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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. 102
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2):
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless - 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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 6-11, 14-17, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Khoshnevisan et al. (US 2020/0351916 A1, hereinafter "Khoshnevisan"). Khoshnevisan claims priority to May 2, 2019, names different inventors, and was effectively filed before the February 22, 2022 effective filing date of the instant application.
Regarding claim 1, Khoshnevisan discloses a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, including a transceiver and a processor coupled with the transceiver (¶¶34-36 and Fig. 2, disclosing the UE transmit/receive circuitry, controller/processor, and memory storing program code). The processor determines whether there are one or more resource collisions among a set of resources used by a plurality of channels by identifying overlapping PUCCH and/or PUSCH transmissions and resolving the overlap (¶¶62-72 and Figs. 3-4, explaining that the UE detects overlapping uplink channels for the same TRP and across different TRPs and applies multiplexing or dropping). The plurality of channels are associated with different control resource set (CORESET) pool indexes because Khoshnevisan configures CoresetPoolIndex to group CORESETs by TRP, associates scheduled channels with the corresponding CoresetPoolIndex, and determines overlap between channels associated with different TRPs (¶¶63-65, 67-72 and Fig. 3, mapping first and second CORESET-pool-index values to first and second TRPs and their scheduled uplink channels). Khoshnevisan determines one or more resources of the set of resources as one or more prioritized resources in response to there being one or more resource collisions by applying priority rules to retain a higher-priority uplink channel and drop an overlapping lower-priority uplink channel (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B, describing priority rules based on TRP, channel, payload, or traffic priority and iterative retention/dropping of overlapping channels). Thus, every limitation of claim 1 is disclosed by Khoshnevisan.
Regarding claim 2, Khoshnevisan discloses determining, for a first resource used by a first channel and a second resource used by a second channel, whether the first resource and the second resource at least partially overlap in the time domain, while the channels are mapped to different TRPs through different CoresetPoolIndex values (¶¶63-72 and Figs. 3-4, showing first and second uplink-channel resources overlapping on one or more symbols and associating them with different TRPs through different CORESET pool indexes). The claimed alternative of overlap in at least one of the time domain or frequency domain is satisfied by the expressly disclosed time-domain overlap.
Regarding claim 4, Khoshnevisan discloses determining that there is a resource collision between first and second resources when the corresponding uplink channels overlap and cannot both be transmitted, and resolves the collision by multiplexing or dropping based on channel type and applicable priority rules (¶¶67-81 and Figs. 3-5, describing detection of cross-TRP overlap and resolution by retaining, multiplexing, or dropping the involved uplink channels). Khoshnevisan further distinguishes PUCCH, PUSCH, HARQ-ACK, SR, CSI, URLLC, and eMBB channel or payload types when determining collision resolution (¶¶73-81, assigning different priorities to the identified channel, payload, and traffic types for collision resolution). These disclosures meet at least the recited alternatives that the first channel and second channel are not allowed to be transmitted simultaneously or are different types of channels; disclosure of every alternative in the Markush group is not required.
Regarding claim 6, Khoshnevisan associates each CoresetPoolIndex with a respective TRP and the channels scheduled through that TRP (¶¶63-65, identifying first and second CoresetPoolIndex values for first and second TRPs). Khoshnevisan first resolves overlapping uplink channels for each TRP individually, thereby retaining a resource from the subset associated with that TRP/CORESET pool, and then additionally resolves overlap between the resources associated with the different TRPs (¶¶65-72 and 82-92; Figs. 3-7B, expressly describing elimination of overlap for each TRP individually and across TRPs through successive retention, multiplexing, and dropping). The resource retained within each TRP-associated subset is the claimed CORESET-pool-level prioritized resource, and the subsequent comparison across the retained resources associated with the different TRPs selects the claimed one or more prioritized resources. Thus, Khoshnevisan discloses both stages of claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, Khoshnevisan discloses, when a first resource and second resource collide, determining at least one prioritized resource based on a first priority level of the first channel and a second priority level of the second channel, including priorities assigned to TRPs, uplink channels, payload types, and traffic types (¶¶73-81, explaining comparison of the respective TRP, channel, payload, or traffic priorities to decide which overlapping transmission is retained). Khoshnevisan determines the other resource as a de-prioritized resource by dropping the lower-priority overlapping channel (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B, illustrating iterative comparison and removal of the resource losing the priority comparison). These disclosures satisfy at least the priority-level alternative of claim 7.
Regarding claim 8, Khoshnevisan discloses that the prioritized resource includes a resource used by the channel having a priority level higher than the other channel, while the other overlapping resource is dropped (¶¶73-81, teaching that a channel associated with the higher TRP, channel, payload, or traffic priority is retained and the lower-priority overlapping channel is dropped). Because claim 8 recites alternatives, this express higher-priority-channel embodiment anticipates the claim.
Regarding claim 9, Khoshnevisan discloses successively comparing overlapping channels, retaining the channel that prevails under the applicable rule, and dropping the other channel (¶¶82-92 and Figs. 6-7B, illustrating that an overlapping HARQ-ACK channel is dropped after comparison with a retained combined channel and that the retained combined channel, rather than the dropped HARQ-ACK channel, is used in the next comparison with UL-SCH). The dropped resource is the de-prioritized resource, its overlapping transmission is dropped in whole, and the illustrated successive procedure omits that dropped resource from following collision comparisons. These disclosures meet the alternative in claim 9 in which the whole de-prioritized resource is dropped and the de-prioritized resource is not compared in following resource collisions.
Regarding claim 10, Khoshnevisan discloses selecting, from overlapping resources, the resource associated with the highest-priority TRP, uplink channel, payload type, or traffic type and dropping lower-priority resources (¶¶73-81 and Figs. 3-5, identifying the applicable priority hierarchy and retaining the resource that prevails over the other overlapping resources). The retained resource is therefore associated with a channel having a priority equal to or higher than the channels associated with the other resources.
Regarding claim 11, Khoshnevisan discloses resolving more than one collision iteratively, comparing overlapping uplink channels and dropping one channel at each comparison according to priority rules, including beginning with the earliest channel (¶¶82-92 and Figs. 6-7B, showing successive pairwise comparisons in which a first retained channel is followed by comparison and selection among the remaining channels). This is a first prioritized-resource determination followed by determination of another prioritized resource from the remaining resources according to the first/previous prioritized resource and the disclosed priority rules.
Regarding claims 14 and 15, Khoshnevisan discloses the same collision-determination and resource-prioritization operations in a base station/system implementation and in method form. Khoshnevisan explains that a base station includes processors and memory, schedules and assigns uplink resources, and may perform the disclosed resource-selection operations, while its process figures expressly present the operations as methods (¶¶34-36, 62-92 and Figs. 2-9, disclosing the base-station and UE processing hardware and presenting the overlap detection, priority comparison, and resource-retention operations as executable processes). The structural category of claim 14 and method category of claim 15 do not distinguish the otherwise identical recited operations from Khoshnevisan.
Regarding claim 16, Khoshnevisan discloses a processor for wireless communication, including at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to perform the same collision-determination and prioritized-resource operations discussed for claim 1 (¶¶34-36, 62-92 and Figs. 2-9, disclosing controller/processor and memory architecture that executes the illustrated overlap-detection and priority-resolution processes). Khoshnevisan specifically discloses controllers/processors executing stored program code to perform the disclosed operations (¶¶34-36, identifying the UE controller/processor, associated memory, and stored program code that causes performance of the disclosed processes).
Regarding claim 17, Khoshnevisan discloses the limitations for determining partial time-domain overlap between first and second resources associated with channels having different CORESET pool indexes for the reasons provided for claim 2 (¶¶63-72 and Figs. 3-4, showing overlapping first and second uplink resources mapped to different TRPs through different CoresetPoolIndex values).
Regarding claim 19, Khoshnevisan discloses the priority-level determination and de-prioritization limitations for the reasons provided for claim 7 (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B, comparing priorities of overlapping channels, retaining the channel that prevails, and dropping the other channel as the de-prioritized resource).
Regarding claim 20, Khoshnevisan discloses the processor/controller implementation of the iterative dropping limitations for the reasons provided for claims 9 and 16 (¶¶34-36 and 82-92; Figs. 2 and 6-7B, disclosing processor and memory hardware executing successive collision comparisons in which the losing resource is dropped and omitted from the next comparison). Accordingly, the processor of claim 20 drops the whole de-prioritized resource and does not compare that dropped resource in following resource collisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103:
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.
Claims 3 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan in view of Huawei et al., "Enhancements on Multi-TRP/panel transmission," 3GPP TDoc R1-1906029 (May 2019, hereinafter "Huawei").
Regarding claim 3, Khoshnevisan discloses the UE and the determination that first and second resources used by respective channels associated with different CORESET pool indexes overlap in the time domain as set forth for claims 1 and 2 (¶¶63-72 and Figs. 3-4, associating scheduled uplink channels with different CoresetPoolIndex values and identifying time-domain overlap). Khoshnevisan does not expressly disclose determining that there is no resource collision in response to the first channel and the second channel being allowed to be transmitted simultaneously or being a same type of channel. Huawei discloses that a UE may be scheduled with fully or partially overlapping PDSCHs by multiple PDCCHs for different TRPs and permits the PDSCHs to be received simultaneously subject to common configuration restrictions, including the same active BWP bandwidth and subcarrier spacing (Huawei §2.2.1, restrictions on PDSCH transmission for multi-PDCCH-based multi-TRP operation). Huawei therefore discloses at least the recited alternatives of the first and second channels being allowed to be transmitted simultaneously and the channels being the same type, namely PDSCHs. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to apply Huawei's simultaneous same-channel-type treatment to Khoshnevisan's multi-TRP overlap determination because both references address a UE handling channels associated with different TRPs/CORESET groups, and recognizing an overlap as non-colliding when the channels are expressly permitted simultaneously would predictably avoid unnecessary dropping while preserving the permitted multi-TRP transmission. Claim 18 recites the corresponding processor/controller implementation and is unpatentable for the same reasons; Khoshnevisan discloses execution by processor/controller and memory (¶¶34-36), and Huawei supplies the simultaneous same-type-channel condition.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan.
Regarding claim 5, Khoshnevisan discloses iterative resolution of multiple overlapping resources, including beginning comparison with an earliest uplink channel and repeatedly processing remaining overlaps (¶¶82-92 and Figs. 6-7B, illustrating successive collision comparisons beginning with an earliest scheduled channel and continuing through the remaining overlapping channels). Khoshnevisan does not expressly state the alternatives of determining collisions in an ascending order of a starting time or end time of each resource, or within a duration defined by a time period, number of collisions, or continuous collisions. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to order Khoshnevisan's collision comparisons by resource start time or end time, or to process collisions within a defined scheduling interval, because chronological ordering and bounded-interval processing are conventional organizational choices for finite scheduled resources and would predictably ensure deterministic processing without comparing resources outside the relevant transmission interval.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan in view of NTT DOCOMO et al., "Handling of overlapping PUSCH grant prioritization," 3GPP TDoc R2-1911472 (August 2019, hereinafter "NTT DOCOMO").
Regarding claim 12, Khoshnevisan discloses a collision between first and second uplink resources and selection of a prioritized resource based on channel, payload, or traffic priority (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B), but does not expressly describe the claimed equal-priority tie breaker. NTT DOCOMO addresses overlapping PUSCH grants and teaches resolving grant priority using logical-channel priority and the priority or latency requirements of the traffic carried by the grants (NTT DOCOMO, discussion of the competing PUSCH-prioritization proposals and the proposal based on associated LCH priority). This teaches the recited alternative of selecting between equal-priority channel resources based on the priority levels of flows carried on the respective channels. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to use NTT DOCOMO's logical-channel/flow priority as a tie breaker in Khoshnevisan's collision-resolution process when the colliding channels otherwise have identical priority levels, because the references address the same problem of selecting among overlapping uplink resources and the combination would predictably preserve the more important traffic when the initial channel-level comparison does not distinguish the resources.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan in view of Huawei.
Regarding claim 13, Khoshnevisan discloses determining collisions between overlapping resources associated with different CORESET pools and resolving the collisions by multiplexing or dropping (¶¶63-92 and Figs. 3-7B), but does not expressly condition the collision determination on limited UE capability. Huawei expressly identifies a potential collision between a PUSCH scheduled by one TRP and a PUCCH transmitted for another TRP when the UE does not support simultaneous PUSCH/PUCCH transmission (Huawei, section entitled "PUSCH transmission for multi-TRP," Observation 4 and the immediately preceding paragraph). Huawei therefore links the collision determination to the UE's limited simultaneous-transmission capability. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to apply Khoshnevisan's collision determination when the UE lacks Huawei's simultaneous-transmission capability, because both references concern multi-TRP uplink overlap and capability-based collision recognition would predictably avoid unnecessary prioritization when simultaneous transmission is supported while invoking collision resolution when it is not.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. 102
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2):
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless - 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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 6-11, 14-17, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Khoshnevisan et al. (US 2020/0351916 A1, hereinafter "Khoshnevisan"). Khoshnevisan claims priority to May 2, 2019, names different inventors, and was effectively filed before the February 22, 2022 effective filing date of the instant application.
Regarding claim 1, Khoshnevisan discloses a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, including a transceiver and a processor coupled with the transceiver (¶¶34-36 and Fig. 2, disclosing the UE transmit/receive circuitry, controller/processor, and memory storing program code). The processor determines whether there are one or more resource collisions among a set of resources used by a plurality of channels by identifying overlapping PUCCH and/or PUSCH transmissions and resolving the overlap (¶¶62-72 and Figs. 3-4, explaining that the UE detects overlapping uplink channels for the same TRP and across different TRPs and applies multiplexing or dropping). The plurality of channels are associated with different control resource set (CORESET) pool indexes because Khoshnevisan configures CoresetPoolIndex to group CORESETs by TRP, associates scheduled channels with the corresponding CoresetPoolIndex, and determines overlap between channels associated with different TRPs (¶¶63-65, 67-72 and Fig. 3, mapping first and second CORESET-pool-index values to first and second TRPs and their scheduled uplink channels). Khoshnevisan determines one or more resources of the set of resources as one or more prioritized resources in response to there being one or more resource collisions by applying priority rules to retain a higher-priority uplink channel and drop an overlapping lower-priority uplink channel (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B, describing priority rules based on TRP, channel, payload, or traffic priority and iterative retention/dropping of overlapping channels). Thus, every limitation of claim 1 is disclosed by Khoshnevisan.
Regarding claim 2, Khoshnevisan discloses determining, for a first resource used by a first channel and a second resource used by a second channel, whether the first resource and the second resource at least partially overlap in the time domain, while the channels are mapped to different TRPs through different CoresetPoolIndex values (¶¶63-72 and Figs. 3-4, showing first and second uplink-channel resources overlapping on one or more symbols and associating them with different TRPs through different CORESET pool indexes). The claimed alternative of overlap in at least one of the time domain or frequency domain is satisfied by the expressly disclosed time-domain overlap.
Regarding claim 4, Khoshnevisan discloses determining that there is a resource collision between first and second resources when the corresponding uplink channels overlap and cannot both be transmitted, and resolves the collision by multiplexing or dropping based on channel type and applicable priority rules (¶¶67-81 and Figs. 3-5, describing detection of cross-TRP overlap and resolution by retaining, multiplexing, or dropping the involved uplink channels). Khoshnevisan further distinguishes PUCCH, PUSCH, HARQ-ACK, SR, CSI, URLLC, and eMBB channel or payload types when determining collision resolution (¶¶73-81, assigning different priorities to the identified channel, payload, and traffic types for collision resolution). These disclosures meet at least the recited alternatives that the first channel and second channel are not allowed to be transmitted simultaneously or are different types of channels; disclosure of every alternative in the Markush group is not required.
Regarding claim 6, Khoshnevisan associates each CoresetPoolIndex with a respective TRP and the channels scheduled through that TRP (¶¶63-65, identifying first and second CoresetPoolIndex values for first and second TRPs). Khoshnevisan first resolves overlapping uplink channels for each TRP individually, thereby retaining a resource from the subset associated with that TRP/CORESET pool, and then additionally resolves overlap between the resources associated with the different TRPs (¶¶65-72 and 82-92; Figs. 3-7B, expressly describing elimination of overlap for each TRP individually and across TRPs through successive retention, multiplexing, and dropping). The resource retained within each TRP-associated subset is the claimed CORESET-pool-level prioritized resource, and the subsequent comparison across the retained resources associated with the different TRPs selects the claimed one or more prioritized resources. Thus, Khoshnevisan discloses both stages of claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, Khoshnevisan discloses, when a first resource and second resource collide, determining at least one prioritized resource based on a first priority level of the first channel and a second priority level of the second channel, including priorities assigned to TRPs, uplink channels, payload types, and traffic types (¶¶73-81, explaining comparison of the respective TRP, channel, payload, or traffic priorities to decide which overlapping transmission is retained). Khoshnevisan determines the other resource as a de-prioritized resource by dropping the lower-priority overlapping channel (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B, illustrating iterative comparison and removal of the resource losing the priority comparison). These disclosures satisfy at least the priority-level alternative of claim 7.
Regarding claim 8, Khoshnevisan discloses that the prioritized resource includes a resource used by the channel having a priority level higher than the other channel, while the other overlapping resource is dropped (¶¶73-81, teaching that a channel associated with the higher TRP, channel, payload, or traffic priority is retained and the lower-priority overlapping channel is dropped). Because claim 8 recites alternatives, this express higher-priority-channel embodiment anticipates the claim.
Regarding claim 9, Khoshnevisan discloses successively comparing overlapping channels, retaining the channel that prevails under the applicable rule, and dropping the other channel (¶¶82-92 and Figs. 6-7B, illustrating that an overlapping HARQ-ACK channel is dropped after comparison with a retained combined channel and that the retained combined channel, rather than the dropped HARQ-ACK channel, is used in the next comparison with UL-SCH). The dropped resource is the de-prioritized resource, its overlapping transmission is dropped in whole, and the illustrated successive procedure omits that dropped resource from following collision comparisons. These disclosures meet the alternative in claim 9 in which the whole de-prioritized resource is dropped and the de-prioritized resource is not compared in following resource collisions.
Regarding claim 10, Khoshnevisan discloses selecting, from overlapping resources, the resource associated with the highest-priority TRP, uplink channel, payload type, or traffic type and dropping lower-priority resources (¶¶73-81 and Figs. 3-5, identifying the applicable priority hierarchy and retaining the resource that prevails over the other overlapping resources). The retained resource is therefore associated with a channel having a priority equal to or higher than the channels associated with the other resources.
Regarding claim 11, Khoshnevisan discloses resolving more than one collision iteratively, comparing overlapping uplink channels and dropping one channel at each comparison according to priority rules, including beginning with the earliest channel (¶¶82-92 and Figs. 6-7B, showing successive pairwise comparisons in which a first retained channel is followed by comparison and selection among the remaining channels). This is a first prioritized-resource determination followed by determination of another prioritized resource from the remaining resources according to the first/previous prioritized resource and the disclosed priority rules.
Regarding claims 14 and 15, Khoshnevisan discloses the same collision-determination and resource-prioritization operations in a base station/system implementation and in method form. Khoshnevisan explains that a base station includes processors and memory, schedules and assigns uplink resources, and may perform the disclosed resource-selection operations, while its process figures expressly present the operations as methods (¶¶34-36, 62-92 and Figs. 2-9, disclosing the base-station and UE processing hardware and presenting the overlap detection, priority comparison, and resource-retention operations as executable processes). The structural category of claim 14 and method category of claim 15 do not distinguish the otherwise identical recited operations from Khoshnevisan.
Regarding claim 16, Khoshnevisan discloses a processor for wireless communication, including at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to perform the same collision-determination and prioritized-resource operations discussed for claim 1 (¶¶34-36, 62-92 and Figs. 2-9, disclosing controller/processor and memory architecture that executes the illustrated overlap-detection and priority-resolution processes). Khoshnevisan specifically discloses controllers/processors executing stored program code to perform the disclosed operations (¶¶34-36, identifying the UE controller/processor, associated memory, and stored program code that causes performance of the disclosed processes).
Regarding claim 17, Khoshnevisan discloses the limitations for determining partial time-domain overlap between first and second resources associated with channels having different CORESET pool indexes for the reasons provided for claim 2 (¶¶63-72 and Figs. 3-4, showing overlapping first and second uplink resources mapped to different TRPs through different CoresetPoolIndex values).
Regarding claim 19, Khoshnevisan discloses the priority-level determination and de-prioritization limitations for the reasons provided for claim 7 (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B, comparing priorities of overlapping channels, retaining the channel that prevails, and dropping the other channel as the de-prioritized resource).
Regarding claim 20, Khoshnevisan discloses the processor/controller implementation of the iterative dropping limitations for the reasons provided for claims 9 and 16 (¶¶34-36 and 82-92; Figs. 2 and 6-7B, disclosing processor and memory hardware executing successive collision comparisons in which the losing resource is dropped and omitted from the next comparison). Accordingly, the processor of claim 20 drops the whole de-prioritized resource and does not compare that dropped resource in following resource collisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103:
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.
Claims 3 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan in view of Huawei et al., "Enhancements on Multi-TRP/panel transmission," 3GPP TDoc R1-1906029 (May 2019, hereinafter "Huawei").
Regarding claim 3, Khoshnevisan discloses the UE and the determination that first and second resources used by respective channels associated with different CORESET pool indexes overlap in the time domain as set forth for claims 1 and 2 (¶¶63-72 and Figs. 3-4, associating scheduled uplink channels with different CoresetPoolIndex values and identifying time-domain overlap). Khoshnevisan does not expressly disclose determining that there is no resource collision in response to the first channel and the second channel being allowed to be transmitted simultaneously or being a same type of channel. Huawei discloses that a UE may be scheduled with fully or partially overlapping PDSCHs by multiple PDCCHs for different TRPs and permits the PDSCHs to be received simultaneously subject to common configuration restrictions, including the same active BWP bandwidth and subcarrier spacing (Huawei §2.2.1, restrictions on PDSCH transmission for multi-PDCCH-based multi-TRP operation). Huawei therefore discloses at least the recited alternatives of the first and second channels being allowed to be transmitted simultaneously and the channels being the same type, namely PDSCHs. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to apply Huawei's simultaneous same-channel-type treatment to Khoshnevisan's multi-TRP overlap determination because both references address a UE handling channels associated with different TRPs/CORESET groups, and recognizing an overlap as non-colliding when the channels are expressly permitted simultaneously would predictably avoid unnecessary dropping while preserving the permitted multi-TRP transmission. Claim 18 recites the corresponding processor/controller implementation and is unpatentable for the same reasons; Khoshnevisan discloses execution by processor/controller and memory (¶¶34-36), and Huawei supplies the simultaneous same-type-channel condition.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan.
Regarding claim 5, Khoshnevisan discloses iterative resolution of multiple overlapping resources, including beginning comparison with an earliest uplink channel and repeatedly processing remaining overlaps (¶¶82-92 and Figs. 6-7B, illustrating successive collision comparisons beginning with an earliest scheduled channel and continuing through the remaining overlapping channels). Khoshnevisan does not expressly state the alternatives of determining collisions in an ascending order of a starting time or end time of each resource, or within a duration defined by a time period, number of collisions, or continuous collisions. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to order Khoshnevisan's collision comparisons by resource start time or end time, or to process collisions within a defined scheduling interval, because chronological ordering and bounded-interval processing are conventional organizational choices for finite scheduled resources and would predictably ensure deterministic processing without comparing resources outside the relevant transmission interval.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan in view of NTT DOCOMO et al., "Handling of overlapping PUSCH grant prioritization," 3GPP TDoc R2-1911472 (August 2019, hereinafter "NTT DOCOMO").
Regarding claim 12, Khoshnevisan discloses a collision between first and second uplink resources and selection of a prioritized resource based on channel, payload, or traffic priority (¶¶73-92 and Figs. 3-7B), but does not expressly describe the claimed equal-priority tie breaker. NTT DOCOMO addresses overlapping PUSCH grants and teaches resolving grant priority using logical-channel priority and the priority or latency requirements of the traffic carried by the grants (NTT DOCOMO, discussion of the competing PUSCH-prioritization proposals and the proposal based on associated LCH priority). This teaches the recited alternative of selecting between equal-priority channel resources based on the priority levels of flows carried on the respective channels. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to use NTT DOCOMO's logical-channel/flow priority as a tie breaker in Khoshnevisan's collision-resolution process when the colliding channels otherwise have identical priority levels, because the references address the same problem of selecting among overlapping uplink resources and the combination would predictably preserve the more important traffic when the initial channel-level comparison does not distinguish the resources.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshnevisan in view of Huawei.
Regarding claim 13, Khoshnevisan discloses determining collisions between overlapping resources associated with different CORESET pools and resolving the collisions by multiplexing or dropping (¶¶63-92 and Figs. 3-7B), but does not expressly condition the collision determination on limited UE capability. Huawei expressly identifies a potential collision between a PUSCH scheduled by one TRP and a PUCCH transmitted for another TRP when the UE does not support simultaneous PUSCH/PUCCH transmission (Huawei, section entitled "PUSCH transmission for multi-TRP," Observation 4 and the immediately preceding paragraph). Huawei therefore links the collision determination to the UE's limited simultaneous-transmission capability. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of the invention to apply Khoshnevisan's collision determination when the UE lacks Huawei's simultaneous-transmission capability, because both references concern multi-TRP uplink overlap and capability-based collision recognition would predictably avoid unnecessary prioritization when simultaneous transmission is supported while invoking collision resolution when it is not.
Conclusion
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/ANGEL T BROCKMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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