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
Claim 27 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 27 recites, “DCI” in line 11. For clarity, it is suggested to fully describe acronym when reciting for the first time in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 17 and 27 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 17, recites the limitation “the set of parameters” in line 1. It is unclear as to whether “the set of parameters” in line 1 is related to the “an initial set of parameters” in claim 1 line 5, or the “an updated set of parameters” in claim 1 line 7.
Regarding claim 27, the occurrence of “the update DCI messages” in line 11 has no antecedent basis.
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)(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, 2, 9, 10, 15-17, 19, 27 and 54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Singh et al(US 2024/0244617 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Singh ‘617 teaches, a method for an infrastructure equipment ([0053], [0094] and Figs. 5, 22, method performed by a network node, such as a gNodeB (gNB), which serves as the infrastructure equipment in a wireless communication network), the method comprising: transmitting, to a communications device, an activation message ([0109], [0115], [0141] and Fig. 3, the gNB first activation DCI 130, activation DCI and activation RRC messaging [0115]), wherein the activation message configures the communications device to monitor a plurality of periodic scheduling windows for downlink transmissions ([0095]-[0096], [0110] and Figs. 3, 22, activating preconfigured periodic allocation having repeated transmission occasions with a fixed period P for DL-SPS) wherein the activation message indicates an initial set of parameters for the downlink transmissions([0109], [0110] , [0115] and Fig. 3, the first activation DCI supplies the initial 20%/80% resource division shone in Fig.3, with fixed resource size R and period P);
transmitting, to the communications device, an update message, wherein the update message indicates an updated set of parameters for one or more of the downlink transmissions ([0050], [0111], [0141] and Fig. 3, the network node transmitting an updated DCI to indicate a new division or change of resource for specific SPS occasions); and
transmitting, to the communications device and during a scheduling window of the plurality of periodic scheduling windows, a downlink transmission according to the updated set of parameters([0057], [0058], [0141] and Fig. 3, for DL SPS the network node transmits the downlink data to the wireless device during the transmission occasion based on the new allocation provided in the update DCI. The transmission occurs in the subsequent scheduled window using the updated parameter split for the different traffic types).
Regarding claim 2, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above, Singh ‘617 further teaches, wherein the update message is embedded within a payload of the downlink transmission ([0142], the network node multiplexing the DCI with data payload within the transport block (TBs)).
Regarding claim 9, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above, Singh ‘617 further teaches, wherein the update message is transmitted prior to the downlink transmission ([0111] and Fig. 3, the gNB sending the update DCI after a first transmission occasion to indicate a change in the division of resources for a second, upcoming transmission occasion).
Regarding claim 10, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above, Singh ‘617 further teaches, wherein the update message is transmitted in a control channel transmission ([0059], [0060] and Fig. 3, DCI for SPS scheduling being transmitted over PDCCH).
Regarding claim 15, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above, Singh ‘617 further teaches, wherein the update message instructs the communications device to monitor for a further downlink transmission scheduled after the downlink transmission, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting, to the communications device, the further downlink transmission([0112] and Fig. 3, the update DCI can simultaneously indicate a specific resource division for a first transmission occasion x and a different resource allocation for a subsequent transmission occasion x + 1. By providing scheduling allocation for consecutive upcoming occasions in a single update, the message inherently instructs the device to monitor for an receive the further scheduled downlink transmission).
Regarding claim 16, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above, Singh ‘617 further teaches, wherein a payload of the downlink transmission includes only the update message ([0060], only update DCI may be sent).
Regarding claim 17, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above, Singh ‘617 further teaches, wherein the set of parameters indicate a change to one or more of: a transport block size of the downlink transmissions; a frequency allocation of the downlink transmissions; a timing of the downlink transmissions; and a modulation and/or coding rate of the downlink transmissions([0098], [0153], update information can indicate new or updated encoding parameters (MCS) which maps to modulation/coding rate. Dynamically changing the portion of the resource assigned to specific traffic types, which changes the TB size for the downlink transmissions).
Regarding claim 19, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above, Singh ‘617 further teaches, wherein the update message indicates that the updated set of parameters is applicable to a fixed number of downlink transmissions([0114], [0115] and Fig. 3, the update DCI can include a parameter X which controls that the newly indicated division of resources applies only for X number of occasions(e.g. X=10 transmission occasions). After this fixed number of transmissions, the resource division automatically switches back to a previous or default allocation).
Regarding claim 27, Singh ‘617 teaches, an infrastructure equipment comprising([0168], [0169] and Figs. 5, 6, method performed by a network node, such as a gNodeB(gNB), which serves as the infrastructure equipment in a wireless communication network): a transceiver configured to transmit signals to and/or to receive signals from communications device via a wireless radio interface provided by the infrastructure equipment([0173], [0176] and Fig. 6, the network node includes radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry and radio front end circuitry connected to an antenna. The transceiver circuitry is configured to transmit and receive wireless signals to and from wireless devices over a radio interface), and a controller configured in combination with the transceiver to([0171], [0172] and Fig. 6, processor communicating with RF transceiver circuitry):
transmit, to a communications device, an activation message([0109], [0115], [0141] and Fig. 3, the gNB first activation DCI 130, activation DCI and activation RRC messaging[0115]), wherein the activation message configures the communications device to monitor a plurality of periodic scheduling windows for downlink transmissions([0095]-[0096], [0110] and Figs. 3, 22, activating preconfigured periodic allocation having repeated transmission occasions with a fixed period P for DL-SPS), wherein the activation message indicates an initial set of parameters for the downlink transmissions([0109], [0110] , [0115] and Fig. 3, the first activation DCI supplies the initial 20%/80% resource division shone in Fig.3, with fixed resource size R and period P);
transmit, to the communications device, an update message, wherein the update DCI messages indicates an updated set of parameters for one or more of the downlink transmissions ([0050], [0111], [0141] and Fig. 3, the network node transmitting an updated DCI to indicate a new division or change of resource for specific SPS occasions); and transmit, to the communications device and during a scheduling window of the plurality of periodic scheduling windows, a downlink transmission according to the updated set of parameters([0057], [0058], [0141] and Fig. 3, for DL SPS the network node transmits the downlink data to the wireless device during the transmission occasion based on the new allocation provided in the update DCI. The transmission occurs in the subsequent scheduled window using the updated parameter split for the different traffic types).
Regarding claim 54, Singh ‘617 teaches, a communications device comprising([0093], [0182] and Figs. 5, 7, UE or wireless device that operates and communicates with a cellular network): a transceiver configured to transmit signals to and/or to receive signals from an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network via a wireless radio interface provided by the wireless communications network([0184], [0187] and Fig. 7, a wireless device comprising RF transceiver circuit and antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals to and from network nodes), and a controller configured in combination with the transceiver to([0186], [0187] and Fig. 7, a processor in combination with RF transceiver):
receive, from an infrastructure equipment, an activation message([0109], [0115], [0141] and Fig. 3, the UE receiving from the gNB first activation DCI 130, activation DCI and activation RRC messaging[0115]), wherein the activation message configures the communications device to monitor a plurality of periodic scheduling windows for downlink transmissions([0095]-[0096], [0110] and Figs. 3, 22, activating preconfigured periodic allocation having repeated transmission occasions with a fixed period P for DL-SPS), wherein the activation message indicates an initial set of parameters for the downlink transmissions([0109], [0110] , [0115] and Fig. 3, the first activation DCI supplies the initial 20%/80% resource division shone in Fig.3, with fixed resource size R and period P);
receive, from the infrastructure equipment, an update message, wherein the update message indicates an updated set of parameters for one or more of the downlink transmissions([0050], [0111], [0141] and Fig. 3, the network node transmitting an updated DCI to indicate a new division or change of resource for specific SPS occasions); monitor, a scheduling window of the plurality of periodic scheduling windows([0045], [0046] and Fig. 2, after enabling the SPS scheduling , the device continues to monitor the set of candidate PDCCH and the periodic scheduling windows to receive the scheduled downlink data transmission); and
receive, from the infrastructure equipment and during the scheduling window, a downlink transmission according to the updated set of parameters ([0055], [0056], [0141] and Fig. 3, the wireless device receives the downlink data associated with the different traffic types during the transmission occasion based on the updated allocation. The downlink transmission is received in the subsequent scheduled widow using the updated parameter split provided in the update DCI).
Claim Rejections – 35 USC§ 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3, 4, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh ‘617 in view of Fehrenbach et al(US 2026/0142769 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message is encoded differently to payload data of the downlink transmission.
Fehrenbach ‘769 teaches, wherein the update message is encoded differently to payload data of the downlink transmission ([0054]-[0056] and Figs. 7, 8. DCI associated with downlink user data is encoded differently from the payload data).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Fehrenbach ‘769, since such modification allows to achieve a higher spectral efficiency for transmitting the user payload data, as suggested by Fehrenbach ‘769([0055]).
Regarding claim 4, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message is modulated differently to payload data of the downlink transmission.
Fehrenbach ‘769 further teaches, wherein the update message is modulated differently to payload data of the downlink transmission ([0054]-[0056] and Figs. 7, 8. DCI associated with downlink user data is modulated differently from the payload data).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Fehrenbach ‘769, since such modification allows to achieve a higher spectral efficiency for transmitting the user payload data, as suggested by Fehrenbach ‘769([0055]).
Regarding claim 7, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message is included at a beginning of a payload of the downlink transmission.
Fehrenbach ‘769 teaches, wherein the update message is included at a beginning of a payload of the downlink transmission ([0049]-[0050], [0056] and Figs 5. 8, placing the control information fields before the user data section).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Fehrenbach ‘769, since such modification allows to achieve a higher spectral efficiency for transmitting the user payload data, as suggested by Fehrenbach ‘769([0055]).
Regarding claim 8, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the downlink transmission includes an update indicator configured to indicate the presence of the update message within the downlink transmission.
Fehrenbach ‘769 teaches, wherein the downlink transmission includes an update indicator configured to indicate the presence of the update message within the downlink transmission ([0066], [0068] and Figs. 12-13, signaling that additional information is present and the control information may include a flag indicating the presence of additional information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Fehrenbach ‘769, since such modification allows to achieve a higher spectral efficiency for transmitting the user payload data, as suggested by Fehrenbach ‘769([0055]).
Claims 5, 6, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh ‘617 in view of Uchino et al(US 2017/0013647 A1)
Regarding claim 5, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message mapped to predetermined frequency resources of the downlink transmission.
Uchino ‘647 teaches, wherein the update message mapped to predetermined frequency resources of the downlink transmission ([0031]-[0033] and Figs. 5-6, maps control information to a predetermine frequency resources).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Uchino ‘647, since such modification would enable to to decrease the number of candidates that become targets of blind decoding performed when receiving control information transmitted by a downlink control channel in a user apparatus, as suggested by Uchino ‘647([0047]).
Regarding claim 6, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message is distributed across a plurality of time resources within a payload of the downlink transmission.
Uchino ‘647 teaches, wherein the update message is distributed across a plurality of time resources within a payload of the downlink transmission ([0014], [0021] and Fig. 6, DCI aggregation over multiple CCEs and distributed mapping for control information (EPDCCH).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Uchino ‘647, since such modification would enable to to decrease the number of candidates that become targets of blind decoding performed when receiving control information transmitted by a downlink control channel in a user apparatus, as suggested by Uchino ‘647([0047]).
Regarding claim 12, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message is transmitted in a predetermined update window prior to the scheduling window
Uchino ‘647 teaches, wherein the update message is transmitted in a predetermined update window prior to the scheduling window([0017], [0093],[0094] and Fig. 4, 14 a predetermined control message reception window before a scheduled transmission).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Uchino ‘647, since such modification would enable to to decrease the number of candidates that become targets of blind decoding performed when receiving control information transmitted by a downlink control channel in a user apparatus, as suggested by Uchino ‘647([0047]).
Regarding claim 13, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message is transmitted to a plurality of communications devices.
Uchino ‘647 teaches, wherein the update message is transmitted to a plurality of communications devices ([0012], [0013] and Fig 16, transmitting PDCCH to multiple UEs)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Uchino ‘647, since such modification would enable to to decrease the number of candidates that become targets of blind decoding performed when receiving control information transmitted by a downlink control channel in a user apparatus, as suggested by Uchino ‘647([0047]).
Claims 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh ‘617 in view of Elshafie et al(US 2022/0124741 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the updated set of parameters indicate an earlier timing for the scheduling window.
Elshafie ‘741 teaches, wherein the updated set of parameters indicate an earlier timing for the scheduling window([0086], [0111], [0162] and Figs. 11, 21-22, multiple SPS configurations having different starting times and periodicities, activation of a selected configuration by a DCI index, and SPS reactivation DCI that updates parameters for upcoming SPS occasions).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Elshafie ‘741, since such modification would provide a method and system for efficient interference and channel measurement using semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resources, as suggested by Elshafie ‘741([0006]).
Regarding claim 14, Singh ‘617 teaches all of the claim limitations above except, wherein the update message is included within a demodulation reference signal of the downlink transmission.
Elshafie ‘741 teaches, wherein the update message is included within a demodulation reference signal of the downlink transmission ([0117]-[0119] and Figs. 14-15, a SPS information is transmitted through DMRS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Singh ‘617 by incorporating the teaching of Elshafie ‘741, since such modification would provide a method and system for efficient interference and channel measurement using semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resources, as suggested by Elshafie ‘741([0006]).
Internet Communications
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, which can be found: http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; or (3) EFS WEB. Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AWET A HAILE whose telephone number is (571)270-3114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM EST.
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, Michael Thier can be reached at (571)272-2832. 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.
/AWET HAILE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
Prosecution Insights