DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/4/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 9, 18, 22, 26 and 30-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yin [US 2023/0064087] in view of Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154].
As claims 1, 9 and 18, Yin [US 2023/0064087] discloses a channel multiplexing method, performed by a terminal, comprising: receiving, from a network side device, a configuration signaling [Par. 0038 discloses UE determines if it is enabled to multiplex two overlapped channels with different priority in time domain via DCI]; in case that uplink channels having different priorities overlap in a time domain, determining whether multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed based on the configuration signaling [Fig 11, Ref 1102-1104, Par. 0038 discloses UE determines if it is enabled to multiplex two overlapped channels with different priority in time domain]; in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed, checking whether the uplink channels meet a predetermined timeline [Fig 11, Ref 1110 discloses UE determines if the multiplexing is allowed then determining if the multiplexing of low and high priority are meet timeline condition] and in response to that the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline, performing the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels [Fig 11, Ref 1110 discloses UE determines if the multiplexing is allowed then determining if the multiplexing of low and high priority are meet timeline condition,, then multiplexing them together]; in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is not allowed, disabling a step of checking whether the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline [Fig 11, Ref 1106, 0057, 0067 discloses UE is not allow to perform a multiplexing of overlapped uplink channels having different priority based on signaling which received from base station, then UE does not need to meet a timeline because it drops low priority and transmit high priority without performing multiplexing] and transmitting the uplink channel having a high priority among the overlapped uplink channels and discarding the uplink channel having a low priority; [Fig 11, Ref 1112]. However, Yin [US 2023/0064087] fails to disclose what Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses wherein the configuration signaling comprises: downlink control information (DCI) in a downlink control channel corresponding to the uplink channel, wherein the DCI carries indication information; the indication information indicates information for determining a reference bit quantity m of uplink control information (UCI) having the low priority which is transmitted simultaneously with UCI having the high priority on a same uplink channel, wherein the UCI having the low priority and the UCI having the high priority are UCIs carried on the overlapped uplink channels respectively, and the reference bit quantity m is used for determining whether the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Wang [US 2022/0132537] discloses Par. 0060, the information in the DCI in order to generate threshold to be use for determine LP UCI bits to be multiplexed with HP or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses at Par. 0137 DCI which includes values for UE to determine the number bits of LP UCI need to multiplex with HP UCI when multiplexed allowed].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for determining the number of LP based on maximum allowed bits in order to multiplex with HP bits as disclosed by Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] into the teaching of Yin. The motivation would have been to improve throughput of the system.
As claims 22 and 26, Yin [US 2023/0064087] discloses a channel multiplexing method, performed by a base station, comprising: sending a configuration signaling to a terminal [Par. 0038 discloses UE determines if it is enabled to multiplex two overlapped channels with different priority in time domain via DCI]. However, Yin [US 2025/0089085] fails to disclose what Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses the configuration signaling comprises: downlink control information (DCI) in a downlink control channel corresponding to an uplink channel, wherein the DCI carries indication information; the indication information indicates information for determining a reference bit quantity m of uplink control information (UCI) having a low priority which is transmitted simultaneously with UCI having a high priority on a same uplink channel, wherein the UCI having the low priority and the UCI having the high priority are UCIs carried on overlapped uplink channels respectively, and the reference bit quantity m is used for determining whether multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Wang [US 2022/0132537] discloses Par. 0060, the information in the DCI in order to generate threshold to be use for determine LP UCI bits to be multiplexed with HP or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses at Par. 0137 DCI which includes values for UE to determine the number bits of LP UCI need to multiplex with HP UCI when multiplexed allowed].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for determining the number of LP based on maximum allowed bits in order to multiplex with HP bits as disclosed by Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] into the teaching of Yin. The motivation would have been to improve throughput of the system.
As claims 30-31, Yin [US 2023/0064087] discloses a channel multiplexing method, performed by a terminal, comprising: in case that uplink channels having different priorities overlap in a time domain, determining whether multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Fig 11, Re 1102-1104 discloses determining if configuration indicating the UE is enable to multiplex the uplink channels having different priority and overlapped in time domain]; in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed, checking whether the uplink channels meet a predetermined timeline [Fig 11, Ref 1110 discloses UE determines if the multiplexing is allowed then determining if the multiplexing of low and high priority are meet timeline condition] and in response to that the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline, performing the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels [Par. 0034, 0039-0041 discloses UE determines if the multiplexing is allowed then determining if the multiplexing of low and high priority are meet timeline condition]; and in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is not allowed, disabling a step of checking whether the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline [Fig 11, Ref 1106, 0057, 0067 discloses UE is not allow to perform a multiplexing of overlapped uplink channels having different priority based on signaling which received from base station, then UE does not need to meet a timeline because it drops low priority and transmit high priority without performing multiplexing] and transmitting the uplink channel having a high priority among the overlapped uplink channels and discarding the uplink channel having a low priority [Fig 11, Ref 1112 to perform a multiplexing of overlapped uplink channels having different priority based on multiplexing is not enable which received from base station, then UE does not need to meet a timeline because it drops low priority and transmit high priority without performing multiplexing]. However, Yin [US 2025/0089085] fails to disclose what Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154]discloses determining whether the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed comprises: determining a reference bit quantity n of UCI having a low priority which is transmitted simultaneously with UCI having a high priority on a same uplink channel in accordance with a bit quantity of the UCI having the high priority or determining, in accordance with the reference bit quantity n, whether the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Wang [US 2022/0132537] discloses Par. 0060, the information in the DCI in order to generate threshold to be use for determine LP UCI bits to be multiplexed with HP or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses at Par. 0137 DCI which includes values for UE to determine the number bits of LP UCI need to multiplex with HP UCI when multiplexed allowed].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for determining the number of LP based on maximum allowed bits in order to multiplex with HP bits as disclosed by Wang into the teaching of Yin. The motivation would have been to improve throughput of the system.
Claim(s) 1, 9, 18, 22, 26 and 30-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yin [US 2025/0089085] in view of Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154].
As claims 1, 9 and 18, Yin [US 2025/0089085] discloses a channel multiplexing method, performed by a terminal, comprising: receiving, from a network side device, a configuration signaling [Par. 0032 discloses UE receives configuration signaling via DCI]; in case that uplink channels having different priorities overlap in a time domain, determining whether multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed based on the configuration signaling [Fig 2-4, Par. 0029-0040 discloses determining if configuration indicating the UE is enable to multiplex the uplink channels having different priority and overlapped in time domain]; in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed, checking whether the uplink channels meet a predetermined timeline [Par. 0034, 0039-0041 discloses UE determines if the multiplexing is allowed then determining if the multiplexing of low and high priority are meet timeline condition], and in response to that the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline, performing the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels [Fig 2-4, Par. 0029-0040 discloses multiplex the uplink channels having different priority and overlapped in time domain into channel];
in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is not allowed, disabling a step of checking whether the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline [Par. 0036, 0041-0042 discloses UE is not allow to perform a multiplexing of overlapped uplink channels having different priority based on MUXEnableInd is absent which received from base station, then UE does not need to meet a timeline because it drops low priority and transmit high priority without performing multiplexing], and transmitting the uplink channel having a high priority among the overlapped uplink channels and discarding the uplink channel having a low priority; [Par. 0036, 0041-0042 discloses UE is not allow to perform a multiplexing of overlapped uplink channels having different priority based on MUXEnableInd is absent which received from base station, then UE does not need to meet a timeline because it drops low priority and transmit high priority without performing multiplexing]. However, Yin [US 2023/0064087] fails to disclose what Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses wherein the configuration signaling comprises: downlink control information (DCI) in a downlink control channel corresponding to the uplink channel, wherein the DCI carries indication information; the indication information indicates information for determining a reference bit quantity m of uplink control information (UCI) having the low priority which is transmitted simultaneously with UCI having the high priority on a same uplink channel, wherein the UCI having the low priority and the UCI having the high priority are UCIs carried on the overlapped uplink channels respectively, and the reference bit quantity m is used for determining whether the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Wang [US 2022/0132537] discloses Par. 0060, the information in the DCI in order to generate threshold to be use for determine LP UCI bits to be multiplexed with HP or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses at Par. 0137 DCI which includes values for UE to determine the number bits of LP UCI need to multiplex with HP UCI when multiplexed allowed].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for determining the number of LP based on maximum allowed bits in order to multiplex with HP bits as disclosed by Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] into the teaching of Yin. The motivation would have been to improve throughput of the system.
As claims 22 and 26, Yin [US 2025/0089085] discloses a channel multiplexing method, performed by a base station, comprising: sending a configuration signaling to a terminal [Par. 0032 discloses UE receives configuration signaling via DCI]. However, Yin [US 2025/0089085] fails to disclose what Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses the configuration signaling comprises: downlink control information (DCI) in a downlink control channel corresponding to an uplink channel, wherein the DCI carries indication information; the indication information indicates information for determining a reference bit quantity m of uplink control information (UCI) having a low priority which is transmitted simultaneously with UCI having a high priority on a same uplink channel, wherein the UCI having the low priority and the UCI having the high priority are UCIs carried on overlapped uplink channels respectively, and the reference bit quantity m is used for determining whether multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Wang [US 2022/0132537] discloses Par. 0060, the information in the DCI in order to generate threshold to be use for determine LP UCI bits to be multiplexed with HP or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses at Par. 0137 DCI which includes values for UE to determine the number bits of LP UCI need to multiplex with HP UCI when multiplexed allowed].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for determining the number of LP based on maximum allowed bits in order to multiplex with HP bits as disclosed by Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] into the teaching of Yin. The motivation would have been to improve throughput of the system.
As claims 30-31, Yin [US 2025/0089085] discloses a channel multiplexing method, performed by a terminal, comprising: in case that uplink channels having different priorities overlap in a time domain, determining whether multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Fig 2-4, Par. 0029-0040 discloses determining if configuration indicating the UE is enable to multiplex the uplink channels having different priority and overlapped in time domain]; in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed, checking whether the uplink channels meet a predetermined timeline [Par. 0034, 0039-0041 discloses UE determines if the multiplexing is allowed then determining if the multiplexing of low and high priority are meet timeline condition], and in response to that the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline, performing the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels [Par. 0034, 0039-0041 discloses UE determines if the multiplexing is allowed then determining if the multiplexing of low and high priority are meet timeline condition]; and in response to that the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is not allowed, disabling a step of checking whether the uplink channels meet the predetermined timeline [Par. 0036, 0041-0042 discloses UE is not allow to perform a multiplexing of overlapped uplink channels having different priority based on MUXEnableInd is absent which received from base station, then UE does not need to meet a timeline because it drops low priority and transmit high priority without performing multiplexing], and transmitting the uplink channel having a high priority among the overlapped uplink channels and discarding the uplink channel having a low priority [Par. 0036, 0041-0042 discloses UE is not allow to perform a multiplexing of overlapped uplink channels having different priority based on MUXEnableInd is absent which received from base station, then UE does not need to meet a timeline because it drops low priority and transmit high priority without performing multiplexing]. However, Yin [US 2025/0089085] fails to disclose what Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses determining whether the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed comprises: determining a reference bit quantity n of UCI having a low priority which is transmitted simultaneously with UCI having a high priority on a same uplink channel in accordance with a bit quantity of the UCI having the high priority determining, in accordance with the reference bit quantity n, whether the multiplexing transmission of the uplink channels is allowed [Wang [US 2022/0132537] discloses Par. 0060 or Wang [US 2024/0306154] discloses at Par. 0137 DCI which includes values for UE to determine the number bits of LP UCI need to multiplex with HP UCI when multiplexed allowed].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply a method and system for determining the number of LP based on maximum allowed bits in order to multiplex with HP bits as disclosed by Wang [US 2022/0132537] or Wang [US 2024/0306154] into the teaching of Yin. The motivation would have been to improve throughput of the system.
Conclusion
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/STEVEN HIEU D NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2414
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