DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. The instant application claims foreign priority to 2021-150199, filed 09/15/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted, IDS - 02/15/2024. The submission 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 § 112
4. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
5. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
6. Claim 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. Claim 1 and 2 includes a subject matter and most importantly the Claim, “to determine QCL assumption”,
Second claim element, “if the first DCI field is set to a first value, single QCL assumptions are applied for the one or more PDSCHs.”
And third claim element, “if the first DCI field is set to a second value, multiple QCL assumptions are applied for the one or more PDSCHs.” Specification doesn’t provide details how the single and multiple QCL assumptions are applied. Spec merely includes “multiple QCL assumptions may be applied” [0257-0260], and “is/are applied” [0264-0266] and doesn’t include adequate details how this was performed/applied.
7. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims
particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the
inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and
distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
8. Claim 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
9. Where applicant acts as his or her own lexicographer to specifically define a term of a claim contrary to its ordinary meaning, the written description must clearly redefine the claim term and set forth the uncommon definition so as to put one reasonably skilled in the art on notice that the applicant intended to so redefine that claim term. Process Control Corp. v. HydReclaim Corp., 190 F.3d 1350, 1357, 52 USPQ2d 1029, 1033 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The term “single QCL assumption” and “multiple QCL assumption” limited by “are applied” in claim 1 and Claim 2 are used by the claim to mean “single QCL and multiple QCL assumptions are applied” while the accepted meaning is “QCL assumption”. The term is indefinite because the specification/claim does not clearly redefine the term. As mentioned above specification doesn’t clearly define “single QCL assumption” and “multiple QCL assumption”, limited by “applied” and how this applied/performed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
10. 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 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 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.
11. Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Khoshnevisan et al. (US20230208598A1) hereinafter Khoshnevisan et al..
Regarding Claim 1,
Khoshnevisan discloses, ‘A terminal device comprising: reception circuitry configured to receive a PDCCH and one or more PDSCHs based on the PDCCH’ (In Fig. 15 communication device includes transceiver and the reception circuitry to perform processing [0101]. The PDCCH-config and the PDSCH [0072] and in Fig. 5);
And discloses, ‘and determination circuitry configured to determine QCL assumption for the one or more PDSCHs based on a first DCI field in the PDCCH’ (Disclosure in Fig. 15 determination circuitry. And, the determination of QCL assumption of the PDSCH in DCI [0076-0079] in Fig. 5 and Fig. 8. One QCL-assumption [0100] and disclosure Claim 18 to 22. );
And discloses, ‘wherein if the first DCI field is set to a first value, single QCL assumption is applied for the one or more PDSCHs’ (the DCI indicates the QCL assumption and applied to the PDSCH [0031-0032, 0077-0079]. And, first-DCI [0063-0064]. );
And discloses, ‘and if the first DCI field is set to a second value, multiple QCL assumptions are applied for the one or more PDSCHs.’ (the second-DCI [0063-0064] in Fig. 5 and Fig. 8.)
Regarding Claim 2,
Identical to Claim 1 is a method claim and rejected as similar to the Claim 1, ‘A communication method used by a terminal device, the communication method comprising the steps of: receiving a PDCCH and one or more PDSCHs based on the PDCCH; and determining QCL assumption for the one or more PDSCHs based on a first DCI field in the PDCCH; wherein if the first DCI field is set to a first value, single QCL assumption is applied for the one or more PDSCHs; and if the first DCI field is set to a second value, multiple QCL assumptions are applied for the one or more PDSCHs.’
Conclusion
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/S.A./Examiner, Art Unit 2466
/CHRISTOPHER M CRUTCHFIELD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466