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 . Claims 1-3, 5-12, 14-22 are pending.
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.
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 1-3, 5-12, 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lei et al. (US# 2023/0136864 hereinafter referred to as Lei) in view of Miao et al. (US# 2024/0422752 hereinafter referred to as Miao).
RE Claim 1, Lei discloses a first terminal device (See Lei FIGs 1, 8) comprising:
a processor (See Lei FIG 8 - 806); and
a memory for storing a computer program (See Lei FIG 8; [0131]), wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
receiving a first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) on at least one first interlaced resource block (IRB) (See Lei FIGs 3, 5; [0047], [0071], [0073], [0085] – UE receives PSSCH (i.e. FIG 3, step 313) on at least one first IRB (i.e. FIG 5, PSSCH on interlaced blocks at 520, 525, 530, etc…); and
determining at least one second IRB in a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission resource set comprised in a first slot (See Lei FIGs 4-5, [0067], [0071], [0073], [0085] – i.e. 410-S (PSFCH)) which comprises PSFCH transmission resources (See Lei FIGs 4-5; [0067], [0071], [0073], [0085] – interlaced resource blocks in PSFCH transmission resource set (i.e. slot 410-S; final few symbols of PSFCH slot)), wherein the first slot is determined according to a second slot in which the first PSSCH is located (See Lei FIG 4; [0065], [0067] – “PSFCH slot” is determined according to set of contiguous PSSCH slots (i.e. “PSFCH slot” - slot 410-S after PSSCH contiguous slots 410-0 – 410-S-1)), the at least one second IRB is determined according to the at least one first IRB, and a transmission resource of a first PSFCH corresponding to the first PSSCH is located in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIG 5; [0085]-[0086] – transmitting PSFCH and PSSCH in interlace; index of PSFCH resource based in part on corresponding PSSCH transmission),
wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining the at least one second IRB in the PSFCH transmission resource set based on IRB information of the at least one first IRB (See Lei [0086], [0101] – determining index/resource for PSFCH based in part on index/resource of PSSCH).
Lei does not specifically disclose wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB.
However, Miao teaches of wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB (See Miao [0142] - if a number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission is larger than one, the dedicated second resource is determined further based on the number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission. In the specific example embodiment of FIG. 5, in case that the SL transmission (i.e., PSSCH/PSCCH) is configured on more than one interlaces (such as, interlaces #0˜#2), the feedback information for the SL transmission on interlaces #0˜#2 may be carried either only on interlace #0 or on both of interlaces #0˜#2, which means that the number of potential PSFCH transmission occasions is associated with the number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the communication system that determines the index of transmission resources of the first PSFCH, as disclosed in Lei, wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB, as taught in Miao. One is motivated as such in order to help ensure the reliability of SL communication (See Miao Background; Summary).
RE Claim 2, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 1 above, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining, in the PSFCH transmission resource set, a first transmission resource subset available for transmitting the first PSFCH (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – determining number of PSFCH resources available), the first transmission resource subset comprising Ntotal PSFCH transmission resources, wherein the Ntotal PSFCH transmission resources are determined based on a first number and a number of IRBs comprised in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – determining number of interlaces and the relation between interlaced resource blocks and common resource blocks; there are may be Z candidate PSFCH resources, wherein Z may be determined based on one or more of the following: the number of full interlaces defined based on subcarrier spacing of the carrier (denoted as M), the number of partial interlaces per full interlace (denoted as N), the number of cyclic shifts per full or partial interlace (denoted as X), and the number of frequency domain OCCs per full or partial interlace (denoted as Y)), and wherein the number of IRBs comprised in the first transmission resource subset is equal to a number of IRBs comprised in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – number of PSFCH resources available based on number of interlaces and the relation between interlaced resource blocks), and the first number is determined based on a number of code domain resources comprised in a first code domain resource set (See Lei [0098] - The separate PSFCH resource indication scheme may include one or more of the following steps: (1) slot determination; (2) full interlace determination or partial interlace determination; and (3) cyclic shift determination, OCC determination, or both. For example, a UE may determine the slot in which a HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted (i.e., time domain), determine the full interlace or partial interlace on which the HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted locates (i.e., frequency domain), and determine the cyclic shift, OCC, or both to be used for generating the HARQ-ACK feedback (i.e., code domain)).
RE Claim 3, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 2 above, wherein the PSFCH transmission resources in the first transmission resource subset are indexed first in an order of frequency domain and second in an order of code domain (See Lei [0098] - For example, a UE may determine the slot in which a HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted (i.e., time domain), determine the full interlace or partial interlace on which the HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted locates (i.e., frequency domain), and determine the cyclic shift, OCC, or both to be used for generating the HARQ-ACK feedback (i.e., code domain)).
RE Claim 5, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 4 above, wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises at least one of:
index information of the first one of the at least one first IRB; or
index information of all of the at least one first IRB (See Lei [0086], [0101] – i.e. index of interlace (all of the at least one first IRB)).
RE Claim 6, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 2 above, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining a transmission resource of the first PSFCH in the first transmission resource subset based on an identity of the first terminal device and/or an identity of a second terminal device (See Lei [0087] - the index of the PSFCH resource may be determined according to z=(M×i+j+K.sub.1) mod Z, wherein K.sub.1 represents the source ID of a Tx UE, and Z represents the number of PSFCH resources in the PSFCH resource pool as described above. The source ID of a UE may include 16 bits, and may be indicated in the SCI from the UE).
RE Claim 7, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 6 above, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining an index of the transmission resource of the first PSFCH in the first transmission resource subset according to the following formula: S = (MxS+PID+ MID) mod Ntotal (See Lei [0092]-[0096] – determining the index of the PSFCH resource according to z = (M x S + K1 + K2) mod Z; wherein Z represents the number of candidate PSFCH resources in the PSFCH resource pool, K1 = the source ID of the Tx UE indicated in the SCI or the ID of the Tx UE in the UE group, K2 = the ID of the Rx UE in the UE group, M = subcarrier spacing of the carrier, S = number of slots);
wherein S represents the index of the transmission resource of the first PSFCH, PID represents the identity of the second terminal device, MID represents the identity of the first terminal device, Ntotal represents the number of PSFCH transmission resources in the first transmission resource subset, and mod represents a modulo operation (See Lei [0092]-[0096] – determining the index of the PSFCH resource according to z = (M x S + K1 + K2) mod Z; wherein Z represents the number of candidate PSFCH resources in the PSFCH resource pool, K1 = the source ID of the Tx UE indicated in the SCI or the ID of the Tx UE in the UE group, K2 = the ID of the Rx UE in the UE group, M = subcarrier spacing of the carrier, S = number of slots).
Lei does not specifically disclose determining the index according to according to the following formula: S = (PID+ MID) mod Ntotal.
However, Miao teaches of determining the index according to according to the following formula: S = (PID+ MID) mod Ntotal (See Miao [0089], [0157] - A UE determines an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH transmission in response to a PSSCH reception as (PID+ MID) mod RPRB - (Source ID + Destination ID) mod number of PSFCH candidate resources).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the communication system that determines the index of transmission resources of the first PSFCH, as disclosed in Lei, wherein the index is determined according to according to the following formula: S = (PID+ MID) mod Ntotal, as taught in Miao. One is motivated as such in order to help ensure the reliability of SL communication (See Miao Background; Summary).
RE Claim 8, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 6 above, wherein the identity of the first terminal device is determined based on a member identity of the first terminal device within a communication group, or the identity of the first terminal device is 0 (See Lei [0089] – ID of Rx UE in UE group).
RE Claim 9, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 6 above, wherein the identity of the second terminal device is determined according to source identity information carried in sidelink control information (SCI) corresponding to the first PSSCH (See Lei [0087] – source ID indicated by SCI).
RE Claim 10, Lei discloses a second terminal device (See Lei FIGs 1, 8) comprising:
a processor (See Lei FIG 8 - 806); and
a memory for storing a computer program (See Lei FIG 8, [0131]), wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
transmitting a first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) on at least one first interlaced resource block (IRB) (See Lei FIGs 3, 5; [0047], [0071], [0073], [0085] – UE transmits PSSCH (i.e. FIG 3, step 313) on at least one first IRB (i.e. FIG 5, PSSCH on interlaced blocks at 520, 525, 530, etc…); and
determining at least one second IRB in a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission resource set comprised in a first slot (See Lei FIGs 4-5, [0067], [0071], [0073], [0085] – i.e. 410-S (PSFCH)) which comprises PSFCH transmission resources (See Lei FIGs 4-5; [0067], [0071], [0073], [0085] – interlaced resource blocks in PSFCH transmission resource set (i.e. slot 410-S; final few symbols of PSFCH slot)), wherein the first slot is determined according to a second slot in which the first PSSCH is located (See Lei FIG 4; [0065], [0067] – “PSFCH slot” is determined according to set of contiguous PSSCH slots (i.e. “PSFCH slot” - slot 410-S after PSSCH contiguous slots 410-0 – 410-S-1)), the at least one second IRB is determined according to the at least one first IRB (See Lei FIG 5; [0085]-[0086] – transmitting PSFCH and PSSCH in interlace where PSFCH is transmitted in same interlace on different blocks not used to transmit PSSCH), and a transmission resource of a first PSFCH corresponding to the first PSSCH is located in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIG 5; [0085]-[0086] –index of PSFCH resource based in part on corresponding PSSCH transmission),
wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining the at least one second IRB in the PSFCH transmission resource set based on IRB information of the at least one first IRB (See Lei [0086], [0101] – determining index/resource for PSFCH based in part on index/resource of PSSCH).
Lei does not specifically disclose wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB.
However, Miao teaches of wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB (See Miao [0142] - if a number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission is larger than one, the dedicated second resource is determined further based on the number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission. In the specific example embodiment of FIG. 5, in case that the SL transmission (i.e., PSSCH/PSCCH) is configured on more than one interlaces (such as, interlaces #0˜#2), the feedback information for the SL transmission on interlaces #0˜#2 may be carried either only on interlace #0 or on both of interlaces #0˜#2, which means that the number of potential PSFCH transmission occasions is associated with the number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the communication system that determines the index of transmission resources of the first PSFCH, as disclosed in Lei, wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB, as taught in Miao. One is motivated as such in order to help ensure the reliability of SL communication (See Miao Background; Summary).
RE Claim 11, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 10 above, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining, in the PSFCH transmission resource set, a first transmission resource subset available for transmitting the first PSFCH (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – determining number of PSFCH resources available), the first transmission resource subset comprising Ntotal PSFCH transmission resources, wherein the Ntotal PSFCH transmission resources are determined based on a first number and a number of IRBs comprised in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – determining number of interlaces and the relation between interlaced resource blocks and common resource blocks; there are may be Z candidate PSFCH resources, wherein Z may be determined based on one or more of the following: the number of full interlaces defined based on subcarrier spacing of the carrier (denoted as M), the number of partial interlaces per full interlace (denoted as N), the number of cyclic shifts per full or partial interlace (denoted as X), and the number of frequency domain OCCs per full or partial interlace (denoted as Y)), and wherein the number of IRBs comprised in the first transmission resource subset is equal to a number of IRBs comprised in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – number of PSFCH resources available based on number of interlaces and the relation between interlaced resource blocks), and the first number is determined based on a number of code domain resources comprised in a first code domain resource set (See Lei [0098] - The separate PSFCH resource indication scheme may include one or more of the following steps: (1) slot determination; (2) full interlace determination or partial interlace determination; and (3) cyclic shift determination, OCC determination, or both. For example, a UE may determine the slot in which a HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted (i.e., time domain), determine the full interlace or partial interlace on which the HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted locates (i.e., frequency domain), and determine the cyclic shift, OCC, or both to be used for generating the HARQ-ACK feedback (i.e., code domain)).
RE Claim 12, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 11 above, wherein the PSFCH transmission resources in the first transmission resource subset are indexed first in an order of frequency domain and second in an order of code domain (See Lei [0098] - For example, a UE may determine the slot in which a HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted (i.e., time domain), determine the full interlace or partial interlace on which the HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted locates (i.e., frequency domain), and determine the cyclic shift, OCC, or both to be used for generating the HARQ-ACK feedback (i.e., code domain)).
RE Claim 14, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 13 above, wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises at least one of:
index information of the first one of the at least one first IRB; or
index information of all of the at least one first IRB (See Lei [0086], [0101] – i.e. index of interlace (all of the at least one first IRB)).
RE Claim 15, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 11 above, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining a transmission resource of the first PSFCH in the first transmission resource subset based on an identity of the first terminal device and/or an identity of a second terminal device (See Lei [0087] - the index of the PSFCH resource may be determined according to z=(M×i+j+K.sub.1) mod Z, wherein K.sub.1 represents the source ID of a Tx UE, and Z represents the number of PSFCH resources in the PSFCH resource pool as described above. The source ID of a UE may include 16 bits, and may be indicated in the SCI from the UE).
RE Claim 16, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 15 above, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute:
determining an index of the transmission resource of the first PSFCH in the first transmission resource subset according to the following formula: S = (MxS+PID+ MID) mod Ntotal (See Lei [0092]-[0096] – determining the index of the PSFCH resource according to z = (M x S + K1 + K2) mod Z; wherein Z represents the number of candidate PSFCH resources in the PSFCH resource pool, K1 = the source ID of the Tx UE indicated in the SCI or the ID of the Tx UE in the UE group, K2 = the ID of the Rx UE in the UE group, M = subcarrier spacing of the carrier, S = number of slots);
wherein S represents the index of the transmission resource of the first PSFCH, PID represents the identity of the second terminal device, MID represents the identity of the first terminal device, Ntotal represents the number of PSFCH transmission resources in the first transmission resource subset, and mod represents a modulo operation (See See Lei [0092]-[0096] – determining the index of the PSFCH resource according to z = (M x S + K1 + K2) mod Z; wherein Z represents the number of candidate PSFCH resources in the PSFCH resource pool, K1 = the source ID of the Tx UE indicated in the SCI or the ID of the Tx UE in the UE group, K2 = the ID of the Rx UE in the UE group, M = subcarrier spacing of the carrier, S = number of slots).
Lei does not specifically disclose determining the index according to according to the following formula: S = (PID+ MID) mod Ntotal.
However, Miao teaches of determining the index according to according to the following formula: S = (PID+ MID) mod Ntotal (See Miao [0089], [0157] - A UE determines an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH transmission in response to a PSSCH reception as (PID+ MID) mod RPRB - (Source ID + Destination ID) mod number of PSFCH candidate resources).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the communication system that determines the index of transmission resources of the first PSFCH, as disclosed in Lei, wherein the index is determined according to according to the following formula: S = (PID+ MID) mod Ntotal, as taught in Miao. One is motivated as such in order to help ensure the reliability of SL communication (See Miao Background; Summary).
RE Claim 17, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 15 above, wherein the identity of the first terminal device is determined based on a member identity of the first terminal device within a communication group, or the identity of the first terminal device is 0 (See Lei [0089] – ID of Rx UE in UE group).
RE Claim 18, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a terminal, as disclosed in claim 15 above, wherein the identity of the second terminal device is determined according to source identity information carried in sidelink control information (SCI) corresponding to the first PSSCH (See Lei [0087] – source ID indicated by SCI).
RE Claim 19, Lei discloses a wireless communication method, applied to a second terminal device (See Lei FIGs 1, 8), the method comprising:
transmitting a first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) on at least one first interlaced resource block (IRB) (See Lei FIGs 3, 5; [0047], [0071], [0073], [0085] – UE transmits PSSCH (i.e. FIG 3, step 313) on at least one first IRB (i.e. FIG 5, PSSCH on interlaced blocks at 520, 525, 530, etc…); and
determining at least one second IRB in a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission resource set comprised in a first slot (See Lei FIGs 4-5, [0067], [0071], [0073], [0085] – i.e. 410-S (PSFCH)) which comprises PSFCH transmission resources (See Lei FIGs 4-5; [0067], [0071], [0073], [0085] – interlaced resource blocks in PSFCH transmission resource set (i.e. slot 410-S; final few symbols of PSFCH slot)), wherein the first slot is determined according to a second slot in which the first PSSCH is located (See Lei FIG 4; [0065], [0067] – “PSFCH slot” is determined according to set of contiguous PSSCH slots (i.e. “PSFCH slot” - slot 410-S after PSSCH contiguous slots 410-0 – 410-S-1)), the at least one second IRB is determined according to the at least one first IRB (See Lei FIG 5; [0085]-[0086] – transmitting PSFCH and PSSCH in interlace where PSFCH is transmitted in same interlace on different blocks not used to transmit PSSCH), and a transmission resource of a first PSFCH corresponding to the first PSSCH is located in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIG 5; [0085]-[0086] – index of PSFCH resource based in part on corresponding PSSCH transmission),
wherein the determining at least one second IRB in a PSFCH transmission resource set comprises determining the at least one second IRB in the PSFCH transmission resource set based on IRB information of the at least one first IRB (See Lei [0086], [0101] – determining index/resource for PSFCH based in part on index/resource of PSSCH).
Lei does not specifically disclose wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB.
However, Miao teaches of wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB (See Miao [0142] - if a number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission is larger than one, the dedicated second resource is determined further based on the number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission. In the specific example embodiment of FIG. 5, in case that the SL transmission (i.e., PSSCH/PSCCH) is configured on more than one interlaces (such as, interlaces #0˜#2), the feedback information for the SL transmission on interlaces #0˜#2 may be carried either only on interlace #0 or on both of interlaces #0˜#2, which means that the number of potential PSFCH transmission occasions is associated with the number of sets of interlaced resource blocks occupied by the SL transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the communication system that determines the index of transmission resources of the first PSFCH, as disclosed in Lei, wherein the IRB information of the at least one first IRB comprises a number of IRBs in the at least one first IRB, as taught in Miao. One is motivated as such in order to help ensure the reliability of SL communication (See Miao Background; Summary).
RE Claim 20, Lei, modified by Miao, discloses a wireless communication method, as disclosed in claim 19 above, further comprising:
determining, in the PSFCH transmission resource set, a first transmission resource subset available for transmitting the first PSFCH (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – determining number of PSFCH resources available), the first transmission resource subset comprising Ntotal PSFCH transmission resources, wherein the Ntotal PSFCH transmission resources are determined based on a first number and a number of IRBs comprised in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – determining number of interlaces and the relation between interlaced resource blocks and common resource blocks; there are may be Z candidate PSFCH resources, wherein Z may be determined based on one or more of the following: the number of full interlaces defined based on subcarrier spacing of the carrier (denoted as M), the number of partial interlaces per full interlace (denoted as N), the number of cyclic shifts per full or partial interlace (denoted as X), and the number of frequency domain OCCs per full or partial interlace (denoted as Y)), and wherein the number of IRBs comprised in the first transmission resource subset is equal to a number of IRBs comprised in the at least one second IRB (See Lei FIGs 2, 5; [0033]-[0034], [0041], [0074]-[0079] – number of PSFCH resources available based on number of interlaces and the relation between interlaced resource blocks), and the first number is determined based on a number of code domain resources comprised in a first code domain resource set (See Lei [0098] - The separate PSFCH resource indication scheme may include one or more of the following steps: (1) slot determination; (2) full interlace determination or partial interlace determination; and (3) cyclic shift determination, OCC determination, or both. For example, a UE may determine the slot in which a HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted (i.e., time domain), determine the full interlace or partial interlace on which the HARQ-ACK feedback is transmitted locates (i.e., frequency domain), and determine the cyclic shift, OCC, or both to be used for generating the HARQ-ACK feedback (i.e., code domain)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21-22 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/23/2026 have been fully considered. Regarding Claims 1-3, 5-12, 14-20, the Examiner submits that these claims are moot in view of new grounds of rejection, necessitated by amendment (See Claims 1-3, 5-12, 14-20 above, Miao reference). Regarding newly added claims 21-22, see Allowable Subject Matter section above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Liu et al. (US# 2023/0361830 – which teaches of mapping interlaced PSSCH resources to PSFCH resources).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Steve R Young whose telephone number is (571)270-7518. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chirag G Shah can be reached at (571) 272-3144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEVE R YOUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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