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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments filed on 19 May 2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new ground of rejection.
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 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.
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 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22-29, 31, 32, 34, 35 and 37-44 46-89 and 91-96 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Wang et al (US Pub. 2022/0353846) in view of Yasukawa et al. (US 2021/0243841).
Regarding claim 1,
An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising:
Wang discloses an apparatus for wireless communication comprising a memory and one or more processors configured to perform sidelink communication operations (Fig. 8; ¶¶54-56).
a memory;
Wang discloses memory 840 (Fig. 8; ¶56).
and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to cause the device to:
Wang discloses processor 830 coupled to memory 840 and configured to execute sidelink communication procedures (Fig. 8; ¶56).
determine a cyclic shift;
Wang discloses determining a cyclic shift for generating a reference signal sequence for PSCCH transmission (¶¶33, 54).
transmit a first portion of control information via a first subset of time-frequency resources with a reference symbol (RS) sequence based on the cyclic shift;
Wang discloses transmitting a first portion of sidelink control information (SCI1) on a first subset of time-frequency resources together with a reference signal sequence generated using the cyclic shift (¶¶33, 54).
transmit a second portion of the control information via a second subset of the time-frequency resources;
Wang discloses transmitting a second portion of sidelink control information (SCI2) separately from SCI1 on a second subset of time-frequency resources (¶33).
transmit data associated with the control information via a third subset of the time-frequency resources;
Wang discloses transmitting associated sidelink data on PSSCH resources indicated by SCI1 and SCI2 (¶¶33, 54).
wherein the first portion of the control information comprises information to decode the data and a resource allocation of the data, and wherein the information to decode the data comprises a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the data, and wherein the second portion of the control information comprises a destination identifier (destination ID) associated with the data and a new data indicator (NDI).
Wang discloses that SCI1 includes scheduling information comprising resource allocation for the associated sidelink transmission and that SCI2 includes destination-related information associated with the sidelink transmission (¶33). Wang does not expressly disclose that SCI1 includes a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) or that SCI2 includes a New Data Indicator (NDI).
Yasukawa teaches a new sidelink scheduling SCI format including the existing SCI contents together with additional scheduling information (¶146). Yasukawa further teaches that the existing SCI contents include a timing advance (TA), a Layer-1 identifier (L1 ID), a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a frequency resource, and a time resource (T-RPT index) (¶148). Yasukawa also teaches that the new SCI format includes a retransmission index/identifier, a New Data Indicator (NDI), the number of Data repetitions, a CSI request, a feedback transmission resource indicator, the number of transmission MAC PDUs, and a transmit power control command (¶147). Yasukawa further teaches that the NDI indicates whether transmitted data corresponds to a new transmission and supports retransmission in the scheduling assignment cycle (¶150).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the known MCS and NDI fields taught by Yasukawa into Wang's SCI1 and SCI2, respectively, because both Wang and Yasukawa are directed to sidelink communication systems employing split control information for scheduling sidelink transmissions. Incorporating Yasukawa's known scheduling fields into Wang's existing control information merely combines familiar elements according to known methods to perform the same functions they were previously known to perform, yielding the predictable result of providing sufficient scheduling information for decoding sidelink data and distinguishing new transmissions from retransmissions. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success in making the combination. See KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007).
Regarding claim 2, Wang further discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the device to:
receive a negative acknowledgement (NACK) from a second device in response to a failure of the second device to successfully decode the data (para. 23, HARQ).
Regarding claim 4, Wang further discloses wherein the first portion of the control information comprises a link identifier (link ID) determined based at least on a link layer identifier associated with the device and a link layer identifier associated with a second device (para. 54, sidelink control information (SCI)).
Regarding claim 5, Wang further discloses wherein the first portion of the control information further comprises a resource allocation of the second portion of the control information (para. 55, time-and-frequency resources).
Regarding claim 7, Wang further discloses wherein the second portion of the control information further comprises: a transmission mode, a redundancy version, or a combination thereof. (¶23; Wang discloses that the second portion of the control information (SCI2) contains additional control information which may include redundancy information.)
Regarding claim 8, Wang further discloses wherein the transmission mode indicates at least one of:
a unicast type transmission;
a broadcast type transmission;
a multicast type transmission; or
a groupcast type transmission (figs. 2A, 2B, 2C, para. 24, para. 43, fig. 5B).
Regarding claim 9, Wang in view of Yasukawa further discloses wherein the cyclic shift distinguishes a transmission of the device from another transmission of another device on a same time-frequency resource. Wang teaches the cyclic shift used for generating the reference signal sequence (paras. 33, 54), while Yasukawa teaches additional sidelink scheduling information within the SCI format (¶¶146-150).
Regarding claim 10, Wang in view of Yasukawa further discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the device to determine the RS sequence based on the cyclic shift (Wang, paras. 33, 54).
Regarding claim 11, Wang in view of Yasukawa further discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the device to determine a sequence identifier to use to transmit the first portion of the control information (Wang, para. 33).
Regarding claim 12, Wang in view of Yasukawa further discloses wherein at least one of the sequence identifier or the cyclic shift is configured at the device via radio resource control (RRC) configuration (Wang, para. 33).
Regarding claim 13, Wang further discloses wherein the first portion of the control information is demodulated based on the RS sequence (para. 55).
Regarding claim 14, Wang in view of Yasukawa further discloses wherein a number of symbols to use to transmit the first portion of the control information is configured at the device via a radio resource control (RRC) configuration (Wang, para. 33).
Claim 16 recites a method of wireless communication at a device, corresponding with the device of claim 1, and is thus similarly rejected.
Claims 17, 19, 20 and 22-29 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 2, 4, 5 and 7-14, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claim 31 recites a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code at a device, corresponding with the device of claim 1, and is thus similarly rejected.
Claims 32, 34, 35 and 37-44 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 2, 4, 5 and 7-14, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Regarding claim 46, Wang discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising:
a memory (fig. 8, memory 840); and
one or more processors coupled to the memory (fig. 8, processor(s) 830), the one or more processors configured to cause the device to:
• transmit a first portion of a control message associated with user data via a first subset of time-frequency resources (para. 33: SCI1 transmitted on PSCCH, associated with data carried on PSSCH).
• wherein the first portion of the control message is to be decoded by a second device and a third device, and the user data is to be decoded by the second device (para. 33: SCI1 is broadcast on PSCCH and can be decoded by multiple UEs; only the UE identified in SCI2 proceeds to decode the PSSCH user data, while other UEs do not).
• wherein the first portion of the control message comprises information to decode the user data and a resource allocation of the user data (para. 33: SCI1 provides information for locating time-and-frequency resources used for transmitting PSSCH data)…
• transmit a second portion of the control message associated with the user data via a second subset of the time-frequency resources, wherein the second portion of the control message comprises a destination identifier associated with the user data (Wang, para. 33: SCI2 transmitted separately, includes control information identifying the destination UE).
• and transmit the user data via a third subset of the time-frequency resources (Wang, para. 33, para. 54: PSSCH carries user data transmitted on resources determined by SCI1/SCI2).
However, Wang does not expressly disclose that the information to decode the user data in the first portion comprises a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the user data, or that the second portion includes information indicating whether the transmission of the user data is a new data transmission (NDI).
Yasukawa teaches a scheduling SCI format in which the existing SCI contents include an MCS together with frequency and time resource allocation (¶¶146–148). Yasukawa further teaches that the scheduling SCI includes a New Data Indicator (NDI), which indicates whether the transmitted data is new transmission data and supports retransmission operation (¶¶147–150).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Wang's two-stage control message by incorporating the MCS field and NDI taught by Yasukawa. Both Wang and Yasukawa are directed to sidelink control signaling for wireless communications. Incorporating the MCS into the first portion of Wang's control message would enable the receiving device to obtain decoding parameters together with the resource allocation information, while incorporating the NDI into the second portion would allow the receiving device to determine whether the associated transmission is new data or a retransmission. The combination merely applies known sidelink control information fields to Wang's existing two-stage control message structure to achieve the predictable result of improved decoding and retransmission support, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 47, Wang further discloses wherein the resource allocation of the user data comprises a resource allocation of a current transmission of the user data, and wherein the first portion of the control message further comprises:
a resource allocation of the second portion of the control message (para. 55, time-and-frequency resources).
Regarding claim 48, Wang further discloses wherein the resource allocation of the second portion of the control message comprises one or more of:
time-frequency resources of the second portion of the control message; or
a format type of the second portion of the control message (para. 55, time-and-frequency resources).
Regarding claim 49, Wang further discloses wherein the resource allocation of the second portion of the control message comprises an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol location of the second portion of the control message (para. 37).
Regarding claim 50, Wang in view of 3GPP further discloses wherein the resource allocation of the user data comprises a resource allocation for a future transmission or retransmission of the user data (para. 33, 34, SCI1 (first portion) providing information to locate time-and-frequency resources of PSSCH and SCI2 (second portion) providing additional resource-related information including identifiers of receiving devices and scheduling information – i.e., associated with distinct control resources corresponding to the same PSSCH data resources).
Regarding claim 51, Wang further discloses wherein the second portion of the control message comprises one or more of:
information to indicate whether the transmission of the user data is a retransmission;
information to indicate whether acknowledgment information is to be transmitted by the second device;
information to determine one or more feedback transmissions by the second device;
a source identifier associated with the user data; or
a destination identifier associated with the user data (para. 23, SCI2 containing source identifier).
Regarding claim 52, Wang further discloses wherein the source identifier is associated with a service for which the user data is transmitted (para. 33, 34, two-stage SCI transmission). The ordering of SCI1 and SCI2 across time-frequency resources is an implementation detail. (3GPP further discloses flexible mapping of SCI to PSCCH resources (sec. 5.4.3.1.1, SCI format 0 fields.)
Regarding claim 53, Wang further discloses wherein the second portion of the control message comprises a transmission mode that indicates at least one of:
a unicast type transmission;
a broadcast type transmission;
a multicast type transmission; or
a groupcast type transmission (fig. 2A, 2B, 2C, unicast, groupcast, broadcast).
Claims 54-61 recite a method corresponding the apparatus of claims 46-53, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claims 62-69 recite a non-transitory computer-readable medium corresponding the apparatus of claims 46-53, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Regarding claim 70, Wang further discloses wherein the transmission mode indicates the unicast type transmission (para. 24, 34).
Regarding claim 71, Wang further discloses wherein the transmission mode indicates the broadcast type transmission (para. 24, 34).
Regarding claim 72, Wang further discloses wherein the transmission mode indicates the groupcast type transmission (para. 24, 34).
Claims 73-75 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 70-72, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claims 76-78 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 70-72, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claims 79-81 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 70-72, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claims 82-84 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 70-72, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claims 85-87 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 70-72, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claims 88, 89, and 91-92 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 1, 2, 5, and 7, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Claims 93-96 recite substantially identical subject matter as recited in claims 46-48 and 51, respectively, and are thus similarly rejected.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUAT T PHUNG whose telephone number is (571)270-3126. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9 AM - 6 PM.
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/Luat Phung/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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