DETAILED ACTION
Claims status
In response to the application filed on 04/13/2026, claims 1-30 are currently pending for the examination. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Specifically, the amended claims 1, 23, 29, and 30 recite “detecting a collision between a symbol in which a PDCCH is not monitored by the UE and a slot for a slot for a monitoring occasion corresponding to a first-stage DCI or a second-stage DCI…” This limitation is unclear and technically inconsistent. [Emphasis added.]
In wireless communication systems, a collision is understood to occur between two or more transmissions or resources, such as symbols, channels, time resources, frequency resources, or control/data signals, that overlap in time and/or frequency. However, a “slot for a monitoring occasion” is a time interval during which the UE monitors for control information and is not a transmitted resource or signal. Accordingly, it is unclear how a symbol can “collide” with a slot for a monitoring occasion, as a symbol may overlap with other symbols or transmitted resources, but not with a time interval itself. Therefore, the scope of the claimed “collision” is uncertain, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to determine the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
It is recommended that the claim language be amended such that the exact meaning of the above quoted limitation is clear. For examinations, Examiner will interpret the claims as best understood. Dependent claims 2-28 are also rejected as being dependent upon the rejected base claims.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 1-12, 20-21, 23-27 and 29-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hosseini et al. (US 2020/0329389 A1) in view of LIM et al. (US 2023/0208607 A1).
Regarding claim 1; Hosseini teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors individually or collectively configured to:
detect a collision between a between a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is monitored by the UE (See Fig. 6: the PDCCH monitoring manager 620 may monitor for one or more DCI formats (i.e., symbols of DCI) associated with each of the two or more monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time (i.e., collision in time symbols) during the two or more monitoring occasions PDCCH (i.e., the two-stage DCIs, and PDCCH carries DCI)…¶ [0133] and a slot for a monitoring occasion corresponding to a first-stage downlink control information (DCI) of a two-stage DCI or a second-stage DCI (See Fig. 3: At 325, the UE 115-b may monitor one or more search space(s) for control information during the one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions. In some implementations, the UE 115-b may monitor for one or more DC formats (i.e., DCI symbols) associated with each of the two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time during the two or more monitoring occasions (i.e., colliding in time symbols). [0099]); and
perform a collision handling for the two-stage DCI based on the collision (See Fig. 3: the UE to handle that the first configuration and the second configuration indicate two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or two or more monitoring spans that collide in time. PDCCH carriers DCIs. ¶ [0097]).
Even though, Hosseini teaches the method of detecting a collision between two DCI formats/stages and monitoring PDCCH occasions, Hosseini doesn’t explicitly describe the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI.
However, Lim discloses the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 (i.e., DCI symbol within the PDCCH) on any of the multiple serving cells based on the Directional Collision Handling Procedure, See Abstract and ¶ [0011]) and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI (See Fig. 22: to satisfy both the DCI (i.e., two-stage DCI) reception timing condition or the active timing condition for applying the collision handling procedure or the SRS carrier switching priority rule. ¶ [0498], and see also ¶ [0525] for comparing the signals/channels with the signals/channels scheduled by the DCI, a priority rule may be applied or collision handling may be performed as needed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI, a fallback to a single-stage DCI, or a shift of the first-stage DC as taught by Lim to have incorporated in the system of Hosseini, so that it would provide that the UE may select a specific control resource set according to a QCL priority determination operation and monitor control resource sets having the same QCL-TypeD characteristic as the corresponding control resource set. That is, a plurality of control resource sets overlap in the time, only one QCL-TypeD characteristic may be received. Lim: ¶ [0205].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “at least one or more of…or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 2; Hosseini in view of Lim discloses the apparatus wherein the first-stage DCI collides with the symbol (Hosseini: See Fig. 3 and ¶ [0097]), and the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to receive the first-stage DCI via a PDCCH monitoring occasion based at least in part on the prioritization of the two-stage DCI (Lim: PDCCH: Related to QCL Prioritization Rule. ¶ [0204-0205])
Regarding claim 3; Hosseini teaches the apparatus wherein the second-stage DCI collides with the symbol, and the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to receive the second-stage DCI via a PDCCH monitoring occasion (Hosseini: a UE 115 may support a different number of CCEs per slot or a different number of DCIs per monitoring span for different service types (such as a different number of CCEs for eMBB or other low priority channel scheduling/procedures and for URLLC or other high priority channel scheduling/procedures). ¶ [0088]) based at least in part on the prioritization of the two-stage DCI (Lim: When the UE operates with carrier aggregation in a single or band and a plurality of control resource sets existing within an activated BWP in a single cell or a plurality of cells overlap in the time while having the same or different QCL-TypeD characteristics in a specific PDCCH monitoring occasion, the UE may select a specific control resource set according to a QCL priority determination operation and monitor control resource sets having the same QCL-TypeD characteristic as the corresponding control resource set. ¶ [0205]).
Regarding claim 4; Hosseini teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first-stage DCI and the second-stage DCI collide with symbols in which PDCCHs are not monitored by the UE (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 on any of the multiple serving cells based on the Directional Collision Handling Procedure, See Abstract and ¶ [0011]), and the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to receive, based at least in part on the collision handling, the first-stage DCI and the second-stage DCI via PDCCH monitoring occasions based at least in part on the prioritization of the two-stage DCI (Lim: See Fig. 22, to satisfy both the DCI (i.e., two-stage DCI) reception timing condition or the active timing condition for applying the collision handling procedure or the SRS carrier switching priority rule. ¶ [0498], and see also ¶ [0525] for comparing the signals/channels with the signals/channels scheduled by the DCI, a priority rule may be applied or collision handling may be performed as needed).
Regarding claim 5; Hosseini in view of Lim discloses the apparatus wherein the first-stage DCI or the second-stage DCI does not collide with the symbol (Lim: the first carrier and the physical channel on the second carrier collide and directionalCollisionHandling is configured as ‘enabled’ for the set of serving cells, the priority rule is first applied and then the procedure for directional collision handling is applied. i.e., if there is no collision, the collision handling shall be disabled. ¶ [0012]).
Regarding claim 6; Hosseini in view of Lim the apparatus wherein the second-stage DCI is associated with a dynamically scheduled channel, and a higher layer configured channel associated with the symbol is dropped over the dynamically scheduled channel (Lim: Determining priorities of A and B in the disclosure may be variously expressed as selecting one having a higher priority according to a predetermined priority rule and performing an operation corresponding thereto or omitting (or dropping) an operation for one having a lower priority. ¶ [0492]).
Regarding claim 7; Hosseini in view of Lim discloses the apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second-stage DCI is associated with the dynamically scheduled channel based at least in part on a collision (Hosseini: monitoring for one or more DCI formats associated with each of the two or more monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time during the two or more monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans. ¶ [0015]) with a flexible symbol indicated by a slot format indicator (SFI) (Lim: DCI for scheduling a PDSCH for system information (SI) may be scrambled by an SI-RNTI. DCI for scheduling a PDSCH for a random access response (RAR) message may be scrambled by an RA-RNTI. DCI for scheduling a PDSCH for a paging message may be scrambled by a P-RNTI. DCI for notifying of a slot format indicator (SFI) may be scrambled by an SFI-RNTI. ¶ [0110]).
Regarding claim 9; Hosseini teaches the apparatus wherein the collision is based at least in part on a PDCCH collision (See Fig. 3: the UE 115-b may identify a first set of PDCCH monitoring capabilities and a second set of PDCCH collision monitoring capabilities where the first set of PDCCH monitoring capabilities and the second set of PDCCH monitoring capabilities are associated with a service type, a number of DCI formats…¶ [0094]) with a cross-link interference (CLI) measurement occasion (Hosseini: the inter-station communications manager 1145 may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. ¶ [0180]).
Regarding claim 10; Hosseini in view of Lim teaches the apparatus wherein the collision is associated with a PDCCH skipping, and the first-stage DCI and the second-stage DCI fall in a PDCCH skipping duration (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 on any of the multiple serving cells, identifying a first carrier of the first serving cell not configured for a PUCCH/PUSCH…Abstract).
Regarding claim 11; Hosseini teaches the apparatus wherein the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to: receive, via a PDCCH monitoring occasion and based at least in part on the collision handling, the single-stage DCI instead of the two-stage DCI based at least in part on the fallback to the single-stage DCI (Lim: The fallback DCI format (i.e., single stage DCI) may include a fixed field predefined between the BS and the UE, and the non-fallback DCI format may include a configurable field. ¶ [0108]).
Regarding claim 12; Hosseini in view of Lim the apparatus wherein the PDCCH monitoring occasion does not collide with a symbol in which the PDCCH monitoring is skipped (Lim: the Collision Handling for identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 on any of the multiple serving cells to avoid collision. Abstract).
Regarding claim 20; Hosseini teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first-stage DCI is not monitored, based at least in part on the first-stage DCI colliding with the symbol; and the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to: determine, based at least in part on the collision handling, to not monitor the second-stage DCI (Lim: the Collision Handling for identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 on any of the multiple serving cells to avoid collision. Abstract).
Regarding claim 21; Hosseini teaches the apparatus wherein the second-stage DCI is not received, based at least in part on the second-stage DCI colliding with the symbol (Hosseini: See Fig. 3: At 325, the UE 115-b may monitor one or more search space(s) for control information during the one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions. In some implementations, the UE 115-b may monitor for one or more DC formats (i.e., DCI symbols) associated with each of the two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time during the two or more monitoring occasions (i.e., colliding in time symbols). [0099]); and the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to: determine, based at least in part on the collision handling, to not monitor the first-stage DCI, based at least in part on the first-stage DCI being associated with a single second-stage DCI (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 (i.e., DCI symbol within the PDCCH) on any of the multiple serving cells based on the Directional Collision Handling Procedure, See Abstract and ¶ [0011]).
Regarding claim 23; Hosseini teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising:
detecting a collision between a between a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) being monitored by the UE (See Fig. 6: the PDCCH monitoring manager 620 may monitor for one or more DCI formats (i.e., symbols of DCI) associated with each of the two or more monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time (i.e., collision in time symbols) during the two or more monitoring occasions PDCCH (i.e., the two-stage DCIs, and PDCCH carries DCI)…¶ [0133] and a slot for a monitoring occasion corresponding to a first-stage downlink control information (DCI) (See Fig. 3: At 325, the UE 115-b may monitor one or more search space(s) for control information during the one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions. In some implementations, the UE 115-b may monitor for one or more DC formats (i.e., DCI symbols) associated with each of the two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time during the two or more monitoring occasions (i.e., colliding in time symbols). [0099]); and
performing a collision handling for the two-stage DCI based at least in part on the collision (See Fig. 3: the UE to handle that the first configuration and the second configuration indicate two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or two or more monitoring spans that collide in time. PDCCH carriers DCIs. ¶ [0097]).
Even though, Hosseini teaches the method of detecting a collision between one or more DCI formats and monitoring PDCCH occasions, Hosseini doesn’t explicitly describe the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI, a fallback to a single-stage DCI, or a shift of the first-stage DCI.
However, Lim discloses the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 (i.e., DCI symbol within the PDCCH) on any of the multiple serving cells based on the Directional Collision Handling Procedure, See Abstract and ¶ [0011]) and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI (See Fig. 22: to satisfy both the DCI (i.e., two-stage DCI) reception timing condition or the active timing condition for applying the collision handling procedure or the SRS carrier switching priority rule. ¶ [0498], and see also ¶ [0525] for comparing the signals/channels with the signals/channels scheduled by the DCI, a priority rule may be applied or collision handling may be performed as needed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI, a fallback to a single-stage DCI, or a shift of the first-stage DC as taught by Lim to have incorporated in the system of Hosseini, so that it would provide that the UE may select a specific control resource set according to a QCL priority determination operation and monitor control resource sets having the same QCL-TypeD characteristic as the corresponding control resource set. That is, a plurality of control resource sets overlap in the time, only one QCL-TypeD characteristic may be received. Lim: ¶ [0205].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “one of more of…or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 24; Hosseini teaches the method wherein the first-stage DCI collides with the symbol (Hosseini: See Fig. 3 and ¶ [0097]), and the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to receive the first-stage DCI via a PDCCH monitoring occasion based at least in part on the prioritization of the two-stage DCI (Lim: PDCCH: Related to QCL Prioritization Rule. ¶ [0204-0205])
Regarding claim 25; Hosseini teaches the method wherein the second-stage DCI collides with the symbol, and further comprising receiving the second-stage DCI via a PDCCH monitoring occasion (Hosseini: a UE 115 may support a different number of CCEs per slot or a different number of DCIs per monitoring span for different service types (such as a different number of CCEs for eMBB or other low priority channel scheduling/procedures and for URLLC or other high priority channel scheduling/procedures). ¶ [0088]) based at least in part on the prioritization of the two-stage DCI (Lim: When the UE operates with carrier aggregation in a single or band and a plurality of control resource sets existing within an activated BWP in a single cell or a plurality of cells overlap in the time while having the same or different QCL-TypeD characteristics in a specific PDCCH monitoring occasion, the UE may select a specific control resource set according to a QCL priority determination operation and monitor control resource sets having the same QCL-TypeD characteristic as the corresponding control resource set. ¶ [0205]).
Regarding claim 26; Hosseini teaches the method wherein the first-stage DCI and the second-stage DCI collide with symbols in which PDCCHs are not monitored by the UE (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 on any of the multiple serving cells based on the Directional Collision Handling Procedure, See Abstract and ¶ [0011]), and the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to receive, based at least in part on the collision handling, the first-stage DCI and the second-stage DCI via PDCCH monitoring occasions based at least in part on the prioritization of the two-stage DCI (Lim: See Fig. 22, to satisfy both the DCI (i.e., two-stage DCI) reception timing condition or the active timing condition for applying the collision handling procedure or the SRS carrier switching priority rule. ¶ [0498], and see also ¶ [0525] for comparing the signals/channels with the signals/channels scheduled by the DCI, a priority rule may be applied or collision handling may be performed as needed).
Regarding claim 27; Hosseini in view of Lim discloses the method further comprising: receiving, via a PDCCH monitoring occasion and based at least in part on the collision handling, the single-stage DCI instead of the two-stage DCI, based at least in part on the fallback to the single-stage DCI (Lim: The fallback DCI format (i.e., single stage DCI) may include a fixed field predefined between the BS and the UE, and the non-fallback DCI format may include a configurable field. ¶ [0108]).
Regarding claim 29; Hosseini teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to:
detect a collision between a between a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) being monitored by the UE (See Fig. 6: the PDCCH monitoring manager 620 may monitor for one or more DCI formats (i.e., symbols of DCI) associated with each of the two or more monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time (i.e., collision in time symbols) during the two or more monitoring occasions PDCCH (i.e., the two-stage DCIs, and PDCCH carries DCI)…¶ [0133] and a slot for a monitoring occasion corresponding to a first-stage downlink control information (DCI) (See Fig. 3: At 325, the UE 115-b may monitor one or more search space(s) for control information during the one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions. In some implementations, the UE 115-b may monitor for one or more DC formats (i.e., DCI symbols) associated with each of the two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time during the two or more monitoring occasions (i.e., colliding in time symbols). [0099]); and
perform a collision handling for the two-stage DCI based at least in part on the collision (See Fig. 3: the UE to handle that the first configuration and the second configuration indicate two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or two or more monitoring spans that collide in time. PDCCH carriers DCIs. ¶ [0097]).
Even though, Hosseini teaches the method of detecting a collision between one or more DCI formats and monitoring PDCCH occasions, Hosseini doesn’t explicitly describe the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI, a fallback to a single-stage DCI, or a shift of the first-stage DCI.
However, Lim discloses the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 (i.e., DCI symbol within the PDCCH) on any of the multiple serving cells based on the Directional Collision Handling Procedure, See Abstract and ¶ [0011]) and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI (See Fig. 22: to satisfy both the DCI (i.e., two-stage DCI) reception timing condition or the active timing condition for applying the collision handling procedure or the SRS carrier switching priority rule. ¶ [0498], and see also ¶ [0525] for comparing the signals/channels with the signals/channels scheduled by the DCI, a priority rule may be applied or collision handling may be performed as needed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI, a fallback to a single-stage DCI, or a shift of the first-stage DC as taught by Lim to have incorporated in the system of Hosseini, so that it would provide that the UE may select a specific control resource set according to a QCL priority determination operation and monitor control resource sets having the same QCL-TypeD characteristic as the corresponding control resource set. That is, a plurality of control resource sets overlap in the time, only one QCL-TypeD characteristic may be received. Lim: ¶ [0205].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “one of more of…or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 30; Hosseini teaches an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for detecting a collision between a between a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) being monitored by the UE (See Fig. 6: the PDCCH monitoring manager 620 may monitor for one or more DCI formats (i.e., symbols of DCI) associated with each of the two or more monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time (i.e., collision in time symbols) during the two or more monitoring occasions PDCCH (i.e., the two-stage DCIs, and PDCCH carries DCI)…¶ [0133] and a slot for a monitoring occasion corresponding to a first-stage downlink control information (DCI) (See Fig. 3: At 325, the UE 115-b may monitor one or more search space(s) for control information during the one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions. In some implementations, the UE 115-b may monitor for one or more DC formats (i.e., DCI symbols) associated with each of the two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time during the two or more monitoring occasions (i.e., colliding in time symbols). [0099]); and
means for performing a collision handling for the two-stage DCI based at least in part on the collision (See Fig. 3: the UE to handle that the first configuration and the second configuration indicate two or more PDCCH monitoring occasions or two or more monitoring spans that collide in time. PDCCH carriers DCIs. ¶ [0097]).
Even though, Hosseini teaches the method of detecting a collision between one or more DCI formats and monitoring PDCCH occasions, Hosseini doesn’t explicitly describe the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI, a fallback to a single-stage DCI, or a shift of the first-stage DCI.
However, Lim discloses the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE (Lim: identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor a PDCCH for DCI format 2_0 (i.e., DCI symbol within the PDCCH) on any of the multiple serving cells based on the Directional Collision Handling Procedure, See Abstract and ¶ [0011]) and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI (See Fig. 22: to satisfy both the DCI (i.e., two-stage DCI) reception timing condition or the active timing condition for applying the collision handling procedure or the SRS carrier switching priority rule. ¶ [0498], and see also ¶ [0525] for comparing the signals/channels with the signals/channels scheduled by the DCI, a priority rule may be applied or collision handling may be performed as needed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and the collision handling is based at least in part on one of: a prioritization of the two-stage DCI, a fallback to a single-stage DCI, or a shift of the first-stage DC as taught by Lim to have incorporated in the system of Hosseini, so that it would provide that the UE may select a specific control resource set according to a QCL priority determination operation and monitor control resource sets having the same QCL-TypeD characteristic as the corresponding control resource set. That is, a plurality of control resource sets overlap in the time, only one QCL-TypeD characteristic may be received. Lim: ¶ [0205].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “one of more of…or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hosseini et al. (US 2020/0329389 A1) in view of LIM et al. (US 2023/0208607 A1), and further in view of LIN et al. (US 2021/0288773 A1).
Regarding claim 8; Hosseini teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the collision is based at least in part on a PDCCH collision (See Fig. 6: the PDCCH monitoring manager 620 may monitor for one or more DCI formats associated with each of the two or more monitoring occasions or the two or more monitoring spans that collide in time (i.e., collision in time symbols) during the two or more monitoring occasions PDCCH (i.e., the two-stage DCIs, and PDCCH carries DCI)…¶ [0133])
Neither Hosseini nor Lim discloses a measurement gap.
However, Lin teaches a measurement gap (Lin: a measurement gap, wherein the UE is configured to perform RRM measurements in the measurement gap; (3) a PDCCH candidate, wherein the UE is configured to monitor a DCI format. ¶ [0155]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using a measurement gap as taught by Lin to have incorporated in the system of Hosseini, so that it would provide to reduce signaling overhead, validation of TRS/CSI-RS reception based on reception of other DL signals can be provided. Lin: ¶ [0213].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-19, 22, and 28 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claims but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
In response to the amendment as filed on 04/13/2026, Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-30 have been considered but they are not persuasive.
Arguments:
Applicant argues that the cited references, Hosseini and Lim, fail to disclose: “detect a collision between a symbol in which a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored by the UE and a slot for a monitoring occasion corresponding to one or more of a first-stage downlink control information (DCI) of a two-stage DCI or a second-stage DCI, of the two-stage DCI.” Applicant’s argument has been fully considered but is not persuasive.
Examiner’s responses:
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Specifically, Hosseini discloses:
Monitoring PDCCH for one or more DCI formats (including multi-stage DCI); and
Detecting that multiple PDCCH monitoring occasions or monitoring spans collide in time.
See: Fig. 6 and ¶ [0133]: A PDCCH monitoring manager monitors DCI formats associated with monitoring occasions that collide in time (i.e., collisions at symbol/time level); Fig. 3 and ¶ [0099]: The UE monitors search spaces during PDCCH monitoring occasions, where multiple monitoring occasions or spans may collide in time.
Because PDCCH carries DCI, including two-stage DCI, Hosseini teaches detecting collisions between symbols corresponding to DCI transmissions and monitoring occasions associated with such DCIs.
Thus, Hosseini teaches detecting collisions between symbols carrying DCI (via PDCCH), and monitoring occasions corresponding to first-stage and/or second-stage DCI of a two-stage DCI scheme.
Hosseini further discloses the method of handling collisions when multiple PDCCH monitoring occasions overlap. See ¶ [0097], which teaches handling collisions when configurations indicate overlapping monitoring occasions or monitoring spans. Since these monitoring occasions correspond to DCI carried on PDCCH, Hosseini teaches collision handling for two-stage DCI. While Hosseini teaches collision detection and handling, it does not explicitly state that the collision involves: a symbol in which the UE does not monitor PDCCH, or that collision handling is based on prioritization of two-stage DCI.
However, Lim teaches these features symbol in Which PDCCH is Not Monitored. Lim discloses the method of identifying that the terminal is not configured to monitor PDCCH for certain DCI formats. See: Abstract and ¶ [0011]: The UE determines that it is not configured to monitor PDCCH for a particular DCI format (e.g., DCI format 2_0) on certain serving cells.
This corresponds to a symbol in which PDCCH is not monitored by the UE. Lim further discloses the process of applying priority rules when multiple signals or channels conflict; and performing collision handling procedures based on timing conditions and prioritization.
See: Fig. 22 and ¶ [0498]: Collision handling procedures applied based on timing conditions for DCI reception; and ¶ [0525]: Applying priority rules when comparing signals/channels scheduled by DCI.
These teachings correspond to: Collision handling based on prioritization of two-stage DCI, and Selecting which control information to process when collisions occur.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Hosseini and Lim. Hosseini provides the framework for detecting collisions between PDCCH monitoring occasions associated with DCI (including two-stage DCI). Lim provides additional details regarding: Non-monitored PDCCH symbols, and Priority-based collision handling mechanisms. A person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to incorporate Lim’s prioritization and non-monitoring teachings into Hosseini’s collision detection framework in order to improve handling of conflicting control channel resources, ensure efficient decoding of higher-priority DCI; and provide predictable behavior when monitoring constraints exist.
The combination renders obvious detecting a collision involving symbols not monitored for PDCCH and handling such collisions based on prioritization of two-stage DCI. Accordingly, Applicant’s argument is not persuasive, and the rejection is maintained.
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/SAI AUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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