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
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/17/2024 has been fully considered by examiner and made of record.
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 1-2, 6, 9-11, 13-15, and 21-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tiirola et al (US 2023/0337028).
Regarding Claim 1, Tiirola teaches a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors ([0161-0168], Fig. 8), coupled to the one or more memories, ([0150], FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram schematically illustrating steps performed at a user equipment UE) configured to:
receive a control resource set (CORESET) configuration indicating puncturing associated with a CORESET to be received in a transmission bandwidth ([0151-0152], FIG. 6 shows the high level operation. The upper box step S10 is done via RRC (search space configuration), while the second box steps S20 to S60 is performed for each monitoring occasion. Step S10 shows the initial steps where the apparatus or user equipment receives the search space configuration, that is the configuration of the space that is to be monitored for candidate resources. This includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information indicating what part of the resources available for PDCCH, and defined by the CORESET is punctured and in some cases the source elements that are punctured),
wherein the puncturing indicates at least one of a quantity of resource blocks in a frequency domain allocated for the CORESET, an index of one or more punctured resource blocks in the frequency domain, a quantity of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) symbols in the CORESET, a resource element group (REG)-bundle size associated with the CORESET, or a PDCCH precoding configuration associated with the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured, [0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping); and
receive the CORESET in the transmission bandwidth ([0154-0156], Fig. 6, If the skipping condition is not met, i.e., the puncturing rate is smaller than this, then a masking pattern is determined at step S40. The masking pattern reflects the punctured resource elements in the candidate resource. The PDCCH candidate resources are then monitored at step S50 with the masking pattern, where there is one, applied such that where a candidate resource is partially punctured the punctured resource elements are masked (e.g., multiplied by zero). The user equipment will then operate according to the received and decoded signal from the valid candidate resources of the PDCCH at step S60. Steps S20 to S60 are then repeated at the next monitoring occasion)
based at least in part on the puncturing indicated by the CORESET configuration ([0153], Fig. 6, The next steps are performed for each monitoring occasion and comprise a first step S20 in the monitoring procedure where the user equipment determines PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) candidate resources for at least one user specific search base that comprise at least one valid resource element, that is a resource element that is not punctured. Then at step S30 for each determined PDCCH candidate resource the user equipment determines if the skipping condition is met or not. The skipping condition comprises determining whether the puncturing ratio of resource elements to all elements within the resource candidate is at least x%).
Regarding Claim 2, Tiirola teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the puncturing indicates that resource-block level puncturing is to be applied to the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured).
Regarding Claim 6, Tiirola teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein receiving the CORESET comprises performing PDCCH channel estimation, and wherein a demodulation reference signal within a resource block or an REG-bundle that is at least partially outside of the transmission bandwidth is ignored ([0142] CCEs part of fully punctured PDCCH candidates are considered as invalid CCEs [0143] CCEs part of non-punctured and partially punctured PDCCH candidates are considered as valid or invalid CCEs [0144] If the amount of puncturing of is below a threshold (X.sub.L), then CCEs of the PDCCH candidate are considered as valid CCEs in hashing [0145] Otherwise CCEs of the PDCCH candidate are considered as invalid CCEs in hashing).
Regarding Claim 9, Tiirola teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein a quantity of PDCCH candidates per enabled aggregation level candidate for one or more enabled aggregation level candidates associated with receiving the CORESET is based at least in part on at least one of a quantity of resource blocks in a frequency domain in the CORESET, the quantity of PDCCH symbols in the CORESET, or the REG-bundle size associated with the CORESET ([0171-0172], signal generated indicating that puncturing is to be applied may provide an indication of the frequency domain resource elements within the bandwidth that are to be punctured. In some embodiments, the signal generation circuitry 52 may also generate a signal indicating at least one threshold amount, the threshold amount indicating a threshold number of punctured frequency domain resource elements within the candidate resources that would indicate whether the candidate resource is valid or not. In some embodiments, the signal generation circuitry may generate a number of these threshold values each one appropriate to a different aggregation level, In a first step S200 a signal indicating that puncturing is to be applied to signals within a PDCCH channel is generated. At step S210 a signal indicating one or more threshold amounts that are indicative of a valid candidate resource is generated. There may be a single threshold amount generated or there may be a plurality of threshold amounts generated. Where there is a plurality of threshold amounts, these may be linked to an aggregation level of the signals within the PDCCH channel).
Regarding Claim 10, Tiirola teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein a quantity of PDCCH candidates per enabled aggregation level candidate for one or more enabled aggregation level candidates associated with receiving the CORESET is based at least in part on a quantity of control channel elements (CCEs) of the CORESET before puncturing ([0157-0159], there is an initial step S10 as in the method FIG. 6, where the search base configuration is received which includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information. Then when a monitoring occasion arises at step S120 the number of valid control channel elements (CCEs) for at least one user specific search base is determined. Valid CCEs may be defined separately for each aggregation level. That is the threshold of punctured resource elements to all resource elements that indicate whether a candidate resource element is valid or not may change according to the aggregation level. Aggregation levels have different number of resource elements within candidate resources and in some embodiments, candidate resources in aggregation levels with more resource elements may be deemed valid with a greater degree of puncturing. Then at step S140 for each aggregation level, PDCCH candidate resources are identified within a user defined search space according to a hashing function, the hashing function having been updated to replace the total number of CCEs with the total number of valid CCEs for that aggregation level).
Regarding Claim 11, Tiirola teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the CORESET configuration indicates whether the CORESET is to be interleaved or non-interleaved ([0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping).
Regarding Claim 13, Tiirola teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the CORESET is CORESET 0 ([0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping).
Regarding Claim 14, Tiirola teaches a network node for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories ([0169-0171], Fig. 8), configured to: transmit a control resource set (CORESET) configuration indicating puncturing associated with a CORESET to be received in a transmission bandwidth ([0151-0152], FIG. 6 shows the high level operation. The upper box step S10 is done via RRC (search space configuration), while the second box steps S20 to S60 is performed for each monitoring occasion. Step S10 shows the initial steps where the apparatus or user equipment receives the search space configuration, that is the configuration of the space that is to be monitored for candidate resources. This includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information indicating what part of the resources available for PDCCH, and defined by the CORESET is punctured and in some cases the source elements that are punctured),
wherein the puncturing indicates at least one of a quantity of resource blocks in a frequency domain allocated for the CORESET, an index of one or more punctured resource blocks in the frequency domain, a quantity of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) symbols in the CORESET, a resource element group (REG)-bundle size associated with the CORESET, or a PDCCH precoding configuration associated with the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured, [0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping); and
transmit the CORESET in the transmission bandwidth ([0154-0156], Fig. 6, If the skipping condition is not met, i.e., the puncturing rate is smaller than this, then a masking pattern is determined at step S40. The masking pattern reflects the punctured resource elements in the candidate resource. The PDCCH candidate resources are then monitored at step S50 with the masking pattern, where there is one, applied such that where a candidate resource is partially punctured the punctured resource elements are masked (e.g., multiplied by zero). The user equipment will then operate according to the received and decoded signal from the valid candidate resources of the PDCCH at step S60. Steps S20 to S60 are then repeated at the next monitoring occasion)
based at least in part on the puncturing indicated by the CORESET configuration ([0153], Fig. 6, The next steps are performed for each monitoring occasion and comprise a first step S20 in the monitoring procedure where the user equipment determines PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) candidate resources for at least one user specific search base that comprise at least one valid resource element, that is a resource element that is not punctured. Then at step S30 for each determined PDCCH candidate resource the user equipment determines if the skipping condition is met or not. The skipping condition comprises determining whether the puncturing ratio of resource elements to all elements within the resource candidate is at least x%).
Regarding Claim 15, Tiirola teaches the network node of claim 14, wherein the puncturing indicates that resource-block-level puncturing is to be applied to the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured).
Regarding Claim 21, Tiirola teaches the network node of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine one or more enabled aggregation level candidates associated with transmitting the CORESET, wherein the CORESET is transmitted based at least in part on an enabled aggregation level candidate of the one or more enabled aggregation level candidates ([0157], when a monitoring occasion arises at step S120 the number of valid control channel elements (CCEs) for at least one user specific search base is determined. Valid CCEs may be defined separately for each aggregation level. That is the threshold of punctured resource elements to all resource elements that indicate whether a candidate resource element is valid or not may change according to the aggregation level. Aggregation levels have different number of resource elements within candidate resources and in some embodiments, candidate resources in aggregation levels with more resource elements may be deemed valid with a greater degree of puncturing).
Regarding Claim 22, Tiirola teaches the network node of claim 21, wherein the one or more enabled aggregation level candidates are determined based at least in part on a CORESET configuration, a search space set configuration, or an indication transmitted via radio resource control signaling ([0157], there is an initial step S10 as in the method FIG. 6, where the search base configuration is received which includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information. Then when a monitoring occasion arises at step S120 the number of valid control channel elements (CCEs) for at least one user specific search base is determined. Valid CCEs may be defined separately for each aggregation level. That is the threshold of punctured resource elements to all resource elements that indicate whether a candidate resource element is valid or not may change according to the aggregation level. Aggregation levels have different number of resource elements within candidate resources and in some embodiments, candidate resources in aggregation levels with more resource elements may be deemed valid with a greater degree of puncturing).
Regarding Claim 23, Tiirola teaches the network node of claim 14, wherein a quantity of PDCCH candidates per enabled aggregation level candidate for one or more enabled aggregation level candidates associated with transmitting the CORESET is based at least in part on at least one of a quantity of resource blocks in a frequency domain in the CORESET, the quantity of PDCCH symbols in the CORESET, or the REG-bundle size associated with the CORESET ([0171-0172], signal generated indicating that puncturing is to be applied may provide an indication of the frequency domain resource elements within the bandwidth that are to be punctured. In some embodiments, the signal generation circuitry 52 may also generate a signal indicating at least one threshold amount, the threshold amount indicating a threshold number of punctured frequency domain resource elements within the candidate resources that would indicate whether the candidate resource is valid or not. In some embodiments, the signal generation circuitry may generate a number of these threshold values each one appropriate to a different aggregation level, In a first step S200 a signal indicating that puncturing is to be applied to signals within a PDCCH channel is generated. At step S210 a signal indicating one or more threshold amounts that are indicative of a valid candidate resource is generated. There may be a single threshold amount generated or there may be a plurality of threshold amounts generated. Where there is a plurality of threshold amounts, these may be linked to an aggregation level of the signals within the PDCCH channel).
Regarding Claim 24, Tiirola teaches the network node of claim 14, wherein a quantity of PDCCH candidates per enabled aggregation level candidate for one or more enabled aggregation level candidates associated with transmitting the CORESET is based at least in part on a quantity of control channel elements (CCEs) of the CORESET before puncturing ([0157-0159], there is an initial step S10 as in the method FIG. 6, where the search base configuration is received which includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information. Then when a monitoring occasion arises at step S120 the number of valid control channel elements (CCEs) for at least one user specific search base is determined. Valid CCEs may be defined separately for each aggregation level. That is the threshold of punctured resource elements to all resource elements that indicate whether a candidate resource element is valid or not may change according to the aggregation level. Aggregation levels have different number of resource elements within candidate resources and in some embodiments, candidate resources in aggregation levels with more resource elements may be deemed valid with a greater degree of puncturing. Then at step S140 for each aggregation level, PDCCH candidate resources are identified within a user defined search space according to a hashing function, the hashing function having been updated to replace the total number of CCEs with the total number of valid CCEs for that aggregation level).
Regarding Claim 25, Tiirola teaches the network node of claim 14, wherein the CORESET configuration indicates whether the CORESET is interleaved or is non-interleaved ([0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping).
Regarding Claim 26, Tiirola teaches the network node of claim 14, wherein the CORESET is CORESET 0 ([0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping).
Regarding Claim 27, Tiirola teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) ([0150], FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram schematically illustrating steps performed at a user equipment UE), comprising:
receiving a control resource set (CORESET) configuration indicating puncturing associated with a CORESET to be received in a transmission bandwidth ([0151-0152], FIG. 6 shows the high level operation. The upper box step S10 is done via RRC (search space configuration), while the second box steps S20 to S60 is performed for each monitoring occasion. Step S10 shows the initial steps where the apparatus or user equipment receives the search space configuration, that is the configuration of the space that is to be monitored for candidate resources. This includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information indicating what part of the resources available for PDCCH, and defined by the CORESET is punctured and in some cases the source elements that are punctured),
wherein the puncturing indicates at least one of a quantity of resource blocks in a frequency domain allocated for the CORESET, an index of one or more punctured resource blocks in the frequency domain, a quantity of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) symbols in the CORESET, a resource element group (REG)-bundle size associated with the CORESET, or a PDCCH precoding configuration associated with the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured, [0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping); and
receiving the CORESET in the transmission bandwidth ([0154-0156], Fig. 6, If the skipping condition is not met, i.e., the puncturing rate is smaller than this, then a masking pattern is determined at step S40. The masking pattern reflects the punctured resource elements in the candidate resource. The PDCCH candidate resources are then monitored at step S50 with the masking pattern, where there is one, applied such that where a candidate resource is partially punctured the punctured resource elements are masked (e.g., multiplied by zero). The user equipment will then operate according to the received and decoded signal from the valid candidate resources of the PDCCH at step S60. Steps S20 to S60 are then repeated at the next monitoring occasion)
based at least in part on the puncturing indicated by the CORESET configuration ([0153], Fig. 6, The next steps are performed for each monitoring occasion and comprise a first step S20 in the monitoring procedure where the user equipment determines PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) candidate resources for at least one user specific search base that comprise at least one valid resource element, that is a resource element that is not punctured. Then at step S30 for each determined PDCCH candidate resource the user equipment determines if the skipping condition is met or not. The skipping condition comprises determining whether the puncturing ratio of resource elements to all elements within the resource candidate is at least x%).
Regarding Claim 28, Tiirola teaches the method of claim 27, wherein the puncturing indicates that resource-block level puncturing is to be applied to the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured).
Regarding Claim 29, Tiirola teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a network node (Fig. 6), comprising: transmitting a control resource set (CORESET) configuration indicating puncturing associated with a CORESET to be received in a transmission bandwidth ([0151-0152], FIG. 6 shows the high level operation. The upper box step S10 is done via RRC (search space configuration), while the second box steps S20 to S60 is performed for each monitoring occasion. Step S10 shows the initial steps where the apparatus or user equipment receives the search space configuration, that is the configuration of the space that is to be monitored for candidate resources. This includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information indicating what part of the resources available for PDCCH, and defined by the CORESET is punctured and in some cases the source elements that are punctured),
wherein the puncturing indicates at least one of a quantity of resource blocks in a frequency domain allocated for the CORESET, an index of one or more punctured resource blocks in the frequency domain, a quantity of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) symbols in the CORESET, a resource element group (REG)-bundle size associated with the CORESET, or a PDCCH precoding configuration associated with the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured, [0106], FIG. 4 shows CORESET structures with 2 and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbols and 24 PRBs (i.e., 4.32 MHz with 15 kHz SCS). Both interleaved and non-interleaved Control Channel Element (CCE) mapping with Resource Element Group (REG) bundle size = 6 are considered. According to current NR specification, CORESET#0 utilizes always interleaved CCE mapping while dedicated CORESETs (i.e., for CORESETs other than CORESET#O) can be configured to apply either interleaved or non-interleaved CCE mapping); and
transmitting the CORESET in the transmission bandwidth ([0154-0156], Fig. 6, If the skipping condition is not met, i.e., the puncturing rate is smaller than this, then a masking pattern is determined at step S40. The masking pattern reflects the punctured resource elements in the candidate resource. The PDCCH candidate resources are then monitored at step S50 with the masking pattern, where there is one, applied such that where a candidate resource is partially punctured the punctured resource elements are masked (e.g., multiplied by zero). The user equipment will then operate according to the received and decoded signal from the valid candidate resources of the PDCCH at step S60. Steps S20 to S60 are then repeated at the next monitoring occasion)
based at least in part on the puncturing indicated by the CORESET configuration ([0153], Fig. 6, The next steps are performed for each monitoring occasion and comprise a first step S20 in the monitoring procedure where the user equipment determines PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) candidate resources for at least one user specific search base that comprise at least one valid resource element, that is a resource element that is not punctured. Then at step S30 for each determined PDCCH candidate resource the user equipment determines if the skipping condition is met or not. The skipping condition comprises determining whether the puncturing ratio of resource elements to all elements within the resource candidate is at least x%).
Regarding Claim 30, Tiirola teaches the method of claim 29, wherein the puncturing indicates that resource-block-level puncturing is to be applied to the CORESET ([0084], A UE is made aware of the CORESET puncturing - i.e., which resource elements such as PRBs are punctured (or which are not punctured). This may be done by way of a puncturing pattern. The puncturing pattern may be described by a bitmap of N bits (N may be 24 for example), where each bit represents one resource element such as a PRB, a value of 1 may be used to indicate that the PRB is transmitted, while a value of 0 may indicate that it is not, i.e., it is punctured).
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.
Claims 3, 7-8, 12, 16, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tiirola et al (US 2023/0337028), in view of Seo et al (US 2020/0374036).
Regarding Claim 3, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 1, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Seo teaches wherein the puncturing indicates that REG-bundle-level puncturing is to be applied to the CORESET ([0163], In FIG. 6, CORESET 0 is configured in 1 symbol in the time domain (duration=1). Interleaving of a REG bundle level is applied to CORESET 0. In this case, the REG bundle size is assumed to be 2. CORESET 1 is configured over 3 symbols (duration=3) in the time domain. It is assumed that interleaving is not applied to CORESET 1. In FIG. 6, the number marked on each REG represents a CCE index, [0183], a CORESET in which puncturing or rate matching may be assumed to be performed may be predefined in advance. For example, the UE may assume that puncturing is applied to a CORESET to which time-first mapping is applied, or that puncturing is applied to a CORESET on which interleaving is performed at the REG bundle level).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate REG Bundle-level puncturing, as taught in Seo, in the system of Tiirola, in order to improve the accuracy of precoder granularity.
Regarding Claim 7, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine one or more enabled aggregation level candidates associated with receiving the CORESET ([0157], when a monitoring occasion arises at step S120 the number of valid control channel elements (CCEs) for at least one user specific search base is determined. Valid CCEs may be defined separately for each aggregation level. That is the threshold of punctured resource elements to all resource elements that indicate whether a candidate resource element is valid or not may change according to the aggregation level. Aggregation levels have different number of resource elements within candidate resources and in some embodiments, candidate resources in aggregation levels with more resource elements may be deemed valid with a greater degree of puncturing).
Tiirola fails to teach the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Seo teaches wherein receiving the CORESET comprises performing blind decoding on one or more PDCCH candidates associated with the one or more enabled aggregation level candidates ([0052], A control resource configured (CORESET) and a search space (SS) are briefly described now. The CORESET may be a configured of resources for control signal transmission and the search space may be aggregation of control channel candidates for perform blind detection).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate REG Bundle-level puncturing and blind decoding, as taught in Seo, in the system of Tiirola, in order to improve the accuracy of precoder granularity.
Regarding Claim 8, Tiirola, modified by Seo, teaches the invention of Claim 7, Tiirola further teaches wherein the one or more enabled aggregation level candidates are determined based at least in part on the CORESET configuration, a search space set configuration, or an indication received via radio resource control signaling ([0157], there is an initial step S10 as in the method FIG. 6, where the search base configuration is received which includes the CORESET configuration and puncturing information. Then when a monitoring occasion arises at step S120 the number of valid control channel elements (CCEs) for at least one user specific search base is determined. Valid CCEs may be defined separately for each aggregation level. That is the threshold of punctured resource elements to all resource elements that indicate whether a candidate resource element is valid or not may change according to the aggregation level. Aggregation levels have different number of resource elements within candidate resources and in some embodiments, candidate resources in aggregation levels with more resource elements may be deemed valid with a greater degree of puncturing).
Regarding Claim 12, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 1, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Seo teaches wherein PDCCH precoding within each REG of the CORESET is applied in association with REG-bundle-level puncturing ([0163], In FIG. 6, CORESET 0 is configured in 1 symbol in the time domain (duration=1). Interleaving of a REG bundle level is applied to CORESET 0. In this case, the REG bundle size is assumed to be 2. CORESET 1 is configured over 3 symbols (duration=3) in the time domain. It is assumed that interleaving is not applied to CORESET 1. In FIG. 6, the number marked on each REG represents a CCE index, [0183], a CORESET in which puncturing or rate matching may be assumed to be performed may be predefined in advance. For example, the UE may assume that puncturing is applied to a CORESET to which time-first mapping is applied, or that puncturing is applied to a CORESET on which interleaving is performed at the REG bundle level).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate REG Bundle-level puncturing, as taught in Seo, in the system of Tiirola, in order to improve the accuracy of precoder granularity.
Regarding Claim 16, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 14, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Seo teaches wherein the puncturing indicates that REG-bundle-level puncturing is to be applied to the CORESET ([0163], In FIG. 6, CORESET 0 is configured in 1 symbol in the time domain (duration=1). Interleaving of a REG bundle level is applied to CORESET 0. In this case, the REG bundle size is assumed to be 2. CORESET 1 is configured over 3 symbols (duration=3) in the time domain. It is assumed that interleaving is not applied to CORESET 1. In FIG. 6, the number marked on each REG represents a CCE index, [0183], a CORESET in which puncturing or rate matching may be assumed to be performed may be predefined in advance. For example, the UE may assume that puncturing is applied to a CORESET to which time-first mapping is applied, or that puncturing is applied to a CORESET on which interleaving is performed at the REG bundle level).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate REG Bundle-level puncturing, as taught in Seo, in the system of Tiirola, in order to improve the accuracy of precoder granularity.
Regarding Claim 19, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 14, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Seo teaches wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the CORESET, are configured to apply PDCCH precoding across all REGs of the CORESET in association with applying resource-block-level puncturing ([0009], a configuration for a control resource set, the information including information about precoder granularity, and monitoring a control channel candidate by determining resource element groups (REGs) for which the same precoding is assumed to be used among REGs included in the control resource set based on the information about the precoder granularity, wherein, based on the information about the precoder granularity being related to a first configuration, the terminal may assume that the same precoding is used for REGs included in contiguous resource blocks in the control resource set, wherein, based on some of the resource blocks overlapping with other resource region, even when specific resource blocks in the resource blocks are no longer contiguous to each other due to the overlapping, the terminal may assume, based on the first configuration, that the same precoding is used for the REGs included in the specific resource blocks).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate REG Bundle-level puncturing, as taught in Seo, in the system of Tiirola, in order to improve the accuracy of precoder granularity.
Regarding Claim 20, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 14, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Seo teaches wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the CORESET, are configured to apply PDCCH precoding within each REG of the CORESET in association with applying REG-bundle-level puncturing ([0163], In FIG. 6, CORESET 0 is configured in 1 symbol in the time domain (duration=1). Interleaving of a REG bundle level is applied to CORESET 0. In this case, the REG bundle size is assumed to be 2. CORESET 1 is configured over 3 symbols (duration=3) in the time domain. It is assumed that interleaving is not applied to CORESET 1. In FIG. 6, the number marked on each REG represents a CCE index, [0183], a CORESET in which puncturing or rate matching may be assumed to be performed may be predefined in advance. For example, the UE may assume that puncturing is applied to a CORESET to which time-first mapping is applied, or that puncturing is applied to a CORESET on which interleaving is performed at the REG bundle level).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate REG Bundle-level puncturing, as taught in Seo, in the system of Tiirola, in order to improve the accuracy of precoder granularity.
Claims 4-5 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tiirola et al (US 2023/0337028), in view of Tiirola et al (US 2024/0284358, hereinafter “Tiirola II”).
Regarding Claim 4, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 1, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Tiirola II teaches wherein a configured quantity of resource blocks (RBs) in a frequency domain in the CORESET is greater than a quantity of RBs in the transmission bandwidth, and an RB or an REG-bundle of the CORESET that is at least partially outside of the transmission bandwidth is punctured ([0048], When considering potential SSB changes, it may be desirable for the UE to determine a correct puncturing pattern. For instance, the UE may ascertain which PRBs are punctured by defining a relationship between the synchronization raster position and the puncturing. In the puncturing operation, the NR base station (BS) may blank a signal mapped on certain predefined RBs that fall outside the desired transmission BW (i.e., the NR BS does not transmit the signals)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the zeroing out of resource blocks partially outside the transmission bandwidth, as taught in Tiirola II, in the system of Tiirola, in order to ensure the UE is transmitting with the correct puncturing pattern.
Regarding Claim 5, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 1, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Tiirola II teaches wherein receiving the CORESET comprises performing PDCCH detection within a search space, wherein a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) of a resource block or an REG-bundle that is at least partially outside of the transmission bandwidth is set to zero ([0048], When considering potential SSB changes, it may be desirable for the UE to determine a correct puncturing pattern. For instance, the UE may ascertain which PRBs are punctured by defining a relationship between the synchronization raster position and the puncturing. In the puncturing operation, the NR base station (BS) may blank a signal mapped on certain predefined RBs that fall outside the desired transmission BW (i.e., the NR BS does not transmit the signals). Otherwise, the NR BS encoding and transmit processing may be kept unchanged. In some example embodiments, when the UE receives the transmission with punctured RBs, the UE may null the punctured RBs at the receiver (e.g., setting the log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) to zero in the channel decoder). Otherwise, the UE's receiver processing may be kept unchanged).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the zeroing out of resource blocks partially outside the transmission bandwidth, as taught in Tiirola II, in the system of Tiirola, in order to ensure the UE is transmitting with the correct puncturing pattern.
Regarding Claim 17, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 14, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Tiirola II teaches wherein a configured quantity of resource blocks (RBs) in a frequency domain in the CORESET is greater than a quantity of RBs in the transmission bandwidth, and an RB or an REG-bundle of the CORESET that is at least partially outside of the transmission bandwidth is punctured ([0048], When considering potential SSB changes, it may be desirable for the UE to determine a correct puncturing pattern. For instance, the UE may ascertain which PRBs are punctured by defining a relationship between the synchronization raster position and the puncturing. In the puncturing operation, the NR base station (BS) may blank a signal mapped on certain predefined RBs that fall outside the desired transmission BW (i.e., the NR BS does not transmit the signals)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the zeroing out of resource blocks partially outside the transmission bandwidth, as taught in Tiirola II, in the system of Tiirola, in order to ensure the UE is transmitting with the correct puncturing pattern.
Regarding Claim 18, Tiirola teaches the invention of Claim 14, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Tiirola II teaches wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the CORESET, are configured to transmit with zero power in a resource block or an REG-bundle that is at least partially outside of the transmission bandwidth ([0048], When considering potential SSB changes, it may be desirable for the UE to determine a correct puncturing pattern. For instance, the UE may ascertain which PRBs are punctured by defining a relationship between the synchronization raster position and the puncturing. In the puncturing operation, the NR base station (BS) may blank a signal mapped on certain predefined RBs that fall outside the desired transmission BW (i.e., the NR BS does not transmit the signals). Otherwise, the NR BS encoding and transmit processing may be kept unchanged. In some example embodiments, when the UE receives the transmission with punctured RBs, the UE may null the punctured RBs at the receiver (e.g., setting the log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) to zero in the channel decoder). Otherwise, the UE's receiver processing may be kept unchanged).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the zeroing out of resource blocks partially outside the transmission bandwidth, as taught in Tiirola II, in the system of Tiirola, in order to ensure the UE is transmitting with the correct puncturing pattern.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Kim et al (US 2023/0081776) discloses A terminal for performing communication in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes: a transceiver; and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration information and rate matching configuration information from a base station, through the transceiver, identify resource elements (REs) overlapping a rate matching resource from among REs included in PDCCH candidates, based on the PDCCH configuration information and the rate matching configuration information, and monitor a PDCCH candidate including the identified REs from among the PDCCH candidates, based on whether a number of ports of signals transmitted via the rate matching resource exceeds a preset value ([0021]);
Hakola et al (US 2025/0055645) discloses a device, a system, a non-transitory computer-readable medium (having stored thereon computer executable program code which can be executed on a computer system), and/or a method can perform a process including determining a control resource set (CORESET) frequency location from a punctured synchronization signal block according to an example embodiment. A method may include determining, by a network device, a control resource set (CORESET) frequency location based on a Physical Resource Block (PRB) puncturing pattern, determining, by the network device, a resource block (RB) offset based on the CORESET location, signaling, by the network device, a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) parameter and a signaled offset configured to indicate the RB offset in a master information block (MIB) of a PBCH of a synchronization signal (SS) block (SSB), and communicating, by the network device, the SSB ([0009]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARGARET G WEBB whose telephone number is (571)270-7803. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Appiah can be reached at (571) 272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARGARET G WEBB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641