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 .
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.
Response to Preliminary Amendment
This action is responsive to a preliminary amendment filed 01 February 2024. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
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 1-20 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With respect to claim 1, the claim appears to be directed towards a terminal device. See as filed specification at Fig. 6, [00129] and [00142] disclosing the terminal device receives the first indication and the second transmission is an uplink transmission sent by the terminal. With respect to claims 8 and 15, these claims appear to be directed towards the method performed by a base station and the base station apparatus which, according to the potion of the disclosure above, sends the first indication and the second transmission as a downlink transmission sent by the base station. Further, the claims recite in part, “a transmission direction of first transmission is different from a transmission direction of the second transmission”. In the case of the first transmission being a physical random access channel (PRACH) which is an uplink transmission; the second transmission must be a downlink transmission (as filed specification [00133] disclosing the second transmission may be one of PDCCH, PDSCH or a CSI-RS) which is not a transmission of the terminal per se; thus, it is not clear in claim 1 what “performing the second transmission” encompasses in this alternative embodiment of the claimed apparatus. It would appear that amending the claims to recite, “performing transmission of the second transmission or reception of the second transmission on the second frequency domain resource” would clarify this matter and render this grounds of rejection moot.
Conversely, with respect to claims 8 and 15, similar issues arise with respect to the first transmission being a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block (SSB) requiring the second transmission to be an uplink transmission (as filed specification [00132] disclosing the second transmission may be PRACH, PUSCH, PUCCH or an SRS) which is not a transmission of a base station per se. Amending claims 8 and 15 in the manner indicated above would clarify this matter and render this grounds of rejection moot.
There is lack of antecedent basis in claim 5 at line 8 for “the terminal” rendering claim 5 and claims 6-7 which depend upon claim 5 indefinite. Examiner recommends amending this feature to be “a terminal” as it is recited in claims 12 and 19 to overcome this grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 8 and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kishiyama (US 2013/0301486 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Kishiyama discloses a communication method comprising:
sending first indication information ([0066] disclosing a notification by RRC signalling) usable to indicate whether that a priority of first transmission on a first transmission occasion is lower than a priority of a second transmission, wherein the first transmission is a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block (SSB) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) on a first frequency domain resource, the second transmission is transmission on a second frequency domain resource, a transmission direction of the first transmission is different from a transmission direction of the second transmission, and the first transmission occasion overlaps with a time domain resource of the second transmission (Figs. 2, [0023]-[0026] disclosing half-duplex frequency division duplex in which the uplink and downlink transmissions are in different frequency domain resources; [0028] disclosing the terminal gives priority to transmission of uplink signals or reception of downlink signals in a particular subframe corresponding to instructions from a base station apparatus; [0066] disclosing the terminal can give higher priority to transmission of PRACH over reception of PBCH and vice versa when transmission timing overlaps based on RRC signalling or the like, or PDCCH signalling); and
performing the second transmission on the second frequency domain resource (Fig. 4, [0062]-[0066]).
Regarding claim 10, Kishiyama discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the first transmission is the PRACH, and the second transmission is one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) (Fig. 4, [0062]-[0063] and [0065]).
Regarding claim 11, Kishiyama discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the first indication information is usable to indicate that the first transmission fails or the first transmission occasion fails, the first indication information is usable to indicate that the priority of the first transmission on the first transmission occasion is lower than the priority of the second transmission (Figs. 3A-3B and 3D, [0027]-[0028] and [0030]).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 15 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kishiyama (US 2013/0301486 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kishiyama discloses an apparatus comprising:
hardware (Fig. 8, [0090]-[0092]) configured to perform operations including:
receiving first indication information ([0066] disclosing a notification by RRC signalling), wherein the first indication information is usable to indicate whether a priority of first transmission on a first transmission occasion is lower than a priority of second transmission, wherein the first transmission is a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block (SSB) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) on a first frequency domain resource, the second transmission is transmission on a second frequency domain resource, a transmission direction of the first transmission is different from a transmission direction of the second transmission, and the first transmission occasion overlaps with a time domain resource of the second transmission (Figs. 2, [0023]-[0026] disclosing half-duplex frequency division duplex in which the uplink and downlink transmissions are in different frequency domain resources; [0028] disclosing the terminal gives priority to transmission of uplink signals or reception of downlink signals in a particular subframe corresponding to instructions from a base station apparatus; [0066] disclosing the terminal can give higher priority to transmission of PRACH over reception of PBCH and vice versa when transmission timing overlaps based on RRC signalling or the like, or PDCCH signalling); and
performing the second transmission on the second frequency domain resource based on the first indication information (Fig. 4, [0062]-[0066]).
Kishiyama does not expressly disclose the hardware comprising at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program executable by the at least one processor, the program comprising instructions for causing the at least one processor to execute said operations. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the invention of Kishiyama in the manner recited in the claims because it provides a flexibly configured system that can be easily reprogrammed as technical specifications evolve.
Regarding claim 3, Kishiyama discloses the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission is the PRACH, and the second transmission is one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI- RS) (Fig. 4, [0062]-[0063] and [0065]).
Regarding claim 4, Kishiyama discloses the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information is usable to indicate, by indicating that the first transmission fails or the first transmission occasion fails, that the priority of the first transmission on the first transmission occasion is lower than the priority of the second transmission (Figs. 3A-3B and 3D, [0027]-[0028] and [0030]).
Regarding claim 15, Kishiyama discloses an apparatus comprising:
hardware (Fig. 7, [0083]-[0089]) configured to perform operations including:
sending first indication information ([0066] disclosing a notification by RRC signalling), wherein the first indication information is usable to indicate whether a priority of first transmission on a first transmission occasion is lower than a priority of second transmission, wherein the first transmission is a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block (SSB) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) on a first frequency domain resource, the second transmission is transmission on a second frequency domain resource, a transmission direction of the first transmission is different from a transmission direction of the second transmission, and the first transmission occasion overlaps with a time domain resource of the second transmission (Figs. 2, [0023]-[0026] disclosing half-duplex frequency division duplex in which the uplink and downlink transmissions are in different frequency domain resources; [0028] disclosing the terminal gives priority to transmission of uplink signals or reception of downlink signals in a particular subframe corresponding to instructions from a base station apparatus; [0066] disclosing the terminal can give higher priority to transmission of PRACH over reception of PBCH and vice versa when transmission timing overlaps based on RRC signalling or the like, or PDCCH signalling); and
performing the second transmission on the second frequency domain resource (Fig. 4, [0062]-[0066]).
Kishiyama does not expressly disclose the hardware comprising at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program executable by the at least one processor, the program comprising instructions for causing the at least one processor to execute said operations. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the invention of Kishiyama in the manner recited in the claims because it provides a flexibly configured system that can be easily reprogrammed as technical specifications evolve.
Regarding claim 17, Kishiyama discloses the apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first transmission is the PRACH, and the second transmission is one of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI- RS) (Fig. 4, [0062]-[0063] and [0065]).
Regarding claim 18, Kishiyama discloses the apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first indication information is usable to indicate that the first transmission fails or the first transmission occasion fails, that the priority of the first transmission on the first transmission occasion is lower than the priority of the second transmission (Figs. 3A-3B and 3D, [0027]-[0028] and [0030]).
Claim(s) 2, 9 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kishiyama (US 2013/0301486 A1) in view of CATT, “Discussion on HD-FDD operation”, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #105-e, e-meeting, May 19th-27th, 2021, R1-2104528, hereafter D1.
Regarding claim 2, Kishiyama discloses the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission is the PBCH, and the second transmission is one of a PRACH, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a sounding reference signal (SRS) (Fig. 4, [0041], [0051], [0056], [0061], [0066]).
Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, D1 discloses the first transmission is the SSB (Section 2.2.3 Case 5 disclosing for HD-FDD systems with uplink transmission that overlap with SSB prioritizing dynamically scheduled uplink over SSB; See Proposal 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date if the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the disclosure of D1 because this provides higher flexibility and efficiency (pg. 4, Discussion under Dynamically scheduled UL vs. SSB through proposal 4).
Regarding claim 9, Kishiyama discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the first transmission is the PBCH, and the second transmission is one of a PRACH, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a sounding reference signal (SRS) (Fig. 4, [0041], [0051], [0056], [0061], [0066]).
Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, D1 discloses the first transmission is the SSB (Section 2.2.3 Case 5 disclosing for HD-FDD systems with uplink transmission that overlap with SSB prioritizing dynamically scheduled uplink over SSB; See Proposal 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date if the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the disclosure of D1 because this provides higher flexibility and efficiency (pg. 4, Discussion under Dynamically scheduled UL vs. SSB through proposal 4).
Regarding claim 16, Kishiyama discloses the apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first transmission is the PBCH, and the second transmission is one of a PRACH, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).
(Fig. 4, [0041], [0051], [0056], [0061], [0066]).
Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, D1 discloses the first transmission is the SSB (Section 2.2.3 Case 5 disclosing for HD-FDD systems with uplink transmission that overlap with SSB prioritizing dynamically scheduled uplink over SSB; See Proposal 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date if the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the disclosure of D1 because this provides higher flexibility and efficiency (pg. 4, Discussion under Dynamically scheduled UL vs. SSB through proposal 4).
Claim(s) 5 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kishiyama (US 2013/0301486 A1) in view of Zhang et al. (US 2020/0112978 A1).
Regarding claim 5 Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, Zhang suggests the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission is periodic transmission ([0077] disclosing periodic SSBs), the first transmission comprises a plurality of transmission occasions (periodic SSB burst; [0149] disclosing an SSB burst comprising one or more SSBs; [0153 disclosing uplink resources overlapping a SSB occasion symbol), and the first transmission occasion is one of the plurality of transmission occasions (Fig. 4, 1407, [0149] disclosing uplink resource 1407 occurs within SSB burst (i.e., the portion of the SSB burst overlapped with the uplink transmission 1407 corresponds to the claimed first transmission occasion);
the first indication information comprises grouping information of the first transmission, and is usable to group the plurality of transmission occasions into M transmission occasion groups, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (Fig. 14, 1404 and 1406 corresponding to the transmission occasion groups; [0164] disclosing SSB occasions are configured via RRC signalling periodic suggests more than 2 SSB bursts); and
the first transmission occasion is separate from a first group, and the first group is a group that is associated with the terminal device and that is in the M transmission occasion groups (Fig. 14, [0149] 1404 corresponding to the first group, 1406 is a group separate from 1404 comprising the first transmission occasion overlapped with uplink transmission 1407, SMTC Window 1401 is when the UE measures SSB (i.e., 1404 is associated with UE measurements).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the teaching in Zhang because it is inefficient to invalidate every overlapping uplink transmission and the techniques of Zhang suggest that the efficiency can be improved by allowing transmission of ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC) when they overlap with SSB burst occasions ([0168] disclosing performing uplink transmission of high priority URLCC transmissions in such overlapping scenarios).
Regarding claim 12, Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, Zhang suggests the method according to claim 8, wherein the first transmission is periodic transmission ([0077] disclosing periodic SSBs), the first transmission comprises a plurality of transmission occasions (periodic SSB burst; [0149] disclosing an SSB burst comprising one or more SSBs; [0153 disclosing uplink resources overlapping a SSB occasion symbol), and the first transmission occasion is one of the plurality of transmission occasions (Fig. 4, 1407, [0149] disclosing uplink resource 1407 occurs within SSB burst (i.e., the portion of the SSB burst overlapped with the uplink transmission 1407 corresponds to the claimed first transmission occasion);
the first indication information comprises grouping information of the first transmission, and is usable to group the plurality of transmission occasions into M transmission occasion groups, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (Fig. 14, 1404 and 1406 corresponding to the transmission occasion groups; [0164] disclosing SSB occasions are configured via RRC signalling periodic suggests more than 2 SSB bursts); and
the first transmission occasion is separate from a first group, and the first group is a group that is associated with a terminal device and that is in the M transmission occasion groups (Fig. 14, [0149] 1404 corresponding to the first group, 1406 is a group separate from 1404 comprising the first transmission occasion overlapped with uplink transmission 1407, SMTC Window 1401 is when the UE measures SSB (i.e., 1404 is associated with UE measurements).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the teaching in Zhang because it is inefficient to invalidate every overlapping uplink transmission and the techniques of Zhang suggest that the efficiency can be improved by allowing transmission of ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC) when they overlap with SSB burst occasions ([0168] disclosing performing uplink transmission of high priority URLCC transmissions in such overlapping scenarios).
Claim(s) 5-7, 12-14 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kishiyama (US 2013/0301486 A1) in view of Lin et al. (US 2023/0180300 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, Lin discloses the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission is periodic transmission, the first transmission comprises a plurality of transmission occasions, and the first transmission occasion is one of the plurality of transmission occasions (Fig. 4 PRACH configuration period comprising a repeated PRACH occasion pattern; [0017] disclosing collisions between PRACH occasions and SSB);
the first indication information comprises grouping information of the first transmission, and is usable to group the plurality of transmission occasions into M transmission occasion groups, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 ([0146] disclosing the PRACH configuration provided via RRC signalling, Fig. 4, each repeated pattern corresponds to a group); and
the first transmission occasion is separate from a first group, and the first group is a group that is associated with the terminal device and that is in the M transmission occasion groups ([0017] disclosing an SSB colliding with a PRACH occasion suggesting, for example, in the first iteration of the pattern of Fig. 4 separate from the second iteration of the pattern of Fig. 4; [0146] disclosing PRACH configurations associated with UE/Service groups).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the teaching in Lin because this allows a UE to select random access resources based on the priority of the UE, the priority of the service or the type of service to ensure services such as mission critical (MC) service have access to the communication network ([0163]-[0164], [0166] and [0168]).
Regarding claim 6, Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, Lin suggests the apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the grouping information of the first transmission comprises a correspondence between an identifier of the terminal device and the M transmission occasion groups ([0146], [0149] disclosing PRACH configuration associated with a UE implicitly associated with a UE identifier).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Kishiyama with the teaching in Lin because this ensures higher priority UEs can gain access to the network ([0146], [0149]).
Regarding claim 7, Kishiyama does not expressly disclose the following; however, Lin suggests the apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the identifier of the terminal device is one of a 5G globally unique temporary identity (5G-GUTI), a 5G shorted- temporary mobile subscriber identity (5G-S-TMSI), or a 5G-temporary mobile subscriber identity (5G-TMSI). That is because the techniques of Lin are directed towards 5G networks ([0003]) and examiner tales official notice that it is well-known to one of ordinary skill in the art that random access techniques are associated with temporary identities of the user equipment performing the random access; thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the identifier of the terminal device would encompass such features as claimed.
Regarding claim 12, Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, Lin discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein the first transmission is periodic transmission, the first transmission comprises a plurality of transmission occasions, and the first transmission occasion is one of the plurality of transmission occasions (Fig. 4 PRACH configuration period comprising a repeated PRACH occasion pattern; [0017] disclosing collisions between PRACH occasions and SSB);
the first indication information comprises grouping information of the first transmission, and is usable to group the plurality of transmission occasions into M transmission occasion groups, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 ([0146] disclosing the PRACH configuration provided via RRC signalling, Fig. 4, each repeated pattern corresponds to a group); and
the first transmission occasion is separate from a first group, and the first group is a group that is associated with a terminal device and that is in the M transmission occasion groups ([0017] disclosing an SSB colliding with a PRACH occasion suggesting, for example, in the first iteration of the pattern of Fig. 4 separate from the second iteration of the pattern of Fig. 4; [0146] disclosing PRACH configurations associated with UE/Service groups).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the teaching in Lin because this allows a UE to select random access resources based on the priority of the UE, the priority of the service or the type of service to ensure services such as mission critical (MC) service have access to the communication network ([0163]-[0164], [0166] and [0168]).
Regarding claim 13, Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, Lin suggests the method according to claim 12, wherein the grouping information of the first transmission comprises a correspondence between an identifier of the terminal device and the M transmission occasion groups ([0146], [0149] disclosing PRACH configuration associated with a UE implicitly associated with a UE identifier).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Kishiyama with the teaching in Lin because this ensures higher priority UEs can gain access to the network ([0146], [0149]).
Regarding claim 14, Kishiyama does not expressly disclose the following; however, Lin suggests the method according to claim 13, wherein the identifier of the terminal device is one of a 5G globally unique temporary identity (5G-GUTI), a 5G shorted- temporary mobile subscriber identity (5G-S-TMSI), or a 5G-temporary mobile subscriber identity (5G-TMSI). That is because the techniques of Lin are directed towards 5G networks ([0003]) and examiner tales official notice that it is well-known to one of ordinary skill in the art that random access techniques are associated with temporary identities of the user equipment performing the random access; thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the identifier of the terminal device would encompass such features as claimed.
Regarding claim 19, Kishiyama does not disclose the following; however, Lin discloses the apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first transmission is periodic transmission, the first transmission comprises a plurality of transmission occasions, and the first transmission occasion is one of the plurality of transmission occasions (Fig. 4 PRACH configuration period comprising a repeated PRACH occasion pattern; [0017] disclosing collisions between PRACH occasions and SSB);
the first indication information comprises grouping information of the first transmission, and is usable to group the plurality of transmission occasions into M transmission occasion groups, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2 ([0146] disclosing the PRACH configuration provided via RRC signalling, Fig. 4, each repeated pattern corresponds to a group); and
the first transmission occasion is separate from a first group, and the first group is a group that is associated with a terminal device and that is in the M transmission occasion groups ([0017] disclosing an SSB colliding with a PRACH occasion suggesting, for example, in the first iteration of the pattern of Fig. 4 separate from the second iteration of the pattern of Fig. 4; [0146] disclosing PRACH configurations associated with UE/Service groups).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the techniques of Kishiyama with the teaching in Lin because this allows a UE to select random access resources based on the priority of the UE, the priority of the service or the type of service to ensure services such as mission critical (MC) service have access to the communication network ([0163]-[0164], [0166] and [0168]).
Regarding claim 20, Kishiyama does not expressly disclose the following; however, Lin suggests the apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the identifier of the terminal device is one of a 5G globally unique temporary identity (5G-GUTI), a 5G shorted- temporary mobile subscriber identity (5G-S-TMSI), or a 5G-temporary mobile subscriber identity (5G-TMSI). That is because the techniques of Lin are directed towards 5G networks ([0003]) and examiner tales official notice that it is well-known to one of ordinary skill in the art that random access techniques are associated with temporary identities of the user equipment performing the random access; thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the identifier of the terminal device would encompass such features as claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joseph A Bednash whose telephone number is (571)270-7500. The examiner can normally be reached 7 AM - 4:30 PM M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Vu can be reached at (571)272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSEPH A BEDNASH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461