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 Objections
Claims 7 and 16 objected to because of the following informalities: Acronym “PDSCH” should be spelled out on its first instance in the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-4, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chin et al. (US 2022/0286818, hereinafter “Chin”) in view of Tian et al. (WO 2022/170312, hereinafter “Tian”).
For claims 1, 7 and 16, Chin discloses A method performed by a user equipment (UTE), the method comprising:
receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) signal (In action 602, the UE may receive a first DRX configuration mapped to an MBS. The first DRX configuration may include a first timer and controlling activity of the UE for monitoring a PDCCH associated with a G-RNTI of the MBS; see Chin par. 0262 and Fig. 6), wherein:
the PDCCH signal comprises a control information field (the dynamic switching indication may be indicated by a specific flag in a DCI field (with a specific DCI format); see Chin par. 0259; In action 604, the UE may receive a first DL assignment associated with the G-RNTI on the PDCCH. For example, the first DL assignment may be scheduling information contained in the DCI with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI; see Chin par. 0263 and Fig. 6), wherein the control information field comprises:
a first indicator; and a second indicator, wherein the first indicator and the second indicator correspond to the PDSCH transmission (the first DL assignment and the second DL assignment may be mapped to the same HARQ process ID. Moreover, the NDI (New Data Indicator) of the second DL assignment may be considered as not toggled when comparing with the NDI of the first DL assignment. As such, the UE may identify that the second DL assignment is used for scheduling a retransmission of the PDSCH scheduled by the first DL assignment; see Chin par. 0266, 0214 and Fig. 6);
the first indicator corresponds to PDSCH transmissions using a first transmission mode (For the PTM (Point to Multipoint) transmission scheme, the DCI associated with a G-RNTI (e.g., the DCI with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI) may be transmitted on a PDCCH for scheduling of a group-common PDSCH in the DL. The group common PDSCH (with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI) may include the MBS data packets. The PTM transmission scheme may also be referred to as PTM transmission scheme 1 or may be referred to as a multicast transmission from the network; see Chin par. 0102, 0267-0269); and
the second indicator corresponds to PDSCH transmissions using a second transmission mode (For the PTP (Point to Point) transmission scheme, the DCI associated with a C-RNTI (e.g., the DCI with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI) may be transmitted on a PDCCH for scheduling of a VE-specific PDSCH in the DL. The UE-specific PDSCH (with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI) may include an MBS data packet. The PTP transmission scheme may also refer to a unicast transmission from the network; see Chin par. 0101, 0267-0269).
Chin does not explicitly disclose the PDCCH signal is associated with a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission. Tian discloses the PDCCH signal is associated with a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission (the base station provides a DCI 402 to the UE in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 404 which schedules a plurality of PDSCH transmissions 406. For example, each PDSCH transmission 406 may include downlink data occupying a respective slot. While in the illustrated example the single-stage multi-PDSCH grant schedules five different transport blocks ( e.g., PD SCH 1-5), in other examples a different number of PDSCH transmissions may be scheduled. The DCI 402 may include scheduling information 408 (e.g., FDRA, TDRA, MCS, rank, NDIs, RVIDs, etc.) for each of the PDSCH transmissions 406; see Tian par. 0071, 0076, 0083). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Tian's arrangement in Chin's invention to provide a downlink grant which schedules multiple PDSCH transmissions with more flexibility than single-stage multi-PDSCH grants (see Tian par. 0032).
Specifically for claim 7, Chin discloses A user equipment (UE), comprising:
at least one memory; and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to: (Claim 10. A User Equipment (UE) for management of Multicast Broadcast Service (MBS) data reception, the UE comprising: computer-storage media storing at least one computer executable instruction; at least one processor coupled to the computer-storage media and configured to execute the at least one computer-executable instruction to:; see Chin claim 10 page 22).
Specifically for claim 16, Chin discloses A processor for wireless communication (The node 700 may be a UE or a BS that performs various functions disclosed with reference to FIGS. 1 through 6; see Chin par. 0299), comprising:
at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: (The processor 728 (e.g., having processing circuitry) may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc. The processor 728 may include memory. The processor 728 may process the data 730 and the program 732 received from the memory 738, and information transmitted and received via the transceiver 720, the baseband communications module, and/or the network communications module; see Chin par. 0306 and Fig. 7).
For claim 2, Chin discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to point-to-multipoint PDSCH transmissions (For the PTM transmission scheme, the DCI associated with a G-RNTI (e.g., the DCI with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI) may be transmitted on a PDCCH for scheduling of a group-common PDSCH in the DL. The group common PDSCH (with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI) may include the MBS data packets. The PTM transmission scheme may also be referred to as PTM transmission scheme 1 or may be referred to as a multicast transmission from the network; see Chin par. 0102, 0267-0269) and the second transmission mode corresponds to point-to-point PDSCH transmission (For the PTP transmission scheme, the DCI associated with a C-RNTI (e.g., the DCI with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI) may be transmitted on a PDCCH for scheduling of a VE-specific PDSCH in the DL. The UE-specific PDSCH (with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI) may include an MBS data packet. The PTP transmission scheme may also refer to a unicast transmission from the network; see Chin par. 0101, 0267-0269).
For claims 3, 8, 13 and 17, Chin discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the first indicator comprises a first new data indicator (NDI) and the second indicator comprises a second NDI (In action 610, the UE may enable use of a C-RNTI to decode a second DL assignment while the first timer is running. Given this, if the second DL assignment is scheduling information contained in the DCI with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI, the UE can successfully decode/receive/monitor the second DL assignment. In some implementations, the first DL assignment and the second DL assignment may be mapped to the same HARQ process ID. Moreover, the NDI (New Data Indicator) of the second DL assignment may be considered as not toggled when comparing with the NDI of the first DL assignment. As such, the UE may identify that the second DL assignment is used for scheduling a retransmission of the PDSCH scheduled by the first DL assignment. In some implementations, the first DL assignment and the second DL assignment may be scheduled on different PDCCHs or different search spaces. The G-RNTI and the C-RNTI may associate with different CORESETs/PDCCHs/search spaces; see Chin par. 0266, 0214 and Fig. 6).
For claim 4, Chin discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising performing soft combining of data received with data in a soft buffer in response to the control information field matching a last control information field (the retransmission timer may be configured per MBS. AUE may (re)start the retransmission timer for an MBS if it does not successfully receive/decode DL data corresponding to the MBS. While the retransmission timer for an MBS is running, the UE may monitor, from at least one of the locations as defined above, for a retransmitted DL resource. The DL resource may correspond to the MBS of the retransmission timer. The DL resource may be used for retransmitting a MAC PDU that corresponds to the MBS. The DL resource may correspond to a group common PDSCH configuration. The DL resource may correspond to an SPS group common PDSCH configuration. The UE may always combine the received MAC PDU with the MAC PDU in the soft buffer with the same HARQ process. The UE may also attempt to decode the combined data; see Chin par. 0183-0184, 0151-0152).
For claim 12, Chin discloses A base station, comprising:
at least one memory; and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the base station to (FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a node 700 for wireless communication according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 7, a node 700 may include a transceiver 720, a processor 728, a memory 734, one or more presentation components 738, and at least one antenna 736; see Chin par. 0298 and Fig. 7):
transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)signal (In action 602, the UE may receive a first DRX configuration mapped to an MBS. The first DRX configuration may include a first timer and controlling activity of the UE for monitoring a PDCCH associated with a G-RNTI of the MBS; see Chin par. 0262 and Fig. 6), wherein:
the PDCCH signal comprises a control information field (the dynamic switching indication may be indicated by a specific flag in a DCI field (with a specific DCI format); see Chin par. 0259; In action 604, the UE may receive a first DL assignment associated with the G-RNTI on the PDCCH. For example, the first DL assignment may be scheduling information contained in the DCI with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI; see Chin par. 0263 and Fig. 6), wherein the control information field comprises:
a first indicator; and a second indicator, wherein the first indicator and the second indicator correspond to the PDSCH transmission (the first DL assignment and the second DL assignment may be mapped to the same HARQ process ID. Moreover, the NDI (New Data Indicator) of the second DL assignment may be considered as not toggled when comparing with the NDI of the first DL assignment. As such, the UE may identify that the second DL assignment is used for scheduling a retransmission of the PDSCH scheduled by the first DL assignment; see Chin par. 0266, 0214 and Fig. 6);
the first indicator corresponds to PDSCH transmissions using a first transmission mode (For the PTM (Point to Multipoint) transmission scheme, the DCI associated with a G-RNTI (e.g., the DCI with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI) may be transmitted on a PDCCH for scheduling of a group-common PDSCH in the DL. The group common PDSCH (with CRC scrambled by the G-RNTI) may include the MBS data packets. The PTM transmission scheme may also be referred to as PTM transmission scheme 1 or may be referred to as a multicast transmission from the network; see Chin par. 0102, 0267-0269); and
the second indicator corresponds to PDSCH transmissions using a second transmission mode (For the PTP (Point to Point) transmission scheme, the DCI associated with a C-RNTI (e.g., the DCI with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI) may be transmitted on a PDCCH for scheduling of a VE-specific PDSCH in the DL. The UE-specific PDSCH (with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI) may include an MBS data packet. The PTP transmission scheme may also refer to a unicast transmission from the network; see Chin par. 0101, 0267-0269).
Chin does not explicitly disclose the PDCCH signal is associated with a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission. Tian discloses the PDCCH signal is associated with a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission (the base station provides a DCI 402 to the UE in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 404 which schedules a plurality of PDSCH transmissions 406. For example, each PDSCH transmission 406 may include downlink data occupying a respective slot. While in the illustrated example the single-stage multi-PDSCH grant schedules five different transport blocks ( e.g., PD SCH 1-5), in other examples a different number of PDSCH transmissions may be scheduled. The DCI 402 may include scheduling information 408 (e.g., FDRA, TDRA, MCS, rank, NDIs, RVIDs, etc.) for each of the PDSCH transmissions 406; see Tian par. 0071, 0076, 0083). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Tian's arrangement in Chin's invention to provide a downlink grant which schedules multiple PDSCH transmissions with more flexibility than single-stage multi-PDSCH grants (see Tian par. 0032).
Claim(s) 5, 6, 9-11, 14, 15, 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chin and Tian, and further in view of Baek et al. (US 2022/0322293, hereinafter “Baek”). Examiner’s note: Baek reference citations are backed by its Foreign Application Priority Data (KR) 10-2021-0041431 (Mar. 30, 2021) with Machine translation doc. attached in which paragraphs 0043-0050 are equivalent to the cited paragraphs.
For claims 5, 10, 14 and 19, Chin does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, wherein the first indicator comprises an immediately preceding transmission mode indicator and the second indicator comprises a new data indicator(NDI). Baek discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the first indicator comprises an immediately preceding transmission mode indicator (Referring to FIG. 7 that in the PTM- type transmission, a base station allocates and transmits a downlink radio resource (an initial transmission or retransmission) by using a G-RNTI shared by a terminal, and in the PTP-type transmission, the base station allocates and retransmits a downlink radio resource, by using an RT-RNTI of each terminal, to the corresponding terminal only… In case that a result of the determination in operation 730 shows "yes" (in case that the just previously allocated downlink resource indicated to the HARQ device of the same HARQ process corresponds to the resource allocated using the CS-RNTI, the C-RNTI, the MCS-C-RNTI, or the RT-RNTI, or the downlink configured grant), the just previous resource is for unicast transmission or retransmission of the previous MBS data; see Baek par. 0079-0080) and the second indicator comprises a new data indicator(NDI) (and thus, the resource currently allocated using the G-RNTI corresponds to an initial transmission of MBS data. Accordingly, the terminal may consider that the NDI is toggled regardless of the NDI value at operation 731. The terminal may inform the HARQ device that there is a downlink allocated resource, and may transfer HARQ information including NDI toggle information at operation 732; see Baek par. 0080). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Baek's arrangement in Chen's invention to provide a method and an apparatus for MBS resource allocation for enhanced MBS communication (see Bael par. 0010).
For claims 6, 11, 15 and 20, Chin does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, wherein the first indicator indicates whether an immediately preceding transmission is an initial transmission of a transport block in the first transmission mode. Baek discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the first indicator indicates whether an immediately preceding transmission is an initial transmission (In case that a result of the determination in operation 730 shows "yes" (in case that the just previously allocated downlink resource indicated to the HARQ device of the same HARQ process corresponds to the resource allocated using the CS-RNTI, the C-RNTI, the MCS-C-RNTI, or the RT-RNTI, or the downlink configured grant), the just previous resource is for unicast transmission or retransmission of the previous MBS data and thus, the resource currently allocated using the G-RNTI corresponds to an initial transmission of MBS data. Accordingly, the terminal may consider that the NDI is toggled regardless of the NDI value at operation 731. The terminal may inform the HARQ device that there is a downlink allocated resource, and may transfer HARQ information including NDI toggle information at operation 732; see Baek par. 0080, 0108) of a transport block in the first transmission mode (The resource allocated by using the G-RNTI may mean a PTM initial transmission or retransmission for MBS service, and thus, data of the same HARQ process may be data of the same transport block. The resource allocated by using the RT-RNTI means PTP retransmission for MBS service, and thus, data in the same HARQ process allocated using the previous G-RNTI or the RT-RNTI may be data of the same transport block; see Baek par. 0074). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Baek's arrangement in Chen's invention to provide a method and an apparatus for MBS resource allocation for enhanced MBS communication (see Bael par. 0010).
For claims 9 and 18, the combination of Chin and Tian does not explicitly disclose The UE of claim 7, wherein the first indicator indicates whether a current transmission in the first transmission mode is an initial transmission of a transport block in the first transmission mode or a retransmission of the transport block in the first transmission mode. Baek discloses The UE of claim 7, wherein the first indicator indicates whether a current transmission in the first transmission mode is an initial transmission of a transport block in the first transmission mode or a retransmission (In case that a downlink radio resource is allocated to the terminal on a PDCCH physical channel at operation 710, the terminal may identify an RNTI of the resource, which is used for allocation at operation 720, and if the resource corresponds to a resource allocated using an RT-RNTI at operation 722, the resource may correspond to retransmission for MBS data initial transmission previously allocated using the G-RNTI. The resource should be a retransmission resource, and thus, the terminal needs to consider that the NDI bit is not toggled and performs a retransmission procedure at operation 741. In an embodiment, the NDI value of the resource allocated using the RT-RNTI has a specific value, the resource may mean a retransmission resource regardless of the NDI value of the previous resource. This specific NDI value may be a value of 1. However, the resource allocated using the RT-RNTI cannot be an initial transmission resource. With respect to the HARQ process, a first allocated downlink radio resource corresponds to a downlink radio resource allocated using the RT-RNTI, the terminal may ignore the allocation of the resource; see Baek par. 0081, 0100) of the transport block in the first transmission mode (The resource allocated by using the G-RNTI may mean a PTM initial transmission or retransmission for MBS service, and thus, data of the same HARQ process may be data of the same transport block. The resource allocated by using the RT-RNTI means PTP retransmission for MBS service, and thus, data in the same HARQ process allocated using the previous G-RNTI or the RT-RNTI may be data of the same transport block; see Baek par. 0074). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Baek's arrangement in Chen's invention to provide a method and an apparatus for MBS resource allocation for enhanced MBS communication (see Baek par. 0010).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
-Zhou et al. (US 2024/0421960);
-Park et al. (EP 2 209 248).
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/CHAE S LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415