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 .Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/17/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 12, 14 and 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 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.
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 owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to 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 owned as of the effective filing 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 12, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim; Yuchul et al. US PGPUB 20180309513 A1, in view of CHOI; Kyungjun et al. US PGPUB 20200092880 A1, further in view of ASHRAF; Shehzad Ali et al. US PGPUB 20220174649 A1.
Regarding claim 12. Kim teaches A terminal comprising:
a receiver (Fig. 3, Radio/Antenna 330/335) that receives assignment information of an uplink resource in downlink; ([0010] the BS may transmit a slot format indicator (SFI) to the UE. The SFI may indicate the transmission direction for each of the plurality of symbols included in one or more slots.) and
a transmitter (Fig. 3, Radio/Antenna 330/335) that performs uplink transmission by using the uplink resource, ([0121] In some embodiments, the SFI may indicate any of the uplink-centric slot formats shown in FIG. 9. These slot formats vary in aggregation level, i.e., the number of slots that are combined together to form a continuous uplink region. The main use cases for these uplink-centric slot formats are PUSCH and/or PUCCH transmission.)
Kim doesn’t teach wherein
the receiver receives data by a sidelink resource, where the data is dynamically allocated, in a sidelink region in a first uplink (UL) slot from another terminal, and
the transmitter performs uplink transmission in a second slot adjacent to the first UL slot.
wherein the sidelink resource is a resource designated by downlink control information received by the other terminal from a base station for scheduling of sidelink transmission, and
wherein the sidelink regions is configured by a high-layer signaling.
However, Choi teaches
the receiver receives data by a sidelink resource in a sidelink region in a first uplink (UL) slot from another terminal, ([0177] When the slot format of FIG. 11 is informed, the bit size of the slot configuration information in the US-PDCCH may be 3 bits. On the other hand, the format/configuration of the slot is not limited to only DL and UL, and there may be configurations such as DL, UL, any, sidelink, blank, and the like.
See Fig. 11 format 1-6) and
the transmitter performs uplink transmission in a second slot adjacent to the first UL slot. ([0145] In this case, the GC-PDCCH of the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot may indicate the slot configuration before the UL-only slot, and the UE may use the slot configuration information of the GC-PDCCH received in the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot in order to identify whether the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot is a DL-only slot.)
wherein the sidelink resource is a resource designated by downlink control information received by the other terminal from a base station for scheduling of sidelink transmission, ( [0177] When the slot format of FIG. 11 is informed, the bit size of the slot configuration information in the US-PDCCH may be 3 bits. On the other hand, the format/configuration of the slot is not limited to only DL and UL, and there may be configurations such as DL, UL, any, sidelink, blank, and the like. ) and
wherein the sidelink regions is configured by a high-layer signaling. ([0126] In order to inform the UE of the slot format through the SFI_GC-PDCCH, the base station may inform the UE of slot formats that can be indicated by the SFI_GC-PDCCH in advance. In this case, the slot formats that can be indicated by the SFI_GC-PDCCH may be provided to the UE using a UE-specific RRC signal.)
in order to reduce the signaling overhead by using Symbol indicator value scheme ([0116])
Kim and Choi are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Choi with the technique of symbol indicator value scheme in order to reduce the signaling overhead.
Kim and Choi does not teach
Where the data is dynamically allocated.
However, Ashraf teaches where the data is dynamically allocated. ([0043] the access node 100 may send DCI indicating allocated radio resources of the PSCCH to be used for transmission of the first SCI and the second SCI, and allocated radio resources of the PSSCH to be used for sending the actual data transmission.)
In order to efficiently control SL communication by centralize SL resource allocation ([0043] and [0007])
Kim and Ashraf are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Kim with technique of centralized SL allocation in Ashraf in order to efficiently control SL communication.
Regarding claim 14. Kim teaches A communication system comprising: a terminal (Fig. 2, 106) comprising:
a receiver (Fig. 3, Radio/Antenna 330/335) that receives assignment information of an uplink resource in downlink; ([0010] the BS may transmit a slot format indicator (SFI) to the UE. The SFI may indicate the transmission direction for each of the plurality of symbols included in one or more slots.) and
and a transmitter (Fig. 3, Radio/Antenna 330/335) that performs uplink transmission by using the uplink resource, ([0121] In some embodiments, the SFI may indicate any of the uplink-centric slot formats shown in FIG. 9. These slot formats vary in aggregation level, i.e., the number of slots that are combined together to form a continuous uplink region. The main use cases for these uplink-centric slot formats are PUSCH and/or PUCCH transmission.)
a base station (Fig. 2, Base Station 102) comprising a transmitter (Fig. 4, Radio 430, Communication Chain 432 and Antenna 434) that transmits the assignment information. ([0010] the BS may transmit a slot format indicator (SFI) to the UE. The SFI may indicate the transmission direction for each of the plurality of symbols included in one or more slots.)
Kim doesn’t teach wherein
the receiver receives data by a sidelink resource, where the data is dynamically allocated, in a sidelink region in a first uplink (UL) slot from another terminal, and
the transmitter performs uplink transmission in a second slot adjacent to the first UL slot.
wherein the sidelink resource is a resource designated by downlink control information received by the other terminal from a base station for scheduling of sidelink transmission, and
wherein the sidelink regions is configured by a high-layer signaling.
However, Choi teaches
the receiver receives data by a sidelink resource in a sidelink region in a first uplink (UL) slot from another terminal, ([0177] When the slot format of FIG. 11 is informed, the bit size of the slot configuration information in the US-PDCCH may be 3 bits. On the other hand, the format/configuration of the slot is not limited to only DL and UL, and there may be configurations such as DL, UL, any, sidelink, blank, and the like.
See Fig. 11 format 1-6) and
the transmitter performs uplink transmission in a second slot adjacent to the first UL slot. ([0145] In this case, the GC-PDCCH of the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot may indicate the slot configuration before the UL-only slot, and the UE may use the slot configuration information of the GC-PDCCH received in the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot in order to identify whether the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot is a DL-only slot.)
wherein the sidelink resource is a resource designated by downlink control information received by the other terminal from a base station for scheduling of sidelink transmission, ( [0177] When the slot format of FIG. 11 is informed, the bit size of the slot configuration information in the US-PDCCH may be 3 bits. On the other hand, the format/configuration of the slot is not limited to only DL and UL, and there may be configurations such as DL, UL, any, sidelink, blank, and the like. ) and
wherein the sidelink regions is configured by a high-layer signaling. ([0126] In order to inform the UE of the slot format through the SFI_GC-PDCCH, the base station may inform the UE of slot formats that can be indicated by the SFI_GC-PDCCH in advance. In this case, the slot formats that can be indicated by the SFI_GC-PDCCH may be provided to the UE using a UE-specific RRC signal.)
in order to reduce the signaling overhead by using Symbol indicator value scheme ([0116])
Kim and Choi are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Choi with the technique of symbol indicator value scheme in order to reduce the signaling overhead.
Kim and Choi does not teach
Where the data is dynamically allocated.
However, Ashraf teaches where the data is dynamically allocated. ([0043] the access node 100 may send DCI indicating allocated radio resources of the PSCCH to be used for transmission of the first SCI and the second SCI, and allocated radio resources of the PSSCH to be used for sending the actual data transmission.)
In order to efficiently control SL communication by centralize SL resource allocation ([0043] and [0007])
Kim and Ashraf are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Kim with technique of centralized SL allocation in Ashraf in order to efficiently control SL communication.
Regarding claim 15. Kim taches A communication method executed by a terminal, the communication method comprising: receiving assignment information of an uplink resource in downlink; ([0010] the BS may transmit a slot format indicator (SFI) to the UE. The SFI may indicate the transmission direction for each of the plurality of symbols included in one or more slots.) and
performing uplink transmission by using the uplink resource, ([0121] In some embodiments, the SFI may indicate any of the uplink-centric slot formats shown in FIG. 9. These slot formats vary in aggregation level, i.e., the number of slots that are combined together to form a continuous uplink region. The main use cases for these uplink-centric slot formats are PUSCH and/or PUCCH transmission.)
Kim does not teach
Kim doesn’t teach wherein
the receiver receives data by a sidelink resource, where the data is dynamically allocated, in a sidelink region in a first uplink (UL) slot from another terminal, and the terminal performs uplink transmission in a second slot adjacent to the first UL slot.
wherein the sidelink resource is a resource designated by downlink control information received by the other terminal from a base station for scheduling of sidelink transmission, and
wherein the sidelink regions is configured by a high-layer signaling.
However, Choi teaches
the terminal receives data by a sidelink resource in a sidelink region in a first uplink (UL) slot from another terminal, ([0177] When the slot format of FIG. 11 is informed, the bit size of the slot configuration information in the US-PDCCH may be 3 bits. On the other hand, the format/configuration of the slot is not limited to only DL and UL, and there may be configurations such as DL, UL, any, sidelink, blank, and the like.
See Fig. 11 format 1-6) and
the terminal performs uplink transmission in a second slot adjacent to the first UL slot. ([0145] In this case, the GC-PDCCH of the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot may indicate the slot configuration before the UL-only slot, and the UE may use the slot configuration information of the GC-PDCCH received in the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot in order to identify whether the slot (e.g., slot n+k) immediately before the UL-only slot is a DL-only slot.)
wherein the sidelink resource is a resource designated by downlink control information received by the other terminal from a base station for scheduling of sidelink transmission, ( [0177] When the slot format of FIG. 11 is informed, the bit size of the slot configuration information in the US-PDCCH may be 3 bits. On the other hand, the format/configuration of the slot is not limited to only DL and UL, and there may be configurations such as DL, UL, any, sidelink, blank, and the like. ) and
wherein the sidelink regions is configured by a high-layer signaling. ([0126] In order to inform the UE of the slot format through the SFI_GC-PDCCH, the base station may inform the UE of slot formats that can be indicated by the SFI_GC-PDCCH in advance. In this case, the slot formats that can be indicated by the SFI_GC-PDCCH may be provided to the UE using a UE-specific RRC signal.)
in order to reduce the signaling overhead by using Symbol indicator value scheme ([0116])
Kim and Choi are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Choi with the technique of symbol indicator value scheme in order to reduce the signaling overhead.
Kim and Choi does not teach
Where the data is dynamically allocated.
However, Ashraf teaches where the data is dynamically allocated. ([0043] the access node 100 may send DCI indicating allocated radio resources of the PSCCH to be used for transmission of the first SCI and the second SCI, and allocated radio resources of the PSSCH to be used for sending the actual data transmission.)
In order to efficiently control SL communication by centralize SL resource allocation ([0043] and [0007])
Kim and Ashraf are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Kim with technique of centralized SL allocation in Ashraf in order to efficiently control SL communication.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Choi and Ashraf as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Gupta; Piyush et al. US PGPUB 20180049143 A1
Regarding claim 16. Kim and Choi and Ashraf teach The terminal as claimed in claim 12, Kim and Choi do not teach wherein a time gap separates a first downlink resource and the sidelink resource of the same slot, and the sidelink resource and a second downlink resource of the adjacent slot.
However, Gupta teaches
wherein a time gap ([0100] As illustrated in each of FIGS. 9-13, a time gap (e.g., guard interval, guard period, etc.) between adjacent data portions, if any, may enable a device to transition from a listening/receiving state (e.g., during DSS 904 for a non-primary device) to a transmitting state (e.g., during STS 906 for a non-primary device); and/or to transition from a transmitting state (e.g., during STS 906 for a non-primary device) to a listening/receiving state (e.g., during DRS 908 for either a primary or non-primary transmitting device).) separates a first downlink resource and the sidelink resource of the same slot, ([0102] Notably, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the DL burst 902 may be included in the beginning or initial portion of the sidelink-centric slot 900.) and the sidelink resource and a second downlink resource of the adjacent slot. (Fig. 8, see DL burst 810 following sidelink portion 806, with a gap of UL burst 808. On Fig. 9, the time gap are illustrated further in detail).
in order to minimize the likelihood of interference with DL/UL control/scheduling information of nominal traffic ([0098]).
Kim and Gupta are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus in Kim with the technique of UL/SL slot sharing in Gupta in order to minimize the likelihood of interference with DL/UL control/scheduling information of nominal traffic.
Conclusion
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marcus Smith can be reached on 571 270-1096. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZHAOHUI YANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468