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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 14, and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: claim limitations “PUCCH”, “PUSCH”, “SFI”, “DCI”, “HARQ-ACK”, “SCS”, and “UCI” in at least claims 1, 2, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 20 are not defined. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 13 is 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 regard to claim 13, the claim limitation “the DCI” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Molavianjazi et al. (US 2022/0053522 A1, hereinafter “Molavianjazi”).
Regarding claim 1:
Molavianjazi discloses an uplink transmission method, performed by a terminal, comprising:
determining a cell in which a transmission of a first PUCCH is located (e.g., [0435]-[439], [0504], [0505], [0512], [0663], [0674], [0675], determining a PUCCH cell for transmitting UCI, e.g., HARQ-ACK); and
in a case of overlapping time domain resources for the first PUCCH and a second uplink channel (e.g., [0671]-[0674], HARQ-ACK is indicated to be in a same slot with at least one of the SP-CSI reporting transmission occasions, [0676], a first group of UCIs that overlap in a same slot on a first PUCCH cell, [0677], a SR occasion transmitted in a same slot as HARQ-ACK information), determining whether to transmit the first PUCCH and/or the second uplink channel, based on semi-persistent uplink and downlink configuration information and/or an SFI (e.g., [0340]-[0343], [0564], [0577], [0580], [0655]-[0657], [0663], [0676], [0677], active PUCCH cells and switching of active cells are determined based on the configured time pattern and a TDD UL-DL configuration), wherein the second uplink channel comprises a second PUCCH and/or a second PUSCH (e.g., [0676]-[0678]).
Regarding claim 2:
Molavianjazi further discloses the uplink transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a cell in which a transmission of first PUCCH is located comprises: determining the cell in which the transmission of the first PUCCH is located, based on at least one of an indication of DCI, a preset rule, the semi-persistent uplink and downlink configuration information, and the SFI (e.g., [0340]-[0343], [0505], [0564], [0577], [0580], [0655]-[0657], [0663], [0674]).
Regarding claim 3:
Molavianjazi further discloses the uplink transmission method according to claim 2, wherein the determining a cell in which a transmission of first PUCCH is located specifically comprises any one of the following: determining the cell in which the transmission of the first PUCCH is located, based on an indication of a specific information field in the DCI; or determining a cell with available PUCCH resources, based on the semi-persistent uplink and downlink configuration information and/or the SFI (e.g., [0505], [0655]-[0657], [0663], [0674]).
Regarding claim 4:
Molavianjazi further discloses wherein if it is determined that the number of cells with available PUCCH resources is greater than 1, a cell with a largest or smallest cell identifier is selected as the cell in which the first PUCCH is located (e.g., [0653]).
Regarding claim 5:
Molavianjazi further discloses wherein the cell in which the transmission of the first PUCCH is located is determined based on an indication of an information field in the last DCI (e.g., [0508]).
Regarding claim 6:
Molavianjazi further discloses wherein after the determining a cell in which a transmission of a first PUCCH is located, the method further comprises: determining a resource index of the first PUCCH (e.g., [0677]-[0678], UE multiplexing the SR with the HARQ-ACK information on the first or second PUCCH cell, which would require determining a resource index of the first or second PUCCH cell).
Regarding claim 7:
Molavianjazi further discloses wherein before the determining a cell in which a transmission of a first PUCCH is located, the method further comprises: determining a resource index of the first PUCCH (e.g., [0563]-[0564], transmission occasion index, slot index).
Regarding claim 8:
Molavianjazi further discloses wherein the resource index of the first PUCCH is determined when a HARQ-ACK feedback is required (e.g., [0677]-[0678], HARQ-ACK information is multiplexed with the SR).
Regarding claim 9:
Molavianjazi teaches for a HARQ-ACK codebook formed by PDSCHs scheduled by different DCIs, it is not expected that PUCCH cells indicated by the different DCIs are different. (e.g., [0672]).
Regarding claim 10:
Molavianjazi teaches if a first PUCCH and a second PUCCH are in a same cell, the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH are multiplexed (e.g., [0676]).
Regarding claim 11:
Molavianjazi teaches the overlapping time domain resources for a first PUCCH and a second uplink channel comprises at least one of the following: overlapping time domain resources for the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH in a same cell; and overlapping time domain resources for the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH in different cells within a same PUCCH group (e.g., [0653], [0673], [0676]-[0678]).
Regarding claim 12:
Molavianjazi teaches wherein in a case that the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH are in different cells, and a first cell in which the first PUCCH is located and a second cell in which the second PUCCH is located have different SCSs, a time unit for multiplexing of the first PUCCH is determined based an SCS of a third cell, wherein the third cell is selected from the first cell and the second cell (e.g., [0653], [0673], [0677], [0678]).
Regarding claim 13:
Molavianjazi teaches wherein the third cell is determined based on any one of the following: a cell in which a PUCCH is located as determined based on the indication of the DCI; a cell of a PUCCH in which high-priority UCI is located based on the indication of the DCI; a cell in which high-priority UCI is located; a cell with a largest cell identifier; and a cell with a smallest cell identifier (e.g., [0653], [0677], [0678]).
Regarding claim 14:
Molavianjazi discloses a terminal (e.g., Fig. 3, 116), comprising: a processor (Fig. 3, 340), a memory (Fig. 3, 360), and a program or instructions (Fig. 3, 361 and 362) stored on the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform: determining a cell in which a transmission of a first PUCCH is located; and in a case of overlapping time domain resources for the first PUCCH and a second uplink channel, determining whether to transmit the first PUCCH and/or the second uplink channel, based on semi-persistent uplink and downlink configuration information and/or an SFI, wherein the second uplink channel comprises a second PUCCH and/or a second PUSCH. (See rejections for similar claim limitations with regard to claim 1.)
Regarding claims 15-19:
See rejections for similar claim limitations with regard to claims 2, 3, and 6-8.
Regarding claim 20:
Molavianjazi discloses a non-transitory readable storage medium (e.g., Fig. 3, 360), wherein the readable storage medium stores a program or instructions (Fig. 3, 361 and 362), wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform: determining a cell in which a transmission of a first PUCCH is located; and in a case of overlapping time domain resources for the first PUCCH and a second uplink channel, determining whether to transmit the first PUCCH and/or the second uplink channel, based on semi-persistent uplink and downlink configuration information and/or an SFI, wherein the second uplink channel comprises a second PUCCH and/or a second PUSCH. (See rejections for similar claim limitations with regard to claim 1.)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alvin ZHU whose telephone number is (571)270-1086. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6am-9am and 2pm-7pm.
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/BO HUI A ZHU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465