DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA 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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 09/17/2025 has been entered.
Status of Claims
3. Claims 1-16 are pending wherein claims 1, 7, 11, and 13-15 are in independent form.
4. Claims 1, 7, 13, and 14 have been amended.
5. Claims 17 and 18 have been cancelled.
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant's arguments filed on 09/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The reasons set forth below.
7. On page 11 of the remarks, applicant argues, “Thus, Xi does not disclose the following features of amended Claim 1 (emphasis added): both the broadcasting of the second message by using the first time-frequency resource selected and the broadcasting of the second message by using the at least one second time-frequency resource selected comprising the payload and control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected”.
In response, examiner respectfully disagrees because:
Xi discloses to transmit the same message (TB 610, Fig. 6B) multiple times using different time frequency resources. Each transmission of the message/TB includes sidelink control information (SCI) indicating resources for sidelink data (PSSCH) transmission. The SCI (611a, Fig. 6B) with the initial transmission includes resource information for initial transmission (611b) and subsequent retransmissions (612b). The SCI with the first retransmission (612a) includes resource information for the first retransmission (612b) and subsequent retransmission (613b) (Fig. 6B, Par 0146-0147). Therefore, the initial transmission 611 (broadcasting second message using the first time frequency resource) and subsequent retransmission 612 (broadcasting second message using the second time frequency resource) includes payload (PSSCH) and control data (PSCCH) providing resource information to identify both the first time frequency resource (resource information corresponding to PSSCH 611b) and the second time frequency resource (resource information corresponding to PSSCH 612b).
8. On page 12 of the remarks, applicant argues, “Indeed, the retransmission, i.e., the "the broadcasting of the second message by using the at least one second time-frequency resource selecteď' does not comprise "control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time-frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected."
In response, examiner respectfully disagrees because:
Claim recites that both the broadcasting of the second message by using first time frequency resource and second time frequency resource enable to identify the first time frequency resource and the second time frequency resource. Claim does not recite that only the broadcasting of the second message by using the second time-frequency resource enables to identify both the first time-frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected.
9. On page 14 of the remarks, applicant argues, “Therefore, there is no equipment receiver able to receive "both in a first time-frequency resource used and in a second time-frequency resource used, the second message broadcast" since no equipment receiver can be both located in a first beam and a second beam.”
In response, examiner respectfully disagrees because:
It is not clear why a receiver is not able to receive transmission from multiple beams. Li never discloses that one beam is serving only one RX UE.
10. On page 14 of the remarks, applicant argues, “Neither Xi nor Ryu teach one of ordinary skill in the art to broadcast the second message both in a first time-frequency resource used and in a second time-frequency resource in a same direction.”
In response, examiner respectfully disagrees because:
Claim does not recite that both the broadcasting of the second message using the first time frequency resource and the second time frequency resource are performed in the same direction.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
11. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The5ollowingg is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
12. Claims 7-10 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 7 recites to combine “the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the first time-frequency resource and in the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the second time-frequency resource and by decoding the data thus combined”. According to the claim limitation, the processing of the control data includes combining the control data from both the broadcasting of the second message and decoding that combined control data. However, specification discloses to combine the useful data from both the broadcasted second message and decode the combined useful data (US PG-PUB 20220150870, Fig. 2, Par 0101-0104). Paragraph [0104] states, “then the receiver equipments Rx1-Rx6 combine the useful data received in the two messages DIFF1 and DIFF2 and decode the data thus combined in a step E9”). Specification does not disclose to combine the control data and decode the combined control data. As the specification does not disclose to combine the control data from both the broadcasted second message and decode the combined control data, claim fails to comply with the written description requirement.
Claim 14 recites limitation similar to claim 7 above and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Claims 8-10 depend upon claim 7 and thereby, are rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
13. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
14. Claims 7-10 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites to combine “the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the first time-frequency resource and in the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the second time-frequency resource and by decoding the data thus combined”. The limitation to decode the combined data (decoding the data thus combined) could be indicative of decoding the combined control data because only the control data from both the broadcasted second message is combined. However, claim does not clearly specify that the control data thus combined is decoded. Therefore, it is not clear whether the control data or other data is decoded.
Claim 14 recites limitation similar to claim 7 above and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Claims 8-10 depend upon claim 7 and thereby, are rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
15. 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.
16. Claims 1-4, 11-13, 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al (US 20220007403 A1, hereinafter referred to as Li) in view of Xi et al (WO 2020033622, hereinafter referred to as Xi).
Re claim 1, Li teaches a method of broadcasting at least one second message in a broadcasting group comprising a plurality of receiver equipments (RX UEs) and an emitter equipment (Tx UE), the second message comprising a payload to be processed by the receiver equipments (broadcast/groupcast message includes control and data, Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0032, Par 0046, Par 0055, Par 0059, Par 0075), the broadcasting method being implemented by said the emitter equipment (TX UE) (Fig. 6-7, Abstract) and comprising:
(i) receiving a first message emitted by a base station of a radio communication network (gNB configuring resources for sidelink broadcast/group-cast; DCI from gNB scheduling resources for sidelink broadcast/group-cast) to which all of the equipments belonging to the broadcasting group are attached (RX UEs and TX UE receiving sidelink broadcast/group-cast resource allocation are under the coverage of the gNB), comprising parameters identifying time-frequency resources of a pool of time-frequency resources for broadcasting the message (resource allocated/scheduled for sidelink broadcast/group-cast) (Fig. 6-7, Fig. 17-18, Par 0050-0052, Par 0059-0070, Par 0075-0080, Par 0083-0090, Par 0092-0095, Par 0102, Par 0160-0162, Par 0169-0174, Par 0177-0182, Par 0187-0190, Par 0201-0202, Par 0205, Par 0208; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 35, 37, 41, 48, 53, 57, 68, 73);
(ii) selecting in the pool of time-frequency resources, both a first time-frequency resource and at least one second time-frequency resource (receiving k time-frequency resources for k directions/beams, k time-frequency resources for initial transmission, or evenly dividing the assigned resources into k parts and using each part for one beam), (Par 0065-0070, Par 0084-0090, Par 0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0213, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 35, 37, 41, 48, 53, 57, 68, 73),
(iii) the at least one second time-frequency resource in a subset of the time- frequency resources of the pool of time-frequency resources (time-frequency resources used for second/subsequent repetition/beam), different in time from the first time-frequency resource (sidelink transmission for each repetition/beam direction uses different time symbol/slot/resource) (Par 0065-0070, Par 0084-0090, Par 0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 35, 37, 41, 48, 53, 57, 68, 73);
(iv) subsequently to selecting both the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource (receiving k time-frequency resources for k directions/beams, k time-frequency resources for initial transmission, or evenly dividing the assigned resources into k parts and using each part for one beam), a broadcasting of the second message (broadcasting/groupcasting sidelink transmission to the RX UEs through multiple directions/k beams) by using both the first time-frequency resource selected (time-frequency resources used for first repetition/first beam) and a broadcasting of the second message using the at least one second time-frequency resource selected (time-frequency resources used for broadcasting/groupcasting of the subsequent repetition/beam direction), the broadcasting of the second message using the at least one second time-frequency resource being independent from any acknowledge receipt, from the receiver equipments, of the broadcasting of the second message by using the first time- frequency resource (each of the initial transmission in different direction using different beam is independent of any HARQ feedback) (Fig. 6-7, Par 0065-0070, Par 0084-0090, Par 0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0213, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365, Par 0388, Par 0404, Par 0467, Par 0488; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 29, alternative 1, 30-alternative 2, 35, 37, 41, 48-49, 53, 57, 68, 73),
(v) both the broadcasting of the second message by using the first time-frequency resource selected and the broadcasting of the second message by using the at least one second time-frequency resource selected comprising the payload (data) and control data (control information) (Fig. 1, Fig. 6-7, Par 0050, Par 0091-0092, Par 0308, Par 0351, Par 0375, Par 0453; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0032, Par 0046, Par 0055, Par 0059, Par 0075);
Li does not explicitly disclose that control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time- frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected.
Xi teaches that control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time- frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected (SCI includes resource information determined/selected for sidelink data transmission and retransmission) (Fig. 2-4, Fig. 6A-B, Fig. 13, Table 1-3, Par 0098-0100, Par 0107-0108, Par 0110-0112, Par 0143-0147, Par 0150-0151, Par 0155-0158).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify Li by including the step that control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time- frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected, as taught by Xi for the purpose of determining the resources used for PSSCH transmission and the decoding parameters for sidelink data/PSSCH transmission, as taught by Xi (Par 0143).
Claim 13 recites an emitter equipment performing the steps recited in claim 1 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1. Li further teaches that the emitter equipment comprises at least one processor (Par 0561-0562, Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0102-0103).
Claim 16 recites non-transitory computer storage medium, storing instructions of a computer program to be executed by a processor to perform the method recited in claim 1 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1. Li further teaches non-transitory computer storage medium, storing instructions of a computer program to be executed by a processor (Fig. 9F, Par 0561-0566).
Re claim 2, Li teaches that a time-frequency resource is identified by an instant-frequency pair (frequency resources in a time instance/symbol/slot), said the subset of the time-frequency resources further comprises at least the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource is identified by an instant distinct from an instant identifying the first time-frequency resource (different time instances/slots/symbols for broadcasting/groupcasting in different beam directions/repetitions) (Fig. 1, Fig. 6-7, Fig. 10-12, Fig. 20, Par 0060-0073, Par 0084-0095, Par 0100-0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0222-0223, Par 0263, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365).
Re claim 3, Li teaches that a time-frequency resource is identified by an instant-frequency pair (frequency resources in a time instance/symbol/slot), the second time-frequency resource is identified by an instant distinct from an instant identifying the first time-frequency resource selected (different time instances/slots/symbols for broadcasting/groupcasting in different beam directions/repetitions) (Fig. 1, Fig. 6-7, Fig. 10-12, Fig. 20, Par 0060-0073, Par 0084-0095, Par 0100-0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0222-0223, Par 0263, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365).
Re claim 4, Li teaches that the message broadcast to the receiver equipments of the broadcasting group further comprises control data relative to the time-frequency resources used for the broadcasting of the second message (SCI indicating resource assignment for initial transmission and retransmission) and the payload (Sidelink data) intended to be processed by the receiver equipments of the broadcasting group (Fig. 11-15, Fig. 20-21, Par 0220, Par 0237-0240, Par 0263-0269, Par 0275).
Re claim 11, Li teaches a method of emitting at least a first message in a broadcasting group (gNB broadcasting resource allocation for sidelink broadcast/group-cast; DCI from gNB scheduling resources for sidelink broadcast/group-cast) comprising a plurality of receiver equipments (Rx UEs) and an emitter equipment (Tx UE), the broadcasting emission method being implemented by a base station (gNB) of a radio communication network to which all of the equipments belonging to the broadcasting group are attached (RX UEs and TX UE receiving sidelink broadcast/group-cast resource allocation are under the coverage of the gNB) (Fig. 6-7, Abstract) and comprising:
(i) dividing a pool of time-frequency resources into a plurality of time-frequency resources for the broadcasting, by the emitter equipment, of at least a second message (broadcasting/groupcasting sidelink data by Tx UE) in the broadcasting group (allocating time frequency resources for sidelink broadcast/groupcast), the broadcasting using two distinct time frequency resources among the plurality of time-frequency resources (broadcasting/groupcasting sidelink transmission to the RX UEs through multiple directions/k beams using distinct time frequency resources) (Fig. 6-7, Fig. 17-18, Par 0050-0052, Par 0059-0070, Par 0075-0080, Par 0083-0090, Par 0092-0095, Par 0102, Par 0160-0162, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0182, Par 0187-0190, Par 0197-0202, Par 0205- 0208, Par 0213, Par 0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0363-0365),
(ii) the broadcasting being performed using the two distinct time-frequency resources independently from any acknowledge receipt of reception of the second message by using one of the two distinct time-frequency resources (each of the initial transmission in different direction using different beam is independent of any HARQ feedback), the two distinct time-frequency resource being different in time (broadcasting/groupcasting sidelink transmission to the RX UEs through multiple directions/k beams using distinct time frequency resources) (Fig. 6-7, Fig. 17-18, Par 0050-0052, Par 0059-0070, Par 0075-0080, Par 0083-0090, Par 0092-0095, Par 0102, Par 0160-0162, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0182, Par 0187-0190, Par 0197-0202, Par 0205- 0208, Par 0213, Par 0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0363-0365),
(iii) both the second message broadcast by using the two distinct time-frequency resources comprising a same payload (data) and control data (control information (sidelink broadcast/groupcast transmission includes both the data and control information; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0032, Par 0046, Par 0055, Par 0059, Par 0075)) (Fig. 1, Fig. 6-7, Par 0050, Par 0065-0070, Par 0084-0092, Par 0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0213, Par 0308-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0351, Par 0361-0365, Par 0375, Par 0388, Par 0404, Par 0453, Par 0467, Par 0488, Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 29, alternative 1, 30-alternative 2, 35, 37, 41, 48-49, 53, 57, 68, 73 --- The UE selects/uses different time frequency resources for broadcasting/groupcasting the same information in different directions using different beams and thus, the resources used for broadcasting/groupcasting on beam 1 is considered as the first time frequency resource, the resources used for broadcasting/groupcasting on beam 2 is considered as the second time frequency resource, and so on. As the UE selects/receives/determines distinct resources for multiple directions/beams and broadcasts/groupcasts the same information through multiple directions/beams, Li clearly discloses to select a first time frequency resource and a second time frequency resource and subsequently, broadcast the same message via both the first time frequency resource and the second time frequency resource. U.S. Provisional No. 62/737,257 also discloses to repeat the initial transmission a number of times using different resources (Repetition disclosed in pages 18, 27, 49, 61, 69, 73).);
(iv) emitting the first message comprising parameters identifying the time- frequency resources in the broadcasting group (allocating time frequency resources for sidelink broadcast/groupcast) (Fig. 6-7, Fig. 17-18, Par 0050-0052, Par 0059-0070, Par 0075-0080, Par 0083-0090, Par 0092-0095, Par 0102, Par 0160-0162, Par 0169-0174, Par 0177-0182, Par 0187-0190, Par 0201-0202, Par 0205, Par 0208).
Li does not explicitly disclose that control data comprising information enabling to identify both two distinct time- frequency resource.
Xi teaches that control data comprising information enabling to identify both two distinct time- frequency resource (SCI includes resource information determined/selected for sidelink data transmission) (Fig. 6A-B, Fig. 13, Par 0136, Par 0143-0147, Par 0150-0151, Par 0155-0158).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify Li by including the step that control data comprising information enabling to identify both two distinct time- frequency resource, as taught by Xi for the purpose of determining the resources used for PSSCH transmission and the decoding parameters for sidelink data/PSSCH transmission, as taught by Xi (Par 0143).
Claim 15 recites a base station performing the steps recited in claim 11 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 11. Li further teaches that the base station comprises at least one processor (Fig. 9G, Par 0571-0573, Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Fig. 9F, Par 0134-0136).
Re claim 12, Li teaches that the parameters identifying the time-frequency resources comprised in the second message comprise an index identifying the time-frequency resources selected for the broadcasting, the first message further comprises at least one lookup table allowing the identification of the time- frequency resources selected via the index (index of the candidate resources, beam index, BWP index, PSCCH allocation list, PSSCH allocation list) Fig. 6-7, Fig. 17-18, Par 0050-0052, Par 0059-0070, Par 0075-0080, Par 0083-0090, Par 0092-Par 0102, Par 0160-0162, Par 0169-0174, Par 0177-0182, Par 0187-0190, Par 0199-0202, Par 0205-Par 0211, Par 0224-0231) .
17. Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li and Xi as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Jha et al (US 20220022167 A1, hereinafter referred to as Jha).
Re claim 5, Li teaches that the control data relative to the time-frequency resources selected for the broadcasting of the second message is identical during the first and the second broadcasting of second the message (SCI indicating the resources reserved for sidelink transmission and repeat transmission) (Fig. 11-15, Fig. 20-21, Par 0220, Par 0237-0240, Par 0263-0269, Par 0275, Par 0282-0287).
Li does not explicitly disclose that the control data comprises a string of bits identifying the time-frequency resources of said the pool of time- frequency resources, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected are represented in said the string of bits by a bit equal to 1 and the other time-frequency resources by a bit equal to 0.
Jha teaches that the control data (SCI) comprises a string of bits identifying the time-frequency resources of the pool of time- frequency resources, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected are represented in said the string of bits by a bit equal to 1 (bit value set to “1” indicating frequency resources for the TTI is reserved for initial and repeat sidelink transmission) and the other time-frequency resources by a bit equal to 0 (when the bit value for a TTI is not set to “1”, it (the TTI is not set to “1”) definitely corresponds to a value “0”. TTI not used for sidelink data (i.e., TTI carrying SCI) is indicated by a bit value “0”) (Fig. 2, Table 2, Par 0042-0051, Par 0078-0082).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify Li by including the step that the control data comprises a string of bits identifying the time-frequency resources of said the pool of time- frequency resources, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected are represented in said the string of bits by a bit equal to 1 and the other time-frequency resources by a bit equal to 0, as taught by Jha for the purpose of transmitting the mission critical or safety critical data reliably within a stringent latency bound, as taught by Jha (Par 0023).
Re claim 6, Li does not explicitly disclose that the control data relative to the time-frequency resources selected for the broadcasting of the second message is distinct during the first and the second broadcasting of the second message, the control data relative to the time-frequency resources comprised in the second message during the first broadcasting comprises an index identifying a first pair consisting of the first time- frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected, and the control data relative to the time-frequency resources comprised in the second message during the second broadcasting comprises an index identifying a second pair consisting of the second time-frequency resource and the first time-frequency resource selected.
Jha teaches that the control data (SCI) relative to the time-frequency resources selected for the broadcasting of the second message is distinct during the first and the second broadcasting of the second message (resource reservation TTIs), the control data relative to the time-frequency resources comprised in the second message during the first broadcasting (SCI corresponding to initial transmission) comprises an index identifying a first pair consisting of the first time- frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected (SCI associated with the initial transmission includes TTIs reserved for initial transmission and subsequent repetitions), and the control data (each transmission includes SCI, Fig. 2, Fig. 3c-3e) relative to the time-frequency resources comprised in the second message during the second broadcasting (the SCI associated with a repeat transmission) comprises an index identifying a second pair consisting of the second time-frequency resource and the first time-frequency resource selected (SCI associated with a repeat transmission indicates resource reservation for current TTI (i.e., for the current repetition) and later TTIs for subsequent repetitions) (Par 0036, Par 0040-0051, Par 0055-0056, Par 0074-0084).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify Li by including the step that the control data relative to the time-frequency resources selected for the broadcasting of the second message is distinct during the first and the second broadcasting of the second message, the control data relative to the time-frequency resources comprised in the second message during the first broadcasting comprises an index identifying a first pair consisting of the first time- frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected, and the control data relative to the time-frequency resources comprised in the second message during the second broadcasting comprises an index identifying a second pair consisting of the second time-frequency resource and the first time-frequency resource selected, as taught by Jha for the purpose of transmitting the mission critical or safety critical data reliably within a stringent latency bound, as taught by Jha (Par 0023).
18. Claims 7, 8, 10, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al (US 20220007403 A1, hereinafter referred to as Li) in view of Ryu et al (US 20150327180 A1, hereinafter referred to as Ryu) and further in view of Xi et al (WO 2020033622, hereinafter referred to as Xi).
Re claim 7, Li teaches a reception method of receiving at least one broadcast second message comprising a payload (broadcast/groupcast message includes control and data, Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0032, Par 0046, Par 0055, Par 0059, Par 0075) in a broadcasting group comprising a plurality of receiver equipments (RX UEs) and an emitter equipment (Tx UE), the reception method being implemented by at least one receiver equipment (RX UE) (Fig. 6-7, Abstract) and comprising:
(i) receiving a first message emitted by a base station of a radio communication network (gNB configuring resources for sidelink broadcast/groupcast; DCI from gNB scheduling resources for sidelink broadcast/group-cast) to which all of the equipments belonging to the broadcasting group are attached (RX UEs and TX UE receiving sidelink broadcast/groupcast resource allocation are under the coverage of the gNB), comprising parameters identifying time-frequency resources of a pool of time-frequency resources that can be used during broadcasting of the second message (resource allocated/scheduled for sidelink broadcast/group-cast) (Fig. 6-7, Fig. 17-18,Par 0050-0052, Par 0059-0070, Par 0075-0080, Par 0083-0090, Par 0092-0095, Par 0102, Par 0160-0162, Par 0169-0174, Par 0177-0182, Par 0187-0190, Par 0201-0202, Par 0205, Par 0208, Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 35, 37, 41, 48, 53, 57, 68, 73);
(ii) receiving both in a first time-frequency resource used (time-frequency resources used for first repetition/first beam) and in a second time-frequency resource used (time-frequency resources used for broadcasting/groupcasting of the subsequent repetition/beam direction), the second message broadcast during a broadcasting (receiving broadcasted/groupcasted sidelink transmission via multiple directions/k beams) (Par 0065-0070, Par 0084-0090, Par 0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365, ; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 35, 37, 41, 48, 53, 57, 68, 73),
(iii) the second time-frequency resource being distinct in time from the first time-frequency resource used (sidelink transmission for each repletion/beam direction uses different time symbol/slot/resource) (Par 0065-0070, Par 0084-0090, Par 0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365; ; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 35, 37, 41, 48, 53, 57, 68, 73);
(iv) receiving the second message broadcast by using the second time-frequency resource being independent from any acknowledge receipt of the reception of the second message by using the first time-frequency resource (each of the initial transmission in different direction using different beam is independent of any HARQ feedback) (Fig. 6-7, Par 0065-0070, Par 0084-0090, Par 0102, Par 0168-0174, Par 0176-0181, Par 0197-0201, Par 0205-0208, Par 0213, Par 0309-0310, Par 0317-0320, Par 0324-0327, Par 0361-0365, Par 0388, Par 0404, Par 0467, Par 0488; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 29, alternative 1, 30-alternative 2, 35, 37, 41, 48-49, 53, 57, 68, 73),
(v) the second message comprising the payload (data) and control data (control information ---sidelink broadcast/groupcast transmission includes both the data and control information; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0032, Par 0046, Par 0055, Par 0059, Par 0075)) (Fig. 1, Fig. 6-7, Par 0050, Par 0091-0092, Par 0308, Par 0351, Par 0375, Par 0453; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0032, Par 0046, Par 0055, Par 0059, Par 0075);
(vi) processing the control data comprised in the broadcast second message (Fig. 6-7, Par 0203-0209, Par 0265-0271, Par 0302; Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Pages 13-14, 35, 37, 41, 48, 53, 57, 68, 73).
Li discloses to decode the data by combining multiple repetitions (Par 0302). Li does not explicitly disclose that
(vii) control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time- frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected,
(viii) processing the control data comprised in the broadcast second message both received in the first time frequency resource and in the second time frequency resource, by combining the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the first time- frequency resource and in the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the second time-frequency resource and by decoding the data thus combined.
Re component (vii), Xi teaches that control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time- frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected (SCI includes resource information determined/selected for sidelink data transmission) (Fig. 6A-B, Fig. 13, Par 0136, Par 0143-0147, Par 0150-0151, Par 0155-0158).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify Li by including the step that (vii) control data comprising information enabling to identify both the first time- frequency resource selected and the at least one second time-frequency resource selected, as taught by Xi for the purpose of determining the resources used for PSSCH transmission and the decoding parameters for sidelink data/PSSCH transmission, as taught by Xi (Par 0143).
Re component (viii), Ryu teaches that (viii) processing the control data comprised in the broadcast second message both received in the first time-frequency resource and in the second time-frequency resource (reception initial transmission and repetition), by combining the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the first time- frequency resource and in the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the second time-frequency resource and by decoding the data thus combined (combining multiple repetitions to decode the received signal) (Par 0084, Par 0097, Par 0144, Par 0154-0155, Par 0158-0160, Par 0181, Par 0198, Par 0210).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify Li by including the step (viii) processing the control data comprised in the broadcast second message both received in the first time frequency resource and in the second time frequency resource, by combining the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the first time- frequency resource and in the control data contained in the second message broadcast by using the second time-frequency resource and by decoding the data thus combined, as taught by Ryu for the purpose of “controlling transmission power of a D2D communication terminal”, and “maintaining or controlling a communication range or coverage of a D2D communication terminal”, as taught by Ryu (Par 0002).
Claim 14 recites a receiver equipment performing the steps recited in claim 7 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7. Li further teaches that the receiver equipment comprises at least one processor (Par 0561-0562, Provisional application No. 62/737,257, Par 0102-0103).
Re claim 8, Li teaches to compare the control data relative to the time-frequency resources used for the broadcasting of the message (monitoring SCI to identify resources used for initial transmission and repeat transmission), when the control data relative to the time-frequency resources used for the broadcasting of the second message received during the first broadcasting and during the second broadcasting correspond (decoding SCI to receive initial transmission and repeat transmission), the processing of the data involves combining the payload comprised in the second message received during the first broadcasting and during the second broadcasting of the second message and decoding the combined data (chase combining and decoding the initial transmission and the retransmission) (Fig. 11-15, Fig. 20-21, Par 0220, Par 0237-0240, Par 0263-0271, Par 0273-0275, Par 0301-0302).
Re claim 10, Li teaches to compare the control data relative to the time-frequency resources used for the broadcasting of the second message (monitoring SCI to identify resources used for initial transmission and repeat transmission), when the control data relative to the time-frequency resources used for the broadcasting of the second message received during the first broadcasting and during the second broadcasting is distinct (different resources for initial transmission and retransmission), the payload comprised in the message received during the first broadcasting and in the second message received during the second broadcasting are processed and decoded independently of each other (independently decoding each transmission received by the RX UE) (Fig. 11-15, Fig. 20-21, Par 0220, Par 0237-0240, Par 0263-0271, Par 0273-0275, Par 0301-0302).
19. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li, Xi, and Ryu as applied to claim 8 above and further in view of Jha et al (US 20220022167 A1, hereinafter referred to as Jha).
Re claim 9, Li teaches that the control data relative to the time-frequency resources selected for the broadcasting of the message is identical during the first and the second broadcasting of said the message (SCI indicating the resources reserved for sidelink transmission and repeat transmission) (Fig. 11-15, Fig. 20-21, Par 0220, Par 0237-0240, Par 0263-0269, Par 0275, Par 0282-0287).
Li does not explicitly disclose that the control data comprises a string of bits identifying the time-frequency resources of said the pool of time- frequency resources, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected are represented in said the string of bits by a bit equal to 1 and the other time-frequency resources by a bit equal to 0.
Jha teaches that the control data (SCI) comprises a string of bits identifying the time-frequency resources of the pool of time- frequency resources, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected are represented in said the string of bits by a bit equal to 1 (bit value set to “1” indicating frequency resources for the TTI is reserved for initial and repeat sidelink transmission) and the other time-frequency resources by a bit equal to 0 (when the bit value for a TTI is not set to “1”, it (the TTI is not set to “1”) definitely corresponds to a value “0”. TTI not used for sidelink data (i.e., TTI carrying SCI) is indicated by a bit value “0”) (Fig. 2, Table 2, Par 0042-0051, Par 0078-0082).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify Li by including the step that the control data comprises a string of bits identifying the time-frequency resources of said the pool of time- frequency resources, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource selected are represented in said the string of bits by a bit equal to 1 and the other time-frequency resources by a bit equal to 0, as taught by Jha for the purpose of transmitting the mission critical or safety critical data reliably within a stringent latency bound, as taught by Jha (Par 0023).
Conclusion
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/HARUN CHOWDHURY/Examiner, Art Unit 2473