CTNF 18/679,304 CTNF 80036 DETAILED ACTION 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority as a Continuation of PCT/CN2022/134466 filed 11/25/2022 and Chinese Application CN202111447353.2 filed 11/30/2021 is acknowledged. Claims 1-20 as filed 5/30/2024 are pending. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/28/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-6 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (US20210368494A1), hereafter Chen . Regarding claims 1, 15, and 20, Chen discloses an apparatus ( Fig. 16-17, BS 1600 and UE 1700 ) comprising a memory/non-transitory computer-readable storage media ( Fig. 16-17, memory 1603/1702 ) storing computer instructions ( Fig. 17, program/instruction 17022; paragraph 122-128 ) and a processing circuit ( Fig. 16-17, processor 1601-1701 ) in communication with the memory ( Fig. 16-17, via bus interface/system 1705 ), the processing circuit configured, upon execution of the instructions, to cause the apparatus to perform a method ( i.e. Fig. 1-4 ) comprising sending resource reservation information being used to reserve a grant-free resource ( i.e. Fig. 2 and 4, steps 201-203/401-404; paragraph 4; reserve resources for UEs performing UL grant-free transmission by transmitting a plurality of grant-free transmission resource configurations to the UE and notifying through dynamic signaling to activate/deactivate one or more grant-free resource configurations of the plurality of configurations ) and sending data on an actually reserved grant-free resource ( i.e. Fig. 1 and 3, steps 102/302; Fig. 4, step 405; enable the UE to select one grant-free transmission resource configuration from the plurality of configurations to actually perform uplink data transmission according to the activated grant-free transmission resource configuration ). Regarding claims 2 and 16, Chen discloses the resource reservation information is carried in one or more of: a control signaling, a control channel, or a data channel ( paragraph 45, 64, 82-83; L1 or L2 control signaling ). Regarding claims 3 and 17, Chen discloses the resource reservation information is associated with one or more of : a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a space domain resource, a beam domain resource, a code domain resource, a sequence resource, or a power domain resource ( paragraph 37, 56; FDM, TDM, CDM ). Regarding claims 4 and 18, Chen discloses the actually reserved grant-free resource comprises a first resource when the first resource is successfully reserved ( Fig. 5-13; paragraph 35-38, 68-77; different configuration parameters for different grant-free transmission configurations; i.e. delay-sensitive service 1 successfully uses grant-free configuration 2 having smaller interval ). Regarding claims 5 and 19, Chen discloses the actually reserved grant-free resource comprises a second resource when the second resource is indicated as an available ( i.e. activated ) grant-free resource ( Fig. 13; paragraph 82-83; only activated configurations used ). Regarding claim 6, Chen discloses adaptable resource allocations ( paragraph 38, 49, 58, 68, 83 ) including resource reservation information used to reserve a first resource in the grant-free resource and the actually reserved grant-free resource comprises a third resource different from the first resource ( Fig. 5-13; paragraph 35-38, 68-77; different configuration parameters for different grant-free transmission configurations; i.e. delay-sensitive service 1 successfully uses grant-free configuration 2 having smaller interval; non-delay-sensitive service 2 uses different resource configuration 1 having longer interval ). Regarding claim 14, Chen discloses the actually reserved grant-free resource is related to a status ( i.e. activated or deactivated ) of a resource in the grant-free resource ( Fig. 2, step 203; Fig. 4, step 404; Fig. 13; paragraph 44-48, 65-67, 82; dynamic signaling to activate or deactivate one or more grant-free resource configurations ) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Yi et al. (US20200288482A1), hereafter Yi . Regarding claims 7 and 8, Chen discloses the reservation result information further comprises another available grant-free resource different from the grant-free resource in the resource reservation information ( Fig. 5-13; paragraph 35-38, 68-77; different configuration parameters for different grant-free transmission configurations; i.e. delay-sensitive service 1 uses grant-free configuration 2 whereas non-delay-sensitive service 2 uses different resource configuration 1 having longer interval ) but does not expressly disclose receiving a reservation result information comprises one of a first or second reservation failure indication of the grant-free resource. Yi discloses analogous art ( Title: Broadcast Channel for NR in Wireless Communication System ) including receiving a reservation result information comprises one of a first reservation failure indication of the grant-free resource or a second reservation failure indication of the grant-free resource ( paragraph 119; grant-free transmission not successfully received/fails based on reserved grant-free resource cancelled by the group control channel; override scheduling DCI ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify Chen by receiving a reservation result information comprises one of a first reservation failure indication of the grant-free resource or a second reservation failure indication of the grant-free resource, as shown by Yi, thereby enabling different configurations for grant-free resources handling URLLC applications. Regarding claims 9 and 10 (depends from claim 7), The combination of Chen and Yi discloses the reservation result information is carried in one or more of: a control signaling, a control channel, or a data channel ( paragraph 45, 64, 82-83; L1 or L2 control signaling ) and associated with one or more of : a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a space domain resource, a beam domain resource, a code domain resource, a sequence resource, or a power domain resource ( paragraph 37, 56; FDM, TDM, CDM ). Regarding claim 11, Chen does not expressly disclose sending first reservation cancellation information indicating a resource whose reservation is canceled in the first resource. Yi discloses analogous art ( Title: Broadcast Channel for NR in Wireless Communication System ) including sending first reservation cancellation information indicating a resource whose reservation is canceled in the first resource ( paragraph 119; reserved grant-free resource cancelled by the group control channel; override scheduling DCI ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify Chen by sending first reservation cancellation information indicating a resource whose reservation is canceled in the first resource, as shown by Yi, thereby enabling different configurations for handling certain applications such as URLLC over grant-free resources. Regarding claims 12 and 13 (dependent from claim 11), The combination of Chen and Yi discloses the first reservation cancellation information is carried in one or more of : a control signaling, a control channel, or a data channel ( paragraph 45, 64, 82-83; L1 or L2 control signaling ) and is associated with one or more of : a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a space domain resource, a beam domain resource, a code domain resource, a sequence resource, or a power domain resource ( paragraph 37; FDM, TDM, CDM ) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA 6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY B SEFCHECK whose telephone number is (571)272-3098. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6AM-4PM. 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, Chirag 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /GREGORY B SEFCHECK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477 Application/Control Number: 18/679,304 Page 2 Art Unit: 2477 Application/Control Number: 18/679,304 Page 4 Art Unit: 2477 Application/Control Number: 18/679,304 Page 5 Art Unit: 2477 Application/Control Number: 18/679,304 Page 6 Art Unit: 2477 Application/Control Number: 18/679,304 Page 7 Art Unit: 2477
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