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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-19 filed on December 25, 2024 are pending.
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 § 2146 et seq. 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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-8, 18-20 and 23-30 of U.S. Patent No. 12,219,569 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1 and 19 have the same scope as claims 1 and 30 of US patent 12,219,569 B2 and claims 2-18 are identical as claims 2-8, 18-20 and 23-29 of US patent 12,219,569 B2.
Instant Application
US Patent 12,219,569 B2
Claim 1. A method for receiving downlink control information (DCI), comprising:
determining a first set of candidate number of a first set of aggregation level
(AL) for receiving a first DCI;
receiving the first DCI according to the first set of candidate number and the
first set of AL on a first cell, wherein the first DCI indicates scheduling of physical
downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) on a plurality of cells, the PDSCHs comprises a first PDSCH and a second PDSCH, the plurality of cells comprises a second cell and a third cell, the second cell and the third cell are different cells, and the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL are corresponding to a search space with a first identity;
receiving the first PDSCH on the second cell and the second PDSCH on the third cell according to the first DCI, wherein the first PDSCH is received on a first specific slot, and the first specific slot is the latest slot among at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs respectively on the plurality of cells; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK feedback for the first PDSCH and the second
PDSCH on a second specific slot, wherein a value K1 is a fixed value indicated by a DCI field of the first DCI for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH, the value K1 indicates a number of slots between PDSCH reception and HARQ feedback transmission, and the value K1 is an integer not less than 0,
wherein the second specific slot for transmitting the HARQ-ACK feedback of the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH respectively on the second cell and the third cell is determined according to the value K1 indicated by the DCI field and the latest slot among the at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs.
Claim 1. A method for receiving downlink control information (DCI), comprising:
determining a first set of candidate number of a first set of aggregation level (AL) for receiving a first DCI; and
receiving the first DCI according to the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL on a first cell, wherein the first DCI is configured for scheduling physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) on a plurality of cells, the plurality of cells comprises a second cell and a third cell, and the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL are corresponding to a search space with a first identity, wherein the method further comprises:
receiving the PDSCHs on the second cell and the third cell according to the first DCI, wherein the PDSCHs comprises
a first PDSCH on the second cell and a second PDSCH on the third cell, the first PDSCH is received on a second slot, and the second slot is the nth slot and the latest slot among at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs respectively on the plurality of cells;
transmitting a HARQ-ACK feedback on a first slot for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH, wherein the first
slot is the (n+K1)th slot, and the value K1 is a fixed value indicated by a DCI field of the first DCI for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH, wherein the second cell and the third cell are different cells, and the value K1 is an integer greater than 0,
wherein the (n+K1)th slot for transmitting the HARQ-ACK feedback of the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH respectively on the second cell and the third cell is determined according to the value K1 indicated by the DCI field and the latest slot among the at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs.
Claim 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first cell and the third cell are the same cell.
Claim 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first cell and the third cell are the same cell.
Claim 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a minimum AL of the first set of AL for receiving the first DCI is larger than one.
Claim 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a minimum AL of the first set of AL for receiving the first DCI is larger
than one.
Claim 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a maximum AL of the first set of AL for receiving the first DCI is larger than 16.
Claim 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a maximum AL of the first set of AL for receiving the first DCI is larger
than 16.
Claim 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number of the first set of AL for receiving the first DCI is configured in a search space configuration of the second cell or a search space configuration of the third cell.
Claim 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number of the first set of AL for receiving the first DCI is configured in a search space configuration of the second cell or a search space configuration of the third cell.
Claim 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first DCI is received according to a cell index of the second cell or a cell index of the third cell.
Claim 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first DCI is received according to a cell index of the second cell or a cell index of the third cell.
Claim 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first cell is a scheduling cell of the second cell and the third cell.
Claim 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first cell is a scheduling cell of the second cell and the third cell.
Claim 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third cell is included in a cell group comprising at least one predetermined cell.
Claim 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third cell is included in a cell group comprising at least one predetermined cell.
Claim 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is determined according to candidate numbers in a search space configuration of the second cell.
Claim 18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is determined according to candidate numbers in a search space configuration of the second cell.
Claim 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is determined according to candidate numbers in a search space configuration of the third cell.
Claim 19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is determined according to candidate numbers in a search space configuration of the third cell.
Claim 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is determined according to a shared candidate budget of the second cell and the third cell.
Claim 20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is determined according to a shared candidate budget of the second cell and the third cell.
Claim 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first specific slot is configured for receiving one of the PDSCHs on the second cell or on the third cell.
Claim 23. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second slot is configured for receiving one of the PDSCHs on the
second cell or on the third cell.
Claim 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ordering of HARQ-ACK for the PDSCH transmitted on the plurality of cells is determined according to cell indexes of the plurality of cells.
Claim 24. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ordering of HARQ-ACK for the PDSCH transmitted on the plurality of cells is determined according to cell indexes of the plurality of cells.
Claim 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein a bandwidth part corresponding to the search space with the first identity is activated on the second cell, and another bandwidth part corresponding to the search space with the first identity is also activated on the third cell.
Claim 25. The method according to claim 1, wherein a bandwidth part corresponding to the search space with the first identity is activated on the second cell, and another bandwidth part corresponding to the search space with the first identity is also activated on the third cell.
Claim 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein both of the second cell and the third cell are configured with a DCI format of the first DCI.
Claim 26. The method according to claim 1, wherein both of the second cell and the third cell are configured with a DCI format of the first DCI.
Claim 16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is counted on the third cell, and the third cell is configured with a search space of the first identity.
Claim 27. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of candidate number for receiving the first DCI is counted on the third cell, and the third cell is configured with a search space of the first identity.
Claim 17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of corresponding non-overlapped CCE of the first DCI is counted on the third cell, and the third cell is configured with a search space of the first identity.
Claim 28. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of corresponding non-overlapped CCE of the first DCI is
counted on the third cell, and the third cell is configured with a search space of the first identity.
Claim 18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cells are configured in one of a plurality of cell
groups for multi-cell scheduling.
Claim 29. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cells are configured in one of a plurality of cell
groups for multi-cell scheduling.
Claim 19. A user equipment comprising:
a transceiver; and
a processor electrically connected to the transceiver and configured to perform at least one instruction, the at least one instruction comprising:
determining a first set of candidate number of a first set of aggregation level (AL) for receiving a first DCI;
receiving the first DCI according to the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL on a first cell,
wherein the first DCI indicates scheduling of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) on a plurality of cells, the PDSCHs comprises a first PDSCH and a second PDSCH, the plurality of cells comprises a second cell and a third cell, the second cell and the third cell are different cells, and the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL are corresponding to a search space with a first identity;
receiving the first PDSCH on the second cell and the second PDSCH on the third cell according to the first DCI, wherein the first PDSCH is received on a first specific slot, and the first specific slot is the latest slot among at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs respectively on the plurality of cells; and
transmitting a HARQ-ACK feedback for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH on a second specific slot, wherein a value K1 is a fixed value indicated by a DCI field of the first DCI for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH, the value K1 indicates a number of slots between PDSCH reception and HARQ feedback transmission, and the value K1 is an integer not less than 0, wherein the second specific slot for transmitting the HARQ-ACK feedback of the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH respectively on the second cell and the third cell is determined according to the value K1 indicated by the DCI field and the latest slot among the at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs.
Claim 30. A user equipment comprising:
a transceiver; and
a processor connected to the transceiver and configured at least to:
determining a first set of candidate number of a first set of aggregation level (AL) for receiving a first DCI; and
receiving the first DCI according to the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL on a first cell,
wherein the first DCI is configured for scheduling PDSCHs on a plurality of cells, and the plurality of cells comprises a second cell and a third cell, and the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL are corresponding to a search space with a first identity,
wherein the processor is further configured to:
receiving the PDSCHs on the second cell and the third cell according to the first DCI, wherein the PDSCHs comprises a first PDSCH on the second cell and a second PDSCH on the third cell, the first PDSCH is received
on a second slot, and the second slot is the nth slot and the latest slot among at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs respectively on the plurality of cells;
transmitting a HARQ-ACK feedback on a first slot for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH on a first slot, wherein the first slot is the (n+K1)th slot, and the value K1 is a fixed value indicated by a DCI field of the first DCI for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH, wherein the second cell and the third cell are different cells, and the value K1 is an integer greater than 0, wherein the (n+K1)th slot for transmitting the HARQ-ACK feedback of the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH respectively on the second cell and the third cell is determined according to the value K1 indicated by the DCI field and the latest slot among the at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 would be allowable if filing terminal disclaimer to overcome double patenting.
Claims 1-19 are potentially allowable over the prior art of record Seo et
al. (US 2013/0315113 A1, hereinafter "Seo") in view of Takeda et al. (US 2022/0053540
A1, hereinafter "Takeda") and Matsumura et al. (US 2022/0191913 A1, hereinafter "Matsumura").
Regarding claims 1 and 29, Seo discloses a method for receiving downlink control information (DCI) and a UE, comprising:
determining a first set of candidate number of a first set of aggregation level (AL) for receiving a first DCI in [0073];
receiving the first DCI according to the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL on a first cell in [0146], wherein the first DCI indicates scheduling of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) on a plurality of cells, the PDSCHs comprises a first PDSCH and a second PDSCH, the plurality of cells comprises a second cell and a third cell, the second cell and the third cell are different cells in [0177], and the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL are corresponding to a search space with a first identity in [0073, 0168].
Takeda discloses receiving the first DCI according to the first set of candidate number and the first set of AL on a first cell in [0031].
Matsumura discloses receiving the first PDSCH on the second cell and the second PDSCH on the third cell according to the first DCI in [0033, 49], wherein the first PDSCH is received on a first specific slot, and the first specific slot is the latest slot among at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs respectively on the plurality of cells in [0111]; transmitting a HARQ-ACK feedback for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH on a second specific slot in [0049, 0111, 0178, 0180-0181].
Seo in view of Takeda and Matsumura fails to teach alone or in combination "wherein a value K1 is a fixed value indicated by a DCI field of the first DCI for the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH, the value K1 indicates a number of slots between PDSCH reception and HARQ feedback transmission, and the value K1 is an integer not less than 0, wherein the second specific slot for transmitting the HARQ-ACK feedback of the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH respectively on the second cell and the third cell is determined according to the value K1 indicated by the DCI field and the latest slot among the at least one slot configured for receiving the PDSCHs".
Conclusion
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/LUNA WEISSBERGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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