DETAILED ACTION
1. The following Office Action is based on the amendment filed on 23 October 2025, having claims 1-20.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
3. Applicant’s arguments, see pages 1-5 of remarks, filed on 23 October 2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Yao et al. (US 2023/0216711 A1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yao et al. (US 2023/0216711 A1).
For claims 1 and 19, Yao discloses terminal device (Fig 3, UE 106), comprising: a memory (Fig 3, memory 306) configured to store computer programs; and a processor (Fig 3, processor 302) configured to invoke and execute the computer programs stored in the memory, to perform the following:
determine a first time-domain resource set used for repetitions of first data, based on first indication information received from a network device ([0120] gNB indicates to UE to transmit PUSCH repetitions in a first time-domain resource set which comprises 4 consecutive slots (slots, 0,1, 2, and 3)); and
determine based on the first time-domain resource set, a second time-domain resource set used for joint channel estimation ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time-domain resource set indicated by the gNB).
For claim 2, Yao discloses transmitting, by the terminal device, the first data on the second time-domain resource set based on a signal configuration corresponding to joint channel estimation ([0120] PUSCH repetitions using channel estimation bundle window), wherein the signal configuration corresponding to joint channel estimation comprises at least one of: power consistency, antenna port consistency, precoding consistency, or phase continuity ([0120] phase continuity is maintained within the channel estimation bundle window).
For claim 3, Yao discloses determining based on the first time-domain resource set, by the terminal device, the second time-domain resource set used for joint channel estimation comprises: determining, by the terminal device, the first time-domain resource set as the second time-domain resource set, wherein the first time-domain resource set has at least two time- domain resources ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time-domain resource set indicated by the gNB).
For claim 4, Yao does not expressly disclose determining based on the first time-domain resource set, by the terminal device, the second time-domain resource set used for joint channel estimation comprises: obtaining, by the terminal device, the second time-domain resource set ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time-domain resource set (4 slots) indicated by the gNB) based on M time-domain resources having a preset relationship in the first time-domain resource set ([0120] slots 902, 904, 906, and 908 are consecutive (i.e., preset relationship) in the time domain), wherein M is an integer and M is greater than or equal to 1 ([0120] the second time domain resource set comprises M=2 slots which is greater than 1), wherein M is less than or equal to a pre-configured threshold number of resources (M=2 slots is less than the 4 consecutive time slots threshold).
For claim 6, Yao discloses the preset relationship comprises being consecutive in time domain ([0120] slots 902, 904, 906, and 908 are consecutive in the time domain).
For claim 7, Yao discloses determining, by the terminal device, that a first time-domain resource in the first time-domain resource set and a second time-domain resource in the first time-domain resource set ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time-domain resource set (4 slots) indicated by the gNB) have the preset relationship ([0120] slots 902, 904, 906, and 908 are consecutive (i.e., preset relationship) in the time domain), when a time interval between the first time-domain resource and the second time-domain resource is less than or equal to a threshold interval (M=2 slots is less than the 4 consecutive time slots threshold), wherein the time-domain resource comprises a slot or a symbol ([0120] slots 902, 904, 906, and 908 are consecutive slots or symbols).
For claim 8, Yao discloses determining based on the first time-domain resource set, by the terminal device, the second time-domain resource set used for joint channel estimation comprises: determining based on the first time-domain resource set, by the terminal device, the second time-domain resource set used for joint channel estimation ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time-domain resource set indicated by the gNB), after receiving second indication information from the network device, wherein the second indication information indicates to perform joint channel estimation ([0122] the gNB may transmit a DMRS configuration (second indication) to the UE to perform the joint channel estimation within the bundle window).
For claim 9, Yao discloses the second indication information comprises at least one of: information for enabling joint channel estimation or first window-length indication information ([0120] PUSCH repetitions using channel estimation bundle window).
For claim 10, Yao discloses the first indication information comprises at least one of: uplink (UL) grant information ([0120] uplink grant from gNB to UE for PUSCH repetition), configured grant indication information, or second window-length indication information.
For claims 11 and 20, Yao discloses a network device (Fig 4, base station 102), comprising: a memory (Fig 4, memory 460) configured to store computer programs; and a processor (Fig 4, processor 404) configured to invoke and execute the computer programs stored in the memory, to perform the following:
send first indication information to a terminal device, wherein the first indication information indicates that the terminal device is to determine a first time-domain resource set used for repetitions of first data ([0120] gNB indicates to UE to transmit PUSCH repetitions in a first time-domain resource set which comprises 4 consecutive slots (slots, 0,1, 2, and 3)), and the first time-domain resource set is used for determining a second time-domain resource set used for joint channel estimation ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time domain resource set indicated by the gNB).
For claim 12, Yao discloses performing, by the network device, joint channel estimation for the first data on the second time-domain resource set ([0120] PUSCH repetitions using channel estimation bundle window).
For claim 13, Yao discloses determining, by the network device, the second time-domain resource set based on the first time-domain resource set ([0120] joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time-domain resource set indicated by the gNB).
For claim 14, Yao discloses determining, by the network device, the second time- domain resource set based on the first time-domain resource set comprises: determining, by the network device, the first time-domain resource set as the second time-domain resource set ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time domain resource set (4 consecutive slots) indicated by the gNB), wherein the first time-domain resource set has at least two time-domain resources ([0120] joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time-domain resource set indicated by the gNB).
For claim 15, Yao discloses determining, by the network device, the second time-domain resource set based on the first time-domain resource set comprises: obtaining, by the network device, the second time-domain resource set ([0120] the UE may perform joint channel estimation for DMRS transmissions in slots 0 and 1, or in slots 2 and 3; the two slots for DMRS transmissions comprises the second time-domain resource set which is based on the first time domain resource set (4 consecutive slots) indicated by the gNB) based on M time-domain resources (M=2 slots) having a preset relationship in the first time-domain resource set, wherein M is an integer and M is greater than or equal to 1, wherein M is less than or equal to a pre-configured threshold number of resources (M=2 slots is less than the 4 consecutive time slots threshold), wherein the preset relationship comprises being consecutive in time domain ([0120] slots 902, 904, 906, and 908 are consecutive in the time domain).
For claim 17, Yao discloses determining, by the network device, that a first time-domain resource in the first time-domain resource set and a second time-domain resource in the first time-domain resource set have the preset relationship ([0120] slots 902, 904, 906, and 908 are consecutive in the time domain), when a time interval between the first time-domain resource and the second time-domain resource is less than or equal to a threshold interval (M=2 slots is less than the 4 consecutive time slots threshold), wherein the time-domain resource comprises a slot or a symbol ([0120] time slots)
For claim 18, Yao discloses sending, by the network device, second indication information to the terminal device, wherein the second indication information indicates to perform joint channel estimation, wherein the second indication information comprises at least one of: information for enabling joint channel estimation or first window-length indication information ([0120] PUSCH repetitions using channel estimation bundle window).
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 5 and 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Elisabeth B Magloire whose telephone number is (571)272-5601. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 AM-5 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at 571-272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELISABETH BENOIT MAGLOIRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471