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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-22 filed on March 26, 2024 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 26, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner and an initialed and dated copy of the Applicant’s IDS form 1449 is attached to the instant Office Action.
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.
Claims 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin et al. (US 2022/0159730 A1, hereinafter "Shin") in view of Wu et al. (CA 3125661 A1 published on July 16 2020, equivalent to US 11,737,110 B2, hereinafter "Wu").
Regarding claim 1, Shin discloses a method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, downlink control information (DCI) transmitted by a network device (Shin, [0058] PDCCH carries DCI (Downlink Control Information). For example, PDCCH carries DL-SCH transmission format and resource allocation, frequency/time resource allocation information for UL-SCH ( shared channel)); and determining, by the terminal device based on a format of the DCI for physical uplink channel transmission in a high-frequency band (Shin, [0046, 0255] NR frequency band is defined as two types of frequency range (FR)(FRl, FR2). FR1/FR2 may be configured as shown in Table 3 below (i.e. high frequency); Indicate the LBT type in common to all UEs (or group of UEs) through the PDCCH (e.g., DCI field, etc.) that the base station schedules the PDSCH carrying Msg. B) , wherein the plurality of channel access types comprise at least one of: uplink channel access without Listen Before Talk (LBT); uplink channel access with Cat 2 LBT; or uplink channel access with Cat 4 LBT (Shin, [0258] If the base station indicates the LBT type for one group through a specific DCI field, the LBT type of the other group may be determined as the LBT type promised in advance according to the indicated DCI field; table 13 The channel access schemes for NR-based access for unlicensed spectrum can be classified into the following categories: category 2, category 4) , but Shin does not explicitly disclose target channel access type.
Wu from the same field of endeavor discloses determining, by the terminal device based on a format of the DCI, a target channel access type for physical uplink channel transmission in a high-frequency band (Wu, Col. 9 line 44-49 UEs can determine their respective target channel access schemes after receiving the common signaling, thus no new information bit needs to be added into the UE-specific DCI, and signaling overhead of the UE-specific DCI is saved in NR system (i.e. high frequency unlicensed band)).
It would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified access type in DCI disclosed by Shin and access type indication in DCI disclosed by Wu with a motivation to make this modification in order to enable various communication systems using unlicensed spectrum for wireless communication to coexist amicably on this spectrum, (Wu, Col. 5).
Regarding claim 2, Shin discloses wherein determining, by the terminal device based on the format of the DCI, the target channel access type for the physical uplink channel transmission in the high frequency band among the plurality of channel access types comprises:
when the format of the DCI is a target DCI format, determining, based on a target bit field in the DCI, the target channel access type for the physical uplink channel transmission in the high-frequency band among the plurality of channel access types, wherein the target bit field indicates a channel access type for the physical uplink channel transmission (Shin, [0256] the UEs receiving the corresponding Msg. B, the UE that needs to transmit the A/N feedback may be instructed with the same LBT type through the corresponding PDCCH ( e.g., specific DCI field), and may perform a channel access procedure using the indicated LBT type (e.g., Cat-2 LBT)),
wherein the target DCI format comprises at least one of: DCI Format 0_0, DCI Format 1_0, DCI Format 0 1, or DCI Format 1 1 (Shin, [0060] DCI format 0_0 may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PUSCH, and DCI format 0_1 may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PUSCH or a CBG (Code Block Group)-based (or CBG-level) PUSCH. DCI format 1_0 may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PDSCH, and DCI format 1_1 (DL grant DCI) may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PDSCH or a CBG-based (or CBG-level) PDSCH. DCI format 0_0/0_1 may be referred to as UL grant DCI or UL scheduling information, and DCI format 1_0/1_1 may be referred to as DL grant DCI or UL scheduling information).
Regarding claim 3, Shin discloses wherein one of the following applies:
the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 0_0, the target bit field is a first bit field in the DCI, and the first bit field indicates a channel access type and cyclic prefix extension (CPE) information (Shin, [0312, 0317] A field for transmitting the LBT type may be defined as a ChannelAccess-CPext field table 17 number of bits is 2 for operation with shared spectrum channel access; the UE truncates as much as the LSB[log2(NBWPsize*(NBWPsize+1 )/2) of the FDRA (Frequency domain source assignment) field, and interprets the truncated FDRA field as an FDRA field of DCI format 0_0); the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 1_0, the target bit field is a second bit field in the DCI, and the second bit field indicates a channel access type and CPE information (not given patentable due to not selected option);
the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 0_1, the target bit field is a third bit field in the DCI, and the third bit field indicates a channel access type, CPE information and channel access priority class (CAPC) information (not given patentable due to not selected option); or
the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 1_1, the target bit field is a fourth bit field in the DCI, and the fourth bit field indicates a channel access type and CPE information (not given patentable due to not selected option).
Regarding claim 4, Shin discloses wherein in the high-frequency band, each of the first bit filed, the second bit field, the third bit filed and the fourth bit field comprises 2 bits (Shin, [0312, 0317] A field for transmitting the LBT type may be defined as a ChannelAccess-CPext field table 17 number of bits is 2 for operation with shared spectrum channel access).
Regarding claim 5, Shin discloses wherein determining, based on the target bit field in the DCI, the
target channel access type for the physical uplink channel transmission in the high-frequency band among the plurality of channel access types comprises:
determining, based on the target bit field in the DCI and a target correspondence, the target channel access type for the physical uplink channel transmission in the high-frequency band among the plurality of channel access types, wherein the target correspondence indicates a correspondence between an index to which the target bit field is mapped and a channel access type (Shin, [0311] the LBT type indicated through the RAR grant in the previous proposed methods (suggested methods 4-1-1 to 4-1-6, etc.) may mean a combination of LBT type or starting position or {LBT type, starting position} according to Opt 1 to 3 method of 4-2-1. At this time, assuming that the starting symbol of the resource mapping the PUSCH signal is indicated by Symbol #K, when the starting position is indicated by 1-bit, one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us} may be indicated, or one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us+TA} may be indicated).
Regarding claim 6, Shin discloses wherein the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 0_0, the target correspondence is a first correspondence, the first correspondence indicates a channel access type and CPE information corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped, and the first correspondence further indicates a channel access type corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped in the high-frequency band (Shin, [0311-0312] the LBT type indicated through the RAR grant in the previous proposed methods (suggested methods 4-1-1 to 4-1-6, etc.) may mean a combination of LBT type or starting position or {LBT type, starting position} according to Opt 1 to 3 method of 4-2-1. At this time, assuming that the starting symbol of the resource mapping the PUSCH signal is indicated by Symbol #K, when the starting position is indicated by 1-bit, one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us} may be indicated, or one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us+TA} may be indicated, see table 4 for DCI format).
Regarding claim 7, Shin discloses wherein the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 1_0, the target correspondence is a second correspondence, the second correspondence indicates a channel access type and CPE information corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped, and the second correspondence further indicates a channel access type corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped in the high-frequency band (Shin, [0311-0312] the LBT type indicated through the RAR grant in the previous proposed methods (suggested methods 4-1-1 to 4-1-6, etc.) may mean a combination of LBT type or starting position or {LBT type, starting position} according to Opt 1 to 3 method of 4-2-1. At this time, assuming that the starting symbol of the resource mapping the PUSCH signal is indicated by Symbol #K, when the starting position is indicated by 1-bit, one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us} may be indicated, or one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us+TA} may be indicated, see table 4 for DCI format).
Regarding claim 8, Shin discloses wherein the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 1_0, the target correspondence is a third correspondence, the third correspondence indicates a channel access type, CPE information and CAPC information corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped, and the third correspondence further indicates a channel access type corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped in the high-frequency band (Shin, [0146, 0311] the LBT type indicated through the RAR grant in the previous proposed methods (suggested methods 4-1-1 to 4-1-6, etc.) may mean a combination of LBT type or starting position or {LBT type, starting position} according to Opt 1 to 3 method of 4-2-1. At this time, assuming that the starting symbol of the resource mapping the PUSCH signal is indicated by Symbol #K, when the starting position is indicated by 1-bit, one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us} may be indicated, or one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us+TA} may be indicated, see table 4 for DCI format).
Regarding claim 9, Shin discloses wherein the format of the DCI is the DCI Format 1_1, the target correspondence is a fourth correspondence, the fourth correspondence indicates a channel access type and CPE information corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped, and the fourth correspondence further indicates a channel access type corresponding to the index to which the target bit field is mapped in the high-frequency band (Shin, [0311-0312] the LBT type indicated through the RAR grant in the previous proposed methods (suggested methods 4-1-1 to 4-1-6, etc.) may mean a combination of LBT type or starting position or {LBT type, starting position} according to Opt 1 to 3 method of 4-2-1. At this time, assuming that the starting symbol of the resource mapping the PUSCH signal is indicated by Symbol #K, when the starting position is indicated by 1-bit, one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us} may be indicated, or one of {Symbol #K, Symbol #(K-N)+25 us+TA} may be indicated, see table 4 for DCI format).
Regarding claims 10-18, these claims recite "a terminal device" (Shin, [0374] Fig. 19 100) that disclose similar steps as recited by the method of claims 1-9, thus are rejected with the same rationale applied against claims 1-9 as presented above.
Regarding claim 19, Shin discloses network device (Shin, [0374] Fig. 19 200), comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store a computer program, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to perform operations comprising: transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device, wherein the DCI comprises a target bit field for determining a target channel access type for physical uplink channel transmission in a high-frequency band (Shin, [0046, 0255] NR frequency band is defined as two types of frequency range (FR)(FRl, FR2). FR1/FR2 may be configured as shown in Table 3 below (i.e. high frequency); Indicate the LBT type in common to all UEs (or group of UEs) through the PDCCH (e.g., DCI field, etc.) that the base station schedules the PDSCH carrying Msg. B), but Shin does not explicitly disclose target channel access type.
Wu from the same field of endeavor discloses DCI comprises a target bit field for determining a target channel access type for physical uplink channel transmission in a high-frequency band (Wu, Col. 9 line 44-49 UEs can determine their respective target channel access schemes after receiving the common signaling, thus no new information bit needs to be added into the UE-specific DCI, and
signaling overhead of the UE-specific DCI is saved in NR system (i.e. high frequency unlicensed band)).
It would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified access type in DCI disclosed by Shin and access type indication in DCI disclosed by Wu with a motivation to make this modification in order to enable various communication systems using unlicensed spectrum for wireless communication to coexist amicably on this spectrum, (Wu, Col. 5).
Regarding claim 20, Shin discloses wherein a format of the DCI is one of the following: DCI Format 0_0, DCI Format 1_0, DCI Format 0_1, or DCI Format 1_1 (Shin, [0060] DCI format 0_0 may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PUSCH, and DCI format 0_1 may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PUSCH or a CBG (Code Block Group)-based (or CBG-level) PUSCH. DCI format 1_0 may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PDSCH, and DCI format 1_1 (DL grant DCI) may be used to schedule a TB-based (or TB-level) PDSCH or a CBG-based (or CBG-level) PDSCH. DCI format 0_0/0_1 may be referred to as UL grant DCI or UL scheduling information, and DCI format 1_0/1_1 may be referred to as DL grant DCI or UL scheduling information).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUNA WEISSBERGER whose telephone number is (571)272-3315. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:30pm.
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, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached at (571)270-1215. 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.
/LUNA WEISSBERGER/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
Prosecution Insights