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 .
Response to Amendment
The following is a final office action in response to applicant’s amendment filed on 07/07/2026 for response of the office action mailed on 04/09/2026. Claims 1, 8, 15 and 20 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/07/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive/are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7-11 and 14-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Khoshnevisan et al. (US 2022/0361221 A1), Khoshnevisan hereinafter.
Re. Claim 1, Khoshnevisan teaches a communication method, comprising: (Fig. 6 & ¶0086);
detecting, by a terminal device, downlink control information (DCI) on at least one of a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate or a second PDCCH candidate, (Fig. 6 & ¶0064 - As described above, a UE may receive DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. For example, the UE may monitor the PDCCH candidates in the configured SS sets. The UE may perform blind decoding in the PDCCH candidates to detect DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. ¶0087 - As shown by reference number 605, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates that are to be monitored for DCI (e.g., information identifying the location of the plurality of PDCCH candidates that are to be monitored). That is, the plurality of PDCCH candidates may identify PDCCH resources (e.g., time and frequency resources) for which the UE 120 is to perform blind decoding for DCI. ¶0095 - As shown by reference number 615, the UE 120 may monitor for, and detect, the DCI according to the one or more rules);
wherein the first PDCCH candidate corresponds to a first aggregation level, the first PDCCH candidate comprises a plurality of control channel elements (CCE), the second PDCCH candidate corresponds to a second aggregation level, the first aggregation level is different from the second aggregation level, the second PDCCH candidate comprises a plurality of CCEs, (Fig. Fig. 3 & ¶0060 - A base station may transmit DCI in multiple CCEs 325 (as shown), where the quantity of CCEs 325 used for transmission of DCI represents the aggregation level (AL) used by the BS for the transmission of DCI. In FIG. 3, an aggregation level of two is shown as an example, corresponding to two CCEs 325 in a slot 310. Fig. 5 & ¶0073 - In some examples, a PDCCH candidate of a first aggregation level may overlap with (e.g., in time and frequency resources) a PDCCH candidate of a second aggregation level (e.g., one or more CCEs of the PDCCH candidates may overlap). For example, a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation level of 8 (AL8) may overlap with a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation of 16 (AL16). ¶0088 - The first aggregation level and the second aggregation level may be different);
a start index of the CCE comprised in the first PDCCH candidate is the same as a start index of the CCE comprised in the second PDCCH candidate, (¶0074 - The ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate have the same starting CCE index);
the first PDCCH candidate and the second PDCCH candidate are associated with a first control resource set, (¶0074 - Additionally, or alternatively, the ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate are associated with the same CORESET);
the first control resource set occupies one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in time domain, (¶0074 - Additionally, or alternatively, the ambiguity may occur when the CORESET associated with the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate is a single symbol in the time domain (e.g., otherwise, frequency domain first-time domain second mapping of multiple symbols may resolve the ambiguity);
mapping of the plurality of CCEs comprised in the first PDCCH candidate is non-interleaved mapping, (Fig. 5 & ¶0065 - A non-interleaved CORESET 320 may have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that all CCEs are mapped to consecutive REG bundles (e.g., in the frequency domain) of the CORESET 320. ¶0077 - In some examples, ambiguities in the scenarios of examples 500, 505, and 510, may result from the CORESET being configured with non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping);
and mapping of the plurality of CCEs comprised in the second PDCCH candidate is non-interleaved mapping; (Fig. 5 & ¶0065 - A non-interleaved CORESET 320 may have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that all CCEs are mapped to consecutive REG bundles (e.g., in the frequency domain) of the CORESET 320. ¶0077 - In some examples, ambiguities in the scenarios of examples 500, 505, and 510, may result from the CORESET being configured with non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping);
and in response to determining the at least one of the first PDCCH candidate or the second PDCCH candidate is associated with another PDCCH candidate, (Fig. 5 & ¶0068 - A UE may store information that indicates the linking of PDCCH candidates (e.g., the UE knows the linking of the PDCCH candidates prior to decoding). For example, the UE may receive one or more configurations (e.g., RRC configurations) that indicate the linking of PDCCH candidates. ¶0076 - For example, in a scenario of example 500 of FIG. 5A, an individual (e.g., non-linked) PDCCH candidate 501 having AL8 may overlap with one of two linked PDCCH candidates 502a, 502b having AL16, and the AL8 PDCCH candidate 501 may have the same starting CCE as the AL16 linked PDCCH candidate 502a);
determining, by the terminal device, a reference PDCCH candidate based on the first PDCCH candidate, the second PDCCH candidate, and the another PDCCH candidate, (¶0078 - For example, when the DCI is detected using one or both of linked PDCCH candidates, the UE may perform the one or more procedures using a reference PDCCH candidate of the two linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., regardless of which of the linked PDCCH candidates was decoded. Please also see ¶0082 and ¶0107);
wherein the reference PDCCH candidate is used to determine at least one of
time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information indicated by the DCI,
uplink transmit power information indicated by the DCI,
or uplink feedback information corresponding to the DCI (¶0079 - In a first example procedure, in a case of PDCCH repetition, for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource determination for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) when the corresponding PUCCH resource set has a size larger than eight, the starting CCE index and quantity of CCEs in the CORESET of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates associated with a lowest SS set identifier (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) is applied. ¶0081 - In a fifth example procedure, for Type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook, a PDCCH monitoring occasion associated with a counter downlink assignment index (DAI) or a total DAI in DCI detected in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition is the monitoring occasion of the earlier PDCCH candidate (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) of the linked PDCCH candidates. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”).
Re. Claims 2, 9 and 16, Khoshnevisan teaches Claims 1, 8 and 15.
Khoshnevisan further teaches the first aggregation level is 8, and the second aggregation level is 16; or the first aggregation level is 16, and the second aggregation level is 8 (Fig. 5 & ¶0073 - In some examples, a PDCCH candidate of a first aggregation level may overlap with (e.g., in time and frequency resources) a PDCCH candidate of a second aggregation level (e.g., one or more CCEs of the PDCCH candidates may overlap). For example, a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation level of 8 (AL8) may overlap with a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation of 16 (AL16)).
Re. Claims 3, 10 and 17, Khoshnevisan teaches Claims 1, 8 and 15.
Khoshnevisan further teaches determining the at least one of the first PDCCH candidate or the second PDCCH candidate is associated with the another PDCCH candidate comprises:/ determining the at least one of the first PDCCH candidate or the second PDCCH candidate is associated with another PDCCH candidate comprises:/the at least one of the first PDCCH candidate or the second PDCCH candidate is determined to be associated with another PDCCH candidate in response to:
determining the first PDCCH candidate is associated with a third PDCCH candidate, and there is no PDCCH candidate associated with the second PDCCH candidate, wherein the first PDCCH candidate and the third PDCCH candidate are used to carry same DCI, and the third PDCCH candidate is associated with a second control resource set;
determining the second PDCCH candidate is associated with a fourth PDCCH candidate, (Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “or”. Fig. 4 & ¶0067 - As shown in examples 400 and 405, multiple (e.g., two) PDCCH candidates may be linked PDCCH candidates. “Linked PDCCH candidates” refers to separate PDCCH candidates in which respective repetitions of the same DCI (e.g., the same DCI payload) may be transmitted. ¶0068 - A UE may store information that indicates the linking of PDCCH candidates (e.g., the UE knows the linking of the PDCCH candidates prior to decoding). For example, the UE may receive one or more configurations (e.g., RRC configurations) that indicate the linking of PDCCH candidates. ¶0076 - For example, in a scenario of example 500 of FIG. 5A, an individual (e.g., non-linked) PDCCH candidate 501 having AL8 may overlap with one of two linked PDCCH candidates 502a, 502b having AL16, and the AL8 PDCCH candidate 501 may have the same starting CCE as the AL16 linked PDCCH candidate 502a. Examiner interprets 502a as the claimed second candidate and 502b as the fourth claimed candidate);
and there is no PDCCH candidate associated with the first PDCCH candidate, (Fig. 5 & ¶0076 - For example, in a scenario of example 500 of FIG. 5A, an individual (e.g., non-linked) PDCCH candidate 501 having AL8 may overlap … Examiner interprets candidate 501 is individual and non-linked);
wherein the second PDCCH candidate and the fourth PDCCH candidate are used to carry same DCI, (Fig. 4 & ¶0067 - As shown in examples 400 and 405, multiple (e.g., two) PDCCH candidates may be linked PDCCH candidates. “Linked PDCCH candidates” refers to separate PDCCH candidates in which respective repetitions of the same DCI (e.g., the same DCI payload) may be transmitted);
and the fourth PDCCH candidate is associated with a third control resource set; (Fig. 5 & ¶0089 - In some aspects, the PDCCH candidate may overlap with one of the linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., as in one of the scenarios of examples 500, 505, and 510, described above) … In accordance with the one or more configurations, the overlapping PDCCH candidate may be included in a first SS set associated with a first CORESET; the overlapping linked PDCCH candidate may be included in a second SS set associated with the first CORESET; and the non-overlapping linked PDCCH candidate may be included in a third SS set associated with a second CORESET. Examiner interprets candidate 502b is the non-overlapping linked candidate and the second CORESET corresponds to the claimed third control resource set);
or determining the first PDCCH candidate is associated with a third PDCCH candidate, and the second PDCCH candidate is associated with a fourth PDCCH candidate, wherein the first PDCCH candidate and the third PDCCH candidate are used to carry same DCI, the third PDCCH candidate is associated with a fourth control resource set, the second PDCCH candidate and the fourth PDCCH candidate are used to carry same DCI, and the fourth PDCCH candidate is associated with the fourth control resource set or a fifth control resource set.
Re. Claims 4, 11 and 18, Khoshnevisan teaches Claims 1, 8 and 15.
Khoshnevisan further teaches the reference PDCCH candidate comprises one or more of a first reference PDCCH candidate, a second reference PDCCH candidate, a third reference PDCCH candidate, or a fourth reference PDCCH candidate; (Fig. 5-6 & ¶0078 - For example, when the DCI is detected using one or both of linked PDCCH candidates, the UE may perform the one or more procedures using a reference PDCCH candidate of the two linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., regardless of which of the linked PDCCH candidates was decoded). The reference PDCCH candidate is not fixed and may be designated differently by different procedures, as described below);
and the first reference PDCCH candidate is a PDCCH candidate with a latest end OFDM symbol among the first PDCCH candidate, the second PDCCH candidate, and the another PDCCH candidate; (¶0080 - … when a PDSCH or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) is scheduled by DCI in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition, in order to determine a quasi-co-location (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH or the CSI-RS, the scheduling offset is based on the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate … In a fourth example procedure, for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing timeline (N2) and a channel state information (CSI) computation timeline (Z), a last symbol of a PDCCH is the last symbol of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate). Please also see ¶0074, ¶0076-¶0077).
the second reference PDCCH candidate is a PDCCH candidate with an earliest start OFDM symbol among the first PDCCH candidate, the second PDCCH candidate, and the another PDCCH candidate; (¶0081 - In a fifth example procedure, for Type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook, a PDCCH monitoring occasion associated with a counter downlink assignment index (DAI) or a total DAI in DCI detected in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition is the monitoring occasion of the earlier PDCCH candidate (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) of the linked PDCCH candidates. Please also see ¶0074, ¶0076-¶0077);
the third reference PDCCH candidate is a PDCCH candidate corresponding to a search space set with a smallest index among search space sets respectively corresponding to the first PDCCH candidate, the second PDCCH candidate, and the another PDCCH candidate; (¶0079 - In a first example procedure, in a case of PDCCH repetition, for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource determination for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) when the corresponding PUCCH resource set has a size larger than eight, the starting CCE index and quantity of CCEs in the CORESET of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates associated with a lowest SS set identifier (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) is applied);
or the fourth reference PDCCH candidate is a PDCCH candidate corresponding to a control resource set with a smallest index among control resource sets respectively corresponding to the first PDCCH candidate, the second PDCCH candidate, and the another PDCCH candidate (¶0081 - In a sixth example procedure, if a PDSCH is scheduled by DCI in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition, a TCI field is not present in the DCI, and a scheduling offset is equal to or larger than a threshold (e.g., timeDurationForQCL), a QCL assumption for a PDSCH is based on a CORESET with a lower identifier among the two CORESETs associated with the linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., a CORESET associated with the reference PDCCH candidate)).
Re. Claim 7, Khoshnevisan teaches Claim 4.
Khoshnevisan further teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the third reference PDCCH candidate comprises a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource indicated by the DCI; (Fig. 3-6 & ¶0079 - In a first example procedure, in a case of PDCCH repetition, for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource determination for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) when the corresponding PUCCH resource set has a size larger than eight, the starting CCE index and quantity of CCEs in the CORESET of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates associated with a lowest SS set identifier (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) is applied … and/or when the UE (e.g., configured with ReferenceofSLIV-ForDCIFormat1_2) receives a PDSCH scheduled by DCI format 1_2, the starting symbol S is relative to the starting symbol S0 of the PDCCH candidate with a later starting symbol (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate. Please also see ¶0078. (Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “or”);
or the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the fourth reference PDCCH candidate comprises a preset quasi co-location (QCL) assumption of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by using the DCI.
Re. Claim 8, Khoshnevisan teaches a communication method, comprising: (Fig. 6 & ¶0086);
sending, by a network device, downlink control information (DCI) on either a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate or a second PDCCH candidate, (Fig. 6 & ¶0064 - As described above, a UE may receive DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. For example, the UE may monitor the PDCCH candidates in the configured SS sets. The UE may perform blind decoding in the PDCCH candidates to detect DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. ¶0087 - As shown by reference number 605, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates that are to be monitored for DCI (e.g., information identifying the location of the plurality of PDCCH candidates that are to be monitored). That is, the plurality of PDCCH candidates may identify PDCCH resources (e.g., time and frequency resources) for which the UE 120 is to perform blind decoding for DCI. ¶0095 - As shown by reference number 615, the UE 120 may monitor for, and detect, the DCI according to the one or more rules);
wherein the first PDCCH candidate corresponds to a first aggregation level, the first PDCCH candidate comprises a plurality of control channel elements (CCE), the second PDCCH candidate corresponds to a second aggregation level, the first aggregation level is different from the second aggregation level, the second PDCCH candidate comprises a plurality of CCEs, (Fig. Fig. 3 & ¶0060 - A base station may transmit DCI in multiple CCEs 325 (as shown), where the quantity of CCEs 325 used for transmission of DCI represents the aggregation level (AL) used by the BS for the transmission of DCI. In FIG. 3, an aggregation level of two is shown as an example, corresponding to two CCEs 325 in a slot 310. Fig. 5 & ¶0073 - In some examples, a PDCCH candidate of a first aggregation level may overlap with (e.g., in time and frequency resources) a PDCCH candidate of a second aggregation level (e.g., one or more CCEs of the PDCCH candidates may overlap). For example, a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation level of 8 (AL8) may overlap with a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation of 16 (AL16). ¶0088 - The first aggregation level and the second aggregation level may be different);
a start index of the CCE comprised in the first PDCCH candidate is the same as a start index of the CCE comprised in the second PDCCH candidate, (¶0074 - The ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate have the same starting CCE index);
the first PDCCH candidate and the second PDCCH candidate are associated with a first control resource set, (¶0074 - Additionally, or alternatively, the ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate are associated with the same CORESET);
the first control resource set occupies one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in time domain, (¶0074 - Additionally, or alternatively, the ambiguity may occur when the CORESET associated with the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate is a single symbol in the time domain (e.g., otherwise, frequency domain first-time domain second mapping of multiple symbols may resolve the ambiguity);
mapping of the plurality of CCEs comprised in the first PDCCH candidate is non-interleaved mapping, (Fig. 5 & ¶0065 - A non-interleaved CORESET 320 may have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that all CCEs are mapped to consecutive REG bundles (e.g., in the frequency domain) of the CORESET 320. ¶0077 - In some examples, ambiguities in the scenarios of examples 500, 505, and 510, may result from the CORESET being configured with non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping);
and mapping of the plurality of CCEs comprised in the second PDCCH candidate is non-interleaved mapping; (Fig. 5 & ¶0065 - A non-interleaved CORESET 320 may have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that all CCEs are mapped to consecutive REG bundles (e.g., in the frequency domain) of the CORESET 320. ¶0077 - In some examples, ambiguities in the scenarios of examples 500, 505, and 510, may result from the CORESET being configured with non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping);
and in response to determining at least one of the first PDCCH candidate or the second PDCCH candidate is associated with another PDCCH candidate, (Fig. 5 & ¶0068 - A UE may store information that indicates the linking of PDCCH candidates (e.g., the UE knows the linking of the PDCCH candidates prior to decoding). For example, the UE may receive one or more configurations (e.g., RRC configurations) that indicate the linking of PDCCH candidates. ¶0076 - For example, in a scenario of example 500 of FIG. 5A, an individual (e.g., non-linked) PDCCH candidate 501 having AL8 may overlap with one of two linked PDCCH candidates 502a, 502b having AL16, and the AL8 PDCCH candidate 501 may have the same starting CCE as the AL16 linked PDCCH candidate 502a);
determining, by the network device, a reference PDCCH candidate based on the first PDCCH candidate, the second PDCCH candidate, and the another PDCCH candidate, (¶0078 - For example, when the DCI is detected using one or both of linked PDCCH candidates, the UE may perform the one or more procedures using a reference PDCCH candidate of the two linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., regardless of which of the linked PDCCH candidates was decoded. Please also see ¶0082 and ¶0107);
wherein the reference PDCCH candidate is used to determine at least one of
time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information indicated by the DCI,
uplink transmit power information indicated by the DCI,
or uplink feedback information corresponding to the DCI (¶0079 - In a first example procedure, in a case of PDCCH repetition, for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource determination for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) when the corresponding PUCCH resource set has a size larger than eight, the starting CCE index and quantity of CCEs in the CORESET of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates associated with a lowest SS set identifier (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) is applied. ¶0081 - In a fifth example procedure, for Type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook, a PDCCH monitoring occasion associated with a counter downlink assignment index (DAI) or a total DAI in DCI detected in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition is the monitoring occasion of the earlier PDCCH candidate (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) of the linked PDCCH candidates. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “or”.).
Re. Claim 14, Khoshnevisan teaches Claim 11.
Khoshnevisan further teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the third reference PDCCH candidate comprises a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource indicated by the DCI; (Fig. 6, 8 & ¶0093 - In some aspects, the base station 110 may also use the one or more rules to determine the behavior that is to be used by the UE 120 for resolving the ambiguity. That is, the base station 110 may communicate with the UE 120 according to the one or more rules. Here, communicating with the UE 120 may include generating DCI, encoding the DCI, transmitting the DCI, determining information used for one or more procedures based at least in part on the DCI (e.g., interpreting the DCI), determining a result of the one or more procedures based at least in part on the information, exchanging communications with the UE 120 based at least in part on the one or more procedures, or the like. ¶0079 - In a first example procedure, in a case of PDCCH repetition, for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource determination for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) when the corresponding PUCCH resource set has a size larger than eight, the starting CCE index and quantity of CCEs in the CORESET of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates associated with a lowest SS set identifier (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) is applied … and/or when the UE (e.g., configured with ReferenceofSLIV-ForDCIFormat1_2) receives a PDSCH scheduled by DCI format 1_2, the starting symbol S is relative to the starting symbol S0 of the PDCCH candidate with a later starting symbol (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate. Please also see ¶0134-¶0136 and ¶0145. (Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “or”);
or the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the fourth reference PDCCH candidate comprises a preset quasi co-location (QCL) assumption of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by using the DCI.
Re. Claim 15, Khoshnevisan teaches a communication apparatus, comprising one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute operations that cause the communication apparatus to: (Fig. 2);
detect downlink control information (DCI) on at least one of a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate or a second PDCCH candidate, (Fig. 6 & ¶0064 - As described above, a UE may receive DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. For example, the UE may monitor the PDCCH candidates in the configured SS sets. The UE may perform blind decoding in the PDCCH candidates to detect DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. ¶0087 - As shown by reference number 605, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates that are to be monitored for DCI (e.g., information identifying the location of the plurality of PDCCH candidates that are to be monitored). That is, the plurality of PDCCH candidates may identify PDCCH resources (e.g., time and frequency resources) for which the UE 120 is to perform blind decoding for DCI. ¶0095 - As shown by reference number 615, the UE 120 may monitor for, and detect, the DCI according to the one or more rules);
wherein the first PDCCH candidate corresponds to a first aggregation level, the first PDCCH candidate comprises a plurality of control channel elements (CCE), the second PDCCH candidate corresponds to a second aggregation level, the first aggregation level is different from the second aggregation level, the second PDCCH candidate comprises a plurality of CCEs, (Fig. Fig. 3 & ¶0060 - A base station may transmit DCI in multiple CCEs 325 (as shown), where the quantity of CCEs 325 used for transmission of DCI represents the aggregation level (AL) used by the BS for the transmission of DCI. In FIG. 3, an aggregation level of two is shown as an example, corresponding to two CCEs 325 in a slot 310. Fig. 5 & ¶0073 - In some examples, a PDCCH candidate of a first aggregation level may overlap with (e.g., in time and frequency resources) a PDCCH candidate of a second aggregation level (e.g., one or more CCEs of the PDCCH candidates may overlap). For example, a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation level of 8 (AL8) may overlap with a PDCCH candidate of an aggregation of 16 (AL16). ¶0088 - The first aggregation level and the second aggregation level may be different);
a start index of the CCE comprised in the first PDCCH candidate is the same as a start index of the CCE comprised in the second PDCCH candidate, (¶0074 - The ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate have the same starting CCE index);
the first PDCCH candidate and the second PDCCH candidate are associated with a first control resource set, (¶0074 - Additionally, or alternatively, the ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate are associated with the same CORESET);
the first control resource set occupies one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in time domain, (¶0074 - Additionally, or alternatively, the ambiguity may occur when the CORESET associated with the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate is a single symbol in the time domain (e.g., otherwise, frequency domain first-time domain second mapping of multiple symbols may resolve the ambiguity);
mapping of the plurality of CCEs comprised in the first PDCCH candidate is non-interleaved mapping, (Fig. 5 & ¶0065 - A non-interleaved CORESET 320 may have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that all CCEs are mapped to consecutive REG bundles (e.g., in the frequency domain) of the CORESET 320. ¶0077 - In some examples, ambiguities in the scenarios of examples 500, 505, and 510, may result from the CORESET being configured with non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping);
and mapping of the plurality of CCEs comprised in the second PDCCH candidate is non-interleaved mapping; (Fig. 5 & ¶0065 - A non-interleaved CORESET 320 may have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that all CCEs are mapped to consecutive REG bundles (e.g., in the frequency domain) of the CORESET 320. ¶0077 - In some examples, ambiguities in the scenarios of examples 500, 505, and 510, may result from the CORESET being configured with non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping);
and in response to determining the at least one of the first PDCCH candidate or the second PDCCH candidate is associated with another PDCCH candidate, (Fig. 5 & ¶0068 - A UE may store information that indicates the linking of PDCCH candidates (e.g., the UE knows the linking of the PDCCH candidates prior to decoding). For example, the UE may receive one or more configurations (e.g., RRC configurations) that indicate the linking of PDCCH candidates. ¶0076 - For example, in a scenario of example 500 of FIG. 5A, an individual (e.g., non-linked) PDCCH candidate 501 having AL8 may overlap with one of two linked PDCCH candidates 502a, 502b having AL16, and the AL8 PDCCH candidate 501 may have the same starting CCE as the AL16 linked PDCCH candidate 502a);
determine a reference PDCCH candidate based on the first PDCCH candidate, the second PDCCH candidate, and the another PDCCH candidate, (¶0078 - For example, when the DCI is detected using one or both of linked PDCCH candidates, the UE may perform the one or more procedures using a reference PDCCH candidate of the two linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., regardless of which of the linked PDCCH candidates was decoded. Please also see ¶0082 and ¶0107);
wherein the reference PDCCH candidate is used to determine at least one of
time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information indicated by the DCI,
uplink transmit power information indicated by the DCI,
or uplink feedback information corresponding to the DCI (¶0079 - In a first example procedure, in a case of PDCCH repetition, for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource determination for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) when the corresponding PUCCH resource set has a size larger than eight, the starting CCE index and quantity of CCEs in the CORESET of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates associated with a lowest SS set identifier (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) is applied. ¶0081 - In a fifth example procedure, for Type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook, a PDCCH monitoring occasion associated with a counter downlink assignment index (DAI) or a total DAI in DCI detected in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition is the monitoring occasion of the earlier PDCCH candidate (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) of the linked PDCCH candidates. (Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”).
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.
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 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 5, 12 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan, and further in view of Matsumura et al. (US 2025/0133568 A1), Matsumura hereinafter.
Re. Claim 5, Khoshnevisan teaches Claim 4.
Yet, Khoshnevisan does not explicitly teach the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position that is of a preempted OFDM symbol and that is indicated by the DCI, whether a sending cancellation indication (CI) in the DCI takes effect, and a latest sounding reference signal (SRS) resource position corresponding to a SRS resource indication (SRI) in the DCI; and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback bit corresponding to the DCI in a HARQ-ACK codebook, and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource carrying a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the DCI.
However, in the analogous art, Matsumura explicitly teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of (Fig. 7-10, 19-20 & ¶0100 - in one or more cases where transmission processing/reception processing is performed by using PDCCH repetition (for example, a plurality of PDCCHs/DCI), the UE may apply, as the specific time reference, at least one of reference A1 to reference A8 below to detection/reception of a PDCCH corresponding to DCI or scheduling of a DL channel/UL channel/RS. ¶0101 - Reference A1: first/last PDCCH repetition in the time domain (First/last PDCCH repetition in time domain) ¶0266 - When repetition transmission is applied to/configured for first PDCCH #1 providing first DCI format #1 (for example, DCI format 2_4) (refer to FIG. 10), the second PDCCH (or PDCCH candidate) to serve as a reference may be determined from among a plurality of PDCCHs (or a plurality of linked PDCCH candidates), based on a certain rule below ¶0270 - Alt. 2-2-4: a PDCCH that starts earliest in terms of time among a plurality of (for example, two) PDCCHs linked in the time domain. Please also see Case 2 in ¶0134);
a position that is of a preempted OFDM symbol and that is indicated by the DCI,
whether a sending cancellation indication (CI) in the DCI takes effect,
and a latest sounding reference signal (SRS) resource position corresponding to a SRS resource indication (SRI) in the DCI; (¶0189 - The resource for a sounding reference signal (SRS) is determined based on an SRI (Sounding Reference Indicator) or a PDCCH with the SRI. For example, an SRI indicated in slot n may be associated with the most recent transmission of SRS resource identified by the SRI. The SRS resource is arranged/configured before a PDCCH transmitting the SRI. ¶0192 - For example, the UE may judge the resource for the SRS, based on a PDCCH/DCI determined based on a specific time reference (for example, reference A/reference B). With this, even when PDCCHs/DCI/control resource sets are repeatedly transmitted, the UE can appropriately judge an SRS resource. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback bit corresponding to the DCI in a HARQ-ACK codebook,
and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource carrying a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the DCI (Fig. 7-10, 19-20 & ¶0097 - For example, the certain fields may be at least one of a time domain resource assignment (for example, time domain resource assignment) field and an HARQ-ACK feedback timing indication (for example, a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator) field. ¶0178 - The resource of an uplink control channel (for example, a PUCCH) is determined based on a CCE index corresponding to a PDCCH. For example, when the UE transmits an HARQ-ACK by using a PUCCH in response to PDSCH reception/detection of a DCI format for scheduling SPS PDSCH release, the UE determines a PUCCH resource with a certain index (r.sub.PUCCH). Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Matsumura to the teaching of Khoshnevisan. The motivation would be because due to the invention it is possible to appropriately perform communication even when repetition transmission is applied to DL channels transmitted from one or more TRPs (¶0010, Matsumura).
Re. Claim 12, Khoshnevisan teaches Claim 11.
Yet, Khoshnevisan does not explicitly teach the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position that is of a preempted OFDM symbol and that is indicated by the DCI, whether a cancellation indication (CI) in the DCI takes effect, and a latest sounding reference signal (SRS) resource position corresponding to a SRS resource indication (SRI) in the DCI; and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback bit corresponding to the DCI in a HARQ-ACK codebook, and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource carrying a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the DCI.
However, in the analogous art, Matsumura explicitly teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of (Fig. 7-10, 19-20 & ¶0100 - in one or more cases where transmission processing/reception processing is performed by using PDCCH repetition (for example, a plurality of PDCCHs/DCI), the UE may apply, as the specific time reference, at least one of reference A1 to reference A8 below to detection/reception of a PDCCH corresponding to DCI or scheduling of a DL channel/UL channel/RS. ¶0101 - Reference A1: first/last PDCCH repetition in the time domain (First/last PDCCH repetition in time domain) ¶0266 - When repetition transmission is applied to/configured for first PDCCH #1 providing first DCI format #1 (for example, DCI format 2_4) (refer to FIG. 10), the second PDCCH (or PDCCH candidate) to serve as a reference may be determined from among a plurality of PDCCHs (or a plurality of linked PDCCH candidates), based on a certain rule below ¶0270 - Alt. 2-2-4: a PDCCH that starts earliest in terms of time among a plurality of (for example, two) PDCCHs linked in the time domain. Please also see Case 2 in ¶0134);
a position that is of a preempted OFDM symbol and that is indicated by the DCI,
whether a cancellation indication (CI) in the DCI takes effect,
and a latest sounding reference signal (SRS) resource position corresponding to a SRS resource indication (SRI) in the DCI; (¶0189 - The resource for a sounding reference signal (SRS) is determined based on an SRI (Sounding Reference Indicator) or a PDCCH with the SRI. For example, an SRI indicated in slot n may be associated with the most recent transmission of SRS resource identified by the SRI. The SRS resource is arranged/configured before a PDCCH transmitting the SRI. ¶0192 - For example, the UE may judge the resource for the SRS, based on a PDCCH/DCI determined based on a specific time reference (for example, reference A/reference B). With this, even when PDCCHs/DCI/control resource sets are repeatedly transmitted, the UE can appropriately judge an SRS resource. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback bit corresponding to the DCI in a HARQ-ACK codebook,
and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource carrying a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the DCI (Fig. 7-10, 19-20 & ¶0097 - For example, the certain fields may be at least one of a time domain resource assignment (for example, time domain resource assignment) field and an HARQ-ACK feedback timing indication (for example, a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator) field. ¶0178 - The resource of an uplink control channel (for example, a PUCCH) is determined based on a CCE index corresponding to a PDCCH. For example, when the UE transmits an HARQ-ACK by using a PUCCH in response to PDSCH reception/detection of a DCI format for scheduling SPS PDSCH release, the UE determines a PUCCH resource with a certain index (r.sub.PUCCH). Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Matsumura to the teaching of Khoshnevisan. The motivation would be because due to the invention it is possible to appropriately perform communication even when repetition transmission is applied to DL channels transmitted from one or more TRPs (¶0010, Matsumura).
Re. Claim 19, Khoshnevisan teaches Claim 18.
Yet, Khoshnevisan does not explicitly teach the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position that is of a preempted OFDM symbol and that is indicated by the DCI, whether a cancellation indication (CI) in the DCI takes effect, and a latest sounding reference signal (SRS) resource position corresponding to a SRS resource indication (SRI) in the DCI; and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback bit corresponding to the DCI in a HARQ-ACK codebook, and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource carrying a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the DCI.
However, in the analogous art, Matsumura explicitly teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of (Fig. 7-10, 19-20 & ¶0100 - in one or more cases where transmission processing/reception processing is performed by using PDCCH repetition (for example, a plurality of PDCCHs/DCI), the UE may apply, as the specific time reference, at least one of reference A1 to reference A8 below to detection/reception of a PDCCH corresponding to DCI or scheduling of a DL channel/UL channel/RS. ¶0101 - Reference A1: first/last PDCCH repetition in the time domain (First/last PDCCH repetition in time domain) ¶0266 - When repetition transmission is applied to/configured for first PDCCH #1 providing first DCI format #1 (for example, DCI format 2_4) (refer to FIG. 10), the second PDCCH (or PDCCH candidate) to serve as a reference may be determined from among a plurality of PDCCHs (or a plurality of linked PDCCH candidates), based on a certain rule below ¶0270 - Alt. 2-2-4: a PDCCH that starts earliest in terms of time among a plurality of (for example, two) PDCCHs linked in the time domain. Please also see Case 2 in ¶0134);
a position that is of a preempted OFDM symbol and that is indicated by the DCI,
whether a cancellation indication (CI) in the DCI takes effect,
and a latest sounding reference signal (SRS) resource position corresponding to a SRS resource indication (SRI) in the DCI; (¶0189 - The resource for a sounding reference signal (SRS) is determined based on an SRI (Sounding Reference Indicator) or a PDCCH with the SRI. For example, an SRI indicated in slot n may be associated with the most recent transmission of SRS resource identified by the SRI. The SRS resource is arranged/configured before a PDCCH transmitting the SRI. ¶0192 - For example, the UE may judge the resource for the SRS, based on a PDCCH/DCI determined based on a specific time reference (for example, reference A/reference B). With this, even when PDCCHs/DCI/control resource sets are repeatedly transmitted, the UE can appropriately judge an SRS resource. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined based on the second reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of a position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback bit corresponding to the DCI in a HARQ-ACK codebook,
and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource carrying a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the DCI (Fig. 7-10, 19-20 & ¶0097 - For example, the certain fields may be at least one of a time domain resource assignment (for example, time domain resource assignment) field and an HARQ-ACK feedback timing indication (for example, a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator) field. ¶0178 - The resource of an uplink control channel (for example, a PUCCH) is determined based on a CCE index corresponding to a PDCCH. For example, when the UE transmits an HARQ-ACK by using a PUCCH in response to PDSCH reception/detection of a DCI format for scheduling SPS PDSCH release, the UE determines a PUCCH resource with a certain index (r.sub.PUCCH). Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Matsumura to the teaching of Khoshnevisan. The motivation would be because due to the invention it is possible to appropriately perform communication even when repetition transmission is applied to DL channels transmitted from one or more TRPs (¶0010, Matsumura).
Claims 6, 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan, and further in view of Chen et al. (US 2023/0362826 A1), Chen hereinafter.
Re. Claim 6, Khoshnevisan teach Claim 4.
Khoshnevisan further teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of
a transmission delay of scheduling by using the DCI,
a position that is of an OFDM symbol whose sending is canceled and that is indicated by the DCI,
cancellation time that is of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)-based physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and that is indicated by the DCI,
reception preparation time corresponding to a PDSCH or an aperiodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) scheduled by using the DCI in cross-carrier scheduling,
a start position of the PDSCH or the aperiodic CSI-RS scheduled by using the DCI,
whether a preset receive beam is used in the PDSCH or the aperiodic CSI-RS scheduled by using the DCI,
whether the PDSCH or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by using the DCI satisfies a processing capability of the terminal device,
and preparation time of the PUSCH or an SRS scheduled by using the DCI; (Fig. 3-6 & ¶0080 - In a third example procedure, when a PDSCH or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) is scheduled by DCI in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition, in order to determine a quasi-co-location (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH or the CSI-RS, the scheduling offset is based on the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) … for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing timeline (N2) and a channel state information (CSI) computation timeline (Z), a last symbol of a PDCCH is the last symbol of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate). Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
Yet, Khoshnevisan does not explicitly teach the uplink transmit power information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises: whether the DCI is located in an effective time window of transmit power control (TPC); and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of in a case that channel state information (CSI) carried in the DCI is triggered, a position relationship between a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to the DCI and a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) switching indication, a time domain position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback corresponding to the DCI, whether a power headroom report (PHR) corresponding to the DCI is a virtual PHR or a real PHR, occupation time of a central processing unit (CPU) corresponding to aperiodic CSI triggered by the DCI, and calculation time of CSI scheduled by using the DCI.
However, in the analogous art, Chen explicitly teaches the uplink transmit power information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises: whether the DCI is located in an effective time window of transmit power control (TPC); (Fig. 9 & ¶0173 - In this embodiment, the effective TPC command window includes a TPC command. In the accumulation mode, the adjustment values indicated by the TPC command in the TPC command window need to be accumulated to determine the closed-loop power adjustment state of the PUSCH. However, if one TPC command is carried by a plurality of repeatedly transmitted PDCCHs, the terminal device needs to determine whether the TPC command is in the effective TPC command window, that is, it needs to determine whether the current TPC command can be used to determine the closed-loop power adjustment state. Please also see ¶0174, ¶0180-¶0184);
and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined by the terminal device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of
in a case that channel state information (CSI) carried in the DCI is triggered, a position relationship between a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to the DCI and a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) switching indication,
a time domain position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback corresponding to the DCI, (¶0209 - In this embodiment, if one PDCCH schedules one PUCCH, the PUCCH carries HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, and the resource of the PUCCH is indicated by the PDCCH. ¶0228 - If the PUCCH transmission is in response to a detection by the UE of a DCI format, K.sub.PUCCH(i) is a number of symbols for active UL BWP b of carrier f of serving cell c after a last symbol of a corresponding PDCCH reception and before a first symbol of the PUCCH transmission. If repetition is configured to the corresponding PDCCH, the first PDCCH or the last PDCCH among PDCCH repetitions is applied. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
whether a power headroom report (PHR) corresponding to the DCI is a virtual PHR or a real PHR,
occupation time of a central processing unit (CPU) corresponding to aperiodic CSI triggered by the DCI,
and calculation time of CSI scheduled by using the DCI.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Chen to the teaching of Khoshnevisan. The motivation would be because the invention determines an effective transmit power control (TPC) command window according to a preset physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a plurality of PDCCHs that are repeatedly transmitted, wherein the preset PDCCH comprises the first PDCCH or the last PDCCH in the plurality of PDCCHs (Abstract, Chen).
Re. Claim 13, Khoshnevisan teach Claim 11.
Khoshnevisan further teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of
a transmission delay of scheduling by using the DCI,
a position that is of an OFDM symbol whose sending is canceled and that is indicated by the DCI,
cancellation time that is of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)-based physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and that is indicated by the DCI,
reception preparation time corresponding to a PDSCH or an aperiodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) scheduled by using the DCI in cross-carrier scheduling,
a start position of the PDSCH or the aperiodic CSI-RS scheduled by using the DCI,
whether a preset receive beam is used in the PDSCH or the aperiodic CSI-RS scheduled by using the DCI,
whether the PDSCH or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by using the DCI satisfies a processing capability of a terminal device,
and preparation time of the PUSCH or an SRS scheduled by using the DCI; (Fig. 3-6 & ¶0080 - In a third example procedure, when a PDSCH or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) is scheduled by DCI in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition, in order to determine a quasi-co-location (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH or the CSI-RS, the scheduling offset is based on the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) … for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing timeline (N2) and a channel state information (CSI) computation timeline (Z), a last symbol of a PDCCH is the last symbol of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate). Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
Yet, Khoshnevisan does not explicitly teach the uplink transmit power information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises: whether the DCI is located in an effective time window of transmit power control (TPC); and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined by the network device based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of in a case that channel state information (CSI) carried in the DCI is triggered, a position relationship between a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to the DCI and a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) switching indication, a time domain position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback corresponding to the DCI, whether a power headroom report (PHR) corresponding to the DCI is a virtual PHR or a real PHR, occupation time of a central processing unit (CPU) corresponding to aperiodic CSI triggered by the DCI, and calculation time of CSI scheduled by using the DCI.
However, in the analogous art, Chen explicitly teaches the uplink transmit power information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises: whether the DCI is located in an effective time window of transmit power control (TPC); (Fig. 9 & ¶0173 - In this embodiment, the effective TPC command window includes a TPC command. In the accumulation mode, the adjustment values indicated by the TPC command in the TPC command window need to be accumulated to determine the closed-loop power adjustment state of the PUSCH. However, if one TPC command is carried by a plurality of repeatedly transmitted PDCCHs, the terminal device needs to determine whether the TPC command is in the effective TPC command window, that is, it needs to determine whether the current TPC command can be used to determine the closed-loop power adjustment state. Please also see ¶0174, ¶0180-¶0184);
and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of
in a case that channel state information (CSI) carried in the DCI is triggered, a position relationship between a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to the DCI and a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) switching indication,
a time domain position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback corresponding to the DCI, (¶0209 - In this embodiment, if one PDCCH schedules one PUCCH, the PUCCH carries HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, and the resource of the PUCCH is indicated by the PDCCH. ¶0228 - If the PUCCH transmission is in response to a detection by the UE of a DCI format, K.sub.PUCCH(i) is a number of symbols for active UL BWP b of carrier f of serving cell c after a last symbol of a corresponding PDCCH reception and before a first symbol of the PUCCH transmission. If repetition is configured to the corresponding PDCCH, the first PDCCH or the last PDCCH among PDCCH repetitions is applied. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
whether a power headroom report (PHR) corresponding to the DCI is a virtual PHR or a real PHR,
occupation time of a central processing unit (CPU) corresponding to aperiodic CSI triggered by the DCI,
and calculation time of CSI scheduled by using the DCI.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Chen to the teaching of Khoshnevisan. The motivation would be because the invention determines an effective transmit power control (TPC) command window according to a preset physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a plurality of PDCCHs that are repeatedly transmitted, wherein the preset PDCCH comprises the first PDCCH or the last PDCCH in the plurality of PDCCHs (Abstract, Chen).
Re. Claim 20, Khoshnevisan teach Claim 18.
Khoshnevisan further teaches the time-frequency-space domain transmission resource information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of
a transmission delay of scheduling by using the DCI, a position that is of an OFDM symbol whose sending is canceled and that is indicated by the DCI,
cancellation time that is of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)-based physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and that is indicated by the DCI,
reception preparation time corresponding to a PDSCH or an aperiodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) scheduled by using the DCI in cross-carrier scheduling,
a start position of the PDSCH or the aperiodic CSI-RS scheduled by using the DCI,
whether a preset receive beam is used in the PDSCH or the aperiodic CSI-RS scheduled by using the DCI,
whether the PDSCH or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by using the DCI satisfies a processing capability of the communication apparatus,
and preparation time of the PUSCH or an SRS scheduled by using the DCI (Fig. 3-6 & ¶0080 - In a third example procedure, when a PDSCH or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) is scheduled by DCI in PDCCH candidates that are linked for repetition, in order to determine a quasi-co-location (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH or the CSI-RS, the scheduling offset is based on the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) … for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing timeline (N2) and a channel state information (CSI) computation timeline (Z), a last symbol of a PDCCH is the last symbol of the one of the linked PDCCH candidates that ends later in time (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate). Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
Yet, Khoshnevisan does not explicitly teach the uplink transmit power information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises: whether the DCI is located in an effective time window of transmit power control (TPC); and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of in a case that channel state information (CSI) carried in the DCI is triggered, a position relationship between a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to the DCI and a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) switching indication, a time domain position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback corresponding to the DCI, whether a power headroom report (PHR) corresponding to the DCI is a virtual PHR or a real PHR, occupation time of a central processing unit (CPU) corresponding to aperiodic CSI triggered by the DCI, and calculation time of CSI scheduled by using the DCI.
However, in the analogous art, Chen explicitly teaches the uplink transmit power information that is indicated by the DCI and that is determined based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises: whether the DCI is located in an effective time window of transmit power control (TPC); (Fig. 9 & ¶0173 - In this embodiment, the effective TPC command window includes a TPC command. In the accumulation mode, the adjustment values indicated by the TPC command in the TPC command window need to be accumulated to determine the closed-loop power adjustment state of the PUSCH. However, if one TPC command is carried by a plurality of repeatedly transmitted PDCCHs, the terminal device needs to determine whether the TPC command is in the effective TPC command window, that is, it needs to determine whether the current TPC command can be used to determine the closed-loop power adjustment state. Please also see ¶0174, ¶0180-¶0184);
and the uplink feedback information that corresponds to the DCI and that is determined based on the first reference PDCCH candidate comprises at least one of
in a case that channel state information (CSI) carried in the DCI is triggered, a position relationship between a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to the DCI and a last OFDM symbol of a PDCCH monitoring time period corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) switching indication,
a time domain position of a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback corresponding to the DCI, (¶0209 - In this embodiment, if one PDCCH schedules one PUCCH, the PUCCH carries HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, and the resource of the PUCCH is indicated by the PDCCH. ¶0228 - If the PUCCH transmission is in response to a detection by the UE of a DCI format, K.sub.PUCCH(i) is a number of symbols for active UL BWP b of carrier f of serving cell c after a last symbol of a corresponding PDCCH reception and before a first symbol of the PUCCH transmission. If repetition is configured to the corresponding PDCCH, the first PDCCH or the last PDCCH among PDCCH repetitions is applied. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “at least one of”);
whether a power headroom report (PHR) corresponding to the DCI is a virtual PHR or a real PHR,
occupation time of a central processing unit (CPU) corresponding to aperiodic CSI triggered by the DCI,
and calculation time of CSI scheduled by using the DCI.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Chen to the teaching of Khoshnevisan. The motivation would be because the invention determines an effective transmit power control (TPC) command window according to a preset physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a plurality of PDCCHs that are repeatedly transmitted, wherein the preset PDCCH comprises the first PDCCH or the last PDCCH in the plurality of PDCCHs (Abstract, Chen).
Conclusion
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 ALYSSA WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7673. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5pm. 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, Ayman Abaza can be reached on (571) 270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALYSSA WILLIAMS/Examiner, Art Unit 2465B
/CHRISTOPHER T WYLLIE/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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