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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/11/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7-8, 11-15, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan; Mostafa et al. US PGPUB 20210298051 A1 (hereinafter Khosh), in view of Liu; Le et al. US PGPUB 20210099991 A1.
Regarding claim 1. Khosh teaches A method comprising:
determining, by a user equipment (UE), a first number of repetitions of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) within a given slot; ([0088] In other examples, multiple TCI states may be indicated by a TCI field of the DCI that activates an SPS configuration, and a number of SPS PDSCH repetitions may be based on the configuration of a number of TCI indicated by the TCI field and a configured repetition scheme (such as a time division multiplexing (TDM) scheme of a UE)…. Based on these configurations, the repetitions of the SPS PDSCH may include repetitions of the PDSCH within a same slot, and the SPS PDSCH may be included in one slot per SPS period.
[0143] In some examples, a number of PDSCH repetitions for SPS PDSCH 215 may be determined based on a configured repetition scheme for PDSCH and a number of indicated TCI states in the DCI. In examples in which multiple TCI states are indicated (e.g., by DCI), then multiple (e.g., two) repetitions of the PDSCH 215 may be included in a same slot (e.g., in respective SPS periods).” )
determining, by the UE, a second number of slot repetitions within an SPS period based on at least one of an aggregation factor of an information element (IE) or a repetition number of a time domain resource allocation; ([0139] In cases where a given SPS configuration is activated (e.g., activated using a DCI with CRC scrambled by CS-RNTI and NDI=0), the value for pdsch-AggregationFactor in sps-config for the activated SPS configuration may be used for the number of slots used for repetitions.
[0088] Additionally or alternatively, the SPS PDSCH repetitions may be repeated within a slot and also repeated across multiple consecutive slots (e.g., where each slot include multiple repetitions of the PDSCH).
[0163] In another example, each SPS PDSCH may include 2*N repetitions in N consecutive slots, each slot containing 2 repetitions (e.g., inter-slot and intra-slot repetition), within an SPS periodicity 390. N may be a value of the aggregation factor configured for the sps-config, or in some other cases N may be the value of the aggregation factor configured for the pdsch-config.) and
receiving, by the UE, the SPS PDSCH in accordance with the first number of repetitions within the given slot and the second number of slot repetitions within the SPS period. (Fig. 5, step 560 receive SPS PDSCH and the preceding blocks e.g. 525, repetition number 535 and 545 aggregation factor).
Khosh does not teach
wherein first and second SPS PDSCH repetitions are positioned within the given slot such
that a symbol gap is provided between a last symbol of the first SPS PDSCH repetition and a first symbol of the second SPS PDSCH repetition.
However, Liu teaches
wherein first and second SPS PDSCH repetitions are positioned within the given slot such
that a symbol gap is provided between a last symbol of the first SPS PDSCH repetition and a first symbol of the second SPS PDSCH repetition. ([0147] followed by a first transmission of PDSCH 525 and one or more repetitions (with two repetitions being shown by way of example only) of the PDSCH 525 during the slot. In some examples, one or more of the repetitions of PDSCH 525 may include another transmission of DMRS 530 in the first symbol of the repetition.
Examiner notes that the “another transmission of DMRS 530 in the first symbol of the repetition reads on the “symbol gap” in the limitation)
In order to improve channel estimation when PDSCH repetitions are used ([0139])
Khosh and Liu are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Khosh with the technique of DMRS symbol between two PDSCH repetitions in Liu in order to improve channel estimation when PDSCH repetition are used.
Regarding claim 2. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 1, Khosh teaches wherein first and second transmission configuration identifier (TCI) states are provided for the SPS PDSCH by downlink control information (DCI) activating the SPS PDSCH. ([0088] In other examples, multiple TCI states may be indicated by a TCI field of the DCI that activates an SPS configuration, and a number of SPS PDSCH repetitions may be based on the configuration of a number of TCI indicated by the TCI field and a configured repetition scheme (such as a time division multiplexing (TDM) scheme of a UE).)
Regarding claim 3. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 2, Khosh teaches further comprising: applying, by the UE, a repetition scheme for the first number of repetitions based on the dynamic PDSCH; ([0147] In some examples, SPS PDSCH configuration 300-b described in FIG. 3B may implement dynamic PDSCH (e.g., non-SPS PDSCH) that may include a dynamic indication in DCI 305 that indicates of the number of repetitions for the PDSCH in consecutive slots.) or receiving, by the UE, a configuration for the repetition scheme for the first number of repetitions that is configured for SPS separately from the dynamic PDSCH.
Regarding claim 4. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 3, Khosh teaches wherein: the first TCI state is applied to a first SPS PDSCH repetition in the given slot and the second TCI state is applied to a second SPS PDSCH repetition in the given slot; ([0160] The number of TCI states may in some examples correspond to a number of repetitions (e.g., a first repetition corresponding to a first TCI state and a second repetition corresponding to a second TCI state) ) and the second number of slot repetitions is equal to the aggregation factor or half of the aggregation factor. ([0163] In another example, each SPS PDSCH may include 2*N repetitions in N consecutive slots, each slot containing 2 repetitions (e.g., inter-slot and intra-slot repetition), within an SPS periodicity 390. N may be a value of the aggregation factor configured for the sps-config, or in some other cases N may be the value of the aggregation factor configured for the pdsch-config.)
Regarding claim 7. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 2, Khosh teaches wherein the second number of slot repetitions is based on: the aggregation factor, without the repetition number; the repetition number, without the aggregation factor; ([0011] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, determining the repetition number based on the rule may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the PDSCH configuration excludes a configuration of a first aggregation factor or the SPS configuration excludes a configuration of a second aggregation factor, or a combination thereof) or a predefined rule based on both the aggregation factor and the repetition number. ([0139] In cases where a given SPS configuration is activated (e.g., activated using a DCI with CRC scrambled by CS-RNTI and NDI=0), the value for pdsch-AggregationFactor in sps-config for the activated SPS configuration may be used for the number of slots used for repetitions.
[0133] Additionally or alternatively, if the TDRA entry indicated by the DCI (e.g., in the TDRA field) does not include the repetition number, then the number of PDSCH repetitions in an SPS period may be based on an aggregation factor in the SPS configuration (e.g., if configured), an aggregation factor in the PDSCH configuration, or both.)
Regarding claim 8. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 2, Khosh teaches wherein the second number of slot repetitions is based on the aggregation factor, ([0133] Additionally or alternatively, if the TDRA entry indicated by the DCI (e.g., in the TDRA field) does not include the repetition number, then the number of PDSCH repetitions in an SPS period may be based on an aggregation factor in the SPS configuration (e.g., if configured), an aggregation factor in the PDSCH configuration, or both.)
wherein the second number of slot repetitions comprises one or more sets, with each of the one or more sets having a third number of slots corresponding to the repetition number. ([0163] In another example, each SPS PDSCH may include 2*N repetitions in N consecutive slots, each slot containing 2 repetitions (e.g., inter-slot and intra-slot repetition), within an SPS periodicity 390. N may be a value of the aggregation factor configured for the sps-config, or in some other cases N may be the value of the aggregation factor configured for the pdsch-config.)
Regarding claim 11. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 2, and Khosh teaches wherein, when receiving the aggregation factor at the UE, the UE does not expect to receive or apply a configuration for a repetition scheme for the first number of repetitions, or does not expect to receive the second number of slot repetitions based on the time domain resource allocation. ([0142] some cases (such as when the TDRA entry does not include the repetition number), one or both of the first aggregation factor or the second aggregation factor (e.g., if configured) may be used for determining repetitions of the SPS PDSCH 215.)
Regarding claim 12-15 and 18 . Khosh and Liu teaches A user equipment (UE) comprising: a processor; (Khosh Fig. 11, Processor 1140) and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, (Khosh Fig. 11, Memory and Code 1130/1135) when executed, cause the processor to perform the method recited in claim 1-4 and 7. It is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 20. Khosh teaches A method comprising:
determining, by the UE, a first number of slot repetitions within a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) period for an SPS physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) based on at least one of an aggregation factor of an information element (IE) ([0139] In cases where a given SPS configuration is activated (e.g., activated using a DCI with CRC scrambled by CS-RNTI and NDI=0), the value for pdsch-AggregationFactor in sps-config for the activated SPS configuration may be used for the number of slots used for repetitions.
[0133] Additionally or alternatively, if the TDRA entry indicated by the DCI (e.g., in the TDRA field) does not include the repetition number, then the number of PDSCH repetitions in an SPS period may be based on an aggregation factor in the SPS configuration (e.g., if configured), an aggregation factor in the PDSCH configuration, or both.) or
a repetition number of a time domain resource allocation; (([0088] In other examples, multiple TCI states may be indicated by a TCI field of the DCI that activates an SPS configuration, and a number of SPS PDSCH repetitions may be based on the configuration of a number of TCI indicated by the TCI field and a configured repetition scheme (such as a time division multiplexing (TDM) scheme of a UE)…. Based on these configurations, the repetitions of the SPS PDSCH may include repetitions of the PDSCH within a same slot, and the SPS PDSCH may be included in one slot per SPS period.)) and
receiving, by the UE, the SPS PDSCH in accordance with the first number of slot repetitions within the SPS period, (Fig. 5, step 560 receive SPS PDSCH and the preceding blocks e.g. 525, repetition number 535 and 545 aggregation factor).
wherein the first number of slot repetitions is based on the aggregation factor ([0133] Additionally or alternatively, if the TDRA entry indicated by the DCI (e.g., in the TDRA field) does not include the repetition number, then the number of PDSCH repetitions in an SPS period may be based on an aggregation factor in the SPS configuration (e.g., if configured), an aggregation factor in the PDSCH configuration, or both.) ) and comprises
one or more sets, with each of the one or more sets having a second number of slots corresponding to the repetition number, and a last set having a third number of slots that is less than or equal to the second number of slots. ([0262]. In some examples, the SPS transmission component 1425 may transmit the one or more repetitions of the PDSCH transmission within a set of consecutive slot time periods occurring within each SPS time period of a set of SPS time periods, each slot time period of the set of consecutive slot time periods including two repetitions of the PDSCH transmission. In some cases, the number of repetitions of the PDSCH transmission are within a time period that is less than or equal to the SPS time period.)
Khosh does not teach
wherein first and second SPS PDSCH repetitions are positioned within the given slot such
that a symbol gap is provided between a last symbol of the first SPS PDSCH repetition and a first symbol of the second SPS PDSCH repetition.
However, Liu teaches
wherein first and second SPS PDSCH repetitions are positioned within the given slot such
that a symbol gap is provided between a last symbol of the first SPS PDSCH repetition and a first symbol of the second SPS PDSCH repetition. ([0147] followed by a first transmission of PDSCH 525 and one or more repetitions (with two repetitions being shown by way of example only) of the PDSCH 525 during the slot. In some examples, one or more of the repetitions of PDSCH 525 may include another transmission of DMRS 530 in the first symbol of the repetition.
Examiner notes that the “another transmission of DMRS 530 in the first symbol of the repetition reads on the “symbol gap” in the limitation)
In order to improve channel estimation when PDSCH repetitions are used ([0139])
Khosh and Liu are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Khosh with the technique of DMRS symbol between two PDSCH repetitions in Liu in order to improve channel estimation when PDSCH repetition are used.
Claims 6 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khosh and Liu as applied to claim 4 and 15 above, and further in view of Frenne; Mattias et al. US PGPUB 20220124768 A1.
Regarding claim 6. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 4, but they do not teach wherein the repetition scheme is a frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) scheme, and the first SPS PDSCH repetition and the second SPS PDSCH repetition overlap in a time domain and are adjacent in a frequency domain.
However, Frenne teaches
wherein the repetition scheme is a frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) scheme, and the first SPS PDSCH repetition and the second SPS PDSCH repetition overlap in a time domain and are adjacent in a frequency domain ([0146] In some embodiments, the network (e.g., serving gNB) can configure multiple UEs with the same offset value and schedule the multiple UEs using primary PDSCH resources that are adjacent in the frequency domain. In this manner, the frequency-domain PDSCH repetition resources for each UE can be arranged in a comb-like pattern, such that PDSCH repetitions for multiple UEs can be scheduled with non-overlapping PDSCH combs.)
in order to reduce interference by providing frequency diversity for each scheduled UE. ([0146]
Khosh and Frenne are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Khosh with the technique of FDM SPS PDSCH repetition in order to reduce interference between UEs.
Regarding claim 17. Khosh and Liu teach The UE of claim 15, but they do not teach wherein the repetition scheme is a frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) scheme, and the first SPS PDSCH repetition and the second SPS PDSCH repetition overlap in a time domain and are adjacent in a frequency domain.
However, Frenne teaches
wherein the repetition scheme is a frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) scheme, and the first SPS PDSCH repetition and the second SPS PDSCH repetition overlap in a time domain and are adjacent in a frequency domain ([0146] In some embodiments, the network (e.g., serving gNB) can configure multiple UEs with the same offset value and schedule the multiple UEs using primary PDSCH resources that are adjacent in the frequency domain. In this manner, the frequency-domain PDSCH repetition resources for each UE can be arranged in a comb-like pattern, such that PDSCH repetitions for multiple UEs can be scheduled with non-overlapping PDSCH combs.)
in order to reduce interference by providing frequency diversity for each scheduled UE. ([0146]
Khosh and Frenne are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Khosh with the technique of FDM SPS PDSCH repetition in order to reduce interference between UEs.
Claims 9, 10 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khosh and Liu as applied to claim 8 and 13 above, and further in view of Gao; Shiwei et al. US PGPUB 20230127381 A1
Regarding claim 9. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 8, but they do not teach wherein the first and second TCI states are applied to the third number of slots in each of the one or more sets based on sequential or cyclical mapping.
However, Gao teaches wherein the first and second TCI states are applied to the third number of slots in each of the one or more sets based on sequential or cyclical mapping. ([0118] Hence, the different multiple PDSCH transmissions use either TCI states {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x}, or {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y}. For example, if n=1, then the multiple repetitions used are {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, . . . } or {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, . . . } in cyclic mapping or {1.sup.st default TCI state, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, TCI state y} in sequential mapping (there are four occasions in this example).)
in order to reduce system delay by UE receiving PDSCH repetition using no more than two TCI states ([0119])
Khosh and Gao are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Khosh with the technique of TCI mapping in Gao in order to reduce system delay.
Regarding claim 10. Khosh and Liu teach The method of claim 8, but they do not teach wherein: the second number of slot repetitions comprises a last set having a fourth number of slots that is less than the third number of slots; and the first and second TCI states are applied to the last set based on sequential mapping or cyclical mapping based on the third number of slots or the fourth number of slots.
However, Gao teaches
wherein: but it does not teach the second number of slot repetitions comprises a last set having a fourth number of slots that is less than the third number of slots; and the first and second TCI states are applied to the last set based on sequential mapping or cyclical mapping based on the third number of slots or the fourth number of slots. ([0118] Hence, the different multiple PDSCH transmissions use either TCI states {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x}, or {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y}. For example, if n=1, then the multiple repetitions used are {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, . . . } or {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, . . . } in cyclic mapping or {1.sup.st default TCI state, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, TCI state y} in sequential mapping (there are four occasions in this example).)
in order to reduce system delay by UE receiving PDSCH repetition using no more than two TCI states ([0119])
Khosh and Gao are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Khosh with the technique of TCI mapping in Gao in order to reduce system delay.
Regarding claim 19. Khosh and Liu teach The UE of claim 13, and Khosh teaches wherein: the second number of slot repetitions is based on the aggregation factor, ([0133] Additionally or alternatively, if the TDRA entry indicated by the DCI (e.g., in the TDRA field) does not include the repetition number, then the number of PDSCH repetitions in an SPS period may be based on an aggregation factor in the SPS configuration (e.g., if configured), an aggregation factor in the PDSCH configuration, or both.)
wherein the second number of slot repetitions comprises one or more sets, with each of the one or more sets having a third number of slots corresponding to the repetition number; . ([0163] In another example, each SPS PDSCH may include 2*N repetitions in N consecutive slots, each slot containing 2 repetitions (e.g., inter-slot and intra-slot repetition), within an SPS periodicity 390. N may be a value of the aggregation factor configured for the sps-config, or in some other cases N may be the value of the aggregation factor configured for the pdsch-config.)
Khosh and Liu do not teach
the first and second TCI states are applied to the third number of slots in each of the one or more sets based on sequential or cyclical mapping; the second number of slot repetitions comprises a last set having a fourth number of slots that is less than the third number of slots; and the first and second TCI states are applied to the last set based on sequential mapping or cyclical mapping based on the third number of slots or the fourth number of slots.
However, Gao teaches
the first and second TCI states are applied to the third number of slots in each of the one or more sets based on sequential or cyclical mapping; the second number of slot repetitions comprises a last set having a fourth number of slots that is less than the third number of slots; and the first and second TCI states are applied to the last set based on sequential mapping or cyclical mapping based on the third number of slots or the fourth number of slots. ([0118] Hence, the different multiple PDSCH transmissions use either TCI states {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x}, or {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y}. For example, if n=1, then the multiple repetitions used are {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state x, . . . } or {1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, . . . } in cyclic mapping or {1.sup.st default TCI state, 1.sup.st default TCI state, TCI state y, TCI state y} in sequential mapping (there are four occasions in this example).)
in order to reduce system delay by UE receiving PDSCH repetition using no more than two TCI states ([0119])
Khosh and Gao are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Khosh with the technique of TCI mapping in Gao in order to reduce system delay.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHAOHUI YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-7527. The examiner can normally be reached 9 AM to 5 PM M-F.
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/ZHAOHUI YANG/ Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
