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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in reply communication filed on 09/19/2023.
Claims 1-12 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim 12 recites, “a computer readable storage medium storing at least one computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations for a user equipment (UE) …”.
In the specification (US PG Pub, No. 2024/0171317) describe in Paragraph 0050 below:
[0091] In the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium stores at least one instructions or computer programs that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations according to some embodiments or implementations of the present disclosure.
Since the applicant fails inclusively and specifically provide antecedent basis to limit the specific statutory embodiments, “computer readable storage medium stores at least one instructions or computer programs” belongs to the intrinsic non-statutory embodiments such as carrier signal, radio wave, and light wave.
Note that signal claims are not directed to a process since they do not cover an act or series or acts. No part of the signal is a mechanical “device” or “part.” A propagating electromagnetic signal is not a “machine” as that term is used in 35 U.S.C. 101. Signals, standing alone, are not "manufacture[s]” under the meaning of that term in 35 U.S.C. 101. A signal comprising a fluctuation in electric potential or in electromagnetic fields is not a "chemical union," nor a gas, fluid, powder, or solid. Signals are not "composition[s] of matter." Thus, a transitory, propagating signal is not a "process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Those four categories define the explicit scope and reach of subject matter patentable under 35 U.S.C. 101; thus, such a signal cannot be patentable subject matter (see In re Nuitjen, 500 F. 3d 1346 1356 n.7 (Fed. Cir 2007)).
In view of the above analysis, claims 23-24 are ineligible for patent protection as failing to be limited to embodiments which fall within a statutory category.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for a patent.
Claims 1-2, 4-7, and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by FAN et al. (CN 11,1865,508).
Regarding claim 1, FAN discloses a method for managing a configured grant timer related to a Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a configured grant by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system [Fig. 6, page 14 lines 20-23; a method for a terminal to determine whether to stop or ignore the timer by determining whether the cache is empty for the situation], the method comprising:
receiving a retransmission grant for the HARQ process with starting the configured grant timer related to the HARQ process [Fig. 6, page 14 lines 45-46, page 15 lines 7-8; the terminal receives the uplink grant (network device scheduling resource or CG resource) is for retransmission corresponding to the HARQ process with starting the configured grant timer related to the HARQ process];
based on a HARQ buffer of the HARQ process not being empty, performing a transmission for the HARQ process based on the retransmission grant with restarting the configured grant timer related to the HARQ process [Embodiment 3, page 20, lines 16-27; when a new uplink grant CG reaches and CG_timer does not operate and HARQ buffer 1 is not empty, the terminal performs LCP process for the uplink grant, and the set of MAC PDU and uplink grant and HARQ information is submitted to the corresponding HARQ process with starting/restarting CG-timer]; and
based on the HARQ buffer of the HARQ process being empty, stopping the configured grant timer related to the HARQ process [page 15, lines 10-13; the terminal can judge the corresponding HARQ process of the cache is empty, stopping the corresponding HARQ process of the CG_timer].
Regarding claim 2, FAN discloses the method of claim 1.
FAN further discloses wherein, based on the HARQ buffer of the HARQ process being empty, the retransmission grant for the HARQ process is ignored [page 15, lines 10-13; wherein, based on the HARQ buffer of the HARQ process being empty, the retransmission grant for the HARQ process is ignored].
Regarding claim 4, FAN discloses the method of claim 1.
FAN further discloses wherein the retransmission grant is addressed to a configured scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier (CS-RNTI) [page 15 lines 6-13, page 16 lines 41-43; wherein the retransmission grant is addressed to a configured scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier (CS-RNTI)].
Regarding claim 5, FAN discloses the method of claim 1.
FAN further discloses further comprising: receiving a configured grant configuration from a network [page 17 lines 10-16; receive the indication information sent by the network device, the indication information is used for indicating part of the CG configuration or HARQ process], wherein the configured grant configuration includes information related to at least one of a configured scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier (CS-RNTI), the configured grant timer or the HARQ process [page 18 lines 10-15; wherein the configured grant configuration includes information related to at least one of a configured scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier (CS-RNTI), the configured grant timer or the HARQ process].
Regarding claims 6-7 and 9-10, the claim recites an user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory [page 9 lines 14-15; a communication device (terminal 120), comprising: a processor for invoking the program stored in the memory] to perform the information processing method recited as in claims 1-2 and 4-5; therefore, claims 6-7 and 9-10 are rejected along the same rationale that rejected in claims 1-2 and 4-5.
Regarding claim 11, the claim recites an user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory [page 9 lines 14-15; a communication device (terminal 120), comprising: a processor for invoking the program stored in the memory] to perform method for managing a configured grant timer related to a Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a configured grant by the user equipment (UE) recited as in claim 1; therefore, claim 11 is rejected along the same rationale that rejected in claim 1.
Regarding claim 12, the claim recites a computer readable storage medium storing at least one computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform method for managing a configured grant timer related to a Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process associated with a configured grant by the user equipment (UE) recited as in claim 1; therefore, claim 11 is rejected along the same rationale that rejected in claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
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 3 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over FAN et al. (CN 11,1865,508) in view of MIAO (US 2022/0201740).
Regarding claim 3, FAN discloses the method of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein, based on an initial transmission for the HARQ process being skipped, the HARQ buffer is flushed and becomes empty.
However, MIAO discloses wherein, based on an initial transmission for the HARQ process being skipped, the HARQ buffer is flushed and becomes empty [¶ 49; the UE can skip the CG transmission in case of an empty buffer].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “wherein, based on an initial transmission for the HARQ process being skipped, the HARQ buffer is flushed and becomes empty” as taught by MIAO in the system of FAN, so that it would to provide a reliability requirement associated with high priority data that is scheduled to be transmitted using the CG [see MIAO; ¶ 7].
Regarding claim 8, the claim recites the UE of claim 6 to perform the method of claim 1 recited as in claim 3; therefore, claim 8 is rejected along the same rationale that rejected in claim 3.
Conclusion
In additional to references cited that are used for rejection as set forth above, JHA et al. (WO 2018/080565) is also considered as relevant prior arts for rejection of in claims 1, 11, and 20 for limitation “receiving a retransmission grant for the HARQ process with starting the configured grant timer related to the HARQ process; based on a HARQ buffer of the HARQ process not being empty, performing a transmission for the HARQ process based on the retransmission grant with restarting the configured grant timer related to the HARQ process; and based on the HARQ buffer of the HARQ process being empty, stopping the configured grant timer related to the HARQ process” (Example 11, ¶¶ 86, 132).
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/PHONG LA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469