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 .
Preliminary Amendment
This office action is in response to Preliminary amendment filed on 06/16/2025. In this amendment, claims 1-5, 7, 10, 14, 16-20, and 22 are amended. Claims 9, 12, 13, 15, and 23 are cancelled. Claims 24-26 are new. Claims 1-5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16-22, and 24-26 have been examined.
Claim Objections
Claims 19-22 and 24-26 are objected to because of the following informalities:
As per claim 19:
In line 5, “the transmission” should be “the PBCH transmission”.
As per claim 22:
In line 8, “the transmission” should be “the PBCH transmission”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Any claim not objected above, is objected due to its dependency on a objected claim.
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.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual 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/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 14, and 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 14, and 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12273191. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the limitations of the claimed invention are fully contained in the patented case. See table below. Therefore, the pending claims would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time this invention was made, given the patented claims.
19173625
US 12273191
1. A method for preparing a transport block for transmission by a network node, the method comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission; generating an interleaved set of payload bits by interleaving the set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes at least one known bit in a predetermined position; generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)-interleaved set of payload bits by providing the interleaved set to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder such that the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set; and encoding the CRC-interleaved set with polar encoding for transmission to a wireless device; and transmitting the encoded CRC-interleaves set to a wireless device.
1. A method for preparing a transport block for transmission by a network node, the method comprising: generating a first set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission to a wireless device; interleaving the first set of payload bits to generate a second set of payload bits; generating a set of one or more parity check bits based on the first set of payload bits or the second set of payload bits, wherein at least one of the one or more parity check bits has a value known to the wireless device; providing the second set of payload bits and the set of parity check bits to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder to generate a third set of payload bits, wherein the third set includes at least some of the parity check bits in a predetermined position within the third set; encoding the third set with polar encoding for transmission to the wireless device; and transmitting the polar-encoded third set to the wireless device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one known bit has a value that is partially known.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the value known to the wireless device is known or partially known.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one known bit is interleaved such that the at least one known bit is positioned in a high reliability position for transmission.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein parity check bits are interleaved such that one or more parity check bits are positioned in a high reliability position for transmission.
10. A network node for communication in a cellular communications network, the network node comprising: a network interface in communication with a radio transceiver for communication with a wireless device via the cellular communications network; a memory having executable instructions stored thereon; processing circuitry in communication with the memory such that, when the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing performs operations comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission; generating an interleaved set of payload bits by interleaving the set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes at least one known bit in a predetermined position; generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)-interleaved set of payload bits by providing the interleaved set to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder such that the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set; encoding the CRC-interleaved set with polar encoding for transmission to a wireless device; and transmitting the encoded CRC-interleaves set to a wireless device.
10. A network node for communication in a cellular communications network, the network node comprising: a network interface in communication with a radio transceiver for communication with a wireless device via the cellular communications network; a memory having executable instructions stored thereon; processing circuitry in communication with the memory such that, when the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing performs operations comprising: generating a first set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission to a wireless device; interleaving the first set of payload bits to generate a second set of payload bits, wherein the second set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position in the second set; generating a set of one or more parity check bits based on the first set of payload bits or the second set of payload bits, wherein at least some of the parity check bits have values known to the wireless device; providing the second set of payload bits and the set of parity check bits to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder to generate a third set of payload bits, wherein the third set includes at least some of the parity check bits in a predetermined position within the third set; encoding the third set with polar encoding for transmission to the wireless device; and transmitting the polar-encoded third set to the wireless device.
11. The network node of claim 10, wherein the at least one known bit has a value that is known or partially known.
11. The network node of claim 10, wherein the known values are known or partially known.
14. The network node of claim 10, wherein the at least one known bit is interleaved such that the at least one known bit is located in a high reliability position for transmission.
14. The network node of claim 10, wherein the second set is interleaved such that the at least one known bit is located in a high reliability position for transmission.
18. The network node of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry comprises: a first interleaver, wherein the first interleaver is a known-bit interleaver; a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder coupled to the first interleaver and to a second interleaver; and a polar encoder coupled to the second interleaver
The network node of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry comprises: a first interleaver, wherein the first interleaver is a known-bit interleaver; a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder coupled to the first interleaver and to a second interleaver; and a polar encoder coupled to the second interleaver.
Claims 1, 3, 4, and 19-22 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, 4, and 16-19 of U.S. Patent No. 11394489. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the limitations of the claimed invention are substantially equivalent. See table below. Therefore, the pending claims would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time this invention was made, given the patented claims.
Claims 24-26 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 16-18 of U.S. Patent No. 11394489 in view of Shen et al. (US Pat. Pub. 20170288703; hereinafter referred to as Shen). See table below. Therefore, the pending claims would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time this invention was made, given the patented claims.
19173625
US 11394489
1. A method for preparing a transport block for transmission by a network node, the method comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission; generating an interleaved set of payload bits by interleaving the set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes at least one known bit in a predetermined position; generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)-interleaved set of payload bits by providing the interleaved set to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder such that the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set; and encoding the CRC-interleaved set with polar encoding for transmission to a wireless device; and transmitting the encoded CRC-interleaves set to a wireless device.
1. A method performed by a network node operable in a cellular telecommunications network, the method comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission to a wireless device, wherein the set of payload bits includes at least one known bit, the at least one known bit being known by the wireless device; interleaving the set of payload bits to generate an interleaved set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position in the interleaved set; providing the interleaved set to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder to generate a CRC-interleaved set of payload bits, wherein the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set and wherein the CRC- interleaved set comprises one or more parity bits; and encoding the CRC-interleaved set with polar encoding for transmission to a wireless device
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one known bit is a reserved bit.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one known bit is a reserved bit.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein encoding the CRC-interleaved set for transmission comprises using a polar encoder to encode the CRC-interleaved set for transmission.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein encoding the CRC-interleaved set with polar encoding for transmission comprises using a polar encoder to encode the CRC-interleaved set for transmission.
19. A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving a set of payload bits in a polar encoded physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission from a network node, the set of payload bits including at least one known bit in a predetermined location; and decoding the transmission based on the at least one known bit being in the predetermined location.
16. A method performed by a wireless device, comprising: receiving a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission from a network node, the PBCH transmission being encoded according to a polar encoding that places payload bits having known values in predetermined locations; and decoding the PBCH transmission received from the network node, wherein the PBCH transmission includes a CRC-interleaved set of payload bits, wherein the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set and wherein the CRC-interleaved set comprises one or more parity bits.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the polar encoding of the PBCH transmission places a parity check (PC) bit at a predetermined location.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the polar encoding places a parity check (PC) bit at one of the predetermined locations.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the polar encoding couples a data bit with the PC bit and wherein the PC bit is determined based on the data bit.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the polar encoding couples a data bit with the PC bit and wherein the PC bit is determined based on the data bit.
22. A wireless device comprising: memory storing instructions; and processing circuitry operable to execute the instructions, whereby the wireless device is operable to: receive a set of payload bits in a polar encoded physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission from a network node, the set of payload bits including at least one known bit in a predetermined location; and decode the transmission based on the at least one known bit being in the predetermined location
19. A wireless device comprising: memory storing instructions; and processing circuitry operable to execute the instructions, whereby the wireless device is operable to perform operations comprising: decoding a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission received from a network node, wherein the PBCH transmission is encoded according to polar encoding and includes a CRC-interleaved set of payload bits, wherein the CRC-interleaved set includes at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set and wherein the CRC-interleaved set comprises one or more parity bits.
24. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one known bit has a value that is at least partially known.
Shen par. 0157, 0160 discloses reserved bits having a value that is at least partially known. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine Shen with US Pat. 11394489 because it would allow for further improvement of broadcast channel transmission reliability.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the at least one known bit is a parity check (PC) bit.
Shen par. 0150 discloses known bits are check bits. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine Shen with US Pat. 11394489 because it would allow for further improvement of broadcast channel transmission reliability.
26. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one known bit is interleaved such that the at least one known bit is positioned in a high reliability position for transmission.
Shen par. 0103-0104 discloses reserved bits interleaved so the reserved bits are mapped to reliable positions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine Shen with US Pat. 11394489 because it would allow for further improvement of broadcast channel transmission reliability.
Claims 1, 10, 7, 8, 16, and 17 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 10, 7, 8, 16, and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 10727976. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the limitations of the claimed invention are substantially equivalent. See table below. Therefore, the pending claims would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time this invention was made, given the patented claims.
19173625
US 10727976
1. A method for preparing a transport block for transmission by a network node, the method comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission; generating an interleaved set of payload bits by interleaving the set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes at least one known bit in a predetermined position; generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)-interleaved set of payload bits by providing the interleaved set to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder such that the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set; and encoding the CRC-interleaved set with polar encoding for transmission to a wireless device; and transmitting the encoded CRC-interleaves set to a wireless device.
A method for preparing a transport block for transmission, the method comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission, wherein the set of payload bits includes at least one known bit; interleaving the set of payload bits to generate an interleaved set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position in the interleaved set; after interleaving the set of payload bits to generate the interleaved set of payload bits, generating a CRC-interleaved set of payload bits with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder, wherein the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set; and encoding, by a polar encoder, the CRC-interleaved set for transmission to a wireless device.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the CRC-interleaved set comprises one or more parity bits
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the CRC-interleaved set comprises one or more parity bits
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more parity bits comprise values that are determined by the values of other bits in the CRC-interleaved set.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more parity bits comprise values that are determined by the values of other bits in the CRC-interleaved set.
10. A network node for communication in a cellular communications network, the network node comprising: a network interface in communication with a radio transceiver for communication with a wireless device via the cellular communications network; a memory having executable instructions stored thereon; processing circuitry in communication with the memory such that, when the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing performs operations comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission; generating an interleaved set of payload bits by interleaving the set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes at least one known bit in a predetermined position; generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)-interleaved set of payload bits by providing the interleaved set to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) encoder such that the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC-interleaved set; encoding the CRC-interleaved set with polar encoding for transmission to a wireless device; and transmitting the encoded CRC-interleaves set to a wireless device.
10. A network node for communication in a cellular communications network, the network node comprising: a network interface in communication with a radio transceiver for communication with a wireless device via the cellular communications network; a memory having executable instructions stored thereon; processing circuitry in communication with the memory such that, when the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing performs operations comprising: generating a set of payload bits to be encoded for transmission, wherein the set of payload bits includes at least one known bit; interleaving the set of payload bits to generate an interleaved set of payload bits, wherein the interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position in the interleaved set; after interleaving the set of payload bits to generate the interleaved set of payload bits, generating a CRC-interleaved set of payload bits, wherein the CRC-interleaved set includes the at least one known bit in a predetermined position within the CRC- interleaved set; and encoding, by a polar encoder, the CRC-interleaved set for transmission to a wireless device.
16. The network node of claim 10, wherein the CRC-interleaved set comprises one or more parity bits.
16. The network node of claim 10, wherein the CRC-interleaved set comprises one or more parity bits.
17. The network node of claim 16, wherein the one or more parity bits comprise values that are determined by the values of other bits in the CRC-interleaved set.
17. The network node of claim 16, wherein the one or more parity bits comprise values that are determined by the values of other bits in the CRC-interleaved set.
Closest Prior Arts of Record
Shen et al. (US Pat. Pub. 20160079999) discloses a coding method for improving
minimum code distance of the entire code by introducing an interleaver between a CRC check module and a Polar code coding module.
Examiner’s Note
There are no prior art(s) rejections in this Office Action. However, examiner will further consider and update search to determine merits of the claims once Applicants fix the above nonstatutory double patent rejections.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY A YANG whose telephone number is (703)756-1447. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Featherstone can be reached at (571) 270-3750. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JEFFREY ANDREW YANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2111
/MARK D FEATHERSTONE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2111
Prosecution Insights