`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and TrademarkOffice
`Address; COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
`
`16/614,393
`
`11/18/2019
`
`TETSUYA YAMAMOTO
`
`731456.559USPC
`
`5206
`
`Seed IP Law Group LLP/Panasonic (PIPCA)
`701 5th Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, WA 98104
`
`CHANG, YU-WEN
`
`PAPER NUMBER
`
`ART UNIT
`
`2413
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
`
`DELIVERY MODE
`
`05/18/2022
`
`ELECTRONIC
`
`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
`
`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e-mail address(es):
`USPTOeAction @ SeedIP.com
`
`pairlinkdktg @seedip.com
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`
`
`
`
`Disposition of Claims*
`21-27,29-37 and 39-40 is/are pending in the application.
`)
`Claim(s)
`5a) Of the above claim(s) ___ is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`C] Claim(s)__ is/are allowed.
`Claim(s) 21-27 ,29-37 and 39-40 is/are rejected.
`(1 Claim(s)__is/are objectedto.
`C} Claim(s)
`are subjectto restriction and/or election requirement
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you maybeeligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPHfeedback@uspto.gov.
`
`) ) ) )
`
`Application Papers
`10) The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11)0) The drawing(s) filedon__ is/are: a)(J accepted or b)() objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12)1) Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d)or (f).
`Certified copies:
`c)Z None ofthe:
`b)() Some**
`a)C All
`1.2 Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.1.) Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.1.) Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been receivedin this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`* See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
`
`Attachment(s)
`
`1)
`
`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`
`Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`2)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date 01/27/2022.
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3) (J Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`(Qj Other:
`
`4)
`
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Part of Paper No./Mail Date 20220511
`
`Application No.
`Applicant(s)
`16/614,393
`YAMAMOTOetal.
`
`Office Action Summary Art Unit|AIA (FITF) StatusExaminer
`YU-WEN CHANG
`2413
`Yes
`
`
`
`-- The MAILING DATEofthis communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLYIS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available underthe provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply betimely filed after SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing
`date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133}.
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, evenif timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
`
`1)™) Responsive to communication(s)filed on 21 April 2022.
`C) A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/werefiled on
`2a)¥) This action is FINAL.
`2b) (J This action is non-final.
`3)02 An election was madeby the applicant in responseto a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
`4\0) Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Exparte Quayle, 1935 C.D. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
`
`Page 2
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`DETAILED ACTION
`
`Notice of Pre-AlA 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.
`
`Information Disclosure Statement
`
`2.
`
`The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/27/2022is in
`
`compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure
`
`statement is being considered by the examiner.
`
`Responseto Arguments
`
`3.
`
`Applicant's arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot
`
`in view of new grounds of rejection.
`
`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
`
`4.
`
`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.
`
`The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all
`
`obviousnessrejections set forth in this Office action:
`
`A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed
`invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the
`claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
`
`Page 3
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`been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having
`ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be
`negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
`
`This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the
`
`claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was
`
`commonly ownedasof the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any
`
`evidenceto the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to
`
`point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly
`
`ownedas ofthe effectivefiling date of the later invention in order for the examiner to
`
`consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2)
`
`prior art against the later invention.
`
`Claims 21-22, 24-27, 29, 31-32, 34-37 and 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103
`
`as being unpatentable over Papasakellariou (US 2018/0310257, relying on the
`
`provisional application 62/490,835) in view of Park et al. (US 2019/0246416, relying on
`
`the provisional application 62/501 ,060), Yoshimuraet al. (US 2019/0140876) and Gao
`
`et al. (US 2019/0174430).
`
`Regarding Claim 21, Papasakellariou teaches a terminal comprising: circuitry,
`
`which, in operation ([0029] FIG. 17 illustrates an example PUCCH structure for
`
`transmitting HARQ-ACK information or SR information), generates, based on sequence
`
`selection, uplink control information including at least one of HARQ-ACK (hybrid
`
`automatic repeat request acknowledgement and negative acknowledgment) for
`
`downlink data ([0086] UCI includes hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement
`
`(HARQ-ACK)information; [0252] a PUCCH structure for conveying HARQ-ACK with
`
`one bit or two bits uses CAZAC sequenceselection. When the UE has one HARQ-ACK
`
`
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`Page 4
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`bit to transmit and the UE is not configured to transmit SR, the UE can useafirst cyclic
`
`shift of a CAZAC sequence or a second cyclic shift of the CAZAC sequence to convey
`
`an ACK or a NACK,respectively. Similar, when the UE has two HARQ-ACK bits to
`
`transmit and the UE is not configured to transmit SR, the UE can usea first, second,
`
`third, or fourth cyclic shift of a CAZAC sequence) or a scheduling request on the basis
`
`of a mode selected from amongaplurality of modes ([0253] A first design for
`
`multiplexing HARQ-ACK and a single SR bit in a same PUCCH is to use additional two
`
`or four cyclic shifts (referred to SR cyclic shifts), when the UE has one or two HARQ-
`
`ACK bits to transmit respectively, to transmit HARQ-ACK when the UE also has a
`
`positive SR to transmit; otherwise, when the UE has a negative SR to transmit, the UE
`
`uses the two or four cyclic shifts associated with the HARQ-ACK transmission (referred
`
`to as HARQ-ACKcyclic shifts)); and
`
`a transmitter, which, in operation ([0085] A UE transmits data information or UCI
`
`through a respective physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical UL control
`
`channel (PUCCH)), transmits the uplink control information using a physical uplink
`
`control channel (PUCCH) of one symbol ([0227] operation in high carrier frequencies,
`
`such as in millimeter wave bands, can be associated with large transmission BWs and
`
`PUCCH transmissions over a large BW andin only one symbol of a slot; [0245] A
`
`PUCCH transmission can be over one symbol or over multiple symbols with or without
`
`frequency hopping; [0273] the gNB can configure the UE with a SCS of 15 KHz, a
`
`PUCCH resource that spans 1 slot symbol in time), and
`
`wherein in transmitting both the HARQ-ACK and the scheduling request, the uplink
`
`control information is generated using one mode out of: a mode using the sequencefor
`
`
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`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 5
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`the uplink control information including both the HARQ-ACK and the scheduling request
`
`([0253] A first design for multiplexing HARQ-ACK and a single SR bit in a same PUCCH
`
`is to use additional two or four cyclic shifts (referred to SR cyclic shifts), when the UE
`
`has one or two HARQ-ACK bits to transmit respectively, to transmit HARQ-ACK when
`
`the UE also has a positive SR to transmit); and
`
`a mode using both the sequencefor the uplink control information including the HARQ-
`
`ACK and the sequencefor the uplink control information including the scheduling
`
`request ([(0238] The UE can also be configured whether to jointly or separately transmit
`
`SR and HARQ-ACK/CSI. Separate transmission can apply, for example, when SR and
`
`HARQ-ACK/CSI have different reception reliability requirements and particularly when
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`SR has higher reception reliability requirements than HARQ-ACK/CSI; [0243] FIG. 18
`
`illustrates an example transmission of a PUCCH 1800 conveying an SR through the
`
`transmission of a first sequence over first sub-carriers and of a second sequence over
`
`second sub-carriers according to embodiments of the present disclosure (i.e., sequence
`
`for the uplink control information including the scheduling request); [0252] When the UE
`
`has one HARQ-ACK bit to transmit and the UE is not configured to transmit SR, the UE
`
`can useafirst cyclic shift of a CAZAC sequence or a second cyclic shift of the CAZAC
`
`sequence to convey an ACK or a NACK, respectively (i.e., sequence for the uplink
`
`control information including the HARQ-ACK); [0255] When the SR cyclic shifts are in
`
`same frequency resources as the HARQ-ACK cyclic shifts, the SR cyclic shifts are
`
`different than the HARQ-ACK cyclic shifts and all are cyclic shifts of a same CAZAC
`
`sequence. When the SR cyclic shifts are in different frequency resources than the
`
`HARQ-ACK cyclic shifts, the SR cyclic shifts can be same or different than the HARQ-
`
`
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`ACK cyclic shifts and can be cyclic shifts of a same or different CAZAC sequence;
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`[0265] The UE behavior whether to jointly or separately transmit SR and HARQ-
`
`ACK/CSI can be configured to the UE by the gNB or be determined by the UE based on
`
`a predetermined or configured required transmission power differential; [0266] FIG. 20
`
`illustrates a flow chart of a method 2000 for determination by a UE whether to jointly or
`
`separately transmit SR and HARQ-ACK).
`
`However, Papasakellariou does not teach a mode selected in accordance with
`
`an operating environment of the terminal; wherein a sequencefor the uplink control
`
`information including the HARQ-ACK, a sequencefor the uplink control information
`
`including the scheduling request, and a sequencefor the uplink control information
`
`including both the HARQ-ACK and the scheduling requestare different from each other,
`
`and a transmission power of the uplink control information does not depend on whether
`
`the uplink control information includes the scheduling request or not.
`
`In an analogous art, Park teaches a modeselected in accordance with an
`
`operating environmentof the terminal ([(0134] One or more transmission structures are
`
`available for the short PUCCH. For example, when the amountof UCI to be transmitted
`
`on the short PUCCH is small (e.g., 1 or 2 bits), the eNB mayallocate a set of a plurality
`
`of sequences as a short PUCCH resource to the UE. The UE maythen select a specific
`
`sequence corresponding to the UCI to be transmitted from among the sequences
`
`allocated as the short PUCCH resource, and transmit the selected sequence. The
`
`sequences may be designedto satisfy a low peak power-to-average power ratio
`
`(PAPR) property; [0197] Even though the SR transmission resource overlaps with the
`
`UCI (e.g., ACK/NACK or CSI) on the time axis, unless the sum of transmission power
`
`
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`Page 7
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`allocated to each transmission resource exceeds the maximum transmission power of
`
`the UE (i.e., ina case other than a powerlimited case), the UE may transmit the SR
`
`and the UCI in their respective transmission resources; [0198] If the SR transmission
`
`resource overlaps with the UCI (e.g., ACK/NACK or CSI) transmission resource on the
`
`time axis, and this case corresponds to the power limited case, the UE may transmit
`
`the SR and the UCI in combination in the UCI transmission resource).
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Park’s method with
`
`Papasakellariou’s method so that a higher output power of a power amplifier can be
`
`generated, and therefore provides a wider coverage area. Thus, better services can be
`
`providedto a cell edge user with limited coverage, and uplink reference signal
`
`transmission reliability is improved.
`
`The combination of Papasakellariou and Park does not teach wherein a
`
`sequencefor the uplink control information including the HARQ-ACK, a sequencefor
`
`the uplink control information including the scheduling request, and a sequencefor the
`
`uplink control information including both the HARQ-ACK and the scheduling request are
`
`different from each other, and a transmission power of the uplink control information
`
`does not depend on whether the uplink control information includes the scheduling
`
`requestor not.
`
`In an analogous art, Yoshimura teaches wherein a sequencefor the uplink
`
`control information including the HARQ-ACK, a sequencefor the uplink control
`
`information including the scheduling request, and a sequencefor the uplink control
`
`information including both the HARQ-ACKand the scheduling request are different from
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 8
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`eachother ([0119] An sSPUCCH maybeusedatleast for transmitting an SR anda
`
`reception acknowledgment(also referred to as an ACK/NACK,an A/N, etc.). In other
`
`words, information transmitted using an SPUCCH is information indicating at least an
`
`SR only, an A/N only, and an SR+an A/N (an SR and an A/N) (hereinafter, also referred
`
`to as uplink control information including information indicating an SR only, an A/Nonly,
`
`and an SR+an A/N); [0126] an appropriate cyclic shift can be allocated to each piece of
`
`uplink control information. That is, an appropriate cyclic shift can be allocated to each of
`
`an SR only, an A/N only, and an SR+an A/N).
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Yoshimura’s method with
`
`Papasakellariou’s method so that transmission efficiency, detection performance can be
`
`improved (Yoshimura [0129]). Thus, better user experience and system performance
`
`can be achieved.
`
`The combination of Papasakellariou, Park and Yoshimura does not teach a
`
`transmission power of the uplink control information does not depend on whether the
`
`uplink control information includes the scheduling requestor not.
`
`In an analogous art, Gao teach a transmission power of the uplink control
`
`information does not depend on whether the uplink control information includes the
`
`scheduling requestor not ([0168] the target transmission power of the sPUCCH may be
`
`determined to be Pspuccu-1 by using formulas (2-1) and (2-2) ...
`
`Pspuccu(i) = min{Pemax, c (i), Po_ spuccn + PLe + 10l0g10(Mseuccuc(i)) + Atrc(i) + Arspuccn(F) + g(t}
`
`(2-2)
`
`(i.e., the formula does not have scheduling request information)).
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Gao’s method with
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 9
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`Papasakellariou’s method sothat the efficiency of the power amplifier can be improved
`
`with a lower peak-to-average-power-ratio. Thus, uplink reference signal transmission
`
`reliability and the system performance can be improved.
`
`Regarding Claim 22, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
`
`Gao, specifically Papasakellariou teaches the number of bits of the HARQ-ACK is 1 or 2
`
`([(0252] a PUCCH structure for conveying HARQ-ACK with one bit or two bits uses
`
`CAZAC sequenceselection).
`
`Regarding Claim 24, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
`
`Gao, specifically Papasakellariou teaches the sequence is a sequence including a cyclic
`
`shift or a sequence defined by a cyclic shift ([0252] When the UE has one HARQ-ACK
`
`bit to transmit and the UE is not configured to transmit SR, the UE can usea first cyclic
`
`shift of a CAZAC sequence or a second cyclic shift of the CAZAC sequence to convey
`
`an ACK or a NACK,respectively. Similar, when the UE has two HARQ-ACK bits to
`
`transmit and the UE is not configured to transmit SR, the UE can useafirst, second,
`
`third, or fourth cyclic shift of a CAZAC sequence; [0253] A first design for multiplexing
`
`HARQ-ACK anda single SR bit in a same PUCCH is to use additional two or four cyclic
`
`shifts).
`
`Regarding Claim 25, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
`
`Gao, specifically Papasakellariou teaches a sequence for the uplink control information
`
`including ACK (acknowledgement) as the HARQ-ACK is different from a sequence for
`
`the uplink control information including NACK (negative acknowledgment) as the
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 10
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`HARQ-ACK ([0252] When the UE has one HARQ-ACK bit to transmit and the UE is not
`
`configured to transmit SR, the UE can usea first cyclic shift of a CAZAC sequence ora
`
`second cyclic shift of the CAZAC sequence to convey an ACK or a NACK,respectively).
`
`Regarding Claim 26, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
`
`Gao, specifically Papasakellariou teaches a physical resource block where the uplink
`
`control information including both the HARQ-ACK andthe scheduling requestis
`
`transmitted is same as a physical resource block where the uplink control information
`
`including the HARQ-ACK is transmitted ([0225] Nsymp¥4 symbols 1710 are used for
`
`transmitting HARQ-ACK information 1720 or RS 1730 in a RB. HARQ-ACK bits b 1740
`
`modulate 1750 a CAZAC sequence 1760 using binary phase shift keying (BPSK) or
`
`quaternary phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation. A modulated CAZAC sequenceis
`
`transmitted after performing an IFFT 1770. A RSis transmitted through an unmodulated
`
`CAZAC sequence. For SR transmission, b=-1. A UE can transmit both HARQ-ACK and
`
`SR in a sameslot by selecting a resource configured for SR transmission and
`
`transmitting HARQ-ACK information).
`
`Regarding Claim 27, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
`
`Gao, specifically Papasakellariou teaches the number of sequences assigned to one
`
`terminalis 4 for the HARQ-ACK of1 bit ([0252] When the UE has one HARQ-ACK bit to
`
`transmit and the UE is not configured to transmit SR, the UE can usea first cyclic shift
`
`of a CAZAC sequence or a secondcyclic shift of the CAZAC sequence to convey an
`
`ACK or a NACK, respectively; [0253] A first design for multiplexing HARQ-ACK and a
`
`single SR bit in a same PUCCH is to use additional twoor four cyclic shifts (referred to
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 11
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`SR cyclic shifts), when the UE has one or two HARQ-ACK bitsto transmit respectively,
`
`to transmit HARQ-ACK when the UE also has a positive SR to transmit(i.e., 4
`
`sequencesare: a first cyclic shift of a CAZAC sequence, a secondcyclic shift,
`
`additional two cyclic shifts)), and
`
`the number of sequences assigned to one terminal is 8 for the HARQ-ACK of 2 bits
`
`([(0252] when the UE has two HARQ-ACK bits to transmit and the UE is not configured
`
`to transmit SR, the UE can useafirst, second, third, or fourth cyclic shift of a CAZAC
`
`sequence; [0253] A first design for multiplexing HARQ-ACK anda single SR bit ina
`
`same PUCCH is to use additional two or four cyclic shifts (referred to SR cyclic shifts),
`
`when the UE has one or two HARQ-ACK bits to transmit respectively, to transmit
`
`HARQ-ACK when the UE also hasa positive SR to transmit (i.e., 8 sequences are: a
`
`first, second, third, or fourth cyclic shift, additional four cyclic shifts)).
`
`Regarding Claim 29, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
`
`Gao, specifically Papasakellariou teaches a receiver, which, in operation, receives
`
`information related to a resource of the PUCCH, wherein the uplink control information
`
`is generated and transmitted based on the information ([0265] The UE behavior whether
`
`to jointly or separately transmit SR and HARQ-ACK/CSI can be configured to the UE by
`
`the gNB; [0255] When the SR cyclic shifts are in same frequency resources as the
`
`HARQ-ACK cyclic shifts, the SR cyclic shifts are different than the HARQ-ACK cyclic
`
`shifts and all are cyclic shifts of a same CAZAC sequence. When the SR cyclic shifts
`
`are in different frequency resources than the HARQ-ACK cyclic shifts, the SR cyclic
`
`shifts can be same or different than the HARQ-ACK cyclic shifts and can be cyclic shifts
`
`of a same or different CAZAC sequence).
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 12
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`Regarding Claim 31, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
`
`set forth in Claim 21.
`
`Regarding Claim 32, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
`
`set forth in Claim 22.
`
`Regarding Claim 34, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
`
`set forth in Claim 24.
`
`Regarding Claim 35, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
`
`set forth in Claim 25.
`
`Regarding Claim 36, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
`
`set forth in Claim 26.
`
`Regarding Claim 37, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
`
`set forth in Claim 27.
`
`Regarding Claim 39, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
`
`set forth in Claim 29.
`
`Claims 23, 30, 33 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being
`
`unpatentable over Papasakellariou in view of Park et al., Yoshimura et al., Gao etal.
`
`and Nayeb Nazaret al. (US 2020/0067680, relying on the provisional application
`
`62/500,772).
`
`Regarding Claim 23, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
`
`Gao doesnot teach the number of terminals multiplexed in the same physical resource
`
`block is up to 6 for the HARQ-ACK of1 bit.
`
`
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`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 13
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`In an analogous art, Nayeb Nazar teaches the number of terminals multiplexed in
`
`the same physical resource blockis up to 6 for the HARQ-ACK of1 bit ([0093] If 12
`
`cyclic shifts are available within a PRB, up to six users may be supported in a PUCCH
`
`(e.g., short PUCCH) spanning 1 PRB).
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Nayeb Nazar’s method
`
`with Papasakellariou’s method so that the error rate for ACK/NACK detection can be
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`improved with the spacing of the cyclic shift of a UE (Nayeb Nazar [0091]). Moreover, a
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`maximum possible number of UEs can be multiplexed for PUCCH transmission. Thus,
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`the system capacity is increased.
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`Regarding Claim 30, the combination of Papasakellariou, Park, Yoshimura and
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`Gao doesnot teachthe information includes information related to a cyclic shift used in
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`the sequence.
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`In an analogous art, Nayeb Nazar teaches the information includes information
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`related to a cyclic shift used in the sequence ([(0099] The WTRU mayderive the
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`resources (e.g., cyclic time shifts of a sequence) over which it may transmit ACK/NACK
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`and/or SR from a received PUCCH parameter (e.g., a Short PUCCH index such as
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`npuccH®"°"), The PUCCH parameter may be received from a higherlayer (e.g., from a
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`network entity) or as part of downlink control information (e.g., in the NR-PDCCH). This
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`resource index mayindicate at least one of (e.g., both of) a PUCCH region across the
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`bandwidth or the cyclic shifts that may be allocated to the WTRU for UL signaling).
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`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
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`effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Nayeb Nazar’s method
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`
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`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 14
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`with Papasakellariou’s method so that a better coordinated resource allocation
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`mechanism can be achieved among different UEs. Moreover, the error rate for
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`ACK/NACK detection can be improved with the spacing of the cyclic shift of a UE
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`(Nayeb Nazar [0091)).
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`Regarding Claim 33, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
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`set forth in Claim 23.
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`Regarding Claim 40, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as
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`set forth in Claim 30.
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`Conclusion
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`The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
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`applicant's disclosure.
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`Yang et al. (US 2019/0058552) teaches method for the transmission of uplink
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`control information.
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`Yin et al. (US 2018/0220415) teaches short PUCCH design for 5G NR.
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`Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in
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`this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP
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`§ 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37
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`CFR 1.136(a).
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`A shortenedstatutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE
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`
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`MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the eventafirst replyis filed within
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`TWO MONTHS ofthe mailing date ofthis final action and the advisory action is not
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`mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortenedstatutory period, then the
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`
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`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
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`Page 15
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`shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any
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`extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of
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`the advisory action.
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`In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later
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`than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
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`
`
`Application/Control Number: 16/614,393
`Art Unit: 2413
`
`IY.C./
`Examiner, Art Unit 2413
`
`/UN C CHO/
`Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2413
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`Page 16
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`