DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This action is responsive to communication filed on 11/04/2025. Claims 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12 and 16-20 are previously cancelled. No claims are currently amended. Claims 1, 4, 6-8, 11, 13-15 and 21 are pending for examination.
Response to Arguments
2. In view of the notice of appeal filled on 11/04/2025, PROSECUTION IS HERERBY REOPENED. New grounds of rejection are set forth below.
Jeffrey Rutkowski (SPE) has approved of reopening prosecution by signing below.
Applicant’s arguments filed on 11/04/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1, 8 and 15 for the claim limitations “wherein the one or more V2X QoS measurements includes a round-trip time associated with the first communication station, an indication of a delay associated with the first communication station, or an indication of a V2X message loss associated with the V2X message” have been considered. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Zhao_1 (US 2021/0314923 A1).
Again, applicant’s arguments filed on 11/04/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1, 8 and 15 for the claim limitations “generating a returned version of the V2X message that includes the one or more V2X QoS measurements; and sending, by the computing device and to the first communication station, the returned version of the V2X message.” have been considered. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Basu (US 2020/0113015 A1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 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.
4. Claims 1, 8 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 2020/0100167 A1) in view of Basu (US 2020/0113015 A1), further in view of Zhao_1 (US 2021/0314923 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 8 and 15, Cheng teaches A method comprising:
receiving, by a computing device (406-Fig. 4-base station) and from a first communication station (402-Fig. 4-Vehicle 1/V1), a vehicle- to-everything, V2X, message (message 410) of a vehicle (V1) (Fig. 5; [0057], Fig. 4--transmitting device 402 transmits a message 410 {is a V2X message that includes QoS parameter —[0055]} that is received by relay device 406.)(Hence the 406 receives V2X message from the 402.);
determining, by the computing device (406-Fig. 4-base station) and based on the V2X message(message 410), one or more V2X quality of service, QoS, measurements(Fig. 5; [0057], Fig. 4--transmitting device 402 transmits a message 410 {is a V2X message that includes QoS parameter —[0055]; } that is received by relay device 406. Wherein [0059], the message includes QoS.)(Hence the 406 determines QoS measurement based on the received V2X message.);
determining, by the computing device (406-Fig. 4-base station), a second communication station (404-Fig. 4-Vehicle 2/V2) to forward the V2X message (message 410) based on at least one of V2N message forwarding information or V2X QoS information (Fig. 5; [0059], Fig. 4- the transmitting device 402 indicates whether the message 410 should be relayed or not. The relay device (e.g., 406)decides that the message 410 { is a V2X message that includes QoS parameter—[0055]} to be relayed by an indication of QoS indicator is placed with the message header; wherein [0057], The Relay device 406 transmits relayed message 412 based on the message 410 to the receiving device 404.) (Hence the 406 determines the 404 to forward the V2X message based on the V2X QoS info.);
generating a forwarded version (message 412) of the V2X message(message 410) that includes the one or more V2X QoS measurements(Fig. 5; [0057], Fig. 4- The Relay device 406 transmits relayed message 412{is generated by the relay device—[0008]—the message includes QoS—[0055]} based on the message 410 to the receiving device 404)(Hence the 406 generates the 412 that includes the QoS measurement.);
sending, by the computing device (406-Fig. 4-base station) and to the second communication station (404-Fig. 4-Vehicle 2/V2), the forwarded version (message 412) of the V2X message (message 410)( Fig. 5; [0057], Fig. 4-The Relay device 406 transmits relayed message 412 based on the message 410 to the receiving device 404.)(Hence the 406 transmits the 412 to the 404.);
Cheng does not teach generating a returned version of the V2X message that includes the one or more V2X QoS measurements; and sending, by the computing device and to the first communication station, the returned version of the V2X message.
However, in an analogous art, Basu teaches a method comprising:
generating a returned version (240) of the V2X message (235) that includes the one or more V2X QoS measurements ( [0067], Fig. 2, V2X remote unit interest indication 235 {for V2X communication/V2X message that includes QoS—[0058]; [0061]} is sent from UE 205 to RAN node 220; Then the RAN node 220 sends {obvious after generating} a V2X Response 240 to the UE 205.) (Hence the RAN Node generates a returned version/240 of the received V2X message/235 that includes V2X QoS measurement.); and
sending, by the computing device (RAN node 220-Fig. 2) and to the first communication station (UE 205—Fig. 2), the returned version (240) of the V2X message (235)( [0067], Fig. 2, V2X remote unit interest indication 235 {for V2X communication/V2X message that includes QoS—[0058]; [0061]} is sent from UE 205 to RAN node 220; Then the RAN node 220 sends {obvious after generating} a V2X Response 240 to the UE 205.) (Hence the RAN node sends the generated returned version/240 of the received V2X message/235 to the UE.)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Basu and apply them on the teaching of Cheng to provide a method for performing efficient interworking for vehicle-to-everything communications (Basu; [0005]).
Cheng- Basu does not teach wherein the one or more V2X QoS measurements includes a round-trip time associated with the first communication station, an indication of a delay associated with the first communication station, or an indication of a V2X message loss associated with the V2X message.
However, in an analogous art, Zhao_1 teaches wherein the one or more V2X QoS measurements includes a round-trip time associated with the first communication station (not selected), an indication of a delay associated with the first communication station (1st terminal device) ( [0073], determined by 1st terminal device according to an attribute of data to-be-transmitted. wherein [0074], the attribute of data to-be-transmitted includes at least one of: a delay requirement of the data to-be-transmitted, quality of service (QoS) of the data to-be-transmitted and a vehicle to everything (V2X) 5G QoS identifier (V2X 5QI or VQI) value of the data to-be-transmitted.) (Hence V2X QoS measurement includes indication of delay associated with the 1st terminal device.), or an indication of a V2X message loss associated with the V2X message (not selected).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Zhao_1 and apply them on the teaching of Cheng- Basu to achieve data transmission efficiently (Zhao_1; [0005]).
5. Claims 4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 2020/0100167 A1) in view of Basu (US 2020/0113015 A1), in view of Zhao_1 (US 2021/0314923 A1), in view of Sun (US 2020/0281007 A1), further in view of Takahashi (US 2020/0334554 A1).
Regarding claims 4 and 11, Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 do not teach wherein the V2X message includes a first timestamp determined by the first communication station.
However, in an analogous art, Sun teaches wherein the V2X message includes a first timestamp determined by the first communication station (V1) ([0007]; [0059]), and
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Sun and apply them on the teaching of Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 to increase system efficiency, thus leading to higher network capacity and reduced operation cost (Sun; [0014]).
Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1-Sun do not teach wherein the returned version of the V2X message includes a server identifier, a second timestamp determined by the computing device, a timestamp echo that indicates the first timestamp, and a server processing time for the V2X message.
However, in an analogous art, Takahashi teaches wherein the returned version of the V2X message includes a server identifier, a second timestamp determined by the computing device, a timestamp echo that indicates the first timestamp, and a server processing time for the V2X message ([0007]; [0093]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Takahashi and apply them on the teaching of Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1-Sun to increase the security of the V2X network and improves automobile safety and convenience (Takahashi; [0171]).
6. Claims 6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 2020/0100167 A1) in view of Basu (US 2020/0113015 A1), in view of Zhao_1 (US 2021/0314923 A1), further in view of Park (US 2018/0124656 A1).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 does not teach further comprising: based on a determination that a QoS target is satisfied, storing, by the computing device, an indication that vehicle-to-network message forwarding is enabled between the first communication station and the second communication station; and based on a determination that the QoS target is not satisfied, storing, by the computing device, an indication that vehicle-to-network message forwarding is disabled between the first communication station and the second communication station.
However, in an analogous art, Park teaches further comprising:
based on a determination that a QoS target is satisfied (V2x QoS target is V2X service), storing, by the computing device (base station), an indication that vehicle-to-network (V2N) message forwarding is enabled between the first communication station (UE) and the second communication station (SeNB) ( [0178], request message comprises V2X QoS requirement information for a bearer (V2N). However, because an information field (QCI) indicating V2X QoS requirement information may be associated with V2X services or other type of services, a base station receiving the request message with the V2X QoS requirement information may be confused in whether a bearer(V2N) required for the UE is associated with V2X services or other type of services, and it may not be able to make a decision on accepting the request if it does not support V2X services. Hence based on determination that V2X QoS target is V2X service(satisfied), the base station stores an indication that V2N forwarding is enabled/accepted.); and
based on a determination that the QoS target is not satisfied (V2x QoS target is not V2X service), storing, by the computing device (base station), an indication that vehicle-to-network(V2N) message forwarding is disabled between the first communication station (UE) and the second communication station (SeNB) ([0178], request message comprises V2X QoS requirement information for a bearer (V2N). However, because an information field (QCI) indicating V2X QoS requirement information may be associated with V2X services or other type of services, a base station receiving the request message with the V2X QoS requirement information may be confused in whether a bearer(V2N) required for the UE is associated with V2X services or other type of services, and it may not be able to make a decision on accepting the request if it does not support V2X services. Hence based on determination that V2X QoS target is not V2X service (not satisfied), the base station stores an indication that V2N forwarding is disabled/not accepted.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Park and apply them on the teaching of Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 to improve the handover procedures for a UE with V2X services and provide enhancements to current handover mechanism and increase V2X service reliability and continuity (Park; [0181]).
7. Claims 7, 14 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 2020/0100167 A1) in view of Basu (US 2020/0113015 A1), in view of Zhao_1 (US 2021/0314923 A1), further in view of Zhao_2 (US 2019/0288781 A1).
Regarding claims 7 and 14, Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 does not teach further comprising: determining, by the first communication station, a one-way delay between the first communication station and the second communication station; determining, by the first communication station, a directional loss between the first communication station and the second communication station; determining, by the first communication station, a round-trip time between the first communication station and the second communication station; sending, by the first communication station to one or more other communication stations and/or to the computing device, within one or more V2X messages, an indication of the one-way delay between the first communication station and the second communication station, an indication of the directional loss between the first communication station and the second communication station, and an indication of the round-trip time between the first communication station and the second communication station.
However, in an analogous art, Zhao_2 teaches further comprising:
determining, by the first communication station, a one-way delay between the first communication station (test vehicle) and the second communication station (user test terminal—in the test vehicle) ([0064]; [0065]; obvious determines.);
determining, by the first communication station, a directional loss between the first communication station (test vehicle) and the second communication station (user test terminal—in the test vehicle) ([0064]; [0065]; obvious determines.);
determining, by the first communication station, a round-trip time between the first communication station (test vehicle) and the second communication station (user test terminal—in the test vehicle) ([0064]; [0065]; obvious determines.);
sending, by the first communication station (test vehicle) to one or more other communication stations and/or to the computing device(ENodeB base station ), within one or more V2X messages, an indication of the one-way delay between the first communication station and the second communication station, an indication of the directional loss between the first communication station and the second communication station, and an indication of the round-trip time between the first communication station and the second communication station ([0028]; [0064] & [0067]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Zhao_2 and apply them on the teaching of Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 to provide LTE-V based Internet of Vehicles communication test system to achieve low latency and highly reliable communication services between vehicle and vehicle, vehicle and base station, base station and base station, to meet the needs of road safety and traffic efficiency applications(Zhao_2; [0018]).
Regarding claims 21, Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 does not teach wherein the returned version of the V2X message includes an indication of uplink loss and an indication of uplink delay between the vehicle and the first communication station.
However, in an analogous art, Zhao_2 teaches wherein the returned version of the V2X message includes an indication of uplink loss and an indication of uplink delay between the vehicle and the first communication station ([0065]; [0066]; [0076]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Zhao_2 and apply them on the teaching of Cheng - Basu - Zhao_1 to provide LTE-V based Internet of Vehicles communication test system to achieve low latency and highly reliable communication services between vehicle and vehicle, vehicle and base station, base station and base station, to meet the needs of road safety and traffic efficiency applications(Zhao_2; [0018]).
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEHEDI S ALEY whose telephone number is (571)270-0439. The examiner can normally be reached Mon, Thus, Fri: 9-5. 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.
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/MEHEDI S ALEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
/JEFFREY M RUTKOWSKI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2415