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 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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huang et al. (Huang), U.S. Publication No. 2021/0336668.
Regarding Claims 1 and 11, Huang discloses a terminal (the UE shown in
figure 12), comprising:
control circuitry (i.e., determination component 1240; see figure 12), which, in
operation, determines one combination from a plurality of combinations (i.e., based on the payload, a UE can select one sequence out of the codebook, e.g.,
2
10
sequences, and then transmit this sequence.; see paragraph [0059]) according to a value of an information bit in an uplink transmission without using a reference signal (i.e., non-orthogonal sequences can transmit a PUCCH in a non-coherent fashion. For instance, non-coherent transmission can refer to transmitting a UCI payload without a DMRS, so the receiver can decode based on the payload and not the DMRS. This design can be utilized with a median UCI payload, e.g., an 8-bit to 40-bit payload; see paragraph [0058]), each of the plurality of combinations being a combination of a sequence and a frequency resource (i.e., on the UE Tx side, given an assigned PUCCH resource (a time and frequency grid, e.g., a RB)… So a time and frequency grid can be assigned to the PUCCH, e.g., using N OFDM symbols and M frequency tones. In some instances, the UE can utilize this resource to transmit K bits of UCI payload.; see paragraph [0062]); and
transmission circuitry (i.e., transmission component 1234; see figure 12),
which, in operation, transmits the sequence included in the one combination by using the frequency resource included in the one combination (i.e., the UE can then transmit the
k
t
h
entry or codepoint in the codebook.; see paragraph [0064]).
Regarding Claim 2, Huang discloses wherein: the frequency resource is a
resource block allocated to the uplink transmission, and the control circuitry selects one resource block among a plurality of the resource blocks according to the value of the information bit (see paragraph [0059]-[0061]).
Regarding Claim 3, Huang discloses wherein: the frequency resource is a
plurality of subcarrier groups obtained by dividing each of a plurality of resource blocks, the plurality of resource blocks being allocated to the uplink transmission, and the control circuitry selects one subcarrier group among the plurality of subcarrier groups according to the value of the information bit (see paragraph [0040] and figure 2D).
Regarding Claim 5, Huang discloses wherein an upper limit value is configured
to an amount of the frequency resource (see figures 2A-2D).
Regarding Claim 6, Huang discloses wherein in a case where a number of
candidates for combinations corresponding to the information bit is smaller than 2N, 2N candidates for the combination are generated by using one or a plurality of orthogonal sequences, one or a plurality of the frequency resources, and at least one non-orthogonal sequence, each of the combinations being a combination of one of the plurality of orthogonal sequences and one of the plurality of frequency resources. the information bit being N-bit information bit (see paragraph [0060]).
Regarding Claim 7, Huang discloses wherein a combination of one of the
plurality of subcarrier groups is associated with the value of the information bit, the one of the plurality of subcarrier groups being selected individually for each of the plurality of resource blocks (see figures 2A, 2C).
Regarding Claim 8, Huang discloses wherein a combination of one of the
plurality of subcarrier groups is associated with the value of the information bit, the one of the plurality of subcarrier groups being selected individually for each of a plurality of symbols assigned to the uplink transmission (see paragraph [0040] and figure 2D).
Regarding Claim 9, Huang discloses wherein a combination of the frequency
resource is associated with the value of the information bit, the frequency resource being selected individually for each of a plurality of symbols allocated to the uplink transmission (see figures 6 & 7).
Regarding Claims 10 and 12, Huang discloses a base station (i.e., base
station shown in figure 13), comprising:
reception circuitry (i.e., reception component 1330; see figure 13), which, in
operation, receives a signal (i.e., the base station can receive the signals, e.g., signal y, on the PUCCH resource (a time*frequency grid, e.g., a RB); see paragraph [0065]); and
control circuitry (i.e., determination component 1340; see figure 13), which, in
operation, identifies, based on an association of a value of an information bit with a combination of a sequence and a frequency resource in an uplink transmission without using a reference signal (i.e., non-orthogonal sequences can transmit a PUCCH in a non-coherent fashion. For instance, non-coherent transmission can refer to transmitting a UCI payload without a DMRS, so the receiver can decode based on the payload and not the DMRS. This design can be utilized with a median UCI payload, e.g., an 8-bit to 40-bit payload; see paragraph [0058]), the value of the information bit corresponding to a sequence included in the signal and a frequency resource used for the signal (in other words, given an assigned PUCCH resource (a time and frequency grid, e.g., a RB)… So a time and frequency grid can be assigned to the PUCCH, e.g., using N OFDM symbols and M frequency tones. In some instances, the UE can utilize this resource to transmit K bits of UCI payload.; see paragraph [0062]).
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.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang in view of Pajukoski et al. (Pajukoski), U.S. Publication No. 2025/0055640.
Regarding Claim 4, Huang discloses the terminal wherein one of the plurality of subcarrier groups includes a subcarrier in the resource block (seen figures 2A-2D) as described above. Huang fails to disclose a comb-shaped subcarrier. Pajukoski discloses a comb-shaped subcarrier (see paragraph [0045]). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Pajukoski’s invention with Huang’s invention for improving wireless performance with high reliability and very low latency (see paragraph [0004] of Pajukoski).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHANTELL LAKETA HEIBER whose telephone number is (571)272-0886. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 9am to 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Addy, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-7795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHANTELL L HEIBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
July 14, 2026
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