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 .
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.
Claims 1, 3-4, 6, 8-13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moderator (Lenovo) “Feature lead summary #4 on multi-cell PUSCH/PDSCH scheduling with a single DCI”, 3GPP Draft; R1-2210662 in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177).
Regarding Claim 1, Lenovo discloses a user equipment (UE) (see Pg. 46, “CATT” i.e., UE) , comprising: a transceiver (see Pg. 8 i.e., PUSCH scheduled for UE & Pg. 46, “CATT” i.e., UE receiving PDCCH suggests UE transceiver for wireless communication) configured to enable wireless communication in a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system having a plurality of cells; (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured on one or more cells of the set of cells)
and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to: generate a report of a UE capability to support splitting a blind decoding (BD) control channel element (CCE) (BD/CCE) budget between performing BD/CCE carrying a first downlink control information (DCI) in a first DCI format, and performing BD/CCE carrying a second DCI in a second DCI format, (In regards to the claim language of “to support splitting a blind decoding (BD) control channel element (CCE) (BD/CCE) budget between performing BD/CCE carrying a first downlink control information (DCI) in a first DCI format, and performing BD/CCE carrying a second DCI in a second DCI format)”, the claim language is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim (i.e., see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use). (see Pg. 46 i.e., “Catt” i.e., We support the proposal…the search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X configured on more than one cells will not increase PDCCH monitoring capability of UE (i.e., “report”)…In the current spec, the UE is configured with N scheduled cells with PDCCH candidates monitored on a scheduling cell, the number of BD/CCE monitored on scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a set of cells on scheduling cell. Thus, the number of PDCCH candidates monitored on scheduling cells should be up to the total number of BD across the set of cells, i.e. 144. Note that the number of PDCCH candidate configured on each scheduled cell meet the BD limit of per cell & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., When DCI format 0_1/1_1 (i.e., “second DCI format”) is used for single-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC2, which is max 36…Then, the UE has to process 36 BDs counted on CC-1 and 36 BDS counted on CC2 in a slot to see if there is a grant from data on CC-2. This requires UE to process double the number of BDs/CCEs for DCI for a scheduled CC…Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format (i.e., “second DCI format”) only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1)
wherein the first DCI format indicates the first DCI is configured to schedule data transmissions for a set of multiple cells of the plurality of cells of the CA wireless system by the first DCI; (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) can be configured one or more cells of the set of cells)
transmit the report to a base station; (see Pg. 22 i.e., “MTK i.e., optional UE capability & Pg. 34 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., 36 BDs are available for a scheduled CC which is based on an optional UE capability suggests the network receives the optional UE capability (i.e., “capability report”), see Pg. 46 i.e., “Catt” i.e., capability of the UE, & Pg. 57,“Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4)
configure the UE to perform blind decoding of a first number of CCEs carrying the first DCI, and blind decoding a second number of CCEs carrying the second DCI, (see Pg. 46 i.e., “Catt” i.e., For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X for a set of cells on scheduling cell, Pg. 49 i.e., proposal 2-6 & NTT Docomo i.e., how to avoid collisions of n_CI/CCE indices between multi-cell scheduling by DCI format 0_X/1_X and cross-carrier scheduling by legacy DCI & Pg. 67 row Qualcomm i.e., When DCI format 0_1/1_1 (i.e., “second DCI format”) is used for single-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC2, which is max 36…Then, the UE has to process 36 BDs counted on CC-1 and 36 BDS counted on CC2 in a slot to see if there is a grant from data on CC-2. This requires UE to process double the number of BDs/CCEs for DCI for a scheduled CC…Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format (i.e., “second DCI format”) only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1)
wherein the first number of CCEs and the second number of CCEs are determined by the base station based on a splitting and the BD/CCE budget; (see Pg. 46 i.e., “Catt” i.e., We support the proposal…the search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X configured on more than one cells will not increase PDCCH monitoring capability of UE (i.e., “report”)…In the current spec, the UE is configured with N scheduled cells with PDCCH candidates monitored on a scheduling cell, the number of BD/CCE monitored on scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a set of cells on scheduling cell. Thus, the number of PDCCH candidates monitored on scheduling cells should be up to the total number of BD across the set of cells, i.e. 144. Note that the number of PDCCH candidate configured on each scheduled cell meet the BD limit of per cell & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., When DCI format 0_1/1_1 (i.e., “second DCI format”) is used for single-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC2, which is max 36…Then, the UE has to process 36 BDs counted on CC-1 and 36 BDS counted on CC2 (i.e., “splitting”) in a slot to see if there is a grant from data on CC-2. This requires UE to process double the number of BDs/CCEs for DCI for a scheduled CC…Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format (i.e., “second DCI format”) only for one CC in the CC-set (i.e., one CC in the CC-set refers to the scheduling cell which is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells as disclosed in Pg. 46 i.e., “Catt”) and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1 (i.e., BD/CCE counted for DCI 0_X/1_X and legacy DCI format are determined based on BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells as disclosed in Pg. 46 i.e., “Catt”))
monitor a first group of CCE candidates corresponding to the first DCI to perform blind decoding until the first number of CCEs carrying the first DCI have been blind decoded, (see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” i.e., In the current spec, the UE is configured with N scheduled cells with PDCCH candidates monitored on a scheduling cell, the number of BD/CCE monitored on scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a set of cells on scheduling cell & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” when DCI format 0_X/1_X is used for multi-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC1, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…i.e., Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1)
and monitor a second group of CCE candidates corresponding to the second DCI to perform blind decoding until the second number of CCEs carrying the second DCI have been blind decoded, (see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., When DCI format 0_1/1_1 is used for single-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC2, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format (i.e., “second DCI”) only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1).
While Lenovo suggests splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying the first DCI and the number of BD/CCEs carrying the second DCI based on the BD/CCE budget, Lenovo does not explicitly disclose a splitting factor and the claim features of a transceiver configured to enable wireless communication in a carrier aggregation wireless system having a plurality of cells; and the processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177).
Hosseini discloses splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget according to a splitting factor (In light of the applicants specification in Para [0053] i.e., the splitting factor refers to a determined percentage of the total BD/CCEs being allocated to the first DCI format and the second DCI format, (Hosseini, see Fig. 7 & Para’s [0062] i.e., For example, out of 12 BDs per span, the number of BDs for a first type of DCI may not exceed 6, and the number of BDs for a second type of DCI may not exceed the remaining 6 (i.e., 50% of the BDs (i.e., “splitting factor”) allocated for the first DCI and the second DCI is determined by the base station 110), [0063] i.e., a UE has a capability/resource budget for performing a certain number of BDs and processing a certain number of CCEs, respectively. Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for splitting this resource budget (e.g., number of BDs or number of CCEs) across various types of DCI), & [0064-0067] i.e., At 706, the BS 110 may transmit, to the UE 120, an indication of the allocated resource budget among the first type of DCI and second type of DCI…In certain aspects, the indication may provide a first budget associated with the first type of DCI and/or a second resource budget associated with the type of DCI. In certain aspects, the number of BDs may include a first number of BDs associated with the first type of DCI and a second number of BDs associated with the second type of DCI )
a transceiver (see Fig. 10 i.e., transceiver 1008) configured to enable wireless communication in a carrier aggregation wireless system having a plurality of cells, (see Fig. 10 & Para [0064] i.e., At 702, a UE 120 may transit to a BS 110, capability information indicating the PDCCH blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE, such as a maximum number of BDs and/or a maximum number of CCEs that the UE can monitor per slot or span per cell group, in carrier aggregation (e.g., per cell), or in total)
and the processor (see Fig. 10 i.e., processor 1004) communicatively coupled to the transceiver (see Fig. 10 i.e., transceiver 1008), (see Fig. 10 & Para’s [0120-0121])
(Hosseini suggests that the base station performs splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE (see Para’s [0062-0066])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the splitting of the number of BD/CCEs carrying the first DCI and the number of BD/CCEs carrying the second DCI based on the BD/CCE budget as disclosed in Lenovo to be determined by splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget according to a splitting factor as disclosed in Hosseini, because the motivation lies in Hosseini that the base station performs splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE.
Regarding Claim 3, Lenovo discloses the UE of claim 1, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the splitting factor is determined by the base station without being included in the UE capability reported by the UE. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177).
Hosseini discloses wherein the splitting factor is determined by the base station without being included in the UE capability reported by the UE, (see Fig. 7 & Para’s [0062] i.e., For example, out of 12 BDs per span, the number of BDs for a first type of DCI may not exceed 6, and the number of BDs for a second type of DCI may not exceed the remaining 6 (i.e., 50% of the BDs (i.e., “splitting factor”) allocated for the first DCI and the second DCI is determined by the base station 110), [0063] i.e., a UE has a capability/resource budget for performing a certain number of BDs and processing a certain number of CCEs, respectively. Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for splitting this resource budget (e.g., number of BDs or number of CCEs) across various types of DCI), & [0064] i.e., capability information does not indicate the splitting factor, & [0065-0067] i.e., allocation at 704 (i.e., “determined by the base station”)…At 706, the BS 110 may transmit, to the UE 120, an indication of the allocated resource budget among the first type of DCI and second type of DCI…In certain aspects, the indication may provide a first budget associated with the first type of DCI and/or a second resource budget associated with the type of DCI. In certain aspects, the number of BDs may include a first number of BDs associated with the first type of DCI and a second number of BDs associated with the second type of DCI)
(Hosseini suggests that the base station performs splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE (see Para’s [0062-0066])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the splitting of the number of BD/CCEs carrying the first DCI and the number of BD/CCEs carrying the second DCI based on the BD/CCE budget as disclosed in Lenovo to be determined by splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget according to a splitting factor determined by the base station without being included in the UE capability reported by the UE as disclosed in Hosseini, because the motivation lies in Hosseini that the base station performs splitting the number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE.
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein a sum of the first number of CCEs and the second number of CCEs is equal to the BD/CCE budget (Lenovo, see Pg. 67 i.e., opt. 1 BD/CCE counted on the same CC in the CC-set for the legacy and 0_X/1_X DCI’s (i.e., “sum”) & Pg. 46, “CATT” i.e., the number of BC/CCE monitored on the scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the sum of the monitored BD/CCEs for each DCI to be configured to be equal or capped to the BD/CCE budget on the scheduling cell (i.e., same CC)) and less than or equal to a predetermined CCE limit, (Lenovo, see Pg. 46 i.e., Note that the number of PDCCH candidates configured on each scheduled cell meet the BD limit of per cell & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., opt 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI formats only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BC/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set)
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the second DCI format includes a cross carrier scheduling (CCS) DCI or a self-scheduling DCI, (Lenovo, see Pg. 49 i.e., “NTT Docomo” i.e., cross-carrier scheduling by legacy DCI, Pg. 52 i.e., “CATT” i.e., legacy cross-carrier scheduling with DCI format for a single cell & Pg. 65 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., legacy cross-carrier scheduling using legacy DCI formats)
Regarding Claim 8, Lenovo discloses a method for a user equipment (UE) (see Pg. 46, “CATT” i.e., UE), comprising: generating a report to indicate whether the UE has a capability to support a first downlink control information (DCI) in a first DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells of a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured on one or more cells of the set of cells) and a second DCI in a second DCI format for the cell, (see Pg. 7, “Catt” i.e., proposal 4 if the UE has the capability of multi-cell scheduling, all legacy DCI format can be monitored with DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”), Pg. 18 i.e., “Vivo2”, Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability (support DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”) and legacy cross carrier scheduling (i.e., uses second legacy DCI format) at the same time, Pg. 34 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., 36 BDs are available for a scheduled CC which is based on an optional UE capability suggests the network receives the optional UE capability (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 44 i.e., proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., It is up to UE capability that gNB configures DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”), Pg. 47 i.e., “Apple i.e., UE capability whether DCI 0_X/1_X is configured, Pg. 57 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4 i.e., a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X and to monitor legacy DCI formats…Additional CIF/nCI values for monitoring legacy DCI formats for the scheduled cells in the set can be supported subject to optional UE capability signaling (i.e., “capability report”), & Pg. 81 i.e., “Qualcomm” opt.3: where the number of cells that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the DCI 0_X/1_X and that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the legacy DCI formats are up to the UE capability)
wherein the first DCI format indicates the first DCI is configured to schedule data transmissions for a set of multiple cells of the wireless system, (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured one or more cells of the set of cells)
and the second DCI includes a cross carrier scheduling (CCS) DCI for a single cell; see Pg. 49 i.e., “NTT Docomo” i.e., cross-carrier scheduling by legacy DCI, Pg. 52 i.e., “CATT” i.e., legacy cross-carrier scheduling with DCI format for a single cell & Pg. 65 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., legacy cross-carrier scheduling using legacy DCI formats & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., legacy DCI format)
transmitting the report to a base station; (see Pg. 22 i.e., “MTK i.e., optional UE capability & Pg. 34 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., 36 BDs are available for a scheduled CC which is based on an optional UE capability suggests the network receives the optional UE capability (i.e., “capability report”), see Pg. 46 i.e., “Catt” i.e., capability of the UE, & Pg. 57,“Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4)
configuring the UE to support the first DCI in the first DCI format and the second DCI in the second DCI format when the UE has the capability to support both the first DCI and the second DCI; (see Pg. 7, “Catt” i.e., proposal 4 if the UE has the capability of multi-cell scheduling, all legacy DCI format can be monitored with DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”), Pg. 18 i.e., “Vivo2”, Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability (support DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”) and legacy cross carrier scheduling (i.e., uses second legacy DCI format) at the same time, Pg. 44 i.e., proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., It is up to UE capability that gNB configures DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”), Pg. 57 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4 i.e., a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X and to monitor legacy DCI formats…Additional CIF/nCI values for monitoring legacy DCI formats for the scheduled cells in the set can be supported subject to optional UE capability signaling (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm”, & Pg. 81 i.e., “Qualcomm” opt.3: where the number of cells that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the DCI 0_X/1_X and that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the legacy DCI formats are up to the UE capability)
and monitoring a first group of control channel element (CCE) candidates corresponding to the first DCI to perform blind decoding of a first number of CCEs carrying the first DCI, (see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” i.e., In the current spec, the UE is configured with N scheduled cells with PDCCH candidates monitored on a scheduling cell, the number of BD/CCE monitored on scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a set of cells on scheduling cell & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” when DCI format 0_X/1_X is used for multi-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC1, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…i.e., Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1)
and monitoring a second group of CCE candidates corresponding to the second DCI to perform blind decoding of a second number of CCEs carrying the second DCI, (see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., When DCI format 0_1/1_1 is used for single-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC2, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format (i.e., “second DCI”) only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1).
While Lenovo discloses supporting a first downlink control information (DCI) in a first DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells suggesting a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured one or more cells of the set of cells), Lenovo does not explicitly disclose a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177).
Hosseini discloses a UE supporting a DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells of a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system (see Para’s [0048] & [0064-0065] i.e., A UE 120 may transmit to a BS 110, capability information indicating the PDCCH blind decoding /CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE, such as a maximum number of BDs and/or a maximum number of CCEs that the UE can monitor per slot or span per cell group, in carrier aggregation (e.g., per cell)).
(Hosseini suggests that the base station performs allocating a number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE, (see Para’s [0062-0066])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the first DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells which is configured with a number of CCEs carrying the first DCI for blind decoding performed by the UE as disclosed in Lenovo to be of the carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system as disclosed in Hosseini who discloses a UE supporting a DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells of a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system, because the motivation lies in Hosseini that the base station performs allocating a number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE.
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting the report to indicate an additional capability of the UE (Lenovo, see Pg. 44 i.e., proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., it is up to the UE capability (i.e., “additional capability”) and gNB configuration on how many cells and/or which cells of the set of cells the search space of the DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured on. The minimum value of the UE capability for the number of cells is 1 (i.e., “additional capability”)) to allow the cell being scheduled by the first DCI that is used to schedule only the cell without scheduling any additional cell at a same time; (In regards to the claim language of “to allow the cell being scheduled by the first DCI that is used to schedule only the cell without scheduling any additional cell at a same time”, the claim language is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim (i.e., see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use)), (Lenovo, see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured on one or more cells of the set of cells))
and determining the first DCI received by decoding the first number of CCEs to be a valid DCI, (Lenovo, see Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., the BD/CCE is counted on CC-1, which is max 36 for DCI format 0_X/1_X…the UE has to process 36 BDs counted on CC-1…This requires UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCI is for a scheduled CC (i.e., correct blind decoding of the CCEs suggests a valid DCI))
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the report indicates the UE has the capability to support the first DCI and the second DCI for all the cells configured for the UE including the cell, (Lenovo, see Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability (support DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”) and legacy cross carrier scheduling (i.e., uses second legacy DCI format) at the same time, Pg. 34 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., 36 BDs are available for a scheduled CC which is based on an optional UE capability suggests the network receives the optional UE capability (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3, Pg. 57 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4 i.e., a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X and to monitor legacy DCI formats…Additional CIF/nCI values for monitoring legacy DCI formats for the scheduled cells in the set can be supported subject to optional UE capability signaling (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 67 i.e., opt 1 & Pg. 81 i.e., “Qualcomm” opt.3: where the number of cells that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the DCI 0_X/1_X and that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the legacy DCI formats are up to the UE capability)
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the cell is a first cell (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., one or more cells of the set of cells) and the report is a first report (Lenovo, see Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability), and the transmitting the report further includes: transmitting a second report indicating whether the UE has the capability for a second cell of the plurality of cells of the CA wireless system, (Lenovo, see Pg. 21 i.e., Nokia/NSB i.e., And assuming the UE gives capability (i.e., may be a “second report”) of {1,2,3,4} for selecting the cells to configure for SC-DCI Pg. 47 i.e., It is reported as a UE capability (i.e., may be “a second report”) whether one or multiple cells (i.e., “second cell”) in the set of cells can be configured with search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X, Pg. 82 i.e., Opt. 2)
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the report indicates the UE does not have the capability to support the first DCI and the second DCI (Lenovo, see Pg. 12, “MTK” i.e., not to support MC-DCI and legacy cross-carrier scheduling at the same time & Pg.’s 48-49, Moderator 2 i.e., UE capability may support only DCI format 0_X/1_X & Pg. 82 i.e., opt 1, opt 2), and the method further includes: monitoring the first group of CCE candidates corresponding to the first DCI to perform blind decoding of the first number of CCEs to receive the first DCI, (Lenovo, see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” i.e., In the current spec, the UE is configured with N scheduled cells with PDCCH candidates monitored on a scheduling cell, the number of BD/CCE monitored on scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a set of cells on scheduling cell & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” when DCI format 0_X/1_X is used for multi-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC1, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…i.e., Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1)
wherein the first DCI is configured to schedule data transmissions for the cell alone. (Lenovo, see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured on one or more cells of the set of cells & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., DCI format 0_X/1_X is used for multi-cell scheduling).
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the configuring the UE to support the first DCI and the second DCI comprises: configuring the UE to support the first DCI and the second DCI based on a single CCS information element (IE) (Lenovo, see Pg. 57 i.e., For a given CIF/nCI value (i.e., “CSS information element”), a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X for a set of scheduled cells and to monitor legacy DCI format for up to one of the scheduled cells in the set), wherein the single CCS IE includes a parameter to indicate whether the first DCI in the first DCI format is supported for the cell, (Lenovo, see Pg. 57 i.e., For a given CIF/nCI value (i.e., nCI value may be a “parameter”), a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X for a set of scheduled cells)
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the method of claim 8, wherein a sum of the first number of CCEs and the second number of CCEs is less than or equal to a predetermined CCE limit. (Lenovo, see Pg. 67 i.e., opt. 1 BD/CCE counted on the same CC in the CC-set for the legacy and 0_X/1_X DCI’s (i.e., “sum”) & Pg. 46 i.e., Note that the number of PDCCH candidates configured on each scheduled cell meet the BD limit of per cell & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., opt 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI formats only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BC/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set)
Regarding Claim 16, Lenovo a processor of a user equipment (UE) (see Pg. 46, “CATT” i.e., PDCCH monitoring capability of the UE includes UE processor, Pg. 76, “Qualcomm” i.e., UE start processing PDCCH includes UE processor), cause the UE to perform operations, the operations comprising: transmitting a report to indicate whether the UE has a capability to support a first downlink control information (DCI) in a first DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells of a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured on one or more cells of the set of cells) and a second DCI in a second DCI format for the cell, (see Pg. 7, “Catt” i.e., proposal 4 if the UE has the capability of multi-cell scheduling, all legacy DCI format can be monitored with DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”), Pg. 18 i.e., “Vivo2”, Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability (support DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”) and legacy cross carrier scheduling (i.e., uses second legacy DCI format) at the same time, Pg. 34 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., 36 BDs are available for a scheduled CC which is based on an optional UE capability suggests the network receives the optional UE capability (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 44 i.e., proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., It is up to UE capability that gNB configures DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”), Pg. 47 i.e., “Apple i.e., UE capability whether DCI 0_X/1_X is configured, Pg. 57 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4 i.e., a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X and to monitor legacy DCI formats…Additional CIF/nCI values for monitoring legacy DCI formats for the scheduled cells in the set can be supported subject to optional UE capability signaling (i.e., “capability report”), & Pg. 81 i.e., “Qualcomm” opt.3: where the number of cells that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the DCI 0_X/1_X and that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the legacy DCI formats are up to the UE capability)
wherein the first DCI format indicates the first DCI is configured to schedule data transmissions for a set of multiple cells of the wireless system, (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured one or more cells of the set of cells)
and the second DCI includes a cross carrier scheduling (CCS) DCI, (see Pg. 49 i.e., “NTT Docomo” i.e., cross-carrier scheduling by legacy DCI, Pg. 52 i.e., “CATT” i.e., legacy cross-carrier scheduling with DCI format for a single cell & Pg. 65 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., legacy cross-carrier scheduling using legacy DCI formats & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., legacy DCI format)
configuring the UE to support the first DCI in the first DCI format and the second DCI in the second DCI format when the UE has the capability to support both the first DCI and the second DCI; (see Pg. 7, “Catt” i.e., proposal 4 if the UE has the capability of multi-cell scheduling, all legacy DCI format can be monitored with DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”), Pg. 18 i.e., “Vivo2”, Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability (support DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”) and legacy cross carrier scheduling (i.e., uses second legacy DCI format) at the same time, Pg. 44 i.e., proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., It is up to UE capability that gNB configures DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”), Pg. 57 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4 i.e., a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X and to monitor legacy DCI formats…Additional CIF/nCI values for monitoring legacy DCI formats for the scheduled cells in the set can be supported subject to optional UE capability signaling (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm”, & Pg. 81 i.e., “Qualcomm” opt.3: where the number of cells that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the DCI 0_X/1_X and that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the legacy DCI formats are up to the UE capability)
and monitoring a first group of control channel element (CCE) candidates corresponding to the first DCI to perform blind decoding of a first number of CCEs carrying the first DCI, (see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” i.e., In the current spec, the UE is configured with N scheduled cells with PDCCH candidates monitored on a scheduling cell, the number of BD/CCE monitored on scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a set of cells on scheduling cell & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” when DCI format 0_X/1_X is used for multi-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC1, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…i.e., Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1)
and monitoring a second group of CCE candidates corresponding to the second DCI to perform blind decoding of a second number of CCEs carrying the second DCI, (see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., When DCI format 0_1/1_1 is used for single-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC2, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format (i.e., “second DCI”) only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1).
While Lenovo discloses supporting a first downlink control information (DCI) in a first DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells suggesting a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system (see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured one or more cells of the set of cells), Lenovo does not explicitly disclose a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor of the UE perform the operations. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177).
Hosseini discloses a UE supporting a DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells of a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system (see Para’s [0048] & [0064-0065] i.e., A UE 120 may transmit to a BS 110, capability information indicating the PDCCH blind decoding /CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE, such as a maximum number of BDs and/or a maximum number of CCEs that the UE can monitor per slot or span per cell group, in carrier aggregation (e.g., per cell)).
a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor of the UE perform the operations of being configured with a first DCI format and second DCI format for BD/CCE monitoring of the DCI formats (see Fig. 10 & Para’s [0064-0065], [0120-0121] i.e., computer-readable medium/memory 1010 is configured to store instructions that when executed by the processor 1004, cause the processor to perform the operations, & [0239] i.e., non-transitory computer-readable media)
(Hosseini suggests that the base station performs allocating a number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE, (see Para’s [0062-0066])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the first DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells which is configured with a number of CCEs carrying the first DCI for blind decoding performed by the UE as disclosed in Lenovo to be of the carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system and to include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor of the UE, cause the UE to perform the operations as disclosed in Hosseini who discloses a UE supporting a DCI format for a cell of a plurality of cells of a carrier aggregation (CA) wireless system, because the motivation lies in Hosseini that the base station performs allocating a number of BD/CCEs carrying a first DCI format and a number of BD/CCEs carrying a second DCI format based on a BD/CCE budget for satisfying the blind decoding/CCE monitoring capabilities of the UE.
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein a sum of the first number of CCEs and the second number of CCEs is equal to the BD/CCE budget (Lenovo, see Pg. 67 i.e., opt. 1 BD/CCE counted on the same CC in the CC-set for the legacy and 0_X/1_X DCI’s (i.e., “sum”) & Pg. 46, “CATT” i.e., the number of BC/CCE monitored on the scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the sum of the monitored BD/CCEs for each DCI to be configured to be equal or capped to the BD/CCE budget on the scheduling cell (i.e., same CC)) and less than or equal to a predetermined CCE limit, (Lenovo, see Pg. 46 i.e., Note that the number of PDCCH candidates configured on each scheduled cell meet the BD limit of per cell & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., opt 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI formats only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BC/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set)
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the report indicates the UE has the capability to support the first DCI and the second DCI for all the cells configured for the UE including the cell, (Lenovo, see Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability (support DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e.., first DCI format”) and legacy cross carrier scheduling (i.e., uses second legacy DCI format) at the same time, Pg. 34 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., 36 BDs are available for a scheduled CC which is based on an optional UE capability suggests the network receives the optional UE capability (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3, Pg. 57 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4 i.e., a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X and to monitor legacy DCI formats…Additional CIF/nCI values for monitoring legacy DCI formats for the scheduled cells in the set can be supported subject to optional UE capability signaling (i.e., “capability report”), Pg. 67 i.e., opt 1 & Pg. 81 i.e., “Qualcomm” opt.3: where the number of cells that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the DCI 0_X/1_X and that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the legacy DCI formats are up to the UE capability)
Regarding Claim 19, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the cell is a first cell (Lenovo, see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., one or more cells of the set of cells) and the report is a first report (Lenovo, see Pg. 22 i.e., MTK i.e., an additional optional UE capability), and the transmitting the report further includes: transmitting a second report indicating whether the UE has the capability for a second cell of the plurality of cells of the CA wireless system, (Lenovo, see Pg. 21 i.e., Nokia/NSB i.e., And assuming the UE gives capability (i.e., may be a “second report”) of {1,2,3,4} for selecting the cells to configure for SC-DCI Pg. 47 i.e., It is reported as a UE capability (i.e., may be “a second report”) whether one or multiple cells (i.e., “second cell”) in the set of cells can be configured with search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X, Pg. 82 i.e., Opt. 2)
Regarding Claim 20, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the report indicates the UE does not have the capability to support the first DCI and the second DCI (Lenovo, see Pg. 12, “MTK” i.e., not to support MC-DCI and legacy cross-carrier scheduling at the same time & Pg.’s 48-49, Moderator 2 i.e., UE capability may support only DCI format 0_X/1_X & Pg. 82 i.e., opt 1, opt 2), and the method further includes: monitoring the first group of CCE candidates corresponding to the first DCI to perform blind decoding of the first number of CCEs to receive the first DCI, (Lenovo, see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” i.e., In the current spec, the UE is configured with N scheduled cells with PDCCH candidates monitored on a scheduling cell, the number of BD/CCE monitored on scheduling cell is capped by the total number of BD/CCE budget across N scheduled cells. For multi-cell scheduling, the UE will monitor PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a set of cells on scheduling cell & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” when DCI format 0_X/1_X is used for multi-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC1, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…i.e., Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X (i.e., “first DCI format”) for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI format”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1)
wherein the first DCI is configured to schedule data transmissions for the cell alone. (Lenovo, see Pg. 44, Section 3.3.3, Para 1 i.e., Proposal 2-5rev3 i.e., For a set of cells which is configured for multi-cell scheduling, search space of DCI format 0_X/1_X can be configured on one or more cells of the set of cells & Pg. 67, “Qualcomm” i.e., DCI format 0_X/1_X is used for multi-cell scheduling).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moderator (Lenovo) “Feature lead summary #4 on multi-cell PUSCH/PDSCH scheduling with a single DCI”, 3GPP Draft; R1-2210662 in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Soriaga et al. US (2020/0106592).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the UE of claim 1, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the splitting factor is included in the UE capability reported by the UE and received by the base station. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Soriaga et al. US (2020/0106592).
Soriaga discloses wherein a splitting factor is included in the UE capability reported by the UE and received by the base station (see Fig. 1 & Para [0089] i.e., UE capability scaling factor…the scaling factor (i.e., “splitting factor”) may indicate, for a particular UE, the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for CA of multiple cells, relative the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for a single CC & [0093] i.e., the scaling factor may be a separately signaled UE capability)
(Soriaga suggests the scaling factor may indicate, for a particular UE, the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for CA of multiple cells, relative the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for a single CC is reported as UE capability for satisfying the UE capability such as the number of blind decoding’s the UE the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for CA of multiple cells, relative the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for a single CC, (see Para [0089])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the splitting factor such as the number of BDs determined for the first DCI supporting multi-cell (i.e.,” multiple CCs”) scheduling and the number of BDs determined for the second DCI used for a single cell (i.e., “single CC”) as disclosed in Lenovo in view of Hosseini to be signaled in the UE capability reported by the UE based on the teachings of Soriaga who discloses wherein a scaling factor (i.e., “splitting factor”) is included in the UE capability reported by the UE and received by the base station, because the motivation lies in Soriaga that the scaling factor may indicate, for a particular UE, the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for CA of multiple cells, relative the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for a single CC is reported as UE capability for satisfying the UE capability such as the number of blind decoding’s the UE is able to perform for CA of multiple cells, relative the number of BDs the UE is able to perform for a single CC.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moderator (Lenovo) “Feature lead summary #4 on multi-cell PUSCH/PDSCH scheduling with a single DCI”, 3GPP Draft; R1-2210662 in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cirik et al. US (2021/0234640).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the first group of CCE candidates are allocated to a Search Space Set (SSS) associated with the first DCI format (see Pg. 24 i.e., section 3.3 Search space configuration i.e., search space of the DCI format 0_X/1_X, Pg. 29 i.e., proposal 2-8rev2, & Pg. 31 i.e., Qualcomm), and the second group of CCE candidates are allocated to a SSS associated with the second DCI format. (see Pg. 28 i.e. Section 3.3.1 i.e.., legacy cross carrier scheduling search space set & Pg. 46 i.e., search space set for legacy single-cell DCI formats), but does not disclose the claim feature of the search space set (SSS) indices {1,2,3} associated with the first DCI format and the SSS indices {4, 5, 6} associated with the second DCI format. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Cirik et al. US (2021/0234640).
Cirik discloses space set (SSS) indices may be configured and associated with a first DCI and the SSS indices may be configured and associated with a second DCI (see Para [0263] i.e., search space indices for the one or more search space sets…a first search space set of the one or more search space sets may be identified by a first search space index of the search space indices… a second search space set of the one or more search space sets may be identified by a second search space index of the search space indices, & [0368] i.e., respective search space set indices of the respective search space sets that the plurality of DCIs is received (i.e., SSS indices {1,2,3} may be configured for the first DCI and SSS indices {4, 5, 6} may be configured for the second DCI) & [0369])
(Cirik suggests configuration parameters indicating the search space set indices for the one or more search space sets may be provided via signaling in order for the UE to determine the search space sets for monitoring PDCCH candidates for receiving the DCI (see Para’s [0259-0266])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the first group of CCE candidates are allocated to a Search Space Set (SSS) associated with the first DCI format and the second group of CCE candidates allocated to a SSS associated with the second DCI format as disclosed in Lenovo in view of Hosseini to be configured with the search space set (SSS) indices {1,2,3} associated with the first DCI format and the SSS indices {4, 5, 6} associated with the second DCI format based on the teachings of Cirik who discloses space set (SSS) indices may be configured and associated with a first DCI and the SSS indices may be configured and associated with a second DC, because the motivation lies in Cirik that configuration parameters indicating the search space set indices for the one or more search space sets may be provided via signaling in order for the UE to determine the search space sets for monitoring PDCCH candidates for receiving the DCI.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moderator (Lenovo) “Feature lead summary #4 on multi-cell PUSCH/PDSCH scheduling with a single DCI”, 3GPP Draft; R1-2210662 in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Qualcomm Incorporated “Multi-cell PUSCH/PUSCH scheduling with a single DCI”, 3GPP Draft, R1-2207251.
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: after the first number of CCEs carrying the first DCI have been blind decoded, monitor only the second group of CCE candidates corresponding to the second DCI to perform blind decoding until the second number of CCEs carrying the second DCI have been blind decoded; (see Pg. 46 i.e., “CATT” & Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., When DCI format 0_1/1_1 is used for single-cell scheduling CC2, the BD/CCE budget is counted on CC2, which is max 36…This requires the UE to process doubled number of BDs/CCEs for DCIs for a scheduled CC…Opt. 1: a UE monitoring DCI 0_X/1_X for a CC-set is allowed to support monitoring legacy DCI format (i.e., “second DCI”) only for one CC in the CC-set and DCI 0_X/1_X whose BD/CCE/DCI-size are counted on the same CC in the CC-set…In the same example above, BD/CCE of the legacy DCI formats (i.e., “second DCI”) for CC-1 is counted on the same pool as DCI 0_X/1_X i.e., on CC-1), but does not disclose the claim feature of and after the second number of CCEs carrying the second DCI have been blind decoded, monitor only the first group of CCE candidates corresponding to the first DCI to perform blind decoding until the first number of CCEs carrying the first DCI have been blind decoded. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Qualcomm Incorporated “Multi-cell PUSCH/PUSCH scheduling with a single DCI”, 3GPP Draft, R1-2207251.
Qualcomm discloses that a UE can monitor PDCCH candidates for multi-cell scheduling mode for a set of cells and PDCCHs for each cell of the set of cells in a legacy self-scheduling mode where the network can dynamically switch/fallback between the multi-cell scheduling and legacy self-scheduling modes (see Pg. 6, Section 4 i.e., Para 1 i.e., These two modes should be able to be switched via an explicit indication & Para 2 the network can indicate dynamic switch/fallback from multi-cell scheduling to legacy self-scheduling (i.e., dynamic indication may switch back to multi-cell scheduling monitoring after legacy self-scheduling monitoring by the UE the is performed)).
(Qualcomm suggests as such, this way can achieve benefits of both DCI overhead reduction and UE power saving thanks to the use of multi-cell scheduling and delivering flexible and granular scheduling thanks to the use of legacy DCI formats with self-scheduling, (see Pg. 6, Section 4)).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date that after the second number of CCEs carrying the second DCI have been blind decoded as disclosed in Lenovo in view of Hosseini switch back to monitoring only the first group of CCE candidates corresponding to the first DCI to perform blind decoding until the first number of CCEs carrying the first DCI have been blind decoded based on the teachings of Qualcomm who discloses that a UE can monitor PDCCH candidates for multi-cell scheduling mode for a set of cells and PDCCHs for each cell of the set of cells in a legacy self-scheduling mode where the network can dynamically switch/fallback between the multi-cell scheduling and legacy self-scheduling modes, because the motivation lies in Qualcomm that as such, this way can achieve benefits of both DCI overhead reduction and UE power saving thanks to the use of multi-cell scheduling and delivering flexible and granular scheduling thanks to the use of legacy DCI formats with self-scheduling.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moderator (Lenovo) “Feature lead summary #4 on multi-cell PUSCH/PDSCH scheduling with a single DCI”, 3GPP Draft; R1-2210662 in view of Hosseini et al. US (2021/0153177) as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Chen et al. US (2024/0032045).
Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Lenovo in view of Hosseini discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the configuring the UE to support the first DCI and the second DCI comprises: configuring the UE to support the first DCI in the first DCI format and configuring the UE to support the second DCI in the second DCI format, (Lenovo, see Pg. 57 i.e., “Qualcomm” i.e., proposal 4 i.e., a UE can be configured to monitor a DCI format 0_X/1_X and to monitor legacy DCI formats, Pg. 67 i.e., “Qualcomm”, & Pg. 81 i.e., “Qualcomm” opt.3: where the number of cells that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the DCI 0_X/1_X and that can be configured with PDCCH candidates of the legacy DCI formats are up to the UE capability), but does not disclose the claim feature of configuring the UE to support the first DCI in the first DCI format based on a first information element and the second DCI in the second DCI format based on a second IE different from the first IE. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Chen et al. US (2024/0032045).
Chen discloses configuring a UE to support a first DCI in a first DCI format based on a first information element and a second DCI in a second DCI format based on a second IE different from the first IE, (see Para [0125] i.e., the configuration information may be specific to a DCI format. For example, the configuration may be separately configured (e.g., via different RRC messages of different RRC information elements) for a DCI format 0_1 and for a DCI format 0_2)
(Chen suggests configuring the DCI formats using different RRC information elements in order for the UE to properly receive the DCI scheduling communications for the UE (see Para’s [0004-0005], [0023-0024], [0092], & [0125])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the configuring the UE to support the first DCI in the first DCI format and configuring the UE to support the second DCI in the second DCI format as disclosed in Lenovo in view of Hosseini to each be respectively configured using a first information element and a second IE different from the first IE based on the teachings of Chen who discloses configuring a UE to support a first DCI in a first DCI format based on a first information element and a second DCI in a second DCI format based on a second IE different from the first IE, because the motivation lies in Chen for configuring the DCI formats using different RRC information elements in order for the UE to properly receive the DCI scheduling communications for the UE.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADNAN A BAIG whose telephone number is (571)270-7511. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-5:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ADNAN BAIG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461