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 Objections
Claims 1-2, 12, 14, 20 are objected to because of the following reasons:
For claim 2, the phrase “potentially overlap applying” is unclear.
For claim 12, the phrase “a sounding reference signal (SRS) a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)” is unclear. Examiner recommends Applicants to amend it to “a sounding reference signal (SRS), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)”.
For claims 1-2, 14, 20 from the claim language, Examiner assumes that it is the one or more processors that perform the functional steps.
However, Examiner recommends Applicants to further clarify the claim language by:
For claim 1, changing the phrase “one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the UE to” to “one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions to”.
For claim 2, changing the phrase “wherein the UE detects” to “wherein the one or more processors are further configured to detect”.
For claims 14, 20, changing the phrase “configured to cause the UE to” to “configured to”.
Otherwise, if Applicants intends for some other hardware components of the apparatus (UE) to perform the steps, then please amend the claims to include those hardware components and clearly indicate that those hardware components perform the steps.
If Applicants intends for any unknown hardware components of the apparatus (UE) to perform the steps, then please clearly states so on record. However, Applicants are reminded that doing so will raise 112 issues since then the claim language would impose no limits as to a particular structure for performing the claimed invention; hence the claims may cover all devices for/ways for performing the claimed functions. As thus, there is a failure to provide a clear-cut indication of claim scope because the functional language is not sufficiently precise and definite, resulting in no boundaries on the claim limitation.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application (specifically claim 26 limitations) that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitations: fig 3, 18, paragraph 61-63, 133-138.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claims 1-13, 18-20, 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ahn, US 20140126475.
For claim 1. Ahn teaches: An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories comprising executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the UE to: (Ahn, fig 13, paragraph 156-157)
detect that the UE is scheduled to transmit a first uplink (UL) transmission associated with a first timing advance group (TAG) that at least potentially overlaps with a second uplink transmission associated with a second TAG; (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely. An SRS may include a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS.”; SRS is uplink transmission, see paragraph 12; uplink transmissions are performed by terminal (UE), see paragraph 109)
select, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit; and transmit the selected UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”)
For claim 2. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein the UE detects that the first and second uplink transmissions potentially overlap applying an UL timing advance (TA) for each UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “For example, the transmission of an SRS is triggered in the last OFDM symbol in a subframe n of the first serving cell and a PUCCH is transmitted in a subframe m+1 of the second serving cell, due to different TAs, the last OFDM symbol of the subframe n and the first OFDM symbol of the subframe m+1 may overlap partially or entirely.”)
For claim 3. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein the first TAG and the second TAG are different. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely… For example, the transmission of an SRS is triggered in the last OFDM symbol in a subframe n of the first serving cell and a PUCCH is transmitted in a subframe m+1 of the second serving cell, due to different TAs, the last OFDM symbol of the subframe n and the first OFDM symbol of the subframe m+1 may overlap partially or entirely.”)
For claim 4. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein transmitting the selected UL transmission comprises: transmitting the selected UL transmission and non-overlapping symbols of the other transmission and dropping overlapping symbols of the other transmission; or transmitting the selected UL transmission and dropping all symbols of the other transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “For example, the transmission of an SRS is triggered in the last OFDM symbol in a subframe n of the first serving cell and a PUCCH is transmitted in a subframe m+1 of the second serving cell, due to different TAs, the last OFDM symbol of the subframe n and the first OFDM symbol of the subframe m+1 may overlap partially or entirely… Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”)
For claim 5. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein the one or more conditions involve a comparison of a priority index value for the first UL transmission to a priority index value for the second UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”; more important means higher priority; alternatively, also see paragraph 147-150, “In a second embodiment, a high priority may be put on a UL channel transmitted through a TA group that a primary cell belongs. Let's assume that a first serving cell belonging to a first TA group is a secondary cell and a second serving cell belonging to a second TA group is a primary cell. When UL channels are simultaneously transmitted to the first and second serving cells, the transmit power of a UL channel transmitted to the first serving cell may be reduced first or its transmission may be abandoned.”)
For claim 6. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein: the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission comprise sounding reference signals (SRSs); and the one or more conditions involve a comparison of a time domain behavior of the SRS of the first UL transmission to a time domain behavior of the SRS of the second UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely. An SRS may include a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS… Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”; aperiodic and periodic are time domain behaviors)
For claim 7. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 5, and Ahn further teaches: wherein selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit comprises selecting the SRS of the first UL transmission to transmit based at least in part on one of: the time domain behavior of the SRS of the first UL transmission being set as aperiodic and the time domain behavior of the SRS of the second UL transmission being set as semi-persistent or periodic; the time domain behavior of the SRS of the first UL transmission being set as semi-persistent and the time domain behavior of the SRS of the second UL transmission being set as periodic; the time domain behavior of the SRS of the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission being the same and the SRS of the first UL transmission having an earlier starting time than the SRS of the second UL transmission; the time domain behavior of the SRS of the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission being the same and the SRS of the first UL transmission being associated with a lowest or highest TAG ID of the first TAG and second TAG; or the time domain behavior of the SRS of the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission being the same and the SRS of the first UL transmission being associated with a lowest or highest CORESET pool index value, a lowest or highest close loop index value, or a lowest or highest SRS resource set index. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”; paragraph 12, “The uplink channel may include at least one of a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and a sounding reference signal (SRS).”)
For claim 8. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein: the first UL transmission comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS) and the second UL transmission comprises a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); and the one or more conditions involve evaluation of a time domain behavior of the SRS of the first UL transmission and an uplink control information (UCI) type of the PUCCH of the second UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely. An SRS may include a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS… Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned. The UL channel may include a PUCCH carrying CSI.”; aperiodic and periodic are time domain behaviors; CSI is an uplink control information type)
For claim 9. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 8, and Ahn further teaches: wherein selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit further comprises: selecting the second UL transmission to transmit based at least in part on: the PUCCH carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment information; or the PUCCH carrying channel state information (CSI) and the time domain behavior of the SRS being set as semi-persistent or periodic; or selecting the first UL transmission to transmit based at least in part on the PUCCH not carrying HARQ acknowledgment information and the time domain behavior of the SRS being set as aperiodic. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned. The UL channel may include a PUCCH carrying CSI.”; PUCCH carrying CSI is PUCCH not carrying HARQ acknowledgment information)
For claim 10. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein: the first UL transmission is a sounding reference signal (SRS); and the second UL transmission is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely. An SRS may include a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS.”)
For claim 11. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 10, and Ahn further teaches: wherein selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit comprises: selecting the second UL transmission to transmit based at least in part on the priority index associated with the second UL transmission being same as the priority index associated with the first transmission. (Ahn, paragraph 147-151, “In a first embodiment, a priority may be put on power allocation in the order of a PUCCH of a primary cell, a PUSCH having UCI, a PRACH of a secondary cell, and another channel, From a channel having a low priority, transmit power is reduced or transmission is abandoned, thereby adjusting total transmit power not to exceed the maximum transmit power.”; implicit that when priority of two channels are the same, they are both transmitted since paragraph 109 mentions “Or, a terminal transmits an SRS to a first serving cell and simultaneously transmits a PUCCH/PUSCH to a second serving cell.”)
For claim 12. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein: the first UL transmission is a sounding reference signal (SRS) a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and the second UL transmission is a physical random access channel (PRACH). (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely. An SRS may include a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS.”)
For claim 13. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 12, and Ahn further teaches: wherein selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit comprises: selecting the second UL transmission to transmit. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “According to another embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion and the total transmit power of an SRS and a UL channel exceeds the configured maximum transmit power, SRS transmission may be dropped. If the total transmit power of an SRS and a UL channel does not exceed the configured maximum transmit power, an SRS and a UL channel may be transmitted.”)
For claim 18. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit further comprising: select the first UL transmission to transmit based at least in part on a priority index associated with the first UL transmission being larger than a priority index associated with the second UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”; more important means higher priority; alternatively, also see paragraph 147-150, “In a second embodiment, a high priority may be put on a UL channel transmitted through a TA group that a primary cell belongs. Let's assume that a first serving cell belonging to a first TA group is a secondary cell and a second serving cell belonging to a second TA group is a primary cell. When UL channels are simultaneously transmitted to the first and second serving cells, the transmit power of a UL channel transmitted to the first serving cell may be reduced first or its transmission may be abandoned.”)
For claim 19. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein the potential overlap between the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission is larger than a threshold value. (Ahn, paragraph 119-127, “According to another embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion and the total transmit power of an SRS and a UL channel exceeds the configured maximum transmit power, SRS transmission may be dropped. If the total transmit power of an SRS and a UL channel does not exceed the configured maximum transmit power, an SRS and a UL channel may be transmitted.”)
For claim 20. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Ahn further teaches: wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: treat the scheduling as an error case based at least in part on the potential overlap between the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission being less than a threshold value. (Ahn, paragraph 119-127, “According to another embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion and the total transmit power of an SRS and a UL channel exceeds the configured maximum transmit power, SRS transmission may be dropped. If the total transmit power of an SRS and a UL channel does not exceed the configured maximum transmit power, an SRS and a UL channel may be transmitted.”; transmitting (not dropping) SRS is treating the scheduling as an error case since the claim language doesn’t clearly describe what an error case is)
For claim 25. Ahn teaches: A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: (Ahn, fig 13, paragraph 156-157; fig 8, paragraph 109, 119-127)
detecting that the UE is scheduled to transmit a first uplink (UL) transmission associated with a first timing advance group (TAG) that at least potentially overlaps with a second uplink transmission associated with a second TAG; (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely. An SRS may include a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS.”; SRS is uplink transmission, see paragraph 12; uplink transmissions are performed by terminal (UE), see paragraph 109)
selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit; and transmitting the selected UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”)
For claim 26. Ahn teaches: An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: (Ahn, fig 13, paragraph 156-157)
means (Ahn, fig 13, paragraph 156-157) for detecting that the UE is scheduled to transmit a first uplink (UL) transmission associated with a first timing advance group (TAG) that at least potentially overlaps with a second uplink transmission associated with a second TAG; (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “FIG. 8 illustrates UL transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first serving cell belongs to a first TA group and a second serving cell belongs to a second TA group. An issue is raised when a radio resource used for the transmission of an SRS in the first serving cell and a radio resource used for the transmission of the UL channel of the second serving cell (i.e. at least one of a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and a PRACH) overlap partially or entirely. An SRS may include a periodic SRS and an aperiodic SRS.”; SRS is uplink transmission, see paragraph 12; uplink transmissions are performed by terminal (UE), see paragraph 109)
means (Ahn, fig 13, paragraph 156-157) for selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit; and means for transmitting the selected UL transmission. (Ahn, fig 8, paragraph 119-127, “Since an aperiodic SRS dynamically scheduled by a base station is for the base station to obtain a UL channel state at a specific point, it may be more important than another UL channel. Accordingly, when an aperiodic SRS is triggered, it needs to be treated differently from a periodic SRS. According to an embodiment, if there is the overlapped portion, an aperiodic SRS is transmitted and the transmission of another UL channel in the overlapped portion may be dropped. Additionally, the transmission itself of a UL channel may be abandoned.”)
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn, US 20140126475 in view of Ling, US 20250056667.
For claim 14. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 12, however Ahn doesn’t teach: wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to determine that the second uplink transmission is associated with the second TAG by: determining that the PRACH is associated with one of a set of TAGs associated with a serving cell where the PRACH is to be transmitted, based on at least one of a control resource set (CORESET) pool index value, a synchronization signal block value (SSB) index, and a default TAG index value; or determining that the PRACH is not associated with any of the TAGs of the serving cell where the PRACH is to be transmitted.
Ling from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches: wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to determine that the second uplink transmission is associated with the second TAG by: determining that the PRACH is associated with one of a set of TAGs associated with a serving cell where the PRACH is to be transmitted, based on at least one of a control resource set (CORESET) pool index value, a synchronization signal block value (SSB) index, and a default TAG index value; or determining that the PRACH is not associated with any of the TAGs of the serving cell where the PRACH is to be transmitted. (Ling, paragraph 69-71, “Since each SSB is mapped to or associated with a corresponding PRACH resource in the serving cell, each PRACH resource can be associated with a corresponding TAG according to the association between SSB and TAG. Accordingly, a TA command included in the message in response to a PRACH resource can be associated with a TAG according to the association between TAG and PRACH resource. Returning to FIG. 2, in step 204, the remote side, e.g., the UE will receive the TA command associated with the TAG. In step 206, when the UE transmits an uplink transmission to a TRP associated with the TAG in the serving cell, i.e., an uplink transmission associated with an index, e.g., a CORESETPoolIndex value associated with the TAG, the UE will transmit the uplink transmission associated with the CORESETPoolIndex value in the serving cell according to the TA command, which will be received in the network side in step 207… Since each TAG is mapped to or associated with a CORESETPoolIndex value (i.e., a TRP), a UL transmission in the serving cell can be associated with a TAG according to its associated index, e.g., CORESETPoolIndex value”)
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Ling into Ahn, since Ahn suggests a technique for communicating PRACH associated with a TAG, and Ling suggests the beneficial way of including into such technique determining that the PRACH is associated with the TAG based on SSB value and/or CORESET pool index value since it’s well-known in the art that since each SSB is mapped to or associated with a corresponding PRACH resource in the serving cell, each PRACH resource can be associated with a corresponding TAG according to the association between SSB and TAG and since each TAG is mapped to or associated with a CORESETPoolIndex value, a UL transmission in the serving cell can be associated with a TAG according to its associated CORESETPoolIndex value (Ling, paragraph 69-71) thus doing so would ease implementation and improve compatibility in the analogous art of communication.
Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn, US 20140126475 in view of Han, US 20170223694.
For claim 15. Ahn discloses all the limitations of claim 1, however Ahn doesn’t teach: wherein: the first UL transmission comprises a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and the second UL transmission comprises a PUCCH or PUSCH; and the one or more conditions involve a comparison of content carried on the first UL transmission to content on the second UL transmission.
Han from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches: wherein: the first UL transmission comprises a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and the second UL transmission comprises a PUCCH or PUSCH; and the one or more conditions involve a comparison of content carried on the first UL transmission to content on the second UL transmission. (Han, paragraph 40-41, “In one configuration, legacy power control rules can be applied, as further defined in 3GPP TS 36.213 Section 5.1. After the legacy power control rules are applied, a total transmit power can be adjusted to not exceed the maximum transmission power (Pcmax) on an overlapped portion of a given subframe. This technique can also be applicable to other physical channel combinations, such as the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), physical random access channel (PRACH), etc… This configuration can be applied to PUCCHs having the same priority level. For instance, when the first PUCCH 212 of the MCG carries the HARQ-ACK or SR and the second PUCCH 214 of the SCG carries the CSI (i.e., which are carried with different priorities), the second PUCCH 214 of the SCG is dropped and the first PUCCH 212 of the MCG is transmitted.”)
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Han into Ahn, since Ahn suggests a technique for selecting an uplink transmission among overlapping uplink transmissions, and Han suggests the beneficial way of including into such technique having such uplink transmissions to be PUCCH transmissions and performing such selecting based on the contents (such as HARQ-ACK, CSI) carried on such transmissions to conform to the priorities of such contents and not exceed maximum transmission power limit (Han, paragraph 20, 40-41) in the analogous art of communication.
For claim 16. Ahn and Han disclose all the limitations of claim 15, however Ahn doesn’t teach: wherein selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit comprises: selecting the first UL transmission to transmit based at least in part on one of: the first UL transmission carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment information or channel state information and the second UL transmission carrying data; the first UL transmission carrying HARQ acknowledgement information and second UL transmission carrying channel state information; the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission carrying same content and the first UL transmission having an earlier starting time than the second UL transmission; the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission carrying the same content and the first UL transmission being associated with a lowest or highest TAG ID of the first TAG and second TAG; the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission carrying the same content and the first UL transmission being associated with a lowest or highest control resource set (CORESET) pool index value, a lowest or highest close loop index value, or a lowest or highest resource set index.
Han from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches: wherein selecting, based on one or more conditions, one of the first or second UL transmissions to transmit comprises: selecting the first UL transmission to transmit based at least in part on one of: the first UL transmission carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment information or channel state information and the second UL transmission carrying data; the first UL transmission carrying HARQ acknowledgement information and second UL transmission carrying channel state information; the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission carrying same content and the first UL transmission having an earlier starting time than the second UL transmission; the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission carrying the same content and the first UL transmission being associated with a lowest or highest TAG ID of the first TAG and second TAG; the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission carrying the same content and the first UL transmission being associated with a lowest or highest control resource set (CORESET) pool index value, a lowest or highest close loop index value, or a lowest or highest resource set index. (Han, paragraph 40-41, “In one configuration, legacy power control rules can be applied, as further defined in 3GPP TS 36.213 Section 5.1. After the legacy power control rules are applied, a total transmit power can be adjusted to not exceed the maximum transmission power (Pcmax) on an overlapped portion of a given subframe. This technique can also be applicable to other physical channel combinations, such as the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), physical random access channel (PRACH), etc… This configuration can be applied to PUCCHs having the same priority level. For instance, when the first PUCCH 212 of the MCG carries the HARQ-ACK or SR and the second PUCCH 214 of the SCG carries the CSI (i.e., which are carried with different priorities), the second PUCCH 214 of the SCG is dropped and the first PUCCH 212 of the MCG is transmitted.”)
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Han into Ahn, since Ahn suggests a technique for selecting an uplink transmission among overlapping uplink transmissions, and Han suggests the beneficial way of including into such technique having such uplink transmissions to be PUCCH transmissions and performing such selecting based on the contents (such as HARQ-ACK, CSI) carried on such transmissions, wherein PUCCH that carries HARQ-ACK is selected while PUCCH that carries CSI is dropped, to conform to the priorities of such contents and not exceed maximum transmission power limit (Han, paragraph 20, 40-41) in the analogous art of communication.
For claim 17. Han and Ahn disclose all the limitations of claim 16, however Ahn doesn’t teach: wherein the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission are associated with a same priority index.
Han from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches: wherein the first UL transmission and the second UL transmission are associated with a same priority index. (Han, paragraph 40-41, “In one configuration, legacy power control rules can be applied, as further defined in 3GPP TS 36.213 Section 5.1. After the legacy power control rules are applied, a total transmit power can be adjusted to not exceed the maximum transmission power (Pcmax) on an overlapped portion of a given subframe. This technique can also be applicable to other physical channel combinations, such as the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), physical random access channel (PRACH), etc… This configuration can be applied to PUCCHs having the same priority level. For instance, when the first PUCCH 212 of the MCG carries the HARQ-ACK or SR and the second PUCCH 214 of the SCG carries the CSI (i.e., which are carried with different priorities), the second PUCCH 214 of the SCG is dropped and the first PUCCH 212 of the MCG is transmitted.”)
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Han into Ahn, since Ahn suggests a technique for selecting an uplink transmission among overlapping uplink transmissions, and Han suggests the beneficial way of including into such technique having such uplink transmissions to be PUCCH transmissions (which have the same priority level) and performing such selecting based on the contents (such as HARQ-ACK, CSI) carried on such transmissions, wherein PUCCH that carries HARQ-ACK is selected while PUCCH that carries CSI is dropped, to conform to the priorities of such contents and not exceed maximum transmission power limit (Han, paragraph 20, 40-41) in the analogous art of communication.
Conclusion
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/KHOA HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
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