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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-14 and 16-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
In re page 11, applicant argues, with respect to claim 12, that the claimed features “the plurality of PDSCHs is approximately equally divided into the first number of PDSCH sets, or a first M PDSCHs of the plurality of PDSCHs are included in a first PDSCH set of the first number of PDSCH sets, and the remaining PDSCHs of the plurality of PDSCHs are included in a second PDSCH set of the first number of PDSCH sets, wherein a value of M is predefined by a mapping relationship between the number of PDSCHs scheduled by a DCI format and the value of M, or the value of M is configured by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message,” which is not disclosed by Li.
In response, the examiner respectfully disagrees. It is noted that claim 12 recites an alternative language “or”. At least pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, …") of Li was cited to show support for the at least claimed limitation “the plurality of PDSCHs is approximately equally divided into the first number of PDSCH sets” of claim 12.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-12 and 16-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 2021/0105102 A1) in view of Xiong et al. (US 2024/0163894 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Li et al. discloses a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication (see page 17, paragraph #0305, "FIG. 22 illustrates a wireless communication station in accordance with some embodiment. Wireless communication station 200 may be suitable for use as a user equipment (UE) and configured to …"), comprising: at least one memory (page 17, paragraph #0306, The communication station 200 may also include processing circuitry 206 and memory 208 arranged to perform..."); and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory ( page 17, paragraph #0306, The communication station 200 may also include processing circuitry 206 and memory 208 arranged to perform...") and configured to cause the UE to: receive a downlink control information (DCI) format for scheduling a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) on a serving cell of the UE (pages 1-2, paragraph #0034, In these embodiments, the UE may decode a downlink control information (DCI) format for scheduling a physical downlink shard channel (PDSCH) group of one or more PDSCHs..."); and transmit a first number of physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback for the plurality of PDSCHs (pages 1-2, paragraph #0034, " In these embodiments, the UE may be configured for Type-2 Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission. In these embodiments, for HARQ-ACK retransmission, the UE may retransmit HARQ-ACK bits from more than one PDSCH group in the PUCCH transmission occasion scheduled by the DCI format."), wherein the plurality of PDSCHs is divided into a first number of PDSCH sets (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. ..."), and wherein the HARQ-ACK feedback for each of the first number of PDSCH sets is carried by a corresponding PUCCH of the first number of PUCCHs (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, or may never be assigned a PUCCH resource yet, or may be already assigned a PUCCH resource in earlier time for one or more times but failed in HARQ-ACK transmission due to LBT failure and/or gNB detection error.." and page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
However, Li et al. does not specifically discloses the newly added limitation wherein the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format.
Xiong et al. in the same field of wireless communication (see page 1, paragraph #0002, “Embodiments relate generally to the technical field of wireless communications.”) teaches that the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format (see pages 17-21, paragraphs #0187-#0267, “Example 2 may include the method of example 1, wherein in the DCI for scheduling multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs with different TBs, each PDSCH and/or PUSCH may be scheduled within a slot”, “Example 3 may include the method of example 1, wherein some fields in the DCI may be common for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs, while other fields may be independent for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs”, “Example 18 may include the method of example 1, wherein for multi-TTI scheduling for PDSCHs with different TBs, a single PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) may be used to indicate one or more PUCCH resources for carrying HARQ-ACK response of one or more scheduled PDSCHs”, “Example 20 may include the method of example 1, single PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator is used to indicate the slot offset between the last scheduled PDSCH and one PUCCH”, and “Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the operation of the wireless communication as taught by Xiong et al. into the wireless communication of Li et al. in order to increase the efficiency of the wireless communication.
Regarding claim 2, Li et al. further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: receive a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message configuring a HARQ-ACK feedback timing set, wherein the HARQ-ACK timing set including a plurality of subsets and each of the plurality of subsets comprises at least one time offset value for transmitting HARQ-ACK feedback (page 2, paragraph #0036, "In some embodiments, the UE may decode radio resource control (RRC) signaling to configure the UE for the Type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission and report the HARQ-ACK bits according to a most recently received DCI format." and pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …”; wherein the DCI format indicates a first subset from the plurality of subsets and a value of the first number equals a number of time offset values in the first subset (page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
Regarding claim 3, Li et al. discloses wherein the first subset includes two time offset values
(pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-
ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with
same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for
dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set
indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can
be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the
specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …"), and wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit the first number of PUCCHS by: transmitting a first PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK feedback for a first PDSCH set of the first number of PDSCH sets according to one of the two time offset values (page 4, paragraph #0064, "Preferably, a subset of a set of PDSCHs could include the PDSCHs whose HARQ-ACKs are expected to transmit on the same PUCCH resource for the first time HARQ-ACK feedback. As shown in FIG. 2, the blue PDSCHs with C-DAI equals to 1, 2, 3 could be considered as in the same subset as blue PDSCHs with C-DAI equals to 4, 5. Value 5 is indicated as value 1 if modulo 4 operation is done. Preferably, there is enough gNB processing time between a PUCCH resource for a subset and a DCI scheduling PDSCH in a followed subset. However, the exact timing between different subsets and the related PUCCHs is not limited in this disclosure and could be up to gNB implementation.") and transmitting a second PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK feedback for a second PDSCH set of the first number of PDSCH sets according to the other one of the two time offset value (page 4, paragraph #0064, "Preferably, a subset of a set of PDSCHs could include the PDSCHs whose HARQ-ACKs are expected to transmit on the same PUCCH resource for the first time HARQ-ACK feedback. As shown in FIG. 2, the blue PDSCHs with C-DAI equals to 1, 2, 3 could be considered as in the same subset as blue PDSCHs with C-DAI equals to 4, 5. Value 5 is indicated as value 1 if modulo 4 operation is done. Preferably, there is enough gNB processing time between a PUCCH resource for a subset and a DCI scheduling PDSCH in a followed subset. However, the exact timing between different subsets and the related PUCCHs is not limited in this disclosure and could be up to gNB implementation.").
Regarding claim 4, Li et al. discloses wherein the first subset includes a single time offset value
((pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-
ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with
same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for
dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set
indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can
be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the
specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …"), and wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit the first number of PUCCHS by: transmitting a single PICCH carrying HARQ-ACK feedback for the plurality of PDSCHs according to the single time offset value (page 4, paragraph #0064, "Preferably, a subset of a set of PDSCHs could include the PDSCHs whose HARQ-ACKs are expected to transmit on the same PUCCH resource for the first time HARQ-ACK feedback. As shown in FIG. 2, the blue PDSCHs with C-DAI equals to 1, 2, 3 could be considered as in the same subset as blue PDSCHs with C-DAI equals to 4, 5. Value 5 is indicated as value 1 if modulo 4 operation is done. Preferably, there is enough gNB processing time between a PUCCH resource for a subset and a DCI scheduling PDSCH in a followed subset. However, the exact timing between different subsets and the related PUCCHs is not limited in this disclosure and could be up to gNB implementation.").
Regarding claim 5, Li et al. also disclose wherein the DCI format indicates a value of the first
number (page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK
for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled)
should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
Regarding claim 6, Li et al. discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to: determine a value of the first number based on the number of the plurality of PDSCHs and a threshold (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of
PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include
all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some
other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs
with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of
the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or
fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …").
Regarding claim 7, Li et al. discloses wherein the threshold is predefined by a mapping
relationship between the number of PDSCHs scheduled by a DCI format and the value of the threshold,
or is configured by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In
another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of
PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-
ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH
is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can
support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by
UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include
multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …").
Regarding claim 8, Li et al. discloses wherein the DCI format indicates a single time offset value
for transmitting HARQ-ACK feedback (page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e.
a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e.
reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource."); and when
the value of the first number is two, the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit the first number of PUCCHs by: transmitting a first PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK feedback for a first PDSCH set of the first number of PDSCH sets on a predefined slot, and transmitting a second PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK feedback for a second PDSCH set of the first number of PDSCH sets according to the single time offset value; or transmitting the first PUCCH according to the single time offset value and transmitting the second PUCCH on the predefined slot (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, …").
Regarding claim 9, Li et al. discloses wherein the predefined slot is: the slot where the last
PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs is transmitted; the slot immediately following the slot where the last
PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs is transmitted; or determined based on a slot level offset configured by
a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment,
a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same
set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not
successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is
satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can
support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by
UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include
multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the
first time, …").
Regarding claim 10, Li et al. discloses wherein the slot level offset is with reference to: the slot
where the first scheduled PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs is transmitted; the slot where the last
scheduled PDSCH of the first PDSCH set is transmitted; or the slot where the last scheduled PDSCH of
the plurality of PDSCHs is transmitted (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set
index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set
index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not
successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is
satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can
support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by
UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include
multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the
first time, …").
Regarding claim 11, Li et al. discloses wherein the single time offset is with reference to: the slot
where the last scheduled PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs is transmitted; the slot where the last
scheduled PDSCH of the first PDSCH set is transmitted; or the slot where the first scheduled PDSCH of
the plurality of PDSCHs is transmitted (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set
index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set
index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not
successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is
satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can
support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by
UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include
multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the
first time, …").
Regarding claim 12, Li et al. discloses wherein: the plurality of PDSCHs is approximately equally
divided into the first number of PDSCH sets (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set
index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set
index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully
transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could
be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of
PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by
cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of
PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, …"); or the
first M PDSCHs of the plurality of PDSCHs are included in a first PDSCH set of the first number of PDSCH
sets, and the remaining PDSCH of the plurality of PDSCHs are included in a second PDSCH set of the first
number of PDSCH sets (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to
a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of
PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet,
unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple
sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs,
where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-
specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs.
Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, …"), wherein a value
of M is predefined by a mapping relationship between the number of PDSCHs scheduled by a DCI format
and the value of M, or the value of M is configured by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message
(pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs.
HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all
PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other
criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with
different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set
indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in
the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs
may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, …" and page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication
for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set
index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated
PUCCH resource.").
Regarding claim 16, Li et al. discloses a processor (page 17, paragraph #0305, "FIG. 22 illustrates
a wireless communication station in accordance with some embodiment. Wireless communication
station 200 may be suitable for use as a user equipment (UE) and configured to …” and page 17,
paragraph #0306, " The communication station 200 may also include processing circuitry 206 and
memory 208 arranged to perform...") for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller
coupled with at least one memory (page 17, paragraph #0305, "FIG. 22 illustrates a wireless
communication station in accordance with some embodiment. Wireless communication station 200
may be suitable for use as a user equipment (UE) and configured to …” and page 17, paragraph #0306,
" The communication station 200 may also include processing circuitry 206 and memory 208 arranged
to perform...") and configured to cause the processor to: receive a downlink control information (DCI)
format for scheduling a plurality of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) on a serving cell of the
processor (pages 1-2, paragraph #0034, " In these embodiments, the UE may decode a downlink
control information (DCI) format for scheduling a physical downlink shard channel (PDSCH) group of
one or more PDSCHs..."); and transmit a first number of physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback for the plurality of PDSCHs (pages 1-2, paragraph #0034, " In these embodiments, the UE may be configured for Type-2 Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission. In these embodiments, for HARQ-ACK retransmission, the UE may retransmit HARQ-ACK bits from more than one PDSCH group in the PUCCH transmission occasion scheduled by the DCI format."), wherein the plurality of PDSCHs is divided into a first number of PDSCH sets (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs.
HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all
PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other
criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with
different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set
indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in
the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. ..."), and wherein the HARD-ACK feedback for each of the first number of PDSCH sets is carried by a corresponding PUCCH of the first number of PUCCHs (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, or may never be assigned a PUCCH resource yet, or may be already assigned a PUCCH resource in earlier time for one or more times but failed in HARQ-ACK transmission due to LBT failure and/or gNB detection error…" and page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
However, Li et al. does not specifically discloses the newly added limitation wherein the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format.
Xiong et al. in the same field of wireless communication (see page 1, paragraph #0002, “Embodiments relate generally to the technical field of wireless communications.”) teaches that the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format (see pages 17-21, paragraphs #0187-#0267, “Example 2 may include the method of example 1, wherein in the DCI for scheduling multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs with different TBs, each PDSCH and/or PUSCH may be scheduled within a slot”, “Example 3 may include the method of example 1, wherein some fields in the DCI may be common for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs, while other fields may be independent for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs”, “Example 18 may include the method of example 1, wherein for multi-TTI scheduling for PDSCHs with different TBs, a single PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) may be used to indicate one or more PUCCH resources for carrying HARQ-ACK response of one or more scheduled PDSCHs”, “Example 20 may include the method of example 1, single PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator is used to indicate the slot offset between the last scheduled PDSCH and one PUCCH”, and “Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the operation of the wireless communication as taught by Xiong et al. into the wireless communication of Li et al. in order to increase the efficiency of the wireless communication.
Regarding claim 17, Li et al. discloses wherein the at least one controller is further configured to cause the processor to: receive a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message configuring a HARQ-ACK feedback timing set, wherein the HARG-ACK timing set includes a plurality of subsets and each of the plurality of subsets comprises at least one time offset value for transmitting HARQ-ACK feedback (page 2, paragraph #0036, "In some embodiments, the UE may decode radio resource control (RRC) signaling to configure the UE for the Type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission and report the HARQ-ACK bits according to a most recently received DCI format." and pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …"); wherein the DCI format indicates a first subset from the plurality of subsets, and a value of the first number equals a number of time offset values in the first subset (page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
Regarding claim 18, Li et al. discloses wherein the DCI format indicates a value of the first
number (page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK
for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled)
should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
Regarding claim 19, Li et al. discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE) (page 17,
paragraph #0305, "FIG. 22 illustrates a wireless communication station in accordance with some
embodiment. Wireless communication station 200 may be suitable for use as a user equipment (UE)
and configured to …” and page 17, paragraph #0306, " The communication station 200 may also
include processing circuitry 206 and memory 208 arranged to perform..."), the method comprising:
receiving a downlink control information (DCI) format for scheduling a plurality of physical downlink
shared channels (PDSCHs) on a serving cell of the UE (pages 1-2, paragraph #0034, " In these
embodiments, the UE may decode a downlink control information (DCI) format for scheduling a
physical downlink shard channel (PDSCH) group of one or more PDSCHs..."); and transmitting a first
number of physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request
acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback for the plurality of PDSCHs (pages 1-2, paragraph #0034, In
these embodiments, the UE may be configured for Type-2 Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)
acknowledge (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission. …In these
embodiments, for HARQ-ACK retransmission, the UE may retransmit HARQ-ACK bits from more than
one PDSCH group in the PUCCH transmission occasion scheduled by the DCI format."), wherein the
plurality of PDSCHs is divided into a first number of PDSCH sets (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. ..."), and wherein the HARQ-ACK feedback for each of the
first number of PDSCH sets is carried by a corresponding PUCCH of the first number of PUCCHs (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, or may never be assigned a PUCCH resource yet, or may be already assigned a PUCCH resource in earlier time for one or more times but failed in HARQ-ACK transmission due to LBT failure and/or gNB detection error…" and page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
However, Li et al. does not specifically discloses the newly added limitation wherein the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format.
Xiong et al. in the same field of wireless communication (see page 1, paragraph #0002, “Embodiments relate generally to the technical field of wireless communications.”) teaches that the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format (see pages 17-21, paragraphs #0187-#0267, “Example 2 may include the method of example 1, wherein in the DCI for scheduling multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs with different TBs, each PDSCH and/or PUSCH may be scheduled within a slot”, “Example 3 may include the method of example 1, wherein some fields in the DCI may be common for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs, while other fields may be independent for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs”, “Example 18 may include the method of example 1, wherein for multi-TTI scheduling for PDSCHs with different TBs, a single PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) may be used to indicate one or more PUCCH resources for carrying HARQ-ACK response of one or more scheduled PDSCHs”, “Example 20 may include the method of example 1, single PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator is used to indicate the slot offset between the last scheduled PDSCH and one PUCCH”, and “Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the operation of the wireless communication as taught by Xiong et al. into the wireless communication of Li et al. in order to increase the efficiency of the wireless communication.
Regarding claim 20, Li et al. also discloses wherein the DCI format indicates a value of the first
number (page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK
for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled)
should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
Regarding claim 21, Li et al. discloses determining a value of the first number based on the
number of the plurality of PDSCHs and a threshold (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another
embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs
with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are
not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is
satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can
support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by
UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include
multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …").
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US
2021/0105102 A1) in view of Gao et al. (US 12,477,548 B2) and further in view of Xiong et al. (US 2024/0163894 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Li et al. discloses a Node B (gNB) for wireless communication (see page 17, paragraph #0305, "FIG. 22 illustrates a wireless communication station in accordance with some embodiment. Wireless communication station 200 may be suitable for use as a user equipment (UE) and configured to …" and page 2, paragraph #0043, "Some embodiments are directed to a fifth generation (5G) Node B (gNB). In these embodiments, the gNB may encode radio-resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to a user equipment (UE). ..."), comprising: transmit a downlink control information (DCI) format for scheduling a plurality of physical downlink shard channels (PDSCHs) on a cell of the Node B (page 2, paragraph #0043, "Some embodiments are directed to a fifth generation (5G) Node B (gNB). In these embodiments, the gNB may encode radio-resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to a user equipment (UE). The RRC signaling may configure the UE for Type-2 Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission. In some embodiments, the gNB may encode a downlink control information (DCI) format for transmission to the UE for scheduling a physical downlink shard channel (PDSCH) group of one or more PDSCHs. In these embodiments, the DCI format may indicate the UE to multiplex HARQ-ACK bits for PDSCH receptions scheduled by the DCI format for transmission in a PUCCH transmission occasion and refrain from multiplexing HARQ-ACK bits for PDSCH receptions that are not scheduled by the DCI format. For HARQ-ACK retransmission, the DCI format may also indicate whether the UE is to include HARQ-ACK bits from more than one PDSCH group in the PUCCH transmission occasion." and page 4, paragraph #0086, " Then, UE report the UCI payload to gNB. At gNB side, gNB could do XOR operation between each received bit and the RI of the PDSCH set in gNB understanding, which recovers the HARQ-ACK information from UE."); and receive a first number of physical unlink control channels (PUCCHs) carrying hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback for the plurality of PDSCHs (pages 1-2, paragraph #0034, " In these embodiments, the UE may be configured for Type-2 Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission. In these embodiments, for HARQ-ACK retransmission, the UE may retransmit HARQ-ACK bits from more than one PDSCH group in the PUCCH transmission occasion scheduled by the DCI format.", page 2, paragraph #0043, "Some embodiments are directed to a fifth generation (5G) Node B (gNB). In these embodiments, the gNB may encode radio-resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to a user equipment (UE). The RRC signaling may configure the UE for Type-2 Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission. In some embodiments, the gNB may encode a downlink control information (DCI) format for transmission to the UE for scheduling a physical downlink shard channel (PDSCH) group of one or more PDSCHs. In these embodiments, the DCI format may indicate the UE to multiplex HARQ-ACK bits for PDSCH receptions scheduled by the DCI format for transmission in a PUCCH transmission occasion and refrain from multiplexing HARQ-ACK bits for PDSCH receptions that are not scheduled by the DCI format. For HARQ-ACK retransmission, the DCI format may also indicate whether the UE is to include HARQ-ACK bits from more than one PDSCH group in the PUCCH transmission occasion.", and page 4, paragraph #0086, " Then, UE report the UCI payload to gNB. At gNB side, gNB could do XOR operation between each received bit and the RI of the PDSCH set in gNB understanding, which recovers the HARQ-ACK information from UE."), wherein the plurality of PDSCHs is divided into a first number of PDSCH sets (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. ..."), and wherein the HARQ-ACK feedback for each of the first number of PDSCH sets is carried by a corresponding PUCCH of the first number of PUCCHs (pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, "In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. Herein, a subset of PDSCHs may be allocated a PUCCH resource for the first time, or may never be assigned a PUCCH resource yet, or may be already assigned a PUCCH resource in earlier time for one or more times but failed in HARQ-ACK transmission due to LBT failure and/or gNB detection error.." and page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
However, Li et al. does not specifically disclose a base station comprising at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor and wherein the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format.
Gao et al. teaches in the wireless communication endeavor that a radio access node 1100
including one or more processors 1104 and memory 1106 is used for base station or gNB (col. 23, lines
34-45, "FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1100 according to some
embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio
access node 1100 may be, for example, a base station 702 or 706 or a network node that implements
all or part of the functionality of the base station 702 or gNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio
access node 1100 includes a control system 1102 that includes one or more processors 1104 (e.g.,
Central Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable
Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and/or the like), memory 1106, and a network interface 1108. …").
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to incorporate the radio access node of Gao et al. into Li et al.'s wireless
communication in order to increase the accuracy of system performance of Li et al. with the processor
and memory as taught by Gao et al..
Additionally, Xiong et al. in the same field of wireless communication (see page 1, paragraph #0002, “Embodiments relate generally to the technical field of wireless communications.”) teaches that the first number of PUCCHs is indicated by a single PDSCH-to-HARQ-ACK feedback timing indicator and a single PUCCH resource indicator in the DCI format (see pages 17-21, paragraphs #0187-#0267, “Example 2 may include the method of example 1, wherein in the DCI for scheduling multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs with different TBs, each PDSCH and/or PUSCH may be scheduled within a slot”, “Example 3 may include the method of example 1, wherein some fields in the DCI may be common for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs, while other fields may be independent for the scheduling of multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs”, “Example 18 may include the method of example 1, wherein for multi-TTI scheduling for PDSCHs with different TBs, a single PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) may be used to indicate one or more PUCCH resources for carrying HARQ-ACK response of one or more scheduled PDSCHs”, “Example 20 may include the method of example 1, single PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator is used to indicate the slot offset between the last scheduled PDSCH and one PUCCH”, and “Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the operation of the wireless communication as taught by Xiong et al. into the wireless communication of Li et al. in order to increase the efficiency of the wireless communication.
Regarding claim 14, Li eta I. also discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the BA to: transmit a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message for configuring a HARQ-ACK feedback timing set, wherein the HARQ-ACK timing set includes a plurality of subsets and each of the plurality of subsets comprises at least one time offset value for transmitting HARQ-ACK feedback (page 2, paragraph #0036, "In some embodiments, the UE may decode radio resource control (RRC) signaling to configure the UE for the Type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook grouping and HARQ-ACK retransmission and report the HARQ-ACK bits according to a most recently received DCI format." and pages 3-4, paragraph #0063, In another embodiment, a set index is assigned to a set of PDSCHs. HARQ-ACK is determined for the set of PDSCHs with same set index. The set of PDSCHs include all PDSCHs with same set index whose HARQ-ACK are not successfully transmitted yet, unless some other criteria for dropping HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH is satisfied. There could be multiple sets of PDSCHs with different set indexes, e.g. a 2-bit set index can support up to 4 set of PDSCHs, where the size of the set indexes can be configured by RRC (either by UE-specific manner or by cell-specific manner) or fixed in the specification. A set of PDSCHs may include multiple subsets of PDSCHs. …"); wherein the DCI format indicates a first subset from the plurality of subset from the plurality of subsets, and a value of the first number equals a number of time offset values in the first subset (page 4, paragraph #0066, "One indication for a set of PDSCHs, i.e. a set index (SI), HARQ-ACK for all PDSCHs scheduled by DCI with same set index (not reset yet, i.e. reset indicator is not toggled) should be reported at currently indicated PUCCH resource.").
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The cited references are directed to wireless communication.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI Q TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7382. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 6:30pm..
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, Colleen Fauz can be reached at (571) 272-1667. 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.
/THAI Q TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2484
Prosecution Insights