DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an amendment filed on 01/08/2026.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 01/08/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-20 are pending
Claims 1, 8 and 15 are amended
Claims 1-20 remain rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 8 and 15 recite the limitation, “…transmission layers are sorted based upon SNRs between the minimum SNR and the maximum SNR”. However, the instant specification discloses, “…the interleaver 604 arranges, into at least one first column group, the columns corresponding to the data transmission layers whose transmission qualities are equal to or above a threshold, and arranges, into at least one second column group, the columns corresponding to the data transmission layers whose transmission qualities are below the threshold. The threshold depends on particular application and may be any transmission quality value between the minimum transmission quality and the maximum transmission quality of the data transmission layers (e.g., any SNR between the minimum and maximum SNRs of the available MIMO layers to be used for transmission),” as in Para. [0095] and “…the target wireless communication apparatus are configured to sort the data transmission layers in the same order based on the layer SNRs which they have independently determined,” as in Para. [0103]. Since it the threshold which depends on the minimum and maximum SNR range and not the process of sorting the data transmission layers, the limitation “…transmission layers are sorted based upon SNRs between the minimum SNR and the maximum SNR,” as stated in the amended claim 1 has no support in the specification. Therefore, the limitation is new matter.
Dependent claims are rejected due to their failure to correct the deficiencies of the independent claim as listed above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vojcic et al. (US 20190068320 A1), hereinafter referenced as Vojcic, in view of Jeong et al. (US 20090063929 A1), hereinafter referenced as Jeong.
Regarding claims 1, 8 and 15, Vojcic teaches an apparatus for a wireless communication system, comprising: a processor a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store processor- executable instructions wherein the processor is configured, when executing the processor-executable instructions (Fig. 1, Para. [0002-003]-Vojcic discloses systems and { A method for wireless communications, as in Claim 8} methods for advanced iterative decoding of multiple concatenated codes and advanced iterative channel state information estimation for communication systems, and particularly receivers, used for HD Radio communication and other systems ... and may be used in, many { A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that are executable by a computer, the non-transitory computer readable medium is applied to a first communication apparatus, as in claim 15} other applications, standards and systems, including wireless or wired broadcasting and transmission systems, consumer electronics, storage media, computer applications ... also in consumer electronics and data storage systems such as disc drives, CDs and DVDs. Para. [0261]-Vojcic discloses System Control Data Sequence Assembler 4023 processes System Control Channel (SCCH) information into a set of system control data sequences) to:
receive a codeword to be sent over data transmission layers (Para. [0346]-Vojcic discloses RS encoding is performed, (n−k) RS parity bytes 4471 are appended to the AAS PDU to form a RS codeword block ... the stream of RS blocks after byte interleaving is broken into a series of frames for inner convolutional code encoding at layer 1. Fig. 3, Para. [0094]-Vojcic discloses method that receives the soft bits, corresponding to reliabilities of codeword bits from the channel, such as LLRs and performs message passing (from variable nodes to check nodes and vice versa) using the bipartite graph of the code to update the reliability information based on the parity check constraints), -
each of the data transmission layers has a transmission quality (Para. [0206-0208]-Vojcic discloses the receiver is provided a feedback channel to report optimal or near optimal structure of pilot signals based on the channel selectivity in time, and possibly in frequency, and/or SNR ... two bits of pilot structure feedback could be transmitted in addition to channel quality indicators for adaptive modulation, FEC coding rate and MIMO parameters. In another embodiment, the pilot structure indicator bits could be combined with channel quality indicators),
the codeword obtained using a linear code (Fig. 3, Para. [0093]-Vojcic discloses bipartite graph of the (n, k) linear block code ... It is formed using the parity check (PC) matrix H of the code which is an (n−k)×n matrix for a code of rate r=k/n ... For any codeword c of this code, Hc.sup.T=0 where ‘T’ denotes the transpose operation. This equation specifies the set of linear constraints satisfied by the codeword bits),
the codeword having a codeword length E and comprising codeword bits (Para. [0318]-Vojcic discloses the coded bits were punctured in the transmitter to bring the coded stream to the original code rate before puncturing, e.g., ⅓, the LLR sequence corresponding to the MPS PDU header, which corresponds to a RS codeword of length 96 bytes),
the codeword bits comprising at least one information bit and at least one parity bit (Para. [0226]-Vojcic discloses If all the outer codewords are decoded successfully (and pass CRC check if it is employed), or other stopping criterion is met, information bits are extracted at line 3130. Para. [0318]-Vojcic discloses the list Log-MAP decoder block produces a set of output LLRs, both information and coded bit LLRs, i.e., systematic and parity bits of the RS (96,88) codeword, and a predefined number of most likely hard-decision sequences (containing 0's and 1's) 4498 corresponding to the RS codeword);
interleave the codeword bits by using a matrix with n rows and k columns (Para. [0145]-Vojcic discloses iterations with at least one of the matrices converge to a valid RS codeword. Para. [0346]-Vojcic discloses a group of consecutive RS codewords 4477 are then byte-interleaved with an interleaving depth of Rw (of typical value 4-64 as in HD Radio AAS specification). Para. [0267]-Vojcic discloses interleaver matrices, PM, PX1, PX2, and R denoted accordingly along with their illustrative dimensions ... Note that the row dimension of R.sub.d (or the column dimension of R, i.e., P=61)),
n and k are selected based on a predefined modulation scheme and the codeword length E (Para. [0262]-Vojcic discloses OFDM Subcarrier Mapping 4025 assigns the interleaver matrices on line 4036 for Logical Channels P1 and PIDS, referred to as matrix PM in the FM HD Radio system ... OFDM Subcarrier Mapping are a row of each active interleaver/system control matrix which is processed every OFDM symbol duration (i.e., Ts) to produce an output vector, herein referred to as X which is a frequency-domain representation of the signal. The output vector X from Symbol and OFDM Subcarrier Mapping for each OFDM symbol is a complex vector of length 1093 ... subcarriers may be performed for different modulations schemes such as QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM in different modes of HD Radio systems. Para. [0145]-Vojcic discloses iterations with at least one of the matrices converge to a valid RS codeword. Para. [0318]-Vojcic discloses a RS codeword of length 96 bytes, is extracted in block 4482 from the stream on line 4496 ... systematic and parity bits of the RS (96,88) codeword, and a predefined number of most likely hard-decision sequences (containing 0's and 1's) 4498 corresponding to the RS codeword),
each of the k columns corresponding to one of the data transmission layers (Para. [0267]-Vojcic discloses the transmitter 4001 in FIG. 24a for the FM HD Radio system with additional logical channel P4 from Information Source 4 as well as interleaver matrices, PM, PX1, PX2, and R denoted accordingly along with their illustrative dimensions … Note that the row dimension of R.sub.d (or the column dimension of R, i.e., P=61) corresponds to the maximum number of active reference subcarriers per OFDM symbol and the column dimension of R.sub.d (or the row dimension of R, i.e., M=32) corresponds to the number of OFDM symbols per pre-defined time duration);
the threshold is a signal to noise ratio (SNR) which is independently determined between a minimum SNR and a maximum SNR of available data transmission layers (Para. [0200-0202]-Vojcic discloses a threshold, Thr, for SNR such that for SNR<Thr, ... Identify all symbol regions/segments, S.sub.MRC, such that SNRi>Thr, i=1, . . . , L, where L is the number of diversity channels. Para. [0328]-Vojcic discloses a desired balance between the gain at low SNR and error floor at high SNR could be achieved by the system designer as desired. Figs. 14-17, Para. [0020]-Vojcic discloses data symbols may be based on the channel response at a given symbol position being larger than a first threshold, or the signal-to-noise ratio (or the signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio) at a given symbol position being larger than a second threshold, where the thresholds may be determined based on the estimated channel selectivity. Para. [0187-0189]-Vojcic discloses selected reliable symbols, with SNR above a Threshold that depends on the time selectivity of the channel, are used to estimate channel and noise power ... Interpolation is employed for symbols with SNR below the Threshold. Para. [0172-0173]-Vojcic discloses the decision-directed method utilizes only data symbols with SNR higher than a predetermined threshold ... to minimize the use of data symbols with low SNR),
transmission layers are sorted based upon SNRs between the minimum SNR and the maximum SNR (Para. [0241]-Vojcic discloses in lower SNR conditions, it may be possible to decode reliably only base layer bits. In better SNR conditions, the detector/de-mapper can establish the phase and amplitude more accurately, to recover also enhancement layer bits corresponding to dense QPSK clusters. Para. [0200-0202]-Vojcic discloses a threshold, Thr, for SNR such that for SNR<Thr, ... Identify all symbol regions/segments, S.sub.MRC, such that SNRi>Thr, i=1, . . . , L, where L is the number of diversity channels. Para. [0328]-Vojcic discloses a desired balance between the gain at low SNR and error floor at high SNR could be achieved by the system designer as desired. Figs. 14-17, Para. [0020]-Vojcic discloses data symbols may be based on the channel response at a given symbol position being larger than a first threshold, or the signal-to-noise ratio (or the signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio) at a given symbol position being larger than a second threshold, where the thresholds may be determined based on the estimated channel selectivity. Para. [0187-0189]-Vojcic discloses selected reliable symbols, with SNR above a Threshold that depends on the time selectivity of the channel, are used to estimate channel and noise power ... Interpolation is employed for symbols with SNR below the Threshold. Para. [0172-0173]-Vojcic discloses the decision-directed method utilizes only data symbols with SNR higher than a predetermined threshold ... to minimize the use of data symbols with low SNR),
adjacent transmission layers are pairs (Fig. 10b {Interleaved}, Para. [0155]-Vojcic discloses pilot symbols may be staggered in time on two adjacent subcarriers 2145, 2146 that carry pilot symbols. Para. [0211]-Vojcic discloses the outer interleaver 3102 changes the order of coded bits 3115 to produce a different order of coded bits 3116, according to the interleaving algorithm. The outer interleaver and de-interleaver pair is used to disperse error bursts from the output of inner FEC decoder. Para. [0092]-Vojcic discloses in addition to, inner FEC code, there may be another finite state machine representing a multiuser channel, MIMO de-mapper/detector), and
a control bit signals whether each pair of adjacent layers is in the same column group (Fig. 28, Para. [0267]-Vojcic discloses M-bit sequences in a (P×M) matrix Rd may contain the same bit pattern (or patterns) (such as SYNC bits and/or Control bits shown in FIG. 28) at designated bit positions in each sequence. Para. [0272]-Vojcic discloses most bits in the system control data sequence are repeated over all subcarriers except for Control 5 bits in the field 4172, where the reference subcarrier identification (RSID) bits are transmitted in the HD Radio system. In these Control bits, their protection bit, Parity 2 in the field 4170, may be different over their respective reference subcarriers);
the at least one parity bit is selectively mapped into the at least one second column group (Para. [0016]-Vojcic discloses code may be represented by a parity check matrix of dimension (N−K)×N, one or more parity check matrices with N−K sparse columns may be generated. Up to N−K sparse columns may contain only a single entry equal to 1 per column. Para. [0113]-Vojcic discloses the columns of the binary parity check matrix corresponding to the (n−k) independent and least reliable bit positions are reduced to an identity submatrix); --
map the modulation symbols to the data transmission layers (Para. [0262]-Vojcic discloses modulation symbol mapping for data subcarriers may be performed for different modulations schemes such as QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM in different modes of HD Radio systems. Fig. 1, Para. [0091]-Vojcic discloses symbol mapper/de-mapper 102 and 104 and communication channel 103 ... converting k information bits (symbols) 107 to n coded bits (symbols) 108 followed by symbol mapper 102 to map coded bits (symbols) to modulation symbols 109. The modulation symbols go through a propagation channel 103 and at the receiver noisy modulation symbols 110 are received); and
a transceiver configured to send the mapped modulation symbols to a target wireless communication apparatus (Fig. 1, Para. [0091]-Vojcic discloses symbol mapper/de-mapper 102 and 104 and communication channel 103. As referenced above, the communication channel may be any wireless or wireline channel, or a storage medium, or any other example where H/M/LDPC codes are employed. In this figure, channel encoding using a (n,k) linear block code 101 is performed by converting k information bits (symbols) 107 to n coded bits (symbols) 108 followed by symbol mapper 102 to map coded bits (symbols) to modulation symbols 109. The modulation symbols go through a propagation channel 103 and at the receiver noisy modulation symbols 110 are received).
Vojcic fails to teach arrange, into at least one first column group the k_columns corresponding to the data transmission layers whose transmission qualities are equal to or above a threshold, … the at least one information bit is selectively mapped into the at least one first column group, … arrange, into at least one second column group, the k _columns corresponding to the data transmission layers whose transmission qualities are below the threshold, … write the codeword bits row-wise into the at least one first column group and the at least one second column group; merge the at least one first column group and the at least one second column group to restore the matrix; and read the codeword bits column-wise from the matrix; obtain, by using the predefined modulation scheme, a modulation symbol for the codeword bits read from each column of the matrix.
However, Jeong teaches arrange, into at least one first column group the k_columns corresponding to the data transmission layers whose transmission qualities are equal to or above a threshold (Figs. 6-7, Para. [0108]-Jeong discloses In a codeword b=[b.sub.1 b.sub.2 b.sub.3 . . . b.sub.6] where bits are ordered in the higher degree order, a group composed of {b.sub.1 b.sub.2} is assumed to be G.sub.1, a group composed of {b.sub.3, b.sub.4} is assumed to be G.sub.2, and a group composed of {b.sub.5, b.sub.6} is assumed to be G.sub.3. Of the groups, the highest-degree group G.sub.1 is mapped to the lowest-reliability bits {y.sub.5, y.sub.6} among the modulation symbol-constituting bits, and the second highest-degree group G.sub.2 is mapped to the highest-reliability bits {y.sub.1, y.sub.2}),
the at least one information bit is selectively mapped into the at least one first column group (Para. [0059]-Jeong discloses when an information data bit column (or information data bit stream) `i` is input to the transmitter 400, the information data bit column i is delivered to the encoder 411, and the encoder 411 generates a codeword `x` by coding the information data bits according to a predetermined coding scheme, and outputs a coded column to the interleaver 413. Herein, the encoder 411 is an LDPC encoder, so the codeword generated by the encoder 411 is an LDPC codeword. Fig. 6, Para. [0081-0084]-Jeong discloses the number of bits of a row is determined as 64800/4=16200. In Step 3, LDPC codeword bits are sequentially written in each column. The number of bits written in each column is the number, 16200, of rows. In Step 4, bits are sequentially read from each column one by one. In FIG. 6A, after sequentially reading bits from the first bit of a column 1 to the first bit of a column 4, the interleaver sequentially reads bits from the second bit of the column 1 to the second bit of the column 4. The interleaver repeats this process as many times as the number, 16200, of rows. (See also Para. [0108-0111)),
arrange, into at least one second column group the columns corresponding to the data transmission layers whose transmission qualities are below the threshold (Figs. 6-7, Para. [0108]-Jeong discloses in a codeword b=[b.sub.1 b.sub.2 b.sub.3 . . . b.sub.6] where bits are ordered in the higher degree order, a group composed of {b.sub.1 b.sub.2} is assumed to be G.sub.1, a group composed of {b.sub.3, b.sub.4} is assumed to be G.sub.2, and a group composed of {b.sub.5, b.sub.6} is assumed to be G.sub.3. Of the groups, the highest-degree group G.sub.1 is mapped to the lowest-reliability bits {y.sub.5, y.sub.6} among the modulation symbol-constituting bits, and the second highest-degree group G.sub.2 is mapped to the highest-reliability bits {y.sub.1, y.sub.2}),
the at least one parity bit is selectively mapped into the at least one second column group (Para. [0018]-Jeong discloses coded bits are mapped one-to-one to columns of the parity check matrix. Fig. 6, Para. [0081-0084]-Jeong discloses the number of bits of a row is determined as 64800/4=16200. In Step 3, LDPC codeword bits are sequentially written in each column. The number of bits written in each column is the number, 16200, of rows. In Step 4, bits are sequentially read from each column one by one. In FIG. 6A, after sequentially reading bits from the first bit of a column 1 to the first bit of a column 4, the interleaver sequentially reads bits from the second bit of the column 1 to the second bit of the column 4. The interleaver repeats this process as many times as the number, 16200, of rows. (See also PAra. [0108-0111)); --
write the codeword bits row-wise into the at least one first column group and the at least one second column group (Fig. 6, Para. [0081-0084]-Jeong discloses the number of bits of a row is determined as 64800/4=16200. In Step 3, LDPC codeword bits are sequentially written in each column. The number of bits written in each column is the number, 16200, of rows. In Step 4, bits are sequentially read from each column one by one. In FIG. 6A, after sequentially reading bits from the first bit of a column 1 to the first bit of a column 4, the interleaver sequentially reads bits from the second bit of the column 1 to the second bit of the column 4. The interleaver repeats this process as many times as the number, 16200, of rows. (See also PAra. [0108-0111)) –
merge the at least one first column group and the at least one second column group to restore the matrix (Figs. 7-9, Para. [0118]-Jeong discloses forward bit mapping corresponding to the forward interleaving of FIG. 7A, and FIG. 9B illustrates reverse bit mapping corresponding to the reverse interleaving of FIG. 7B) and –
read the codeword bits column-wise from the matrix obtain, by using the predefined modulation scheme, a modulation symbol for the codeword bits read from each column of the matrix (Figs. 6-7, Para. [0081-0084]-Jeong discloses the number of bits of a row is determined as 64800/4=16200. In Step 3, LDPC codeword bits are sequentially written in each column. The number of bits written in each column is the number, 16200, of rows. In Step 4, bits are sequentially read from each column one by one. In FIG. 6A, after sequentially reading bits from the first bit of a column 1 to the first bit of a column 4, the interleaver sequentially reads bits from the second bit of the column 1 to the second bit of the column 4. The interleaver repeats this process as many times as the number, 16200, of rows).
Vojcic and Jeong are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of communication system, dealing with apparatus and method of transmitting and receiving data in a communication system using Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Vojcic to incorporate the teachings of Jeong on interleaving codeword bits, with a motivation to transmit mapped modulation symbols, and guarantee minimizing data transmission loss and increases a channel coding by dispersing damaged parts of desired transmission bits over several places without concentrating them in one location, thereby preventing burst errors that may occur frequently while the bits pass through a fading channel, (Jeong, Para. [0008]).
Regarding claims 2 and 9 and 16, Vojcic teaches the apparatus of claim 1 and The method of claim 8 and The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 15 respectively,
Vojcic further teaches the predefined modulation scheme has a modulation order Qm (Para. [0206]-Vojcic discloses during times of higher channel selectivity, a higher density of pilots enables better CSI estimation to support higher order modulation schemes. This, in turn, enables the transmission of more data, which more than compensates for increased pilot overhead. Alternatively, more pilot symbols for the same modulation order enables receiving data symbols more accurately), and
n is equal to the modulation order Qm (Para. [0261]-Vojcic discloses the row dimension of R (i.e., 32) corresponds to the number of OFDM symbols per pre-defined time duration and the column dimension (i.e., 61) corresponds to the maximum number of active reference subcarriers per OFDM symbol. In the AM HD Radio system, System Control Data Assembler 4023 processes SCCH information along with synchronization, parity and reserved bits into a stream of system control data sequences. The resulting output on line 4047 is a column vector R destined for two reference subcarriers with BPSK modulation in the AM HD Radio system),
while k is obtained by applying a floor or ceiling function (Para. [0282]-Vojcic discloses if U.sub.m is an even number, a round-up (i.e., ceil( )) or down (i.e., floor( )) operation could be performed on the threshold value in the right-hand side, i.e., round-up/down).
Vojcic fails to teach ratio of the codeword length E to the modulation order Qm.
However, Jeong teaches k is obtained by applying a floor or ceiling function to a ratio of the codeword length E to the modulation order Qm (Figs. 6A and 7A, Para. [0081-0084]-Jeong discloses the interleaver uses 16-QAM modulation and a length of an LDPC codeword is 64800. The 4-step design and operation of the interleaver will be … 4 columns are generated, the number of which is equal to the number of bits used in 16-QAM. In Step 2, the number of bits of a row is determined as 64800/4=16200 {Corresponding to Ceiling/Floor application}).
Jeong is considered to be analogous because it is in the same field of communication system, dealing with apparatus and method of transmitting and receiving data in a communication system using Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Vojcic to incorporate the teachings of Jeong on ratio of the codeword length E to the modulation order Qm, with a motivation to apply a floor or ceiling function to a ratio of the codeword length E to the modulation order Qm, thereby preventing burst errors that may occur frequently while the bits pass through a fading channel, (Jeong, Para. [0008]).
Regarding claims 3 and 10 and 17, Vojcic teaches the apparatus of claim 2 and The method of claim 9 and The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16 respectively,
Vojcic further teaches the processor is further configured, before said interleaving, to determine the modulation order Qm of the predefined modulation scheme based on the transmission qualities of the data transmission layers (Para. [0261]-Vojcic discloses the row dimension of R (i.e., 32) corresponds to the number of OFDM symbols per pre-defined time duration and the column dimension (i.e., 61) corresponds to the maximum number of active reference subcarriers per OFDM symbol. In the AM HD Radio system, System Control Data Assembler 4023 processes SCCH information along with synchronization, parity and reserved bits into a stream of system control data sequences. The resulting output on line 4047 is a column vector R destined for two reference subcarriers with BPSK modulation in the AM HD Radio system {Corresponding to determining a modulation order equal to 2 i.e. BPSK}. Para. [0206]-Vojcic discloses during times of higher channel selectivity, a higher density of pilots enables better CSI estimation to support higher order modulation schemes. This, in turn, enables the transmission of more data {Corresponding to improved transmission qualities of the data transmission layer}, which more than compensates for increased pilot overhead. Alternatively, more pilot symbols for the same modulation order enables receiving data symbols more accurately. Equation 30, Para. [0195]-Vojcic discloses “Soft” symbols for BPSK signaling could be constructed, with symbols s.sub.k(i)∈{+ν, −ν}).
Regarding claims 4 and 11 and 18, Vojcic teaches the apparatus of claim 2 and The method of claim 9 and The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16 respectively,
Vojcic further teaches the predefined modulation scheme defines a mapping of a Qm-tuple of the codeword bits for each column of the matrix to the modulation symbol (Fig. 23, Para. [0051]-Vojcic discloses a transmitter and receiver with concatenated FEC and hierarchical modulation encompassing outer and inner FEC encoders/decoders and outer interleaver/de-interleaver for both base and enhancement layers, inner interleaver/de-interleaver, hierarchical symbol mapper/de-mapper, channel, advanced CSI estimation as well as the possible iterative structure between inner and outer FEC decoders and the possible iterative structure between the advanced CSI estimation and the inner FEC decoder for both base and enhancement layers. (See also Para. [0262])), and
the processor is further configured to: determine bit capacities of the codeword bits in each Qm- tuple based on the transmission qualities of the data transmission layers (Para. [0241]-Vojcic discloses in lower SNR conditions, it may be possible to decode reliably only base layer bits. In better SNR conditions, the detector/de-mapper can establish the phase and amplitude more accurately, to recover also enhancement layer bits corresponding to dense QPSK clusters. Para. [0208]-Vojcic discloses the pilot structure indicator bits could be combined with channel quality indicators for other mentioned purposes, such that one indicator could describe multiple attributes, including the pilot structure, of the communication transmission); and
based on the determined bit capacities, determine: (i) a number G of the at least one first column group and the at least one second column group into which the columns of the matrix are to be arranged, and (ii) a correspondence of each of the data transmission layers to the at least one first column group or the at least one second column group (Para. [0241]-Vojcic discloses in lower SNR conditions, it may be possible to decode reliably only base layer bits. In better SNR conditions, the detector/de-mapper can establish the phase and amplitude more accurately, to recover also enhancement layer bits corresponding to dense QPSK clusters. Para. [0208]-Vojcic discloses the pilot structure indicator bits could be combined with channel quality indicators for other mentioned purposes, such that one indicator could describe multiple attributes, including the pilot structure, of the communication transmission).
Regarding claims 5 and 12 and 19, Vojcic teaches the apparatus of claim 4 and The method of claim 11 and The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 18 respectively,
Vojcic further teaches the processor is further configured, before causing the transceiver to send the mapped modulation symbols to: generate a control message comprising at least one of: the modulation order Qm; the codeword length E; the number G of the at least one first column group and the at least one second column group_ used when interleaving the codeword bits; and the correspondence of each of the data transmission layers to the at least one first column group or the at least one second column group (Para. [0271]-Vojcic discloses system control data sequence also corresponds to one of the P rows of R.sub.d matrix on line 4116 in FIG. 25. The system control data sequence includes synchronization, control, parity, and reserved bits. Para. [0306]-Vojcic discloses system control data sequence structure of length M (=32) bits where synchronization and parity fields are the same in the M-bit sequence. Para. [0206-0207]-Vojcic discloses pilot symbols for the same modulation order enables receiving data symbols more accurately ... combination of modulation type, FEC code rate and possibly MIMO parameters is often referred to as modulation-coding scheme (MCS) index. (See also Fig. 23, Para. [0051 and 0262])); and
cause the transceiver to send the control message to the target wireless communication apparatus (Para. [0269]-Vojcic discloses data and control data symbols (the latter will be used in the receiver to facilitate block synchronization and channel estimation, among other functions) are processed by the IFFT of length N in block 4146 to transform the data and control symbol sequences into the time domain. The resulting time domain signal is also supplied to block 4147 in which a suffix, whose length is chosen to be longer than the expected delay spread, e.g., 7/127 of the OFDM symbol duration T.sub.s, to avoid the inter symbol interference (ISI), is formed. The outputs of block 4146 and block 4147 are processed by the parallel to serial (P/S) block 4148 to form a set of OFDM symbols and converted to an analog OFDM signal before transmission on the RF carrier. (See also Para. [0262])).
Regarding claims 6 and 20, Vojcic teaches the apparatus of claim 1 and The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 15 respectively,
Vojcic further teaches the codeword is obtained using the linear code selected from one of a turbo code, a systematic code, a systematic polar code, and a Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) code (Para. [0233]-Vojcic discloses using H/M/LDPC decoding approach presented in accordance with certain aspects of the invention or using CRC Log-MAP or other algorithms known in the art. If soft decoding resulted in a codeword. Para. [0092]-Vojcic discloses a concatenated scheme is shown in FIG. 2. The inner FEC code 205 could be a convolutional code, a turbo code, an LDPC code or any other block code. Para. [0219]-Vojcic discloses the inner FEC code is a turbo code employing two systematic, recursive, convolutional encoders connected in parallel, with a turbo interleaver, preceding the second convolutional encoder).
Regarding claim 7, Vojcic teaches the apparatus of claim 1,
Vojcic further teaches the predefined modulation scheme comprises one of a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) scheme, a Phase Shift Keying (PSK) modulation scheme, and a Quadrature PSK (QPSK) modulation scheme (Para. [0262]-Vojcic discloses OFDM Subcarrier Mapping 4025 assigns the interleaver matrices on line 4036 for Logical Channels P1 and PIDS, referred to as matrix PM in the FM HD Radio system ... OFDM Subcarrier Mapping are a row of each active interleaver/system control matrix which is processed every OFDM symbol duration (i.e., Ts) to produce an output vector, herein referred to as X which is a frequency-domain representation of the signal. The output vector X from Symbol and OFDM Subcarrier Mapping for each OFDM symbol is a complex vector of length 1093 ... subcarriers may be performed for different modulations schemes such as QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM in different modes of HD Radio systems. Para. [0145]-Vojcic discloses iterations with at least one of the matrices converge to a valid RS codeword. Para. [0318]-Vojcic discloses a RS codeword of length 96 bytes, is extracted in block 4482 from the stream on line 4496 ... systematic and parity bits of the RS (96,88) codeword, and a predefined number of most likely hard-decision sequences (containing 0's and 1's) 4498 corresponding to the RS codeword).
Regarding claim 13, Vojcic teaches the method of claim 8,
Vojcic further teaches determining the transmission qualities of the data transmission layers in advance based on uplink reference signals in case of Time-Division Duplexing (TDD) communications or downlink reference signals in case of Frequency-Division Duplexing (FDD) communications (Para. [0200]-Vojcic discloses on the selected set of symbols with SNR larger than the selected threshold, based on the equal-gain combined signal, data symbols decisions are made and used for complete CSI estimation. Para. [0172-0173]-Vojcic discloses to minimize the use of “bad” data symbols with weak SNR that could cause error propagation in CSI estimation ... In slower channels with longer channel estimator filter lengths, better CSI interpolation is possible and one could use less data symbols for DDCE such to minimize the use of data symbols with low SNR. Para. [0187]-Vojcic discloses CSI estimates for the data signal are further refined in the Adaptive Decision Directed (ADD) approach block 2196, in accordance with the embodiments where selected reliable symbols, with SNR above a Threshold that depends on the time selectivity of the channel, are used to estimate channel and noise power).
Regarding claim 14, Vojcic teaches the method of claim 8,
Vojcic further teaches the data transmission layers comprise Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) spatial layers (Para. [0092]-Vojcic discloses inner FEC code, there may be another finite state machine representing a multiuser channel, MIMO de-mapper/detector. Para. [0206-0208]-Vojcic discloses modulation and FEC coding rate, and possibly MIMO parameters, are adaptively adjusted based on the received signal measurements at the receiver).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's Arguments/Remarks, filed on 01/08/2026, with respect to the 35 USC § 103 rejection of claims 1-20 have been fully considered. Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
In the remarks, on page 12, Lines [25-26], Applicant argues that, “Jeong does not suggest or teach that transmission layers are pairs and a control bit signals whether each pair of adjacent layers is in the same column group.”
However, Vojcic teaches transmission layers are sorted based upon SNRs between the minimum SNR and the maximum SNR (Para. [0241]-Vojcic discloses in lower SNR conditions, it may be possible to decode reliably only base layer bits. In better SNR conditions, the detector/de-mapper can establish the phase and amplitude more accurately, to recover also enhancement layer bits corresponding to dense QPSK clusters. Para. [0200-0202]-Vojcic discloses a threshold, Thr, for SNR such that for SNR<Thr, ... Identify all symbol regions/segments, S.sub.MRC, such that SNRi>Thr, i=1, . . . , L, where L is the number of diversity channels. Para. [0328]-Vojcic discloses a desired balance between the gain at low SNR and error floor at high SNR could be achieved by the system designer as desired. Figs. 14-17, Para. [0020]-Vojcic discloses data symbols may be based on the channel response at a given symbol position being larger than a first threshold, or the signal-to-noise ratio (or the signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio) at a given symbol position being larger than a second threshold, where the thresholds may be determined based on the estimated channel selectivity. Para. [0187-0189]-Vojcic discloses selected reliable symbols, with SNR above a Threshold that depends on the time selectivity of the channel, are used to estimate channel and noise power ... Interpolation is employed for symbols with SNR below the Threshold. Para. [0172-0173]-Vojcic discloses the decision-directed method utilizes only data symbols with SNR higher than a predetermined threshold ... to minimize the use of data symbols with low SNR), adjacent transmission layers are pairs (Fig. 10b {Interleaved}, Para. [0155]-Vojcic discloses pilot symbols may be staggered in time on two adjacent subcarriers 2145, 2146 that carry pilot symbols. Para. [0211]-Vojcic discloses the outer interleaver 3102 changes the order of coded bits 3115 to produce a different order of coded bits 3116, according to the interleaving algorithm. The outer interleaver and de-interleaver pair is used to disperse error bursts from the output of inner FEC decoder. Para. [0092]-Vojcic discloses in addition to, inner FEC code, there may be another finite state machine representing a multiuser channel, MIMO de-mapper/detector), and a control bit signals whether each pair of adjacent layers is in the same column group (Fig. 28, Para. [0267]-Vojcic discloses M-bit sequences in a (P×M) matrix Rd may contain the same bit pattern (or patterns) (such as SYNC bits and/or Control bits shown in FIG. 28) at designated bit positions in each sequence. Para. [0272]-Vojcic discloses most bits in the system control data sequence are repeated over all subcarriers except for Control 5 bits in the field 4172, where the reference subcarrier identification (RSID) bits are transmitted in the HD Radio system. In these Control bits, their protection bit, Parity 2 in the field 4170, may be different over their respective reference subcarriers).
In the remarks, on page 13, Lines [4-5], Applicant argues that, “The Office Action cited paragraph [0282] of Vojcic but did not identify a ratio of the codeword length E to the modulation order Qm in Vojcic.”
However, Jeong teaches k is obtained by applying a floor or ceiling function to a ratio of the codeword length E to the modulation order Qm (Figs. 6A and 7A, Para. [0081-0084]-Jeong discloses the interleaver uses 16-QAM modulation and a length of an LDPC codeword is 64800. The 4-step design and operation of the interleaver will be … 4 columns are generated, the number of which is equal to the number of bits used in 16-QAM. In Step 2, the number of bits of a row is determined as 64800/4=16200 {Corresponding to Ceiling/Floor application}).
In the remarks, on page 13, Lines [13-14], Applicant argues that, “The Office Action cited paragraph [0206] of Vojcic but did not identify the modulation order in Vojcic.”
However, Vojcic teaches the processor is further configured, before said interleaving, to determine the modulation order Qm of the predefined modulation scheme based on the transmission qualities of the data transmission layers (Para. [0261]-Vojcic discloses the row dimension of R (i.e., 32) corresponds to the number of OFDM symbols per pre-defined time duration and the column dimension (i.e., 61) corresponds to the maximum number of active reference subcarriers per OFDM symbol. In the AM HD Radio system, System Control Data Assembler 4023 processes SCCH information along with synchronization, parity and reserved bits into a stream of system control data sequences. The resulting output on line 4047 is a column vector R destined for two reference subcarriers with BPSK modulation in the AM HD Radio system {Corresponding to determining a modulation order equal to 2 i.e. BPSK}. Para. [0206]-Vojcic discloses during times of higher channel selectivity, a higher density of pilots enables better CSI estimation to support higher order modulation schemes. This, in turn, enables the transmission of more data {Corresponding to improved transmission qualities of the data transmission layer}, which more than compensates for increased pilot overhead. Alternatively, more pilot symbols for the same modulation order enables receiving data symbols more accurately. Equation 30, Para. [0195]-Vojcic discloses “Soft” symbols for BPSK signaling could be constructed, with symbols s.sub.k(i)∈{+ν, −ν}).
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLADIRAN GIDEON OLALEYE whose telephone number is (571)272-5377. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 07:30am - 05:30pm to.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s SPE, NICHOLAS A. JENSEN can be reached on (571) 270-5443. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OO/
Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472