DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
2. Claims 1-30 are presented for examination.
Abstract
3. The abstract of the disclosure is acceptable for examination purposes.
Oath Declaration
4. The Oath complies with all the requirements set forth in MPEP 602 and therefore is accepted.
Drawings
5. The drawings received on 10/16/2024 are acceptable for examination purposes.
Information Disclosure Statement
6. The references listed in the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/16/2024 & 10/29/2025 have been considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Form PTO- 1449 is signed and attached hereto.
Specification
7. The specification is objected to because:
In paragraph [0001] states that the present application for Patent is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/471,277, but does not provide the current status of this continuation applications which is now U.S Patent No. US 12149482 B2.
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.
8. Use of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is invoked is rebutted when the function is recited with sufficient structure, material, or acts within the claim itself to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is not invoked is rebutted when the claim element recites function but fails to recite sufficiently definite structure, material or acts to perform that function. Claim elements in this application that use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Similarly, claim elements that do not use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed not to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
9. Claim limitations "--- means for transmitting a transport block----; means for transmitting an indication to group code blocks ----; and means for receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group---," as recited in claim 27 have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because they use "means" coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function.
10. Claim limitation "--- means for transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups---," as recited in claim 28 has been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because they use "means" coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function.
11. Claim limitation "--- means for identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks----," as recited in claim 29 has been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because they use "means" coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim(s) has/have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. Therefore, claim elements in this application that use the word "means" (or "step for") and the aforementioned equivalents are presumed to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Applicant may:
(a) Amend the claim so that the claim limitation will no longer be interpreted as a limitation under 35 U.S.C. 112 (f) (Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph); or
(b) Amend the written description of the specification such that it clearly links or associates the corresponding structure, material, or acts to the claimed function without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(c) State on the record where the corresponding structure, material, or acts are set forth in the written description of the specification and linked or associated to the claimed function. For more information, see 37 CFR 1.75(d) and MPEP §§ 608.01(o) and 2181.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
12. Claims 1-9, 11-22, and 24-30 are non-provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-9, 11-22, and 24-30 respectively of the U.S patent No. 12,149,482 B2 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-9, 11-22, and 24-30 of the present application are substantially equivalent to claims 1-9, 11-22, and 24-30 of the reference application as shown in the chart and explanation below.
Instant Application No. 18/917,895
U.S Patent No. 12,149,482 B2
Claim 1:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor, with instructions stored in the at least one memory, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks;
transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 1:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor, with instructions stored in the at least one memory, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks;
transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 2:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 2:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 3:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 3:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 4:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 4:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 5:
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 5:
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 6:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 6:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 7:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: identify a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 7:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: identify a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 8:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 8:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 9:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 9:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 11:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 11:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 12:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication assigns at least one code block of the plurality of code blocks to a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 12:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication assigns at least one code block of the plurality of code blocks to the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 13:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: determine one or more code blocks for retransmission based at least in part on the indication and the received acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group; and retransmit the one or more code blocks based at least in part on the determination.
Claim 13:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: determine one or more code blocks for retransmission based at least in part on the indication and the received acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group; and retransmit the one or more code blocks based at least in part on the determination.
Claim 14:
A method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks;
transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 14:
A method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks;
transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 15:
The method of claim 14, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 15:
The method of claim 14, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 16:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 16:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 17:
The method of claim 14, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 17:
The method of claim 14, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 18:
The method of claim 17, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 18:
The method of claim 17, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 19:
The method of claim 14, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 19:
The method of claim 14, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 20:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 20:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 21:
The method of claim 14, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 21:
The method of claim 14, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 22:
The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 22:
The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 24:
The method of claim 14, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 24:
The method of claim 14, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 25:
The method of claim 14, wherein the indication assigns at least one code block of the plurality of code blocks to a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 25:
The method of claim 14, wherein the indication assigns at least one code block of the plurality of code blocks to the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 26:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining one or more code blocks for retransmission based at least in part on the indication and the received acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group; and retransmitting the one or more code blocks based at least in part on the determination.
Claim 26:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining one or more code blocks for retransmission based at least in part on the indication and the received acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group; and retransmitting the one or more code blocks based at least in part on the determination.
Claim 27:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; means for transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and means for receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 27:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; means for transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and means for receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 28:
The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: means for transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 28:
The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: means for transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 29:
The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: means for identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 29:
The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: means for identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 30:
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to:
transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 30:
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to:
transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
From the table above, claims 1-8, 11, 13-21, 24, and 26-30 of the reference application contain every limitation of claims 1-8, 11, 13-21, 24, and 26-30 respectively of the instant application and as such broader application (instant application) claims are anticipated by the narrower application (reference application). Claims 9, 12, 22, and 25 of the reference application contain every limitation of claims 9, 12, 22, and 25 respectively of the instant application, except wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, that the one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the reference application can include the first plurality of code block groups since the code blocks include a plurality of code blocks. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the modification because it would have improved data reliability of the communication system. Thus, claims 1-9, 11-22, and 24-30 of the present application are not patentably distinct over the patent application because both applications contain substantially the same limitations performing the same function. This is a non-provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have been patented.
13. Claims 1-11, 14-24, 27, 28, and 30 are non-provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 12-22, 1-11, 23, 24, and 27 respectively of the U.S patent No. 11,799,611 B2 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-11, 14-24, 27, 28, and 30 of the present application are substantially equivalent to claims 12-22, 1-11, 23, 24, and 27 of the reference application as shown in the chart and explanation below.
Instant Application No. 18/917,895
U.S Patent No. 11,799,611 B2
Claim 1:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor, with instructions stored in the at least one memory, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 12:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; and memory coupled with the processor, with instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
receive a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; receive an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks, a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
and each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks
and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and transmit an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 2:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 13:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 3:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 14:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 4:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 15:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 5:
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 16:
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 6:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 17:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 7:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: identify a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 18:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 8:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 19:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 9:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 20:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a plurality of code block groups.
Claim 10:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each code block group of a second plurality of code block groups comprises a code block from each of a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups, and wherein the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise the second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 21:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the plurality of code blocks are grouped into a first plurality of code block groups and a second plurality of code block groups, wherein each code block group of the second plurality of code block groups comprises a code block from each of the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 11:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 22:
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 14:
A method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 1:
A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; receiving an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
and each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks
and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and transmitting an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 15:
The method of claim 14, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 2:
The method of claim 1, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 16:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 3:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 17:
The method of claim 14, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 4:
The method of claim 1, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 18:
The method of claim 17, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 5:
The method of claim 4, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 19:
The method of claim 14, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 6:
The method of claim 1, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 20:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 7:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 21:
The method of claim 14, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 8:
The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 22:
The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 9:
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a plurality of code block groups.
Claim 23:
The method of claim 14, wherein each code block group of a second plurality of code block groups comprises a code block from each of a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups, and wherein the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise the second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 10:
The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of code blocks are grouped into a first plurality of code block groups and a second plurality of code block groups, wherein each code block group of the second plurality of code block groups comprises a code block from each of the first plurality of code block groups.
Claim 24:
The method of claim 14, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 11:
The method of claim 1, wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups.
Claim 27:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; means for transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and means for receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 23:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; means for receiving an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
and each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks
and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and means for transmitting an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 28:
The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: means for transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 24:
The apparatus of claim 23, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 30:
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to:
transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 27:
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:
receive a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; receive an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting,
wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprise a first plurality of code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, the one or more code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks comprise a second plurality of code block groups of the second quantity of code blocks, the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks,
and each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks
and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and transmit an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
From the table above, claims 12-21, 1-8, 10, 11, 23, 24, and 27 of the reference application contain every limitation of claims 1-8, 10, 11, 14-19, 21-24, 27, 28, and 30 respectively of the instant application, except the instant application is related to transmitting side and the reference application is related to receiving side. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, that receiving side can includes all the transmitted feature that transmitted from the transmitting side. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the modification because it would have improved data reliability of the wireless communication system. Also, claims 20 and 9 of the reference application contain every limitation of claims 9 and 22 respectively of the instant application, except wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, that the one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the reference application can include the first plurality of code block groups since the code blocks include a plurality of code blocks. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the modification because it would have improved data reliability of the communication system. Thus, claims 1-11, 14-24, 27, 28, and 30 of the present application are not patentably distinct over the patent application because both applications contain substantially the same limitations performing the same function. This is a non-provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have been patented.
14. Claims 1-4, 7, 14-20, 27, and 28 are non-provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 17-21, 1-2, 4-8, 22, and 26 respectively of the U.S patent No. 11,171,758 B2 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-4, 7, 14-20, 27, and 28 of the present application are substantially equivalent to claims 17-21, 1-2, 4-8, 22, and 26 of the reference application as shown in the chart and explanation below.
Instant Application No. 18/917,895
U.S Patent No. 11,171,758 B2
Claim 1:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor, with instructions stored in the at least one memory, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 17:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and operable, when executed by the processor, to cause the apparatus to:
receive a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; receive an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks,
and a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, wherein the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks; identify that each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on the indication, wherein: each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and transmit an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication;
the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 2:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 18:
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 3:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 19:
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: receive an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 4:
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 20:
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 7:
The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: identify a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 21:
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: identify a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or a combination thereof.
Claim 14:
A method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks;
transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 1:
A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks;
receiving an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, and a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, wherein the first quantity of code blocks is different from the second quantity of code blocks; identifying that each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on the indication, wherein: each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and transmitting an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication;
and the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks.
Claim 15:
The method of claim 14, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 2:
The method of claim 1, wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded.
Claim 16:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 4:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 17:
The method of claim 14, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 5:
The method of claim 1, wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group.
Claim 18:
The method of claim 17, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 6:
The method of claim 5, wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain.
Claim 19:
The method of claim 14, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 7:
The method of claim 1, wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups.
Claim 20:
The method of claim 14, further comprising: identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof.
Claim 8:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or a combination thereof.
Claim 27:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for transmitting a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks;
means for transmitting an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks,
each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks, and each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks;
and means for receiving an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 22:
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and operable, when executed by the processor, to cause the apparatus to:
receive a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks; receive an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting, wherein a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, and a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, and wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a plurality of code block groups; identify that each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on the indication, wherein: each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks; and the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks;
and transmit an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication.
Claim 28:
The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: means for transmitting an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
Claim 26:
The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to: receive an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed.
From the table above, claims 17-21, 1-2, 4-8, 22, and 26 of the reference application contain every limitation of claims 1-4, 7, 14-20, 27, and 28 respectively of the instant application, except the instant application is related to transmitting side and the reference application is related to receiving side.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, that receiving side can includes all the transmitted feature that transmitted from the transmitting side. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the modification because it would have improved data reliability of the communication system. Thus, claims 1-4, 7, 14-20, 27, and 28 of the present application are not patentably distinct over the patent application because both applications contain substantially the same limitations performing the same function. This is a non-provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have been patented.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained through the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived 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(a) 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.
15. Claims 1-9, 11-22, and 24-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 (a) as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 20140053049 A1) "herein after as Chen" in view of Lin (U.S. PN: 2019/0386781).
As per claims 1, 14, 29, and 30:
Chen substantially teaches or discloses an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor, with instructions stored in the at least one memory, the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to cause the apparatus to (see paragraph [0013], herein the present disclosure describes an apparatus for wireless communication, which includes at least one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor. In addition, the at least one processor is configured to decode a code block from a plurality of code blocks corresponding to a transport block): transmit a transport block that comprises a plurality of code blocks (see paragraph [0034], herein user equipment 102 and/or network entity may be configured to encode transport blocks for transmission to a receiving device. FIG. 2 illustrates a non-limiting example structure of a transport block and its encoding. For example, at stage 206, the transport block may be a unitary block of bits carrying information to be transmitted by a transmitting device; paragraph [0035], herein the transmitting device may break the transport block-CRC of stage 208 into code blocks at stage 210; and Fig. 2); transmit an indication to group code blocks of the plurality of code blocks of the transport block for feedback reporting (see paragraph [0081], herein Among these physical channels, the HS-DPCCH carries the HARQ ACK/NACK signaling on the uplink to indicate whether a corresponding packet transmission was decoded successfully), wherein: a first set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a first quantity of code blocks, a second set of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped into one or more code block groups comprising a second quantity of code blocks, each code block group comprises a distinct subset of code blocks of the plurality of code blocks,(see paragraph [0035], herein these code blocks may comprise M code blocks and may therefore include code block 1 to code block M. Furthermore, each code block may undergo turbo encoding, for example, by a turbo encoder to form separate turbo codewords at stage 212, and Fig. 2 turbo codeword 1 & 2 turbo codeword 2); and receive an acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group based at least in part on the indication (see paragraph [0097], herein Control signals carried by successfully decoded frames will be provided to a controller/processor 1190. When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by the receiver processor 1170, the controller/processor 1190 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames).
Chen does not explicitly teach each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks.
However, Lin in same field of endeavor teaches each code block group of the one or more code block groups comprising the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks (see paragraph [0005], herein determining, by a terminal device, first quantity information, wherein the first quantity information is information about a number of code block groups included in a transport block, and each code block group includes at least one code block, paragraph [0061], S110, the first quantity information is used to indicate the number of the code block groups included in the scheduled transport block. Or it can be understood that the first quantity information is used to indicate the number of code block groups that the scheduled transport block is divided into, and Figs.1-4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the communication system of Chen with the teachings of Lin by including the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks.
This modification would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the first quantity of code blocks comprises a same number of code blocks would have improved control signaling demodulation performance, and improve system efficiency (see paragraph [0004] of Lin).
As per claims 2 and 15:
Chen teaches that wherein: the acknowledgement indicates that code blocks within a code block group were successfully decoded; and the negative-acknowledgement indicates that at least one code block in a code block group was not successfully decoded (see paragraph [0097], herein The CRC codes are then checked to determine whether the frames were successfully decoded. The data carried by the successfully decoded frames will then be provided to a data sink 1172, which represents applications running in the UE 1150 and/or various user interfaces (e.g., display). Control signals carried by successfully decoded frames will be provided to a controller/processor 1190. When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by the receiver processor 1170, the controller/processor 1190 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames).
As per claims 3, 16, and 28:
Chen teaches that the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication of a number of code block groups to be formed, wherein code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are grouped based at least in part on the indication of the number of code block groups to be formed (see paragraph [0099], herein If some of the frames were unsuccessfully decoded by the receive processor, the controller/processor 1140 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames).
As per claims 4 and 17:
Chen teaches that wherein adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are within a same code block group (see paragraph [0035], herein transmitting device may break the transport block-CRC of stage 208 into code blocks at stage 210. In an aspect, these code blocks may comprise M code blocks and may therefore include code block 1 to code block M, and Fig. 2).
As per claims 5 and 18:
Chen teaches that wherein the adjacent sets of two or more code blocks of the plurality of code blocks are adjacent in a time domain or a frequency domain (see paragraph [0056], herein the receiving device (e.g., utilizing decoder 304) may decode or attempt to decode a code block a plurality of times; and paragraph [0078]).
As per claims 6 and 19:
Chen teaches that wherein a code block group comprises multiple code block groups (see paragraph [0035], herein each code block may undergo turbo encoding, for example, by a turbo encoder to form separate turbo codewords at stage 212, and Fig. 2).
As per claims 7, 20, and 29:
Chen teaches that the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: identify a grouping of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks based at least in part on a type of service associated with the transport block, or a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to transmit the transport block, or any combination thereof (see paragraph [0087], herein for MIMO systems utilizing n transmit antennas, n transport blocks may be transmitted simultaneously over the same carrier utilizing the same channelization code. Note that the different transport blocks sent over the n transmit antennas may have the same or different modulation and coding schemes from one another).
As per claims 8 and 21:
Chen teaches that wherein the second set of code blocks comprises a remaining set of code blocks that are distributed to one code block group comprising the second quantity of code blocks (see paragraph [0028], herein the receiving device may skip the decoding of the remaining code blocks of the same transport block and/or decode subsequent code blocks of the transport block at a reduced number of iterations).
As per claims 9 and 22:
Chen teaches that wherein at least one of the code blocks of the plurality of code blocks is included in two or more code block groups of a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups (see paragraph [0035], herein the transmitting device may break the transport block-CRC of stage 208 into code blocks at stage 210. In an aspect, these code blocks may comprise M code blocks and may therefore include code block 1 to code block M. Furthermore, each code block may undergo turbo encoding, for example, by a turbo encoder to form separate turbo codewords at stage 212, and Fig. 2).
As per claims 11 and 24:
Chen teaches that wherein each code block of the plurality of code blocks is distributed to a different combination of code block groups (see paragraph [0087], herein Note that the different transport blocks sent over the n transmit antennas may have the same or different modulation and coding schemes from one another).
As per claims 12 and 25:
Chen teaches that wherein the indication assigns at least one code block of the plurality of code blocks to a first plurality of code block groups, wherein the one or more code block groups of the first quantity of code blocks comprises the first plurality of code block groups (see paragraph [0081], herein the HS-DPCCH carries the HARQ ACK/NACK signaling on the uplink to indicate whether a corresponding packet transmission was decoded successfully).
As per claims 13 and 26:
Chen teaches that the instructions being executable by the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, to further cause the apparatus to: determine one or more code blocks for retransmission based at least in part on the indication and the received acknowledgement or negative-acknowledgement for each code block group (see paragraph [0097], herein Control signals carried by successfully decoded frames will be provided to a controller/processor 1190. When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by the receiver processor 1170, the controller/processor 1190 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames); and retransmit the one or more code blocks based at least in part on the determination (see paragraph [0099], herein the data and control signals carried by the successfully decoded frames may then be provided to a data sink 1139 and the controller/processor, respectively. If some of the frames were unsuccessfully decoded by the receive processor, the controller/processor 1140 may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames).
Allowable Subject Matter
16. Claims 10 and 23 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if the applicant overcomes the double patenting rejections of independent claims, set forth in this Office action.
Prior Art
17. The prior art of record, considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure, is listed in the attached PTO-892 form.
Conclusion
18. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSMAN ALSHACK whose telephone number is (571)272-2069. The examiner can normally be reached on MON-FRI 8:30 AM-5:00 PM EST, also please fax interview request to (571) 273- 2069. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ALBERT DECADY can be reached on 5712723819. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OSMAN M ALSHACK/Examiner, Art Unit 2112