DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 June 23, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1 and 12 have been amended. Claims 3 and 14 have been cancelled. Claims 21 and 22 are added. Claims 1-2, 4-13 and 15-22 are currently pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
3. The applicant's arguments filed on June 23, 2026 regarding claims 1-2, 4-13 and 15-22 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection. The rejection has been revised and set forth below according to the claims.
Claim Objection (minor informality)
4. Claim 22 is objected to because of the following informality:
Claim 22 recites “…apparatus according to claim 11…”.
It appears that “…apparatus according to claim 11…” is a typological error for “…apparatus according to claim 12…”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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 of this title, 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.
6. Claims 1, 4-12, 15-20 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Housseini et al. (US 2019/0036585 A1), hereinafter “Housseini” in view of ZHOU et al. (US 2021/0328711 A1; as submitted by the applicant with IDS dated January 08, 2025), hereinafter “Zhou”.
Regarding claim 1, Housseini discloses an apparatus (Figs. 1, 4, system for wireless communication that supports dedicated channel state information reporting for a control channel), comprising at least one processor and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Fig. 10-14, memory in electronic communication with the processor), cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving first feedback information from a receive end, wherein the first feedback information indicates a channel quality state of a higher layer (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0087], [0088], [0099], [0116], channel quality feedback data that including the determined code rate for each of the one or more DCI formats), the higher layer is higher than a physical layer, there is a first correspondence between the first feedback information and first downlink network coding (NC) code rate information, and the higher layer has an NC function (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0087], [0088], [0099], [0116], channel quality feedback data, including the identified index that maps to the determined code rate in the code rate table); and
determining the first downlink NC code rate information based on the first feedback information and the first correspondence (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0091], [0128], [0129], determine a code rate index from a set of indexes in a code rate table based on the channel quality feedback data), wherein a quantity of coded packets or redundant packets generated by performing network coding processing on to-be-sent downlink data by the higher layer is determined using the first downlink NC code rate information (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0091], [0128], [0129], code rate index table to determine a code rate correspond to the received code rate index),
wherein the first correspondence is related to a reliability indicator of a service (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], a set of code rate index tables 435 that each corresponding to a different block error rate, and select a code rate from a table corresponding to a desired block error rate), wherein the first correspondence belongs to a first correspondence set that is one of a plurality of correspondence sets respectively corresponding to a plurality of reliability indicators of services, and for a same value of the first feedback information, the first correspondence set and another correspondence set of the plurality of correspondence sets correspond to different pieces of downlink NC code rate information (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], Code rate index table 435 may correspond to a particular reliability parameter (e.g., minimum block error rate); in some cases, the UE 215 may store multiple code rate index tables 435, where each table corresponds to a different reliability parameter (e.g., each corresponds to a different minimum block error rate)), and the reliability indicator of the service (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], physical layer reliability indicator (block error rate)) comprises one or more of the following: a quality of service (QoS) requirement of the service (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraph [0116], block error rate for the control channel specified by a low latency application; in some deployments of low latency applications, a certain block error rate (e.g., 1%, 0.1%, or lower)); a mean opinion score (MOS); a target packet loss rate of the higher layer; or a target frame loss rate of the higher layer (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], code rate corresponding to the measured SINR that satisfies a reliability threshold e.g., block error rate threshold; multiple CQI tables, and each CQI table may be defined for a certain reliability threshold and/or range of measured CQI; a code rate corresponding to the determined SINR and one or more of the modulation scheme and the payload size).
Housseini does not explicitly disclose “the higher layer has and NC function” and “the coded packets comprise a redundant packet and a system packet corresponding to an original data packet for generating the redundant packet”.
However, Zhou from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses the higher layer has and NC function (Fig. 5, paragraphs [0105], [0110], [0111], [0126], functionality of the NC layer 513 implemented as an NC sublayer at the PDCP layer 512 or at the RLC layer 514); and the coded packets comprise a redundant packet and a system packet corresponding to an original data packet for generating the redundant packet (Fig. 5, paragraphs [0105], [0110], [0111], [0126], encode redundant data from the K uncoded subpackets 544, with the degree of redundancy being a function of a coding rate at which data is encoded).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the higher layer has and NC function” and “the coded packets comprise a redundant packet and a system packet corresponding to an original data packet for generating the redundant packet” as taught by Zhou, in the system of Housseini, so that it would provide generating feedback based on decoding encoded packets to recover the original data frequently include interference, blockages, noise, or other elements tending to degrade signal transmission (Zhou, paragraph [0006]).
Regarding claim 4, Housseini in view of Zhou disclose the apparatus according to claim 1.
Zhou further discloses the first downlink NC code rate information indicates a ratio of a quantity of original data packets to a total quantity of data packets, wherein the total quantity of data packets is a sum of the quantity of original data packets and a quantity of redundant packets corresponding to the original data packet (paragraphs [0110], [0114], [0154]-[0156], [0194], data packet into a number K of subpackets and a number N of encoded packets from K subpackets).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the first downlink NC code rate information indicates a ratio of a quantity of original data packets to a total quantity of data packets, wherein the total quantity of data packets is a sum of the quantity of original data packets and a quantity of redundant packets corresponding to the original data packet” as taught by Zhou, in the system of Housseini, so that it would provide reducing data loss to recover the original data from the encoded data related to Network coding mechanism (Zhou, paragraph [0006]).
Regarding claim 5, Housseini discloses the first feedback information is one of a plurality of indexes, the first downlink NC code rate information is one of a plurality of pieces of downlink NC code rate information, the first correspondence is one of a plurality of correspondences between the plurality of indexes and the plurality of pieces of downlink NC code rate information, one of the plurality of indexes corresponds to one or more of the plurality of pieces of downlink NC code rate information, and one of the plurality of pieces of downlink NC code rate information comprises one or more parameters related to a downlink NC code rate (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0087], [0088], [0099], [0116], channel quality feedback data, including the identified index that maps to the determined code rate in the code rate table).
Regarding claim 6, Housseini discloses one or more of the following parameters are determined using the first feedback information: a size of a network coding packet; a coding depth, a convolution depth, or a sliding window size of network coding; or a size of a finite field (paragraphs [0114], [0121], Table 435, payload size column 460).
Regarding claim 7, Housseini discloses the first feedback information is control information of the higher layer or control information of the physical layer (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0087], [0088], [0099], [0116], channel quality feedback data that including the determined code rate for each of the one or more DCI formats).
Regarding claim 8, Housseini discloses the first feedback information is control information of the physical layer (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0087], [0088], [0099], [0116], channel quality feedback data that including the determined code rate for each of the one or more DCI formats).
Regarding claim 9, Housseini discloses the first feedback information further indicates first downlink modulation scheme information and/or first downlink physical-layer code rate information of the physical layer, the first downlink modulation scheme information is used by the physical layer to determine a modulation scheme of the to-be-sent downlink data, and the first downlink physical-layer code rate information is used by the physical layer to determine a physical-layer code rate of the to-be-sent downlink data (paragraphs [0121], [0128], Table 435, Modulation (scheme) column 445; determining a code rate index from a set of indexes in a code rate table based on the channel quality feedback data).
Regarding claim 10, Housseini discloses the first feedback information is related to a target block error rate (TBLER) of the physical layer (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], a set of code rate index tables 435 that each corresponding to a different block error rate, and select a code rate from a table corresponding to a desired block error rate).
Regarding claim 11, Housseini in view of Zhou disclose the apparatus according to claim 1.
Zhou further discloses receiving second feedback information from the receive end (Figs. 5, 10, paragraphs [0062]-[0063], [0116], [0170], feedback that recovery of the original data packet has successfully completed), wherein the second feedback information indicates one or more of the following:
a quantity of coded packets that are further required by the receive end for correct decoding, a quantity of coded packets that are correctly received by the receive end, or a success or a failure of decoding performed by the receive end corresponding to network coding (Figs. 5, 10, paragraphs [0062]-[0063], [0116], [0170], quantity of encoded packets to recover original data packet); and
adjusting the first downlink NC code rate information based on the second feedback information to determine second downlink NC code rate information, wherein a quantity of coded packets or redundant packets generated by performing the network coding processing on the to-be-sent downlink data by the higher layer is determined using the second downlink NC code rate information (Figs. 5, 10, paragraphs [0062]-[0063], [0116], [0170], feedback upon which a coding rate can be based may include any information explicitly or implicitly indicating a quantity of packets used for recovery of a data packet by the receiver 504 and/or indicating that recovery of a data packet is complete (whether successful or unsuccessful)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “receiving second feedback information from the receive end, wherein the second feedback information indicates one or more of the following: a quantity of coded packets that are further required by the receive end for correct decoding, a quantity of coded packets that are correctly received by the receive end, or a success or a failure of decoding performed by the receive end corresponding to network coding; and adjusting the first downlink NC code rate information based on the second feedback information to determine second downlink NC code rate information, wherein a quantity of coded packets or redundant packets generated by performing the network coding processing on the to-be-sent downlink data by the higher layer is determined using the second downlink NC code rate information” as taught by Zhou, in the system of Housseini, so that it would provide reducing data loss to recover the original data from the encoded data related to Network coding mechanism (Zhou, paragraph [0006]).
Regarding claim 12, Housseini discloses an apparatus (Figs. 1, 4, system for wireless communication that supports dedicated channel state information reporting for a control channel), comprising at least one processor and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Fig. 10-14, memory in electronic communication with the processor), cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
determining first feedback information, wherein the first feedback information indicates a channel quality state of a higher layer (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0087], [0088], [0099], [0116], channel quality feedback data that including the determined code rate for each of the one or more DCI formats), the higher layer is higher than a physical layer, and the higher layer has a network coding function (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0087], [0088], [0099], [0116], channel quality feedback data, including the identified index that maps to the determined code rate in the code rate table); and
sending the first feedback information to a transmit end, wherein the first feedback information is used to determine first downlink network coding (NC) code rate information of the transmit end, there is a first correspondence between the first feedback information and the first downlink NC code rate information (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], a set of code rate index tables 435 that each corresponding to a different block error rate, and select a code rate from a table corresponding to a desired block error rate), the higher layer of the transmit end uses the first downlink NC code rate information to determine a quantity of coded packets or redundant packets generated by performing network coding processing on to-be-sent downlink data (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0091], [0128], [0129], code rate index table to determine a code rate correspond to the received code rate index), the first correspondence is related to a reliability indicator of a service (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], a set of code rate index tables 435 that each corresponding to a different block error rate, and select a code rate from a table corresponding to a desired block error rate), wherein the first correspondence belongs to a first correspondence set that is one of a plurality of correspondence sets respectively corresponding to a plurality of reliability indicators of services, and for a same value of the first feedback information, the first correspondence set and another correspondence set of the plurality of correspondence sets correspond to different pieces of downlink NC code rate information (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraphs [0095], [0121], [0122], Code rate index table 435 may correspond to a particular reliability parameter (e.g., minimum block error rate); in some cases, the UE 215 may store multiple code rate index tables 435, where each table corresponds to a different reliability parameter (e.g., each corresponds to a different minimum block error rate)), and the reliability indicator of the service comprises one or more of the following: a quality of service (QoS) requirement of the service; a mean opinion score (MOS);a target packet loss rate of the higher layer; or a target frame loss rate of the higher layer (Figs. 1, 4, Table 435, paragraph [0116], block error rate for the control channel specified by a low latency application; in some deployments of low latency applications, a certain block error rate (e.g., 1%, 0.1%, or lower)).
Housseini does not explicitly disclose “the higher layer has and NC function” and “the coded packets comprise a redundant packet and a system packet corresponding to an original data packet for generating the redundant packet”.
However, Zhou from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses the higher layer has and NC function (Fig. 5, paragraphs [0105], [0110], [0111], [0126], functionality of the NC layer 513 implemented as an NC sublayer at the PDCP layer 512 or at the RLC layer 514); and the coded packets comprise a redundant packet and a system packet corresponding to an original data packet for generating the redundant packet (Fig. 5, paragraphs [0105], [0110], [0111], [0126], encode redundant data from the K uncoded subpackets 544, with the degree of redundancy being a function of a coding rate at which data is encoded).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the higher layer has and NC function” and “the coded packets comprise a redundant packet and a system packet corresponding to an original data packet for generating the redundant packet” as taught by Zhou, in the system of Housseini, so that it would provide generating feedback based on decoding encoded packets to recover the original data frequently include interference, blockages, noise, or other elements tending to degrade signal transmission (Zhou, paragraph [0006]).
Regarding claim 15, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 4.
Regarding claim 16, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 5.
Regarding claim 17, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 6.
Regarding claim 18, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 7.
Regarding claim 19, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 8.
Regarding claim 20, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 9.
Regarding claim 21, Housseini discloses the plurality of correspondence sets is pre-configured at the apparatus, and the operations further comprise selecting the first correspondence set from the plurality of pre-configured correspondence sets based on the reliability indicator of the service before receiving the first feedback information (paragraphs [0088], [0091], [0116], [0128], [0129], Table 435, correspondence set of pre-configured correspondence sets based on the reliability indicator of the service).
Regarding claim 22, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 21.
7. Claims 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Housseini et al. (US 2019/0036585 A1), hereinafter “Housseini” in view of ZHOU et al. (US 2021/0328711 A1; as submitted by the applicant with IDS dated January 08, 2025), hereinafter “Zhou” in view of Yeh et al. (US 2021/0377116 A1; support for the cited paragraphs sporadically through the disclosure of provisional application number 63/066,777 field on August 17, 2020), hereinafter “Yeh”.
Regarding claim 2, Housseini in view of Zhou disclose the apparatus according to claim 1.
Neither Housseini nor Zhou explicitly discloses “the first feedback information is related to a first measurement result; and the first measurement result comprises one or more of the following: a decoding state of the receive end that corresponds to network coding, wherein the decoding state indicates a success rate and/or a failure rate of decoding corresponding to network coding in a period of time; a packet loss rate of the higher layer, wherein the packet loss rate of the higher layer indicates a ratio of a quantity of data packets at the higher layer that are not successfully received in a period of time to a total quantity of data packets at the higher layer, or indicates a ratio of a quantity of original data packets at the higher layer that are not successfully received in a period of time to a total quantity of original data packets at the higher layer; a frame loss rate of the higher layer, wherein the frame loss rate of the higher layer indicates a ratio of a quantity of video frames that are not successfully decoded at the higher layer in a period of time to a total quantity of video frames; or channel state information of the physical layer”.
However, Yeh from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses the first feedback information is related to a first measurement result; and the first measurement result comprises one or more of the following: a decoding state of the receive end that corresponds to network coding, wherein the decoding state indicates a success rate and/or a failure rate of decoding corresponding to network coding in a period of time; a packet loss rate of the higher layer, wherein the packet loss rate of the higher layer indicates a ratio of a quantity of data packets at the higher layer that are not successfully received in a period of time to a total quantity of data packets at the higher layer, or indicates a ratio of a quantity of original data packets at the higher layer that are not successfully received in a period of time to a total quantity of original data packets at the higher layer; a frame loss rate of the higher layer, wherein the frame loss rate of the higher layer indicates a ratio of a quantity of video frames that are not successfully decoded at the higher layer in a period of time to a total quantity of video frames; or channel state information of the physical layer (paragraphs [0023], [0026], [0030]-[0031], [0223], packet loss rate per DRB per UE can be reported from CU to RIC and packet loss rate per logical channel per UE can be reported from DU to RIC).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the first feedback information is related to a first measurement result; and the first measurement result comprises one or more of the following: a decoding state of the receive end that corresponds to network coding, wherein the decoding state indicates a success rate and/or a failure rate of decoding corresponding to network coding in a period of time; a packet loss rate of the higher layer, wherein the packet loss rate of the higher layer indicates a ratio of a quantity of data packets at the higher layer that are not successfully received in a period of time to a total quantity of data packets at the higher layer, or indicates a ratio of a quantity of original data packets at the higher layer that are not successfully received in a period of time to a total quantity of original data packets at the higher layer; a frame loss rate of the higher layer, wherein the frame loss rate of the higher layer indicates a ratio of a quantity of video frames that are not successfully decoded at the higher layer in a period of time to a total quantity of video frames; or channel state information of the physical layer” as taught by Yeh, in the combined system of Housseini and Zhou, so that it would provide support a cloud/edge server to configure reliability enhancement for a disaggregated and cloud-native network (Yeh, paragraph [0005]).
Regarding claim 13, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 2.
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SITHU KO whose telephone number is 571-272-8647. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Friday 8:30am-5:00pmEST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Edan Orgad can be reached on 571-272-7884. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SITHU KO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2414
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