DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/11/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/18/2026 have been fully considered but are moot based on new grounds of rejections.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 8, 11-12, 18, 21-22 and 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2020/0037364; hereinafter Lin) in view of Liu et al. (US 2023/00644522; hereinafter Liu).
Regarding claim 1, Lin shows a wireless communication device (WCD) (Figure 13 shows a UE.) for wireless communication, comprising:
one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories (Figure 13; noted instruction stored in memory and executed by a processor to perform the disclosed method.), configured to:
transmit signals (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0046; transmission of signals.) via a set of symbols (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075; plurality of symbols forming a symbol group.), the set of symbols including a first symbol carrying a first signal that has first scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a first scrambling symbol to at least a first symbol within the symbol group.) and a second symbol carrying the first signal that has second scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a second scrambling symbol to at least a third symbol within the symbol group.), the first scrambling being different from the second scrambling (Par. 0064, 0073; the scrambling is performed on a per symbol basis, such that a different scrambling symbol is applied to each symbol within the symbol group.).
Lin shows all of the elements including the first scrambling applied to the first symbol and the second scrambling applied to the second symbol, as discussed above. Lin does not specifically show that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Liu. Specifically, Liu shows that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern (Figure 13 and 16; Par. 0179-018; in a non-limiting example, three types of scramblers include 17 registers, in other words, an order m of the scrambler is 17. Therefore, a length of a longest non-repeated sequence that can be generated by the scrambler is 131071.),
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Liu, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Liu, in order to provide motivation to improve network throughput (Par. 0034 of Liu).
Regarding claim 2, modified Lin shows a first WCD, and wherein the signals comprise a communication to a second WCD (Lin: Figures 13-14; communication between UE and a network node/eNB.).
Regarding claim 8, modified Lin shows wherein the first signal comprises a non-repeating sequence within the first symbol or the second symbol (Lin: Par. 0064, 0073; the scrambling is performed on a per symbol basis, such that a different scrambling symbol is applied to each symbol within the symbol group.).
Regarding claim 11, Lin shows a method of wireless communication (Figure 8 and 12B shows a method.) performed by a wireless communication device (WCD), comprising:
transmitting signals (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0046; transmission of signals.) via a set of symbols (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075; plurality of symbols forming a symbol group.), the set of symbols including a first symbol carrying a first signal that has first scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a first scrambling symbol to at least a first symbol within the symbol group.) and a second symbol carrying the first signal that has second scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a second scrambling symbol to at least a third symbol within the symbol group.), the first scrambling being different from the second scrambling (Par. 0064, 0073; the scrambling is performed on a per symbol basis, such that a different scrambling symbol is applied to each symbol within the symbol group.).
Lin shows all of the elements including the first scrambling applied to the first symbol and the second scrambling applied to the second symbol, as discussed above. Lin does not specifically show that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Liu. Specifically, Liu shows that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern (Figure 13 and 16; Par. 0179-018; in a non-limiting example, three types of scramblers include 17 registers, in other words, an order m of the scrambler is 17. Therefore, a length of a longest non-repeated sequence that can be generated by the scrambler is 131071.),
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Liu, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Liu, in order to provide motivation to improve network throughput (Par. 0034 of Liu).
Regarding claims 12 and 18, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claims 2 and 8, respectively.
Regarding claim 21, Lin shows a non-transitory computer-readable medium (Figure 13; Par. 0088; noted UE performing in part the disclosed method.) 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 wireless communication device (WCD) (Figure 13; Par. 0088; UE includes instructions stored in memory and executed by a processor.), cause the WCD to:
transmit signals (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0046; transmission of signals.) via a set of symbols (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075; plurality of symbols forming a symbol group.), the set of symbols including a first symbol carrying a first signal that has first scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a first scrambling symbol to at least a first symbol within the symbol group.) and a second symbol carrying the first signal that has second scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a second scrambling symbol to at least a third symbol within the symbol group.), the first scrambling being different from the second scrambling (Par. 0064, 0073; the scrambling is performed on a per symbol basis, such that a different scrambling symbol is applied to each symbol within the symbol group.).
Lin shows all of the elements including the first scrambling applied to the first symbol and the second scrambling applied to the second symbol, as discussed above. Lin does not specifically show that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Liu. Specifically, Liu shows that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern (Figure 13 and 16; Par. 0179-018; in a non-limiting example, three types of scramblers include 17 registers, in other words, an order m of the scrambler is 17. Therefore, a length of a longest non-repeated sequence that can be generated by the scrambler is 131071.),
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Liu, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Liu, in order to provide motivation to improve network throughput (Par. 0034 of Liu).
Regarding claim 22, this claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 2.
Regarding claim 26, Lin shows an apparatus (Figure 13 shows a UE.) for wireless communication, comprising:
means for transmitting signals (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0046; transmission of signals.) via a set of symbols (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075; plurality of symbols forming a symbol group.), the set of symbols including a first symbol carrying a first signal that has first scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a first scrambling symbol to at least a first symbol within the symbol group.) and a second symbol carrying the first signal that has second scrambling applied (Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0064, 0075; applying a second scrambling symbol to at least a third symbol within the symbol group.), the first scrambling being different from the second scrambling (Par. 0064, 0073; the scrambling is performed on a per symbol basis, such that a different scrambling symbol is applied to each symbol within the symbol group.).
Lin shows all of the elements including the first scrambling applied to the first symbol and the second scrambling applied to the second symbol, as discussed above. Lin does not specifically show that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Liu. Specifically, Liu shows that the scrambling applied are non-repeating within a scrambling pattern (Figure 13 and 16; Par. 0179-018; in a non-limiting example, three types of scramblers include 17 registers, in other words, an order m of the scrambler is 17. Therefore, a length of a longest non-repeated sequence that can be generated by the scrambler is 131071.),
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Liu, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Liu, in order to provide motivation to improve network throughput (Par. 0034 of Liu).
Regarding claim 27, this claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 2.
Claim(s) 3, 13, 23 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Liu and Yang et al. (US 2008/0043613; hereinafter Yang).
Regarding claim 3, modified Lin shows all of the elements including the first and second symbols, as discussed above. Modified Lin does not specifically show that the symbols are allocated for automatic gain control (AGC).
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Yang. Specifically, Yang shows the symbols are allocated for automatic gain control (AGC) (Par. 0025; in order to allow sufficient time for automatic gain control (AGC) circuits at a receiver of a mobile station that is waking up from an idle state to settle to the correct level, it may be desirable to have a longer cyclic prefix length on the first OFDM symbol in the first section--such that the AGC circuits can settle during the cyclic prefix period without distorting the useful signal in the IFFT symbol portion of the first OFDM symbol in the first section.).
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Yang, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Yang, in order to provide motivation to provide flexible cyclic prefix length on a superframe preamble while maintaining optimal system performance (Par. 0010 of Yang).
Regarding claims 13, 23 and 28, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 3.
Claim(s) 4-5 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Liu and Gorokhov (US 2008/0019425; hereinafter Gorokhov).
Regarding claim 4, modified Lin shows wherein the communication is a first communication and the set of symbols is a first set of symbols (Lin: Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075; communicated plurality of symbols forming a symbol group.), and
wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a second communication (Lin: Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075, 0091; receiving a signal over a physical random access channel), the second communication comprising a second set of symbols that include a third symbol carrying a second signal (Lin: Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075, 0091; a plurality of symbols forming a symbol group, wherein a first scrambling symbol has been applied to a second symbol within the symbol group.) and having third scrambling applied and a fourth symbol carrying the second signal and having fourth scrambling applied (Lin: Figures 8 and 12B; Par. 0075, 0091; a second scrambling symbol has been applied to a fourth symbol within the symbol group.), the third scrambling being different from the fourth scrambling (Lin: Par. 0064, 0073; the scrambling is performed on a per symbol basis, such that a different scrambling symbol is applied to each symbol within the symbol group.).
Modified Lin shows all of the elements as discussed above. Modified Lin does not specifically show wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a second communication from the second WCD.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Gorokhov. Specifically, Gorokhov shows wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a second communication from the second WCD (Figures 2 and 3A-B; Par. 0011, 0049; noted transmitter and receiver system shown in Figure 2 and separately in Figures 3A-3B are complimentary to each other. Scrambled communication from a transmitter (i.e. UE or BS) are descrambled at a receiver (i.e. UE or BS). In this instance, the UE may perform scrambling and descrambling functionalities and the BS also perform scrambling and descrambling functionalities.).
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Gorokhov, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Gorokhov, in order to provide motivation to maintain network performance and avoid increasing false alarm probability (Par. 0056 of Gorokhov).
Regarding claim 5, modified Lin shows wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
descramble the second signal on the third symbol; descramble the second signal on the fourth symbol; combine the descrambled second signal from the third symbol and the descrambled second signal from the third symbol; and decode the second signal based at least in part on the combination of the descrambled second signal from the third symbol and the descrambled second signal from the third symbol (Lin: Figure 8 and 12B; Par. 0091; descrambling predetermined symbols of the symbols forming the symbol group wherein a first scrambling symbol has been applied to at least first and second adjacent symbols within the symbol group, and a second scrambling symbol has been applied to at least third and fourth adjacent symbols within the symbol group).
Regarding claims 14 and 15, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claims 4 and 5, respectively.
Claim(s) 6, 16, 24 and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Liu and Fan et al. (US 2019/0253219; hereinafter Fan).
Regarding claim 6, modified Lin shows all of the elements except receiving the signals in association with identification of positioning information of an object.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Fan. Specifically, Fan shows receiving the signals in association with identification of positioning information of an object (Par. 0099; A carrier may be associated with a pre-defined frequency channel (e.g., an E-UTRA absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)), and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by UEs 115).
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Fan, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Fan, in order to provide motivation to autonomously adjust one or more of the transmission parameters based on, for example, current link quality, traffic load, or the like (Par. 0006 of Fan).
Regarding claims 16, 24 and 29, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 6.
Claim(s) 7, 17, 25 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Liu and Hosseini et al. (US 2018/0139083; hereinafter Hosseini).
Regarding claim 7, modified Lin shows all of the elements except wherein the first signal comprises one or more of: sensing signals, reference signals, repetitions of data signaling, or repetitions of control signaling.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Hosseini. Specifically, Hosseini shows wherein the first signal comprises one or more of: sensing signals, reference signals (Par. 0041; the RS configuration provides a three-symbol sTTI with one data symbol, one RS symbol, and one unused or null symbol. In some examples, the unused symbol may be located at an end of the subframe, which may be beneficial in cases where a sounding reference signal (SRS) is to be transmitted using the last symbol of a subframe.), repetitions of data signaling, or repetitions of control signaling.
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Hosseini, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Hosseini, in order to provide motivation for an efficient allocation of such resources for data, control information, and reference signal transmissions may help to increase the efficiency of a wireless communications system (Par. 0005 of Hosseini).
Regarding claims 17, 25 and 30, these claims are rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 7.
Claim(s) 9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Liu and Tupala et al. (US 2012/0155648; hereinafter Tupala).
Regarding claim 9, modified Lin shows all of the elements except wherein the first signal is configured for peak-to-average power ratio reduction.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Tupala. Specifically, Tupala shows wherein the first signal is configured for peak-to-average power ratio reduction (Par. 0045; scrambling is performed by an XOR-function or by any other suitable function for reducing a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the signal.).
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Tupala, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Tupala, in order to provide motivation for an efficient allocation of such resources for data, control information, and reference signal transmissions may help to increase the efficiency of a wireless communications system (Par. 0005 of Tupala).
Regarding claim 19, this claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 9.
Claim 10 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Liu and Ji et al. (US 2020/0153582; hereinafter Ji).
Regarding claim 10, modified Lin shows all of the elements except wherein the first symbol and the second symbol comprise one or more of: consecutive symbols, or symbols within a single subframe.
However, the above-mentioned claim limitations are well-established in the art as evidenced by Ji. Specifically, Ji shows wherein the first symbol and the second symbol comprise one or more of: consecutive symbols, or symbols within a single subframe (Par. 0090; For n symbols in the second group of the eight groups, the foregoing operations are repeated, but the n symbols in the second group of the eight groups are separately mapped to subframes 0 of radio frames of which frame numbers are 64k+8, 64k+9, . . . , and 64k+15, and symbol level scrambling is separately performed.).
In view of the above, having the system of Lin, then given the well-established teaching of Ji, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Lin as taught by Ji, in order to provide motivation to reduce resource waste and improve resource utilization (Par. 0007 of Ji).
Regarding claim 20, this claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 10.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20240057059 A1 - A receiving device is disclosed that receives a non-EHT PPDU that includes a service field and that is sent by a sending device, where the service field includes a first field whose bit quantity is m, and m≥1; and the receiving device determines, based on the first field, an initialization state of a scrambling code sequence corresponding to an extremely-high throughput physical layer protocol data unit EHT PPDU, where a bit quantity of the initialization state of the scrambling code sequence is greater than the bit quantity of the first field.
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/REDENTOR PASIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413