DETAILED ACTION
1. The following Office Action is based on the preliminary amendment filed on 18 January 2024, having claims 31-51 (claims 1-30 were cancelled) and drawing figures 1-12.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Specification
3. The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The acronyms UE, SS, DL-RSs, CG-SDT, UL, and RSRP must be defined the first time each of them is recited in the abstract.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
4. Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
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 31, 33, 35-38, 40, 42-45, 47, and 49-51 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal et al. (EP 4 376 345 A2) in view of Jeon et al. (US 2022/0159593 A1) (reference disclosed by applicant).
For claim 31, Agiwal discloses a user equipment (UE) (UE of Fig 4 or Fig 8) for wireless communication, comprising: a memory (Fig 8, memory 830); and at least one processor (Fig 8, controller 820) coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
receive (Fig 8, transceiver 810), an indication of a configuration of a search space (SS) and a set of one or more candidate downlink reference signals (DL-RSs) (page 25, lines 45-48, the candidate downlink RSs are SSBs) associated with a plurality of configured grant (CG) small data transmission (SDT) (CG-SDT) resources, the plurality of CG-SDT resources corresponding to an uplink (UL) data transmission state (page 25, lines 43-58, UE receives RRC release message from the base station while in RRC inactive state, wherein the release message comprises configuration for an SDT search space and identifies a plurality of candidate DL SSBs);
transmit (Fig 8, transceiver 810), based on the measurement of the RSRP of each respective candidate DL-RS of the set of one or more candidate DL-RSs (page 25, lines 45-48, the candidate downlink RSs are SSBs; page 26, RSRP measured for the SSBs are signaled to the UE), the UL data transmission over a CG-SDT occasion of the plurality of CG-SDT resources (page 25, line 49-52, transmit data to the base station using configured uplink grant for the SDT); and
monitor the SS for a response to the UL data transmission (page 25, lines 55-59, monitor the SS space for a response to the uplink transmission).
For claim 31, Agiwal does not expressly disclose measure a reference signal received power (RSRP) of each respective candidate DL-RS of the set of one or more candidate DL-RSs associated with the plurality of CG-SDT resources; and that the response is for a retransmission grant.
Jeon, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches that the UE monitors the PDDCH for a retransmission grant in response to transmitting uplink data to the base station [0229]. Jeon also teaches that the UE measures the channel quality (RSRP value) of a plurality of downlink reference signals prior to transmitting data to the base station [0166]. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to configure the UE of Agiwal to monitor the PDCCH for a retransmission grant and transmit data to the BS based on measurement results of the downlink reference signals received from the BS based on the teachings of Jeon at the time of the invention.
For claims 33, 40, and 47, Agiwal discloses the indication of the configuration of the SS is associated with the UE being released into a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state (page 25, lines 43-58, UE receives RRC release message from the base station while in RRC inactive state, wherein the release message comprises configuration for an SDT search space).
For claims 35, 42, and 49, Jeon discloses the at least one processor is configured to: receive the retransmission grant based on the UL data transmission ([0229] the UE monitors the PDDCH for a retransmission grant in response to transmitting uplink data to the base station).
For claims 36, 43, and 50, Agiwal discloses the set of candidate DL-RSs include a set of synchronization signal block (SSB) beams (page 25, lines 45-48, the candidate downlink RSs are SSBs).
For claims 37, 44, and 51, Agiwal discloses the indication of the configuration is an indication of the configuration of both the SS and the set of one or more candidate DL- RSs (page 25, lines 43-58, UE receives RRC release message from the base station while in RRC inactive state, wherein the release message comprises configuration for an SDT search space and identifies a plurality of candidate DL SSBs).
For claims 38 and 45, Agiwal a discloses user equipment (UE) (UE of Fig 4 or Fig 8) for wireless communication, comprising: a memory (Fig 8, memory 830); and at least one processor (Fig 8, controller 820) coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
receive (Fig 8, transceiver 810), an indication of a configuration of a search space (SS) and a set of one or more candidate downlink reference signals (DL-RSs) (page 25, lines 45-48, the candidate downlink RSs are SSBs) associated with a plurality of configured grant (CG) small data transmission (SDT) (CG-SDT) resources, the plurality of CG-SDT resources corresponding to an uplink (UL) data transmission (page 25, lines 43-58, UE receives RRC release message from the base station while in RRC inactive state, wherein the release message comprises configuration for an SDT search space and identifies a plurality of candidate DL SSBs);
transmit (Fig 8, transceiver 810), based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement of a respective candidate DL-RS of the set of one or more candidate DL-RSs (page 25, lines 45-48, the candidate downlink RSs are SSBs; page 26, RSRP measured for the SSBs are signaled to the UE), the UL data transmission over a CG-SDT occasion of the plurality of CG-SDT resources (page 25, line 49-52, transmit data to the base station using configured uplink grant for the SDT); and
monitor the SS for a response to the UL data transmission (page 25, lines 55-59, monitor the SS space for a response to the uplink transmission).
For claims 38 and 45, Agiwal does not expressly disclose measure a reference signal received power (RSRP) of each respective candidate DL-RS of the set of one or more candidate DL-RSs associated with the plurality of CG-SDT resources; and that the response is for a retransmission grant.
Jeon, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches that the UE monitors the PDDCH for a retransmission grant in response to transmitting uplink data to the base station [0229]. Jeon also teaches that the UE measures the channel quality (RSRP value) of a plurality of downlink reference signals prior to transmitting data to the base station [0166]. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to configure the UE of Agiwal to monitor the PDCCH for a retransmission grant and transmit data to the BS based on measurement results of the downlink reference signals received from the BS based on the teachings of Jeon at the time of the invention.
6. Claims 32, 34, 39, 41, 46, and 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal et al. (EP 4 376 345 A2) in view of Jeon et al. (US 2022/0159593 A1) (reference disclosed by applicant) as applied to claims 31, 38, and 45 above, and further in view of Gao et al. (WO 2021/033116 A1).
For claims 32, 39, and 46, Agiwal and Jeon do not expressly disclose the SS is associated with a plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states.
Gao, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches the SS is associated with a plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states ([0013] a list of up to 64 TCI states may be associated with the CORESET defined as the search space set). Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to configure a plurality of TCI states for the search space set on the modified system of Agiwal and Jeon based on the teachings of Gao at the time of the invention.
For claims 34, 41, and 48, Gao discloses the SS is a common SS (CSS) or a UE- specific SS (USS) ([0012] the search space to be monitored by UE may a common search space (CSS) or UE-specific search space).
Conclusion
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Elisabeth B Magloire whose telephone number is (571)272-5601. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 AM-5 PM ET.
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, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at 571-272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELISABETH BENOIT MAGLOIRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
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