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 March 22, 2024, April 4, 2025 and October 29, 2025 was filed 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites a contingency limitation, where a number of target PRBs on the PUCCH resources is determined only a condition, i.e., in case that first UCI and second UCI are multiplexed in a same PUCCH resource, is met However, if this condition is not met, then there is no method step to perform in this claim. Therefore, the scope of claims 1-8 are indefinite.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1-3, 5, 9-11, 13 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yin et al. (US20230284225A1, hereinafter Yin).
For claim 1, Yin discloses a resource determining method ([Para. 0007], a method by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource), comprising: in a case that first uplink control information (UCI) and second UCI are multiplexed on a same physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource ([Para. 0096], When multiplexing of HARQ-ACK with different priorities is supported, two different maximum code rates will be applied for the HARQ-ACK with or without SR with different priorities. To determine the PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK multiplexing, the payload calculation should be specified based on the payload size of the high priority HARQ-ACK and the payload size of the low priority HARQ-ACK. The low priority UCI is configured with a higher maximum code rate than that of high priority UCI), determining a number of target physical resource blocks (PRBs) on the PUCCH resource for transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI ([Para. 0007], a user equipment (UE) determining a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource for multiplexing hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) with different priorities on PUCCH; multiplexing the HARQ-ACK with different priorities based on the determined PUCCH resource; and transmitting the multiplexed HARQ-ACK on the PUCCH. [Para. 0099], the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively), based on a number of bits of the first UCI, a number of bits of the second UCI, a code rate of the first UCI, and a code rate of the second UCI ([Para. 0099], the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively. [Para. 0101], For a PUCCH with OACK _1 with high priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_1 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_1 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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[Para. 0102], Similarly, for the low priority HARQ-ACK [Para. 0103], For a PUCCH to multiplex with OACK _0 low priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_0 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_0 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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[Para. 0087], Qm is the modulation scheme. [Para. 0097], where r1 is the maximum code rate determined by the maxCodeRate parameter for high priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 1), and r0 is the maximum code rate determined by the above-mentioned methods for low priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 0). [Para. 0105], if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
≤
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
, the PUCCH resource can carry all multiplexed UCI while satisfying the desired maximum code rate of UCI with different priorities. The UE may transmit the PUCCH over the
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
PRBs [Examiner’s Note: The number of PRBs for transmission of HARQ ACKs of high and low priorities is determined based on OACK _1, OACK _0, r1 and r0]), wherein a priority index of the first UCI is different from a priority index of the second UCI ([Para. 0097], where r1 is the maximum code rate determined by the maxCodeRate parameter for high priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 1), and r0 is the maximum code rate determined by the above-mentioned methods for low priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 0)).
For claim 2, Yin discloses the resource determining method according to claim 1. The reference further discloses wherein the in a case that first UCI and second UCI are multiplexed on a same PUCCH resource, determining a number of target PRBs on the PUCCH resource for transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI, based on a number of bits of the first UCI, a number of bits of the second UCI, a code rate of the first UCI, and a code rate of the second UCI comprises: in a case that the first UCI and the second UCI are multiplexed on the same PUCCH resource and transmitted using a target PUCCH format ([Para. 0096], When multiplexing of HARQ-ACK with different priorities is supported, two different maximum code rates will be applied for the HARQ-ACK with or without SR with different priorities. To determine the PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK multiplexing, the payload calculation should be specified based on the payload size of the high priority HARQ-ACK and the payload size of the low priority HARQ-ACK. The low priority UCI is configured with a higher maximum code rate than that of high priority UCI. [Para. 0101], For a PUCCH using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource. [Para. 0007], multiplexing the HARQ-ACK with different priorities based on the determined PUCCH resource; and transmitting the multiplexed HARQ-ACK on the PUCCH), calculating the number of target PRBs
M
R
B
m
i
n
P
U
C
C
H
on the PUCCH resource for transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI using formulas (5) and (6)
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([Para. 0099], the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively. [Para. 0101], For a PUCCH with OACK _1 with high priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_1 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_1 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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200
400
media_image1.png
Greyscale
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200
400
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[Para. 0102], Similarly, for the low priority HARQ-ACK [Para. 0103], For a PUCCH to multiplex with OACK _0 low priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_0 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_0 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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[Para. 0105], if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
≤
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
, the PUCCH resource can carry all multiplexed UCI while satisfying the desired maximum code rate of UCI with different priorities. The UE may transmit the PUCCH over the
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
PRBs [Examiner’s Note: The exact expressions of formulas (5) and (6) are obtained by algebra operations on formulas corresponding to high priority and low priority UCI in Yin in the case without SR]. [Para. 0085],
N
s
c
,
c
t
r
l
R
B
is a number of subcarriers per resource block. [Para. 0086],
N
s
y
m
b
,
-
U
C
I
P
U
C
C
H
is a number of PUCCH symbols. [Para. 0087], Qm is the modulation scheme. [Para. 0097], where r1 is the maximum code rate determined by the maxCodeRate parameter for high priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 1), and r0 is the maximum code rate determined by the above-mentioned methods for low priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 0)), wherein the
O
U
C
I
L
P
represents the number of bits of the first UCI (OACK_0 in the formulas of the reference); the
O
C
R
C
L
P
represents a number of cyclic redundancy check bits corresponding to the first UCI (OCRC_0 in the formulas of the reference); the
N
s
c
,
c
t
r
l
R
B
represents a number of equivalent subcarriers occupied by control information in each RB (
N
s
c
,
c
t
r
l
R
B
in the formulas of the reference); the
N
s
y
m
b
,
U
C
I
P
U
C
C
H
represents a number of symbols occupied by the target PUCCH format or a number of symbols occupied by UCI in the target PUCCH format (
N
s
y
m
b
,
-
U
C
I
P
U
C
C
H
in the formulas in the reference); the Qm represents a modulation and coding order (Qm in the formulas of the reference); the rLP represents the code rate of the first UCI (r0 in the formulas in the reference); the
O
U
C
I
H
P
represents the number of bits of the second UCI (OACK_1 in the formulas in the reference); the
O
C
R
C
H
P
represents a number of cyclic redundancy check bits corresponding to the second UCI (OCRC_1 in the formula in the reference); and the rHP represents the code rate of the second UCI (r1 in the formulas in the reference).
For claim 3, Yin discloses the resource determining method according to claim 2. The reference further discloses wherein in a case that the target PUCCH format is PUCCH format 3 ([Para. 0101], For a PUCCH with OACK _1 with high priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_1 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_1 CRC bits using PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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400
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For PUCCH format 3, if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
is not equal to 2α2 · 3α3 ·5α5 according to TS 38.21,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
is increased to the nearest allowed value of nrofPRBs for PUCCH-format3.
[Para. 0102], Similarly, for the low priority HARQ-ACK [Para. 0103], For a PUCCH to multiplex with OACK _0 low priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_0 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_0 CRC bits using PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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200
400
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For PUCCH format 3, if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
is not equal to 2α2 · 3α3 ·5α5 according to TS 38.21,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
is increased to the nearest allowed value of nrofPRBs for PUCCH-format3.
), the number of target PRBs on the PUCCH resource for transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI is an integer multiple of 2, 3, or 5 ([Para. 0101], For PUCCH format 3, if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
is not equal to 2α2 · 3α3 ·5α5 according to TS 38.21,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
is increased to the nearest allowed value of nrofPRBs for PUCCH-format3. [Para. 0103], For PUCCH format 3, if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
is not equal to 2α2 · 3α3 ·5α5 according to TS 38.21,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
is increased to the nearest allowed value of nrofPRBs for PUCCH-format3 [Examiner’s note:
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
referred to above are an integer multiple of 2, 3 and 5]).
For claim 5, Yin discloses the resource determining method according to claim 2. The reference further discloses wherein the target PUCCH format comprises PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 ([Para. 0101], For a PUCCH with OACK _1 with high priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_1 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_1 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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200
400
media_image1.png
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400
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[Para. 0102], Similarly, for the low priority HARQ-ACK [Para. 0103], For a PUCCH to multiplex with OACK _0 low priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_0 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_0 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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).
For claim 9, Yin discloses a terminal ([Para. 180] and [FIG. 4], UE 402), comprising a processor (The UE 402 includes a processor 403), a memory ([Para. 180], Memory 405 provides instructions), and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor ([Para. 180], Instructions 407 b and/or data 409 b loaded into the processor 403 may also include instructions 407 a and/or data 409 a from memory 405 that were loaded for execution or processing by the processor 403), wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal to perform ([Para. 180], Instructions 407 b and/or data 409 b loaded into the processor 403 may also include instructions 407 a and/or data 409 a from memory 405 that were loaded for execution or processing by the processor 403. The instructions 407 b may be executed by the processor 403 to implement the methods described above): in a case that first uplink control information (UCI) and second UCI are multiplexed on a same physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource ([Para. 0096], When multiplexing of HARQ-ACK with different priorities is supported, two different maximum code rates will be applied for the HARQ-ACK with or without SR with different priorities. To determine the PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK multiplexing, the payload calculation should be specified based on the payload size of the high priority HARQ-ACK and the payload size of the low priority HARQ-ACK. The low priority UCI is configured with a higher maximum code rate than that of high priority UCI), determining a number of target physical resource blocks (PRBs) on the PUCCH resource for transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI ([Para. 0007], a user equipment (UE) determining a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource for multiplexing hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) with different priorities on PUCCH; multiplexing the HARQ-ACK with different priorities based on the determined PUCCH resource; and transmitting the multiplexed HARQ-ACK on the PUCCH. [Para. 0099], the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively), based on a number of bits of the first UCI, a number of bits of the second UCI, a code rate of the first UCI, and a code rate of the second UCI ([Para. 0099], the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively. [Para. 0101], For a PUCCH with OACK _1 with high priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_1 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_1 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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media_image1.png
200
400
media_image1.png
Greyscale
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200
400
media_image2.png
Greyscale
[Para. 0102], Similarly, for the low priority HARQ-ACK [Para. 0103], For a PUCCH to multiplex with OACK _0 low priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_0 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_0 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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media_image3.png
200
400
media_image3.png
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[Para. 0087], Qm is the modulation scheme. [Para. 0097], where r1 is the maximum code rate determined by the maxCodeRate parameter for high priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 1), and r0 is the maximum code rate determined by the above-mentioned methods for low priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 0). [Para. 0105], if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
≤
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
, the PUCCH resource can carry all multiplexed UCI while satisfying the desired maximum code rate of UCI with different priorities. The UE may transmit the PUCCH over the
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
PRBs [Examiner’s Note: The number of PRBs for transmission of HARQ ACKs of high and low priorities is determined based on OACK _1, OACK _0, r1 and r0]), wherein a priority index of the first UCI is different from a priority index of the second UCI ([Para. 0097], where r1 is the maximum code rate determined by the maxCodeRate parameter for high priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 1), and r0 is the maximum code rate determined by the above-mentioned methods for low priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 0)).
For claims 10-11 and 13 are apparatus claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claims 2-3 and 5. Therefore, claims 10-11 and 13 are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claims 2-3 and 5.
For claim 17, Yin discloses a non-transitory readable storage medium ([Para. 180], Memory 405, which may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a combination of the two or any type of device that may store information, provides instruction), wherein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or instructions ([Para. 180], Memory 405 provides instructions), and the program or instructions, when executed by a processor of a terminal, cause the terminal to perform ([Para. 180], Instructions 407 b and/or data 409 b loaded into the processor 403 may also include instructions 407 a and/or data 409 a from memory 405 that were loaded for execution or processing by the processor 403. The instructions 407 b may be executed by the processor 403 to implement the methods described above): in a case that first uplink control information (UCI) and second UCI are multiplexed on a same physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource ([Para. 0096], When multiplexing of HARQ-ACK with different priorities is supported, two different maximum code rates will be applied for the HARQ-ACK with or without SR with different priorities. To determine the PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK multiplexing, the payload calculation should be specified based on the payload size of the high priority HARQ-ACK and the payload size of the low priority HARQ-ACK. The low priority UCI is configured with a higher maximum code rate than that of high priority UCI), determining a number of target physical resource blocks (PRBs) on the PUCCH resource for transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI ([Para. 0007], a user equipment (UE) determining a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource for multiplexing hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) with different priorities on PUCCH; multiplexing the HARQ-ACK with different priorities based on the determined PUCCH resource; and transmitting the multiplexed HARQ-ACK on the PUCCH. [Para. 0099], the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively), based on a number of bits of the first UCI, a number of bits of the second UCI, a code rate of the first UCI, and a code rate of the second UCI ([Para. 0099], the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively. [Para. 0101], For a PUCCH with OACK _1 with high priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_1 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_1 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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200
400
media_image1.png
Greyscale
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200
400
media_image2.png
Greyscale
[Para. 0102], Similarly, for the low priority HARQ-ACK [Para. 0103], For a PUCCH to multiplex with OACK _0 low priority HARQ-ACK information bits, OSR_0 high priority SR bits, and OCRC_0 CRC bits using PUCCH format 2 or PUCCH format 3 in a PUCCH resource, the UE determines a number of PRBs to be the minimum number of PRBs :
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media_image3.png
200
400
media_image3.png
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[Para. 0087], Qm is the modulation scheme. [Para. 0097], where r1 is the maximum code rate determined by the maxCodeRate parameter for high priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 1), and r0 is the maximum code rate determined by the above-mentioned methods for low priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 0). [Para. 0105], if
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
≤
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
, the PUCCH resource can carry all multiplexed UCI while satisfying the desired maximum code rate of UCI with different priorities. The UE may transmit the PUCCH over the
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
+
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
PRBs [Examiner’s Note: The number of PRBs for transmission of HARQ ACKs of high and low priorities is determined based on OACK _1, OACK _0, r1 and r0]), wherein a priority index of the first UCI is different from a priority index of the second UCI ([Para. 0097], where r1 is the maximum code rate determined by the maxCodeRate parameter for high priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 1), and r0 is the maximum code rate determined by the above-mentioned methods for low priority UCI (e.g., UCI with priority index 0)).
For claims 18-19 are apparatus claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claims 2-3. Therefore, claims 18-19 are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claims 2-3.
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.
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.
Claims 4, 6, 12, 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yin et al. (US20230284225A1, hereinafter Yin) in view of Apple (3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #106-eR1-2107735, hereinafter Apple).
For claim 4, Yin teaches the resource determining method according to claim 1. Although teaching determining the number of PBRs for multiplexing DCIs of different priorities on PUCCH, the reference does not explicitly disclose wherein the method further comprises: in a case that the first interlace is configured on the PUCCH resource, transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI on the first interlace; or in a case that the first interlace and the second interlace are configured on the PUCCH resource and a number of PRBs comprised in the first interlace does not meet a target condition, transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI on the first interlace and the second interlace.
Apple more specifically teaches wherein the method further comprises: in a case that the first interlace is configured on the PUCCH resource ([Page 24, Sect. 5.2 Interlace number adjustment], If a UE is provided a first interlace of
M
I
n
t
e
r
l
a
c
e
,
0
P
U
C
C
H
PRBs by interlace0 in Interlace Allocation), transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI on the first interlace [Page 24, Sect. 5.2 Interlace number adjustment], If a UE is provided a first interlace of
M
I
n
t
e
r
l
a
c
e
,
0
P
U
C
C
H
PRBs by interlace0 in Interlace Allocation, the UE transmits the HARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI reports bits in a PUCCH over the first interlace where
M
I
n
t
e
r
l
a
c
e
,
0
P
U
C
C
H
satisfies
∑
n
=
1
N
U
C
I
-
p
a
r
t
2
t
o
t
a
l
O
U
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I
-
p
a
r
t
2
,
n
+
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C
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U
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I
-
p
a
r
t
2
/
Q
m
⋅
r
2
+
⌈
∑
n
=
1
N
U
C
I
-part1
t
o
t
a
l
O
U
C
I
-
p
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r
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1
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n
+
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C
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,
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I
-
p
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1
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Q
m
⋅
r
1
⌉
≤
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I
n
t
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r
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a
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0
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⋅
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s
c
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⋅
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), or in a case that the first interlace and the second interlace are configured on the PUCCH resource and a number of PRBs comprised in the first interlace does not meet a target condition ([Page 24, Sect. 5.2 Interlace number adjustment], If
∑
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=
1
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I
-
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≤
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0
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⋅
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l
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⋅
N
s
y
m
b
-
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I
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H
the UE transmits the HARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI reports bits in a PUCCH over the first interlace,
else if the UE is provided a second interlace of
M
I
n
t
e
r
l
a
c
e
,
1
P
U
C
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H
PRBs by interlace1and if
∑
n
=
1
N
UCI-part2
total
O
UCI-part2
,
n
+
O
CRC,UCI-part2
/
Q
m
⋅
r
2
+
⌈
∑
n
=
1
N
UCI
-part1
total
O
UCI-part1
,
n
+
O
CRC,UCI-part1
/
Q
m
⋅
r
1
⌉
≤
M
Interlace,0
PUCCH
+
M
Interlace,1
PUCCH
⋅
N
sc,ctrl
RB
⋅
N
symb-UCI
PUCCH
,
), transmitting the first UCI and the second UCI on the first interlace and the second interlace (([Page 24, Sect. 5.2 Interlace number adjustment], the UE transmits the HARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI reports bits in a PUCCH over both the first and second interlaces).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yin, so that the UE transmits the PUCCH on the first interlace or both first and second interlaces depending on the available resources, as taught by Apple. The modification would have provided multiplexing a high-priority (HP) HARQ-ACK and a low-priority (LP) HARQ-ACK into a PUCCH in R17 (Apple [Page 2, Sect. 1 Introduction]).
For claim 6, Yin and Apple teach the resource determining method according to claim 4. The references further teach wherein the target condition comprises: the number of PRBs
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I
n
t
e
r
l
a
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e
,
0
P
U
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C
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included in the first interlace meets formula (10):
PNG
media_image5.png
200
400
media_image5.png
Greyscale
([Page 24, Sect. 5.2 Interlace number adjustment], If
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=
1
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≤
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⋅
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the UE transmits the HARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI reports bits in a PUCCH over the first interlace,
else if the UE is provided a second interlace of
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I
n
t
e
r
l
a
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1
P
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PRBs by interlace1and if
∑
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=
1
N
UCI-part2
total
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UCI-part2
,
n
+
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CRC,UCI-part2
/
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⋅
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2
+
⌈
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=
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N
UCI
-part1
total
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UCI-part1
,
n
+
O
CRC,UCI-part1
/
Q
m
⋅
r
1
⌉
≤
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Interlace,0
PUCCH
+
M
Interlace,1
PUCCH
⋅
N
sc,ctrl
RB
⋅
N
symb-UCI
PUCCH
,
).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yin, so that the UE transmits the PUCCH on the first interlace or both first and second interlaces depending on the available resources, as taught by Apple. The modification would have provided multiplexing a high-priority (HP) HARQ-ACK and a low-priority (LP) HARQ-ACK into a PUCCH in R17 (Apple [Page 2, Sect. 1 Introduction]).
For claims 12 and 14 are apparatus claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claims 4 and 6. Therefore, claims 12 and 14 are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claims 4 and 6.
For claim 20 is apparatus claims and it does not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim 4. Therefore, claim 20 is also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim 4.
Claims 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yin et al. (US20230284225A1, hereinafter Yin) in view of Li et al. (WO2016204585A1, hereinafter Li).
For claim 7, Yin teaches the resource determining method according to claim 1. The reference further teaches performing rate matching and resource mapping for both the first UCI and the second UCI within PRBs of the number of target PRBs ([Para. 0099], the multiplexing of HARQ-ACK with or without SR with different priorities may be performed with different maximum code rates on the selected PUCCH resource. the UE may determine a minimum number of PRBs
M
R
B
P
U
C
C
H
for the UCI with the given priority (e.g.,
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
1
P
U
C
C
H
and
M
R
B
m
i
n
_
0
P
U
C
C
H
) for UCI with priority index 1 and priority index 0 respectively)
Although teaching determining the number of PBRs for multiplexing UCIs on different code rates on PUCCH, the reference does not explicitly disclose performing rate matching and resource mapping for both the first UCI and the second UCI within PRBs of the number of target PRBs.
Li is directed to providing method for transmitting uplink control information. More specifically, Li teaches performing rate matching and resource mapping for both the first UCI and the second UCI within PRBs of the number of target PRBs ([Para. 75], For the PUCCH using format Y, if it is required to transmit multiple kinds of UCI, the UCI may be firstly classified into different categories. Then coding, rate matching and modulation are respectively performed for different categories of UCI before mapping to the PUCCH using format Y. Herein, each category of UCI is mapped to some modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y, and the sum of the modulation symbols of respective category of UCI equals to the total number of modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y. For example, the HARQ-ACK and the SR are a first category, the firs type CSI is a second category, and the second type CSI is the third category).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yin, so that rate matching and resource mapping is performed on the different UCIs, as taught by Li. The modification would have optimized the transmit power for the transmission of the UCI on the PUCCH, and increased the uplink resource utilization ratio (Li [Para. 15]).
For claim 15 is apparatus claims and it does not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim 7. Therefore, claim 15 is also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim 7.
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yin et al. (US20230284225A1, hereinafter Yin) in view of Li et al. (WO2016204585A1, hereinafter Li), and further in view of Zhang et al. (US20220039088A1, hereinafter Zhang) and Apple (3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #106-eR1-2107735, hereinafter Apple).
For claim 8, Yin and Li teach the resource determining method according to claim 7. Although teach rate matching and resource mapping performed on first and second UCI separately, the references do not explicitly disclose wherein the performing rate matching and resource mapping for both the first UCI and the second UCI within PRBs of the number of target PRBs comprises: determining a number of first resource elements (REs) meeting the code rate of the first UCI within PRBs of the number of target PRBs, based on the number of bits of the first UCI and the code rate of the first UCI.
Zhang is directed to providing transmitting method and receiving method for control information, user equipment and base station. More specifically, Zhang teaches wherein the performing rate matching and resource mapping for both the first UCI and the second UCI within PRBs of the number of target PRBs comprises: determining a number of first resource elements (REs) meeting the code rate of the first UCI within PRBs of the number of target PRBs ([Para. 0231], the second HARQ-ACK information may be mapped on the PRBs determined in the formula given in the reference. [Para. 0242], the number of REs to which the UCI with the lower is mapped may be determined according to
O
A
C
K
0
+
O
C
R
C
0
Q
m
r
0
), based on the number of bits of the first UCI and the code rate of the first UCI ([Para. 0242], the number of REs to which the UCI with the lower is mapped may be determined according to
O
A
C
K
0
+
O
C
R
C
0
Q
m
r
0
[Examiner’s Note:
O
A
C
K
0
is the number of bits of the second HARQ ACK and
r
0
is the code rate of the second HARQ ACK]. [Para. 0238], The rate matching output sequence length E0 of the second HARQ-ACK may be determined according to
O
A
C
K
0
+
O
C
R
C
0
r
0
[Para. 0239], the rate matching output sequence length E1 of the first HARQ-ACK may be determined according to
O
A
C
K
1
+
O
C
R
C
1
r
1
[Examiner’s Note : The rate matching output sequence length is the number of REs without counting Qm, the modulation and coding scheme. The number of REs for the first HARQ ACK is
O
A
C
K
1
+
O
C
R
C
1
Q
m
r
1
]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yin and Li, so that the numbers of resource elements for HARQ ACKs of different priorities and code rates are determined, as taught by Zhang. The modification would have expanded expanding the bits of UCI depending on the number of bits of the UCI when a plurality of UCI with different priorities are multiplexed in a PUCCH format and separately encoded, improving reliability of UCI TX, reduce retransmission probability of downlink data and improve spectrum efficiency of the system (Zhang [Para. 0256]).
Li further teaches perform rate matching and resource mapping for the first UCI on the first REs ([Para. 75], For the PUCCH using format Y, if it is required to transmit multiple kinds of UCI, the UCI may be firstly classified into different categories. Then coding, rate matching and modulation are respectively performed for different categories of UCI before mapping to the PUCCH using format Y. Herein, each category of UCI is mapped to some modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y, and the sum of the modulation symbols of respective category of UCI equals to the total number of modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y); and perform rate matching and resource mapping for the second UCI on REs ([Para. 75], For the PUCCH using format Y, if it is required to transmit multiple kinds of UCI, the UCI may be firstly classified into different categories. Then coding, rate matching and modulation are respectively performed for different categories of UCI before mapping to the PUCCH using format Y. Herein, each category of UCI is mapped to some modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y, and the sum of the modulation symbols of respective category of UCI equals to the total number of modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y), except for the first REs and REs used by a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ([Para. 75], For the PUCCH using format Y, if it is required to transmit multiple kinds of UCI, the UCI may be firstly classified into different categories. Then coding, rate matching and modulation are respectively performed for different categories of UCI before mapping to the PUCCH using format Y. Herein, each category of UCI is mapped to some modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y, and the sum of the modulation symbols of respective category of UCI equals to the total number of modulation symbols of the PUCCH using format Y [Examiner’s Note: Rate matching and RE mapping are performed separately on different UCIs]), within PRBs of the number of target PRBs ([Para. 62], MPUSCH,c(i) denotes the number of PRBs occupied by the PUCCH using format Y. If multiple kinds of UCI need to be fed back in the subframe and multiple PUCCHs using format Y are correspondingly configured, one of the PUCCH using format Y may be used for transmitting the multiple kinds of UCI, thus the MPUSCH,c(i) denotes the number of PRBs occupied by this PUCCH using format Y. [Para. 43], the number of modulation symbols occupied by the HARQ-ACK and SR is
N
R
E
H
A
R
Q
-
A
C
K
S
R
).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yin, so that rate matching and resource mapping is performed on the different UCIs, as taught by Li. The modification would have optimized the transmit power for the transmission of the UCI on the PUCCH, and increased the uplink resource utilization ratio (Li [Para. 15]).
Although teaching rate matching and resource mapping separately for resource elements of different UCIs, Yin, Li and Zhang do not explicitly disclose except for the first REs and REs used by a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).
Apple teaches except for the first REs and REs used by a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (
N
R
E
(i) = MPUCCH,c(i) x number of subcarriers per PRB x number of DFT-s-OFDM/CP-OFDM symbols excluding DMRS symbols).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yin, Li and Zhang, so that the number of resource elements for rate matching and resource mapping exclude DMRS symbols, as taught by Apple. The modification would have provided multiplexing a high-priority (HP) HARQ-ACK and a low-priority (LP) HARQ-ACK into a PUCCH in R17 (Apple [Page 2, Sect. 1 Introduction]).
For claim 16 is apparatus claims and it does not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim 8. Therefore, claim 16 is also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim 8.
Conclusion
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, REBECCA E SONG can be reached at (571)270-3667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417