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
The information disclosure statement submitted on January 26, 2024, October 16, 2024, January 13, 2025, and October 22, 2025 have been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1 (corresponding to claims 1-7, 17, 19, 10-16, and 20) in the reply filed on February is acknowledged.
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, 2, 5, 10, 11, 13 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.
Regarding claim 1, lines 5-6 of the claim recites “a/the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI.” It is unclear what is meant by “types of the bit numbers,” or what a “type” is referring to.
Dependent claims 2 and 5, which are dependent on claim 1, are interpreted and rejected in the same manner as claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, lines 5-6 of the claim recites “a/the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI.” It is unclear what is meant by “types of the bit numbers,” or what a “type” is referring to.
Dependent claims 11 and 13, which are dependent on claim 10, are interpreted and rejected in the same manner as claim 10.
For rejection purposes, the Examiner is interpreting “bit numbers of the DCI” to mean the TOTAL length of the DCI bit, including the payload, padding, and headers, and “the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI” to mean a number of bit sizes in a set of DCIs.
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.
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, 10, 16, 17, 19, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al (WO 2021097605 A1, hereinafter "Hu_1") in further view of Li et al (US 20240073922 A1, hereinafter "Li").
Regarding claim 1, Hu_1 teaches a method for wireless communication, comprising:
detecting, by a terminal device (user equipment, UE) in a first search space, a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) scrambled by at least one Group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (G-RNTI), wherein the first search space comprises at least one of a Common Search Space (CSS) or a User Equipment (UE) specific Search Space (USS) (The PDCCH is scrambled by the G-RNTI and the PDCCH is detected by the UE in the common search space [Page 2 of translated description, paragraph 4]), and;
Hu_1 does not teach a number of types of bit numbers of Downlink Control Information (DCI) carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to a first threshold.
In analogous art, Li teaches a number of types of bit numbers of Downlink Control Information (DCI) (number of DCI sizes) carried by the PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to a first threshold (The total number of DCI sizes scrambled by G-RNTI and configured for monitoring by the terminal in a scheduled cell does not exceed 3 [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
Regarding claim 10, Hu_1 teaches a method for wireless communication, comprising:
sending, by a network device in a first search space, a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) scrambled by at least one Group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (G-RNTI), wherein the first search space comprises at least one of a Common Search Space (CSS) or a User Equipment (UE) specific Search Space (USS), (The PDCCH is scrambled by the G-RNTI and the PDCCH is detected by the UE in the common search space, where the PDCCH is sent by the network device [Page 2, paragraphs 4 and 10]) and;
Hu_1 does not teach a number of types of bit numbers of Downlink Control Information (DCI) carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to a first threshold.
In analogous art, Li teaches a number of types of bit numbers of Downlink Control Information (DCI) carried by the PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to a first threshold (The total number of DCI sizes scrambled by G-RNTI and configured for monitoring by the terminal in a scheduled cell does not exceed 3 [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Hu_1 and Li, specifically Li, teaches wherein the first threshold is predefined (The total number of DCI sizes scrambled by G-RNTI and configured for monitoring by the terminal in a scheduled cell does not exceed 3 [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the predefined threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1 and Li) in order to reduce complexity of blind detection for a terminal, which reduces resource overheads for the terminal (Li, [0050]).
Regarding claim 17, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 1, including a terminal device, comprising a processor and a memory configured to store computer-executable instructions, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to perform the method of claim 1 (A communication device, including a terminal device, includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store instructions and the processor is configured to execute the instructions stored in memory [page 4, last paragraph]), all taught by Hu_1.
Regarding claim 19, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 1, including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, configured to store computer-executable instructions that cause a computer to perform the method of claim 1 (a computer storage medium, which stores instructions in the computer readable storage medium, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute a method/instructions [page 4, paragraph 8]), all taught by Hu_1.
Regarding claim 20, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 1, including a network device, comprising a processor and a memory configured to store computer-executable instructions, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to perform the method of claim 10 (A communication device, including network equipment, includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store instructions and the processor is configured to execute the instructions stored in memory [page 5, first paragraph]), all taught by Hu_1.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 4, 11, 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu_1 in view of Li, and in further view of Hu et al (CA 3110929 A1, hereinafter "Hu_2").
Regarding claim 2, Hu_1 does not teach wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs detected by the terminal device in the CSS has a same bit number.
In analogous art, Li teaches the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to the first threshold (The total number of DCI sizes scrambled by G-RNTI and configured for monitoring by the terminal in a scheduled cell does not exceed 3 [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
The combination of Hu_1 and Li does not teach the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI … is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs detected by the terminal device in the CSS has a same bit number.
In analogous art, Hu_2 teaches wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI… is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs detected by the terminal device in the CSS has a same bit number (the downlink control channel is monitored through: a value of the downlink control information (where they may share the same value), a type of search space to be monitored (which can be a common search space), and an RNTI type (which could be a G-RNTI) [0078-0079]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the monitoring of DCI based on length, search space, and G-RNTI (as taught by Hu_2) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1 and Li) in order to reduce the number of times the UE monitors invalid PDCCH, which provides additional power saving (Hu_2, [00152]).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_2, specifically Li, teaches the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCHs (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by all G-RNTIs detected by the terminal device in the CSS (a DCI format A is configured in the CSS and is scrambled by G-RNTI. The terminal monitors DCI formats scrambled by GRNTI and total number of DCI sizes is budgeted [0220, 0235-0237]) are configured by the network device through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling (the terminal may determine via RRC signaling (from the network device), a plurality of DCI formats to be monitored [0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further incorporate the RRC signaling configuration for the DCI bit sizes (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_2) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_2, specifically Li, teaches wherein the DCI carried by the PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI (The DCI scrambled by G-RNTI [0030]) comprises DCI carried by a PDCCH scrambled by a first G-RNTI, the DCI carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the first G-RNTI comprising a first bit field for indicating a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) feedback manner (DCI includes a bit field indicating the feedback manner of the HARQ feedback information [0021]), or
the DCI carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the first G-RNTI comprising no first bit field, and an end of the DCI carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the first G-RNTI being a padding bit.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further incorporate the bit field indicating HARQ feedback information into the DCI (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_2) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Hu_1 and Li, specifically Li, teaches wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to the first threshold (a DCI format A is configured in the CSS and is scrambled by G-RNTI. The terminal monitors DCI formats scrambled by GRNTI and total number of DCI sizes is budgeted [0220, 0235-0237]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
Li does not teach wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI… is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises: DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs sent by the network device in the CSS has a same bit number.
In analogous art, Hu_2 teaches wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI… is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises: DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs sent by the network device in the CSS has a same bit number (the downlink control channel is monitored through: a value of the downlink control information (where they may share the same value), a type of search space to be monitored (which can be a common search space), and an RNTI type (which could be a G-RNTI) [0078-0079]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the monitoring of DCI based on length, search space, and G-RNTI (as taught by Hu_2) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1 and Li) in order to reduce the number of times the UE monitors invalid PDCCH, which provides additional power saving (Hu_2, [00152]).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_2, specifically Li, teaches wherein the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCHs (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by all G-RNTIs sent by the network device in the CSS (a DCI format A is configured in the CSS and is scrambled by G-RNTI. The terminal monitors DCI formats scrambled by GRNTI and total number of DCI sizes is budgeted [0220, 0235-0237]) are configured by the network device through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling (the terminal may determine via RRC signaling from the network device, a plurality of DCI formats to be monitored [0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further incorporate the RRC signaling configuration for the DCI bit sizes (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_2) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu_1 in view of Li, and in further view of Hu et al (US 20230006797 A1, hereinafter "Hu_3").
Regarding claim 5, Hu_1 does not teach wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
the DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by the G-RNTI detected by the terminal device in the CSS is of a same type; or
the terminal device detects, in the CSS, only a first target type of DCI carried by the PDCCHs scrambled by the G-RNTI.
In analogous art, Li teaches the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to the first threshold (The total number of DCI sizes scrambled by G-RNTI and configured for monitoring by the terminal in a scheduled cell does not exceed 3 [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
The combination of Hu_1 and Li does not teach wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI … is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
the DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by the G-RNTI detected by the terminal device in the CSS is of a same type; or
the terminal device detects, in the CSS, only a first target type of DCI carried by the PDCCHs scrambled by the G-RNTI.
In analogous art, Hu_3 teaches wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI (number of DCI formats)… is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
the DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by the G-RNTI detected by the terminal device in the CSS is of a same type; or
the terminal device detects, in the CSS, only a first target type of DCI carried by the PDCCHs scrambled by the G-RNTI (The terminal device can detect only one DCI format (DCI format 1_0) in a common search space [0077]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the terminal device detection of only one target type of DCI into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1 and Li) in order to improve flexibility of indicating/scheduling frequency domain resources for multicast transmission (Hu_3, [0005]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu_1, in view of Li, in view of Hu_3, and in further view of Ren et al (US 20200053732, hereinafter "Ren").
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_3 does not teach wherein the first target type of DCI is a first type of DCI or a second type of DCI, a bit number of the first type of DCI being less than or equal to a bit number of the second type of DCI.
In analogous art, Ren teaches wherein the first target type of DCI is a first type of DCI or a second type of DCI, a bit number of the first type of DCI being less than or equal to a bit number of the second type of DCI (A length of the first DCI is less than a length of the second [0035], where a first and a second DCI are in different formats [0033]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the DCI type length requirements (as taught by Ren) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_3) in order to increase the success rate of demodulating information by the terminal device. Improving the demodulation success rate of DCI carried on the PDCCH increases the likelihood that the terminal correctly receives scheduling information for data transmissions, thereby reducing retransmissions and improving overall communication reliability and terminal resource efficiency (Ren, [0010]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu_1, in view of Li, in view of Hu_3, and in further view of Islam et al (US 20210029772, hereinafter "Islam").
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_3 does not teach wherein the first target type is configured by the network device through RRC signaling.
In analogous art, Islam teaches wherein the first target type is configured by the network device through RRC signaling (the UE decoding RRC signaling that provides the UE with a search space to monitor the PDCCH for detection of the DCI format 1_1 [0037]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the DCI type to get specifically monitored (as taught by Islam) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Hu_3) in order to selectively monitor scheduling DCI in one or more SCells of a UE to conserve power and modification of existing or new DCI scheduling formats for improved DCI uniformity/detection complexity (Islam, [003, 0047-0056]).
Claim(s) 13, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu_1 in view of Li, and in further view of Lin et al (WO 2020085991 A1, hereinafter "Lin").
Regarding claim 13, Hu_1 does not teach wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCH scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
a number of types of bit numbers of DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs sent by the network device in the CSS is less than or equal to the first threshold value.
In analogous art, Li teaches wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI carried by the PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by the at least one G-RNTI is less than or equal to the first threshold (The total number of DCI sizes scrambled by G-RNTI and configured for monitoring by the terminal in a scheduled cell does not exceed 3 [0030]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
The combination of Hu_1 and Li does not teach wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI… is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
a number of types of bit numbers of DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs sent by the network device in the CSS is less than or equal to the first threshold value.
In analogous art, Lin teaches wherein a fact that the number of types of the bit numbers of the DCI… is less than or equal to the first threshold comprises:
a number of types of bit numbers of DCI carried by PDCCHs scrambled by all G-RNTIs sent by the network device in the CSS is less than or equal to the first threshold value (if a size budget, which limits the number of DCI sizes the UE can be configured to monitor (threshold) would be exceeded upon the entrance of a DCI format, the DCI format is will have padding added to make the format the same length/size as the current DCI format 1_0 being monitored in the CSS in order to avoid exceeding the size budget threshold [page 23, lines 7-16]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the DCI size matching to remain at or below the DCI size budget (as taught by Lin) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1 and Li) in order to ensure common understanding of DCI contents between the UE and the network device, thereby improving decoding reliability and efficiency while reducing blind detection complexity, processing overhead, and power consumption at the terminal (Lin, [page 3, lines 18-21]).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Hu_1 and Li, specifically Li, teaches wherein a bit number of DCI carried by a PDCCH (The downlink control information (DCI) format is for scheduling a group common physical downlink shared channel and the like [0032]. In New Radio systems standardized by 3GPP, DCI used for scheduling downlink data transmissions is transmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that the disclosed DCI is carried by a PDCCH) scrambled by each G-RNTI sent by the network device in the CSS (a DCI format A is configured in the CSS and is scrambled by G-RNTI. The terminal monitors DCI formats scrambled by GRNTI and total number of DCI sizes is budgeted [0220, 0235-0237]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the threshold of lengths of DCIs in a search space (as taught by Li) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by Hu_1) in order to limit the number of different DCI sizes monitored by the terminal. Limiting the number of DCI sizes helps to reduce the number of blind decoding attempts that must be performed by the terminal when monitoring the control channel, thereby reducing blind detection, complexity and associated terminal processing and monitoring overhead, and improving overall terminal resource efficiency (Li, [0050]).
Li does not teach wherein a bit number of DCI… sent by the network device in the CSS is predefined, or configured by the network device.
In analogous art, Lin teaches wherein a bit number of DCI... sent by the network device in the CSS is predefined, or configured by the network device (The network node cab determine DCI sizes to be monitored by the wireless (terminal) device, and may perform size matching between DCI formats, further configuring the bit number of DCI [page 19, lines 11-12; page 20, lines 18-20]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the network device configuration of DCI size (as taught by Lin) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1 and Li) in order to ensure common understanding of DCI contents between the UE and the network device, thereby improving decoding reliability and efficiency while reducing blind detection complexity, processing overhead, and power consumption at the terminal (Lin, [page 3, lines 18-21]).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu_1 in view of Li, and in further view of Aiba et al (US 20190349142 A1, hereinafter "Aiba").
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Hu_1 and Li does not teach wherein configuration signaling of the CSS comprises a Control Resource Set (CORESET) identity parameter for indicating a CORESET associated with the CSS, a CORESET corresponding to a CORESET identity being within a Common Frequency Resource (CFR).
In analogous art, Aiba teaches wherein configuration signaling of the CSS comprises a Control Resource Set (CORESET) identity parameter for indicating a CORESET associated with the CSS, a CORESET corresponding to a CORESET identity being within a Common Frequency Resource (CFR) (a gNB (network device) transmits, via RRC message, information used for configuring a CORESET (identity of a CORESET) to a terminal device. For each CORESET, the common search space set (CSS) may be mapped. The CORESET is in the frequency domain [0105, 0110]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the CORESET identity parameter with CSS configuration (as taught by Aiba) into the wireless communication method between the terminal and network device (as taught by the combination of Hu_1, Li, and Lin) in order to improve communication flexibility and efficiency in a wireless communication network (Aiba, [0005]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Ma et al (US 20200280995 A1) discloses a method for determining downlink control information and communication apparatus.
Park et al (US 20190387501 A1) discloses a method for transmitting downlink control information in wireless communication system.
Tan et al (US 20170188341 A1) discloses a method, apparatus, and system for processing downlink control channels.
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/A.R.W./Examiner, Art Unit 2413
/UN C CHO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2413