DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
As required by M.P.E.P. 609(C), the applicant’s submissions of the Information Disclosure Statements dated 02/18/2025, 10/31/2024 are acknowledged by the examiner and the cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims now pending. As required by M.P.E.P. 609 C(2), a copy of the PTOL-1449 initialed and dated by the examiner is attached to the instant office action.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim 31 includes means for
“receiving”
“filtering”
“decoding”
The published specification US-202500473530 teaches at [0064, 64, 135] teach transmit and receiver processor for performing said functions. The steps and algorithms for carrying out receiving, filtering, and decoding are also detailed in the specification.
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 (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 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.
Independent Claims
Claim(s) 1, 16, 24, 31, 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Visoz (WO-2022117963-A1) in view of Li (WO-2019154347-A1).
As to claim 1, 16, 24, 31, 36: Visoz teaches t method of wireless communication at by a wireless node, comprising: receiving a wireless signal (The receiver RE1 comprises an iterative receiver REIC which performs one or more iterations of a soft detection DET and a soft decoding DECOD with interference subtraction IC of one or more data packets TBs transmitted by an access point through a transmission channel; According to an embodiment of the invention, the data packets are received via a PDSCH channel of a 5G access network.); filtering the wireless signal via an iterative interference cancelation process; and decoding the filtered wireless signal (FIG. 2 represents a diagram illustrating the principle of an iterative receiver with interference subtraction. The received signal S r is detected by a detector DET then decoded by a decoder DECOD. A feedback loop sends decoding information back to the detector to perform IC interference subtraction. The possibly multi-user detector can be a soft IC (Minimum Mean-Square Error based soft Interference Cancellation) MMSE detector), wherein the filtering and decoding are performed within a first time window (The latency budget corresponds to the time between the reception of the PDSCH by the terminal and the time ordered by the indicator indic to transmit the acknowledgment of receipt ACK/NACK).
Visoz may not explicitly teach indicated by a non-legacy ([0002] 5G NR) signal processing requirement. However, Li teaches indicated by a non-legacy ([0002] 5G NR) signal processing requirement ([0029, 30] UE processing time for HARQ-ACK).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement non-legacy signal processing requirements, taught by Li, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and enable dynamic and flexible timing. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Li and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Dependent Claims
Claim(s) 2, 3, 17, 18, 32, 33, 37, 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Visoz (WO-2022117963-A1) in view of Li (WO-2019154347-A1).
As to claim 2, 17, 32, 37: Visoz teaches the method of claim 1.
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the first time window is a function of at least one of a first modulation scheme of the wireless signal or a first subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the wireless signal. However, Li teaches wherein the first time window is a function of at least one of a first modulation scheme of the wireless signal or a first subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the wireless signal ([0029, 30] UE processing time for HARQ-ACK under different SCS).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement non-legacy signal processing requirements, taught by Li, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and enable dynamic and flexible timing. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Li and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
As to claim 3, 18, 33, 38: Visoz teaches the method of claim 1.
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the non-legacy signal processing requirement is indicative of a plurality of time windows including the first time window, and wherein each of the plurality of time windows is mapped to at least one of: one of a plurality of modulation schemes or one of a plurality of subcarrier spacings (SCSs). However, Li teaches wherein the non-legacy signal processing requirement is indicative of a plurality of time windows including the first time window ([0029, 30] plurality of UE processing times and SCS symbols), and wherein each of the plurality of time windows is mapped to at least one of: one of a plurality of modulation schemes or one of a plurality of subcarrier spacings (SCSs) ([0029, 30] UE processing time for HARQ-ACK under different SCS).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement non-legacy signal processing requirements, taught by Li, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and enable dynamic and flexible timing. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Li and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 19, 20, 34, 35, 39, 40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Visoz (WO-2022117963-A1), Li (WO-2019154347-A1) in view of Medithe (US-20230091638), Yin (US-20220070900).
As to claim 4, 19, 34, 39: Visoz teaches the method of claim 3.
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the plurality of modulation schemes comprise a first modulation range and a second modulation range. However, Medithe teaches wherein the plurality of modulation schemes comprise a first modulation range and a second modulation range ([0058, 129] multiple MCS range).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement multiple MCS ranges, taught by Medithe, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and improve link adaptation. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Yin and Medithe in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Visoz may not explicitly teach and wherein the plurality of time windows comprise at least a first subset of time windows associated with the first modulation range and a second subset of time windows associated with the second modulation range. However, Yin teaches and wherein the plurality of time windows comprise at least a first subset of time windows associated with the first modulation range and a second subset of time windows associated with the second modulation range ([0035] Timing in the HARQ-ACK timing table may correspond to modulation and coding scheme (MCS) settings or transport block (TB) sizes.)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement plurality of time windows associated with modulation ranges, taught by Yin, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and improve timing reliability. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Yin and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
As to claim 5, 20, 35, 40: Visoz teaches the method of claim 3,
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the plurality of modulation schemes comprise a first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) range and a second MCS range. However, Medithe teaches wherein the plurality of modulation schemes comprise a first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) range and a second MCS range ([0058, 129] multiple MCS range).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement multiple MCS ranges, taught by Medithe, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and improve link adaptation. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Yin and Medithe in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Visoz may not explicitly teach and wherein the plurality of time windows comprise at least a first subset of time windows associated with the first MCS range and a second subset of time windows associated with the second MCS range. However, Yin teaches and wherein the plurality of time windows comprise at least a first subset of time windows associated with the first MCS range and a second subset of time windows associated with the second MCS range ([0035] Timing in the HARQ-ACK timing table may correspond to modulation and coding scheme (MCS) settings or transport block (TB) sizes.)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement plurality of time windows associated with modulation ranges, taught by Yin, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and improve timing reliability. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Yin and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Claim(s) 6, 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Visoz (WO-2022117963-A1), Li (WO-2019154347-A1) in view of 3GPP, "Physical layer procedures for data," 3GPP TS 38.214 version 17.6.0 Release 17, June 2023.
As to claim 6, 21: Visoz teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication of scheduled resources (claim 12 receiver for receiving a time indicator of an allotted time by the access point to the terminal); and transmitting an acknowledgment of the wireless signal for transmission (claim 12 acknowledgment of receipt; the access point transmits to the terminal the time Indic during which the terminal must have transmitted its message of good reception ACK or bad reception NACK. Knowing this time Indic at its disposal, the terminal adapts the number N” of iterations that it performs before having to send back its message of good reception ACK or bad reception NACK).
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the scheduled resources are outside of the first time window indicated by the non-legacy signal processing requirement. However, 3GPP teaches wherein the scheduled resources are outside of the first time window indicated by the non-legacy signal processing requirement (section 5.3 If the first uplink symbol of the PUCCH which carries the HARQ-ACK information, as defined by the assigned HARQ-ACK timing K1 and Koffset, if configured, and the PUCCH resource to be used and including the effect of the timing advance, starts no earlier than at symbol L1).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement schedule outside time window, taught by 3GPP, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and prevent resource conflicts. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Visoz and 3GPP in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Claim(s) 7, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Visoz (WO-2022117963-A1), Li (WO-2019154347-A1) in view of Lightstone (US-20230300819).
As to claim 7, 22: Visoz teaches the method of claim 1.
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the first time window indicated by the non-legacy signal processing requirement is greater than a corresponding second time window of a legacy signal processing requirement. However, Lightstone teaches wherein the first time window indicated by the non-legacy signal processing requirement is greater than a corresponding second time window of a legacy signal processing requirement ([0015]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement flexible timing, taught by Lightstone, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and support different UE capabilities. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Lightstone and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Claim(s) 8, 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Visoz (WO-2022117963-A1), Li (WO-2019154347-A1) in view of Klemes (US-20160049973).
As to claim 8, 23: Visoz teaches the method of claim 1.
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the iterative interference cancelation process comprises one or more of a phase noise interference cancelation algorithm, an in-phase and quadrature (IQ) imbalance interference cancelation algorithm, and a non-linearity interference cancelation algorithm. However, Klemes teaches wherein the iterative interference cancelation process comprises one or more of a phase noise interference cancelation algorithm, an in-phase and quadrature (IQ) imbalance interference cancelation algorithm, and a non-linearity interference cancelation algorithm (abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement phase noise cancellation, taught by Klemes, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and reduce noise and improve demodulation. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Visoz and Klemes in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Visoz (WO-2022117963-A1), Li (WO-2019154347-A1) in view of Chatterjee (WO-2020072847-A1), Huang (US-20190222357).
As to claim 9: Visoz teaches the method of claim 1,
Visoz may not explicitly teach wherein the wireless signal comprises one or more demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), and wherein the first time window is indicated by the non-legacy signal processing requirement in terms of … symbols starting at a symbol via which a last DMRS of the one or more DMRSs is received by the wireless node. However, Chatterjee teaches wherein the wireless signal comprises one or more demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), and wherein the first time window is indicated by the non-legacy signal processing requirement ([0046, 47] UE processing time value in OFDM symbols) in terms of … symbols starting at a symbol via which a last DMRS of the one or more DMRSs is received by the wireless node ([0006] However, such shifting of the last DMRS implies that the UE may need to wait until the reception of the last DMRS symbol before performing channel estimation and demodulation for PDSCH reception; [0037, 46] To address the impact on UE minimum processing time for PDSCH processing due to the shift of the last DMRS symbol within the PDSCH duration, in an aspect, the minimum UE processing time value (N1) (in OFDM symbols) is increased by one symbol when the last single-symbol DMRS location within the PDSCH).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement window beginning after last DMRS, taught by Chatterjee, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and improve timing reliability. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Chatterjee and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Visoz may not explicitly teach contiguous. However, Huang teaches contiguous ([0162] contiguous symbols).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement contiguous symbols, taught by Huang, into the communication system, taught by Visoz, in order to implement a well-known feature of a pre-defined protocol and improve HARQ timing. In addition, it would have been obvious to combine Huang and Visoz in a known manner to obtain predictable results as the combination would not change the essence, quiddity, or functionality of the prior art references.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW CHUNG SUK OH whose telephone number is (571)270-5273. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12p-8p.
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/ANDREW C OH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466