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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/12/2024 and 09/03/2025 ware filed after the filing date of the instant application on 01/12/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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 1-8, 10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumura et al (US 2023/0147173 A1), hereinafter, “Matsumura” in view of Xiong et al (US 2021/0211241 A1), hereinafter, “Xiong”.
Regarding claim 1, Matsumura discloses: A method performed for transmitting hybrid automatic repeat and request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information by a terminal in a wireless communication system (Matsumura: fig 4C, para [0161], where, “the method for determining the HARQ-ACK transmission resource with respect to the initial transmission multicast PDSCH and the retransmission multicast PDSCH”), the method comprising:
receiving, from a network, a first multicast physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) based on a first multicast downlink control information (DCI) format (Matsumura: fig 1, para [0115], where, “a plurality of UEs (a UE 1 and a UE 2) receive a multicast PDSCH 1 scheduled by DCI 1. The multicast PDSCH 1 is a PDSCH carrying one piece of DL data (which may be simply referred to as data)”));
receiving, from the network, a second multicast PDSCH based on a second multicast DCI format (Matsumura: fig 1, para [0115], where, “the UE receives a PDSCH 2 using multicast, the PDSCH 2 being scheduled by DCI 2. The multicast PDSCH 2 is a PDSCH carrying data the same as the data carried by the multicast PDSCH 1”)); and
wherein based on the second multicast DCI format being received after the first multicast DCI format, the PUCCH resource is determined by using the first multicast DCI format (Matsumura: fig 1, para [0115], where, DCI 2 is received after PUCCH 1 is determined by DCI 1); Matsumura does not explicitly teach: multiplexing and transmitting to the network, through a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) first hybrid automatic repeat and request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information on the first multicast PDSCH and second HARQ-ACK information on the second multicast PDSCH.
Xiong teaches: multiplexing and transmitting to the network, through a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) first hybrid automatic repeat and request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information on the first multicast PDSCH and second HARQ-ACK information on the second multicast PDSCH (Xiong: para [0026], where, “if the resulting determined second PUCCH resource carrying the second UCI and the second HARQ-ACK feedback payload do not overlap with the first HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource, and if one of the PUCCH resources is a short PUCCH, then the UE may transmit the first HARQ-ACK PUCCH and the determined second PUCCH resource within the slot”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use “multiplexing and transmitting to the network, through a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) first hybrid automatic repeat and request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information on the first multicast PDSCH and second HARQ-ACK information on the second multicast PDSCH” as taught by Xiong into Matsumura in order to provide access to information and sharing of data anywhere (Xiong: para [0012]).
Regarding claim 2, Matsumura modified by Xiong disclose: The method of claim 1, wherein: the first HARQ-ACK information and the second HARQ-ACK information have a same priority (Xiong: para [0066], where, first HARQ-ACK and the second HARQ-ACK has the same priority).
Regarding claim 3, Matsumura modified by Xiong disclose: The method of claim 1, wherein: the first HARQ-ACK information is based on a first HARQ-ACK reporting mode, the second HARQ-ACK information is based on a second HARQ-ACK reporting mode (Xiong: para [0028], where, first and second HARQ-ACK is based on the reporting mode).
Regarding claims 4-5, Matsumura modified by Xiong disclose: The method of claim 3, wherein: the first HARQ-ACK reporting mode includes generating HARQ-ACK information with an ACK value or with a non-acknowledgement (NACK) value based on whether a transport block is successfully decoded (Matsumura: para [0069], where, “the UE configured with multicast/broadcast may transmit a HARQ-ACK/NACK in response to the PDSCH using multicast by using a PUCCH or a PUSCH”).
Regarding claim 6, Matsumura modified by Xiong disclose: The method of claim 3, wherein: the second HARQ-ACK based on the first HARQ-ACK reporting mode is provided before the second HARQ-ACK information based on the second HARQ-ACK reporting mode is multiplexed with the first HARQ-ACK information based on the first HARQ-ACK reporting mode (Xiong: para [0018], where, “systems and products to allow multiplexing of multiple HARQ-ACK feedbacks and other UCI on PUCCH and PUSCH in a same slot”).
Regarding claim 7, Matsumura modified by Xiong disclose: The method of claim 3, wherein: the first multicast DCI format is a last DCI format among DCI formats associated with multicast HARQ-ACK information based on the first HARQ-ACK reporting mode (Xiong: para [0038], where, “the first HARQ-ACK feedback overlaps with the updated/determined second HARQ-ACK PUCCH resource (not shown), or if the second UCI and two non-overlapping HARQ-ACK PUCCH resources (as shown in FIG. 1) are considered for UCI multiplexing, and if the DCI format scheduling the second PDSCH is detected”).
Regarding claim 8, Matsumura modified by Xiong disclose: The method of claim 1, wherein: only HARQ-ACK information for a multicast DCI format or for multicast PDSCH reception is multiplexed in the PUCCH (Xiong: para [0041], where, “the PUCCH resource carrying combined UCI may be determined in accordance with PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) which is used to indicate the PUCCH carrying the first or the last dynamic HARQ-ACK feedback among multiple HARQ-ACK feedbacks”).
Regarding claims 10 and 12, the claims includes features identical to the subject matter mentioned in the rejection to claim 1 above. The claims are mere reformulation of claim 1 in order to define the corresponding packet transmission using transmission of HARQ-NACK, and the rejection to claim 1 is applied hereto.
Claim 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumura et al (US 2023/0147173 A1), hereinafter, “Matsumura” in view of Xiong et al (US 2021/0211241 A1), hereinafter, “Xiong” further in view of Lei et al (US 2024/0073894 A1), hereinafter, “Lei”.
Regarding claim 9, Matsumura modified by Xiong do not explicitly disclose: The method of claim 1, wherein: the multicast DCI format is CRC(cyclic redundancy check)-scrambled by a group-radio network temporary identifier (G-RNTI) or a group-configured scheduling-RNTI(G-CS-RNTI).
Lei discloses: wherein: the multicast DCI format is CRC(cyclic redundancy check)-scrambled by a group-radio network temporary identifier (G-RNTI) or a group-configured scheduling-RNTI(G-CS-RNTI) (Lei: para [0051], where, “a UE on the HARQ-ACK codebook determination when the HARQ-ACK feedback for PDSCHs scheduled by the group-common DCI formats (e.g., a DCI format with a CRC scrambled by a group-common RNTI (e.g., G-RNTI) for multicast transmission) is to be transmitted in the same slot with the HARQ-ACK feedback for PDSCHs scheduled by the UE-specific DCI formats (e.g., a DCI format with a CRC scrambled by a UE-specific RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI))”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use “wherein: the multicast DCI format is CRC(cyclic redundancy check)-scrambled by a group-radio network temporary identifier (G-RNTI) or a group-configured scheduling-RNTI(G-CS-RNTI)” as taught by Xiong into Matsumura in order to provide access to information and sharing of data anywhere (Xiong: para [0012]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIZAM U AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-9561. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fry, 7:00 AM-6:00 PM PST.
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/NIZAM U AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461