlink control information, DCI, grant for the UL data to be transmitted to the first network node
However, "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches wherein the control signal includes a downlink control information, DCI, grant for the UL data to be transmitted to the first network node (Section 2.1 "According to the PDCCH loads of a PCell and an SCell, gNB can select the preferred cell to configure Type3-PDCCH CSS set and the RNTIs needs to be monitored." Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB")
Therefore; it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of "SCell scheduling PCell" to include wherein the control signal includes a downlink control information, DCI, grant for the UL data to be transmitted to the first network node, as suggested by "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH." This modification would benefit the system to efficiently utilize available resources.
Regarding claim 34, "SCell scheduling PCell" and "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches after an alignment time interval elapses, receive aligned slots and resources in which the second network node transmits the DCI and the first network node one of receives the UL data on a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, from the WD and transmits downlink data on a physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, to the WD("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" ,Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB").
Regarding claim 35, "SCell scheduling PCell" and "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches receive a retransmission of the control signal from the second network node, the retransmission including the DCI grant and including one of a new uplink, UL, scheduling information, an elevated physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, aggregation level, and an elevated power level("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" Section 2.2.3 "Proposal 8: When PDSCH or PUSCH on a PCell can be scheduled by PDCCH of SCell and the PCell, a UE capability can be defined about whether a UE supports PDCCHs of initial and retransmission scheduling from different cells for the same TB").
Regarding claim 36, "SCell scheduling PCell" and "Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" teaches when one of the second network node and the WD is not available for cross-carrier scheduling, at least one of: receive increased downlink resources of one of the first network node and the second network node; receive an offload message to offload from the second network node; and receive a modified UL scheduling("Discussion on SCell PDCCH scheduling P(S)Cell PDSCH or PUSCH" ,Section 2.2.4 "PSCell cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell In the previous subsection, we analyzed offloading PCell PDCCH to SCell PDCCH and discussed the impact on specification. In DC operation, PSCell in SCG has the similar status as PCell in MCG. The analysis and discussion above are also applicable to a PSCell of the SCG cross-carrier scheduled by an SCell within the SCG").
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZEWDU A BEYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
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/ZEWDU A BEYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461