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 09/16/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
This office action is in reply to Applicant’s Request for Continued Examination dated 08/05/2025. Claims 1 and 16 were amended. Claims 1-12 and 14-22 remains pending in the application.
As a result of amendment to the claims the objection to claim 16 no longer applies.
Response to Arguments
The applicant argues (see page3 line5 of applicants Remark) that “”Li2 fails to disclose “wherein the format of the control messages on the first scheduling cell for self-scheduling includes the CIF as a reserved field in response to configuration for scheduling the scheduled cell from the second scheduling cell,” as recited in the amended independent Claim 1””
The applicant argument is persuasive based on the modification the applicant made to the claims after the last examination. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However new ground of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 is made in view of the amendment made by the applicant.
The combination of Li, Li2 and new reference Quan et al. (USPGPub 2014/0126520) Quan hereinafter is now relied upon to teach the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
In 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 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 factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-12 and 14-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (U.S. PGPUB 2024/0284457), Li hereinafter, in view of Li (USPGPub 2020/0305179) Li2 hereinafter and further in view of Quan et al. . (USPGPub 2014/0126520) Quan hereinafter.
Regarding Claims 1 and 16, Li teaches claim a method of wireless communication, comprising: (paragraph 0034 - FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system …) determining, by a wireless device, a size of control messages on scheduling cells on which the wireless device is configured to monitor control channels for a scheduled cell, (paragraph 0037 - Step 21: When L scheduling cells are used to schedule a target cell, a communication device determines a size of DCI of each scheduling cell, where the DCI is used to schedule the target cell.) wherein the scheduling cells include a first scheduling cell for self-scheduling and a second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling, (paragraphs 0038 and 0068 - In this embodiment, L is greater than or equal to 2, that is, L≥2. For example, the target cell is a primary cell (Pcell). When a secondary cell (Scell) is configured to be used to schedule the Pcell, the Pcell is scheduled by using both the Scell and the Pcell. In this case, L is equal to 2. ...In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits. When a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are a same cell (that is, self-scheduling), whether a CIF field of the DCI exists depends on a configuration parameter of self-scheduling by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.) and wherein the size of control messages on the first scheduling cell and the size of control messages on the second scheduling cell are same; and (paragraph 0090 - For another example, if one of all scheduling cells adds one bit to DCI 0_1/DCI 0_1 to distinguish different DCI formats in a process of DCI size alignment, one bit is padded to DCI 0_1/DCI 0_1 of all scheduling cells (such as the Pcell and the Scell). For example, if a size of non-fallback DCI 0_1 of a user-specific search space (USS) is the same as a size of DCI of another USS, one-bit 0 may be padded to the end of DCI 0_1. If a size of non-fallback fallback DCI 1_1 of a USS is the same as the size of the fallback DCI of the another USS, one-bit 0 may be padded to the end of DCI 1_1.) monitoring the control channels for the control messages, (paragraph 0021 … The processor is configured to determine … The first condition includes at least one of the following: a quantity of different sizes of DCI used by a terminal to perform PDCCH monitoring is not greater than a first value; and a quantity of different sizes of DCI used by a terminal to perform PDCCH monitoring scrambled by using a specific identifier is not greater than a second value.).
Yet, Li does not expressly teach wherein a format of the control messages on the second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling include a carrier indicator field (CIF), wherein the CIF on the first scheduling cell includes a same number of bits as the CIF on the second scheduling cell.
However, in the analogous art, Li2 explicitly discloses wherein a format of the control messages on the second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling include a carrier indicator field (CIF), (paragraph 0037 - Specifically, the scheduling type identifier may be represented by two bits. The base station may set different values of the bits to indicate different scheduling types. For example, the scheduling type identifier is cif-presence. A value of 01 of the cif-presence indicates that the scheduling type is a semi-persistent cross-carrier scheduling. A value of 00 of the cif-presence indicates that the scheduling type is a semi-persistent self-scheduling. A value of 10 of the cif-presence indicates that the scheduling type is a dynamic scheduling.) wherein the CIF on the first scheduling cell includes a same number of bits as the CIF on the second scheduling cell. (paragraph 0037 - Specifically, the scheduling type identifier may be represented by two bits. The base station may set different values of the bits to indicate different scheduling types. For example, the scheduling type identifier is cif-presence. A value of 01 of the cif-presence indicates that the scheduling type is a semi-persistent cross-carrier scheduling. A value of 00 of the cif-presence indicates that the scheduling type is a semi-persistent self-scheduling. A value of 10 of the cif-presence indicates that the scheduling type is a dynamic scheduling.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Li’s Information processing method and apparatus, communication device, and readable storage medium to include Li2’s 2-bit carrier indicator on self-scheduling and cross-carrier scheduling because Li2’s invention claims to improve flexibility of scheduling and throughput of communication systems (paragraph 0006 Li2).
Yet, Li in view of Li2 does not expressly teach wherein the format of the control messages on the first scheduling cell for self- scheduling includes the CIF as a reserved field in response to configuration for scheduling the scheduled cell from the second scheduling cell.
However, in the analogous art, Quan explicitly discloses wherein the format of the control messages on the first scheduling cell for self- scheduling includes the CIF as a reserved field in response to configuration for scheduling the scheduled cell from the second scheduling cell (paragraph 0110 teaches idle value as a reserved values - Different from ordinary control signaling, a cross scheduling command includes a CIF field. The CIF field has three bits, and its value range is 0 to 7, where 0 means that the PUSCH or PDSCH indicated by the control signaling is located in the primary serving cell, and 1 to 7 refer to the specific secondary serving cell. … a specific value in the idle values of the CIF field, or any one value in the idle values of the CIF field, may be used as a reserved value.). The unused CIF field for self-scheduling is idle when used for second scheduling cell therefore reserved.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Li’s Information processing method and apparatus, communication device, and readable storage medium to include Quan’s use of idle values as reserved value for ease of implementation.
Regarding claims 2 and 17, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 1 and 16.
Li further teaches wherein the messages include a downlink control information (DCI) format (paragraph 0071 - In this embodiment of this application, when the budget of the size of the DCI is defined based on all scheduling cells, different sizes of DCI in a same DCI format in different scheduling cells … ).
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 1 and 16.
Li further teaches wherein the scheduled cell includes a primary cell, the first scheduling cell includes the primary cell, and the second scheduling cell includes a secondary cell, and wherein the wireless device is configured for scheduling on the primary cell from the primary cell and from the secondary cell (paragraph 0038 - In this embodiment, L is greater than or equal to 2, that is, L≥2. For example, the target cell is a primary cell (Pcell). When a secondary cell (Scell) is configured to be used to schedule the Pcell, the Pcell is scheduled by using both the Scell and the Pcell. In this case, L is equal to 2.).
Regarding claims 4 and 19, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 3 and 18.
Li further teaches wherein a number of bits of each field in a DCI format on the first scheduling cell for self-scheduling is same as a corresponding field in a same DCI format on the second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling the primary cell (paragraph 0068 to 0070 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits. When a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are a same cell (that is, self-scheduling … In some embodiments, for DCI 1_1, a transmission configuration indication domain of the DCI is configured in each control resource set (Coreset) of a BWP of a scheduling cell. When a plurality of Coresets in a BWP are configured differently, a size of the field is different, such as 0 or 3 bits. When a plurality of search spaces are associated with different Coresets in a BWP, and sizes of the DCI 1_1 are different, 0 should be padded to the end of the DCI 1_1 to unify the sizes to a maximum size.). The size can be made equal (unify) by padding with 0 or 0s.
Regarding claim 5, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 4.
Li further teaches wherein the DCI format on the second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling the primary cell includes an SCell dormancy indication field (paragraph 0069 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, a Scell dormancy indication domain of DCI exists when all the following conditions are satisfied, and a size of the Scell dormancy indication domain is determined based on a quantity of cell groups configured in a secondary cell: (1) the DCI is transmitted within discontinuous reception (DRX) active time of a primary cell (Pcell); (2) at least one Scell is configured with dormancyGroupWithinActive Time; (3) at least one Scell is configured with more than two downlink (DL) BWPs.).
Regarding claim 6, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 5.
Li further teaches wherein a number of bits of the SCell dormancy indication field in the DCI format on the second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling the primary cell is same as the number of bits of the SCell dormancy indication field in the corresponding DCI format on the primary cell for self-scheduling (paragraph 0089 - For another example, for a Scell dormancy indication domain in DCI, Scell dormancy indication domains exist in DCI 1_1 of all cells used to schedule a target cell (such as the Pcell and the Scell) and have a same size.).
Regarding claims 7, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 5.
Li further teaches wherein the SCell dormancy indication field is present in the DCI format on the primary cell for self-scheduling in a case that the wireless device is not configured for scheduling on the primary cell from the primary cell and from a secondary cell (paragraph 0069 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, a Scell dormancy indication domain of DCI exists when all the following conditions are satisfied, and a size of the Scell dormancy indication domain is determined based on a quantity of cell groups configured in a secondary cell: (1) the DCI is transmitted within discontinuous reception (DRX) active time of a primary cell (Pcell); (2) at least one Scell is configured with dormancyGroupWithinActive Time; (3) at least one Scell is configured with more than two downlink (DL) BWPs.).
Regarding claim 8, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 3.
Li further teaches wherein one or more fields in a DCI format on the primary cell for self-scheduling are different from one or more corresponding fields in a same DCI format on the second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling the primary cell (paragraphs 0068 to 0070 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits. When a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are a same cell (that is, self-scheduling … In some embodiments, for DCI 1_1, a transmission configuration indication domain of the DCI is configured in each control resource set (Coreset) of a BWP of a scheduling cell. When a plurality of Coresets in a BWP are configured differently, a size of the field is different, such as 0 or 3 bits. When a plurality of search spaces are associated with different Coresets in a BWP, and sizes of the DCI 1_1 are different, 0 should be padded to the end of the DCI 1_1 to unify the sizes to a maximum size.).
Regarding claim 9, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 8.
Li further teaches wherein the one or more fields includes a carrier indicator field (CIF), and wherein the CIF is only in the DCI format for scheduling on the primary cell from the second scheduling cell (paragraph 0068 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits. When a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are a same cell (that is, self-scheduling), whether a CIF field of the DCI exists depends on a configuration parameter of self-scheduling by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.).
Regarding claim 10, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 8.
Li further teaches wherein the one or more fields includes a CIF and a SCell dormancy indication field, and wherein the SCell dormancy indication field is only in the DCI format for scheduling on the primary cell from the primary cell, and the CIF is only in the DCI format for scheduling on the primary cell from the second scheduling cell (paragraphs 0068 and 0069 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits. When a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are a same cell (that is, self-scheduling), whether a CIF field of the DCI exists depends on … In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, a Scell dormancy indication domain of DCI exists when all the following conditions are satisfied, and a size of the Scell dormancy indication domain is determined based on a quantity of cell groups configured in a secondary cell: (1) the DCI is transmitted within discontinuous reception (DRX) active time of a primary cell (Pcell); (2) at least one Scell is configured with dormancyGroupWithinActive Time; (3) at least one Scell is configured with more than two downlink (DL) BWPs.).
Regarding claim 11, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 1.
Li further teaches wherein a size alignment is performed in a case that the wireless device is configured for scheduling on a primary cell from the primary cell and from a secondary cell, and wherein a number of information bits in a DCI format for scheduling on the primary cell from the primary cell is not equal to the number of information bits in a same DCI format for scheduling on the primary cell from the second scheduling cell (paragraphs 0062 to 67 - For example, when a size M of the first domain required by DCI of a scheduling cell is less than the determined size N of the first domain, UE may perform functional indication of the first domain by using high M bits or low M bits, and other N−M bits are set to a specific value such as 0. … a bit domain padded during DCI size alignment.).
Regarding claim 12, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 11.
Li further teaches wherein the size alignment includes adding padding bits to the DCI format that has a smaller number of bits to match the size of the DCI format that has a larger number of bits (paragraph 0070 - In some embodiments, for DCI 1_1, a transmission configuration indication domain of the DCI is configured in each control resource set (Coreset) of a BWP of a scheduling cell. When a plurality of Coresets in a BWP are configured differently, a size of the field is different, such as 0 or 3 bits. When a plurality of search spaces are associated with different Coresets in a BWP, and sizes of the DCI 1_1 are different, 0 should be padded to the end of the DCI 1_1 to unify the sizes to a maximum size.).
Regarding claim 14, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 1.
Li further teaches wherein the CIF is reserved only in a DCI format for scheduling on a primary cell from the primary cell (paragraph 0068 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits. When a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are a same cell (that is, self-scheduling), whether a CIF field of the DCI exists depends on a configuration parameter of self-scheduling by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.).
Regarding claim 15, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 14.
Li further teaches wherein a value of CIF can be any one of integer 0-7 or nonnumeric when the CIF is reserved (paragraph 0068 - … when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits).
Regarding claim 20, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 18.
Li further teaches wherein one or more fields in a DCI format on the primary cell for self-scheduling are different from one or more corresponding fields in a same DCI format on the second scheduling cell for cross-carrier scheduling the primary cell (paragraphs 0068 to 0070 - In some embodiments, for DCI 0_1 or DCI 1_1, when a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are not a same cell (that is, cross-carrier scheduling), a CIF field of the DCI is 3 bits. When a cell scheduled by using the DCI and a cell in which the DCI is located are a same cell (that is, self-scheduling … In some embodiments, for DCI 1_1, a transmission configuration indication domain of the DCI is configured in each control resource set (Coreset) of a BWP of a scheduling cell. When a plurality of Coresets in a BWP are configured differently, a size of the field is different, such as 0 or 3 bits. When a plurality of search spaces are associated with different Coresets in a BWP, and sizes of the DCI 1_1 are different, 0 should be padded to the end of the DCI 1_1 to unify the sizes to a maximum size.).
Regarding claims 21 and 22, Li in view of Li2 and further in view of Quan teaches claim 1 and 16.
Li further teaches wherein the format of the control messages on the first scheduling cell and the format of the control messages on the second scheduling cell include a non-fallback DCI format (paragraph0090] ... For another example, if one of all scheduling cells adds one bit to DCI 0_1/DCI 0_1 to distinguish different DCI formats in a process of DCI size alignment, one bit is padded to DCI 0_1/DCI 0_1 of all scheduling cells (such as the Pcell and the Scell). For example, if a size of non-fallback DCI 0_1 of a user-specific search space (USS) is the same as a size of DCI of another USS, one-bit 0 may be padded to the end of DCI 0_1. If a size of non-fallback fallback DCI 1_1 of a USS is the same as the size of the fallback DCI of the another USS, one-bit 0 may be padded to the end of DCI 1_1.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. This includes:
U.S. PGPUB 2013/0044700 which describes Cross-Scheduled Random Access Order Transmitting and Receiving Methods, Devices and Systems
U.S. PGPUB 2018/0295608 which describes Method for Realizing Eca Supporting Up To 32 CCs and Enhancing Dynamic PUCCH Resource Allocation For Associated Use
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/A.L.O./Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472