DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an amendment filed on 02/10/2026.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 02/10/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1, 3-4, 6-10, 12-13, 15-19 and 38-42 are pending
Claims 1, 3, 6-10, 12, 15-19, 38-39 and 41 are amended
Claims 2, 5, 11, 14 and 20-37 are canceled
Claims 1, 3-4, 6-10, 12-13, 15-19 and 38-42 remain rejected.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1, 3-4, 6, 10, 12-13, 15, 19 and 38-42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yin et al. (US 20170353819 A1), hereinafter referenced as Yin, in view of Wang et al. (US 20220173840 A1), hereinafter referenced as Wang.
Regarding claims 1 and 19, Yin teaches a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory (Para. [0005]- Yin discloses method and apparatus are disclosed for a first UE (User Equipment) for resource allocation on relay channel in a wireless communication system. Figs. 2-3, Para. [0043-0053]-Yin discloses a transmitter system 210 (also known as the access network) and a receiver system 250 (also known as access terminal (AT) or user equipment (UE)) in a MIMO system 200. At the transmitter system 210, traffic data for a number of data streams is provided from a data source 212 to a transmit (TX) data processor 214 ... The communication device 300 may include an input device 302, an output device 304, a control circuit 306, a central processing unit (CPU) 308, a memory 310, a program code 312, and a transceiver 314), and configured to cause the UE to:
the cast type and the HARQ feedback mode are aligned with the QoS of associated with the one or more logical channels (Para. [0202-0226]-Yin discloses the UE shall set the contents of the SidelinkUEInformation message ... set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast {cast type}) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) ... set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast {cast type}) sidelink communication transmission destination(s). Para. [0438-0439]-Yin discloses to separate the buffer status of remote UE and relay UE into different LCGs of a link ... the relay UE may report two links for a relay session through SidelinkUEInformation. Para. [0311-0316]-Yin discloses deliver the configured sidelink grant and the associated HARQ information to the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU from the “Multiplexing and assembly” entity; [0316] deliver the MAC PDU and the sidelink grant and the HARQ information to this Sidelink process. Fig. 27, Para. [0437-0438]-Yin discloses PC5 link resource … to separate the buffer status of remote UE and relay UE into different LCGs of a link. Para. [-03980399]-Yin discloses enhancement for the E2E (End to End) QoS (Quality of Service) ..., PC5 interface resource utilization will be key feature for achieving such enhancement ... remote UE will send its sidelink BSR through the PC5 interface to the associated relay UE for saving power);
group, based at least in part on the one or more logical channels having the cast type and the HARQ feedback mode, the one or more logical channels into the LCG (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. Para. [0218-0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0224-0226]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses transmitting Sidelink processes associated with the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... configured sidelink grant and its associated HARQ information are associated with a Sidelink process ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU),
the one or more logical channels are associated with a sidelink (SL) transmission (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported);
transmit a buffer size of the LCG (Para. [0450]- Yin discloses to receive a configuration from a base station for establishing association between a destination index of BSR and a link of a second UE, and (ii) to trigger and transmit a BSR to the base station, wherein the destination index related buffer status includes resource demand of the second UE for the link. Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group); and
receive, based at least in part on the buffer size, a resource allocation for the SL transmission (Para. [0346]- Yin discloses UL resources are allocated and number of padding bits remaining after a Padding BSR has been triggered is equal to or larger than the size of the Sidelink BSR MAC control element containing the buffer status for at least one LCG of a ProSe Destination plus its subheader. Para. [0086]- Yin discloses resource scheduling in R13 ProSe communication, a UE is configured to use the sidelink resource with either Mode 1 or Mode 2 (such as scheduled-based or contention-based, respectively) after sending sidelinkUEInformation message to base station. If sidelink resource is configured as scheduled-based, the UE will send buffer status report, such as SL-BSR (Sidelink Buffer Status Report), for asking sidelink resource through Uu interface and get SL-grant on PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) through Uu interface).
Yin fails to explicitly teach receive signaling that configures a logical channel group (LCG) with a cast type and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HALRQ) feedback mode; determine one or more logical channels that have the cast type and the HALRQ feedback mode based at least in part on a quality of service (QoS) associated with the one or more logical channels.
However, Wang teaches receive signaling that configures a logical channel group (LCG) with a cast type and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HALRQ) feedback mode (Para. [0139]-Wang discloses the base station configures a V2X SL resource through system information broadcast or dedicated signaling. Para. [0146-0155]-Wang discloses the base station allocates a grant resource to the transmit-end UE ... the transmission resource may carry property information ... The property information includes one or more of the following: a HARQ feedback manner type, HARQ enabled/disabled information, or a communication type (for example, broadcast, groupcast, or unicast) corresponding to the HARQ feedback manner type ... first correspondence includes a correspondence between a first granularity and a HARQ feedback manner, and the first granularity may include one or more of the following: a source address identifier (for example, a source (SRC) identifier (ID)), a destination address identifier (for example, a destination (DEST) ID), a service type, a service identifier (Service ID), a communication type (for example, groupcast, broadcast, or unicast), a logical channel (LCH) identifier (LCH ID), a sidelink radio bearer (SL RB), quality of service (QoS) information, a transmission resource (for example, a grant carried in DCI scheduled for a particular time, or a CG type 1/2 index configured by a network), a HARQ process identifier (ID), a logical channel group (LCG) identifier (LCG ID). Para. [0218-0219]-Wang discloses the network device sends the first information to transmit-end UE or receive-end UE ..., the first information may be configured by using higher layer signaling, for example, NAS (Uu only), pre-configured signaling (Uu only), PC5-S(SL only), RRC signaling);
determine one or more logical channels that have the cast type and the HALRQ feedback mode based at least in part on a quality of service (QoS) associated with the one or more logical channels (Para. [0173-0175]-Wang discloses if the transmission resource can be used only for unicast and/or groupcast transmission with HARQ enabled, one or more items having a corresponding HARQ feedback requirement need to be selected from the following: a communication type, a UE ID, a DEST, LCHs, SL RBs, QoS, or a HARQ ID. Para. [0155]-Wang discloses first correspondence includes a correspondence between a first granularity and a HARQ feedback manner, and the first granularity may include one or more of the following: a source address identifier (for example, a source (SRC) identifier (ID)), a destination address identifier (for example, a destination (DEST) ID), a service type, a service identifier (Service ID), a communication type (for example, groupcast, broadcast, or unicast), a logical channel (LCH) identifier (LCH ID), a sidelink radio bearer (SL RB), quality of service (QoS) information, a transmission resource (for example, a grant carried in DCI scheduled for a particular time, or a CG type 1/2 index configured by a network), a HARQ process identifier (ID), a logical channel group (LCG) identifier (LCG ID)).
Yin and Wang are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of communication system, dealing with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information transmission method and an apparatus.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Yin to incorporate the teachings of Wang on network configuration, with a motivation to signal LCG configuration with cast type and HARQ feedback mode, and guarantee resource allocation on relay channel in a wireless communication system, (Yin, Para. [0005]).
Regarding claim 10 and 38, Yin teaches a network equipment (NE) for wireless communication comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory (Para. [0005]- Yin discloses method and apparatus are disclosed for a first UE (User Equipment) for resource allocation on relay channel in a wireless communication system. Figs. 2-3, Para. [0043-0053]-Yin discloses a transmitter system 210 (also known as the access network) and a receiver system 250 (also known as access terminal (AT) or user equipment (UE)) in a MIMO system 200. At the transmitter system 210, traffic data for a number of data streams is provided from a data source 212 to a transmit (TX) data processor 214 ... The communication device 300 may include an input device 302, an output device 304, a control circuit 306, a central processing unit (CPU) 308, a memory 310, a program code 312, and a transceiver 314), and configured to cause the NE to:
one or more logical channels have the cast type and the HARQ feedback mode based at least in part on a quality of service (QoS) associated with the one or more logical channels (Para. [0343]-Yin discloses each sidelink logical channel belongs to a ProSe Destination. Each sidelink logical channel is allocated to an LCG depending on the priority of the sidelink logical channel and the mapping between LCG ID and priority which is provided by upper layers in logicalChGroupInfoList [8]. LCG is defined per ProSe Destination. Para. [0202-0226]-Yin discloses the UE shall set the contents of the SidelinkUEInformation message ... set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast {cast type}) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) ... set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast {cast type}) sidelink communication transmission destination(s). Para. [0438-0439]-Yin discloses to separate the buffer status of remote UE and relay UE into different LCGs of a link ... the relay UE may report two links for a relay session through SidelinkUEInformation. Para. [0311-0316]-Yin discloses deliver the configured sidelink grant and the associated HARQ information to the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU from the “Multiplexing and assembly” entity; [0316] deliver the MAC PDU and the sidelink grant and the HARQ information to this Sidelink process. Fig. 27, Para. [0437-0438]-Yin discloses PC5 link resource … to separate the buffer status of remote UE and relay UE into different LCGs of a link. Para. [-03980399]-Yin discloses enhancement for the E2E (End to End) QoS (Quality of Service) ..., PC5 interface resource utilization will be key feature for achieving such enhancement ... remote UE will send its sidelink BSR through the PC5 interface to the associated relay UE for saving power),
the cast type and the HARQ feedback mode are aligned with the QoS of associated with the one or more logical channels (Para. [0202-0226]-Yin discloses the UE shall set the contents of the SidelinkUEInformation message ... set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast {cast type}) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) ... set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast {cast type}) sidelink communication transmission destination(s). Para. [0438-0439]-Yin discloses to separate the buffer status of remote UE and relay UE into different LCGs of a link ... the relay UE may report two links for a relay session through SidelinkUEInformation. Para. [0311-0316]-Yin discloses deliver the configured sidelink grant and the associated HARQ information to the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU from the “Multiplexing and assembly” entity; [0316] deliver the MAC PDU and the sidelink grant and the HARQ information to this Sidelink process. Fig. 27, Para. [0437-0438]-Yin discloses PC5 link resource … to separate the buffer status of remote UE and relay UE into different LCGs of a link. Para. [-03980399]-Yin discloses enhancement for the E2E (End to End) QoS (Quality of Service) ..., PC5 interface resource utilization will be key feature for achieving such enhancement ... remote UE will send its sidelink BSR through the PC5 interface to the associated relay UE for saving power),
the one or more logical channels with the cast type and the HARQ feedback mode are grouped into the LCG (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. Para. [0218-0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0224-0226]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU), and
the one or more logical channels are associated with a sidelink (SL) transmission (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported);
receive a buffer size of the LCG (Para. [0450]- Yin discloses to receive a configuration from a base station for establishing association between a destination index of BSR and a link of a second UE, and (ii) to trigger and transmit a BSR to the base station, wherein the destination index related buffer status includes resource demand of the second UE for the link. Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList); and
transmit, based at least in part on the buffer size, a resource allocation for the SL transmission (Para. [0086]- Yin discloses resource scheduling in R13 ProSe communication, a UE is configured to use the sidelink resource with either Mode 1 or Mode 2 (such as scheduled-based or contention-based, respectively) after sending sidelinkUEInformation message to base station. If sidelink resource is configured as scheduled-based, the UE will send buffer status report, such as SL-BSR (Sidelink Buffer Status Report), for asking sidelink resource through Uu interface and get SL-grant on PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) through Uu interface).
Yin fails to explicitly teach transmit signaling that configures a logical channel group (LCG) with a cast type and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback mode.
However, Wang teaches transmit signaling that configures a logical channel group (LCG) with a cast type and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback mode (Para. [0139]-Wang discloses the base station configures a V2X SL resource through system information broadcast or dedicated signaling. Para. [0146-0155]-Wang discloses the base station allocates a grant resource to the transmit-end UE ... the transmission resource may carry property information ... The property information includes one or more of the following: a HARQ feedback manner type, HARQ enabled/disabled information, or a communication type (for example, broadcast, groupcast, or unicast) corresponding to the HARQ feedback manner type ... first correspondence includes a correspondence between a first granularity and a HARQ feedback manner, and the first granularity may include one or more of the following: a source address identifier (for example, a source (SRC) identifier (ID)), a destination address identifier (for example, a destination (DEST) ID), a service type, a service identifier (Service ID), a communication type (for example, groupcast, broadcast, or unicast), a logical channel (LCH) identifier (LCH ID), a sidelink radio bearer (SL RB), quality of service (QoS) information, a transmission resource (for example, a grant carried in DCI scheduled for a particular time, or a CG type 1/2 index configured by a network), a HARQ process identifier (ID), a logical channel group (LCG) identifier (LCG ID). Para. [0218-0219]-Wang discloses the network device sends the first information to transmit-end UE or receive-end UE ..., the first information may be configured by using higher layer signaling, for example, NAS (Uu only), pre-configured signaling (Uu only), PC5-S(SL only), RRC signaling).
Yin and Wang are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of communication system, dealing with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information transmission method and an apparatus.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Yin to incorporate the teachings of Wang on network configuration, with a motivation to signal LCG configuration with cast type and HARQ feedback mode, and guarantee resource allocation on relay channel in a wireless communication system, (Yin, Para. [0005]).
Regarding claims 3, 12, 39 and 41, Yin teaches the UE of claims 1, the NE of claim 10, and the method of claim 38 and the method of claim 19 respectively.
Yin further teaches the signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling with a destination identifier (ID) corresponding to a service or a device, a plurality of LCGs comprising the LCG, and respective logical channels associated with the plurality of LCGs (Para. [0445-0446]-Yin discloses first UE receives a configuration from a base station for establishing association between a destination index of BSR and a link of a second UE, wherein the second UE is source of the link ..., the configuration could include an identity (e.g., ProSe UE ID) of the second UE, an identity of the first UE and an identity of the second UE as a pair, and/or the destination index and an identity of the second UE. In addition, the configuration could be included in RRCConnectionReconfiguration or a RRC message. Para. [0424]-Yin discloses the Sidelink BSR contains many LCGs (Logical Channel Groups), and each LCG is associated with a specific set of logical channel priority. The association is decided by an eNB and dedicatedly configure to a UE. Para. [0343]-Yin discloses RRC controls BSR reporting for the sidelink by configuring the two timers periodic-BSR-TimerSL and retx-BSR-TimerSL. Each sidelink logical channel belongs to a ProSe Destination. Each sidelink logical channel is allocated to an LCG depending on the priority of the sidelink logical channel and the mapping between LCG ID and priority which is provided by upper layers in logicalChGroupInfoList [8]. LCG is defined per ProSe Destination), and
LCGs of the plurality of LCGs are configured with a respective cast type and a respective HARQ feedback mode (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. Para. [0218-0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0224-0226]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses transmitting Sidelink processes associated with the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... configured sidelink grant and its associated HARQ information are associated with a Sidelink process ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU).
Regarding claims 4, 13, 40 and 42, Yin teaches the UE of claims 1, the NE of claim 10, and the method of claim 38 and the method of claim 19 respectively.
Yin further teaches the QoS comprises one or more of a PC5 QoS indicator (PQI), a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR), or a range (Para. [0401]-Yin discloses to achieve E2E QoS of the remote UE, it is expected that the eNB could provide sidelink resource on demand and meet the delay requirement. Para. [-03980399]-Yin discloses the new SI also considers enhancement for the E2E (End to End) QoS (Quality of Service) which cannot be achieved in the Rel-13 relay architecture. Therefore, PC5 interface resource utilization will be key feature for achieving such enhancement ... remote UE will send its sidelink BSR through the PC5 interface to the associated relay UE for saving power. Para. [0402]-Yin discloses remote UE receives a sidelink grant sent either from eNB via PDCCH on Uu interface or from a relay UE via PC5 interface).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, Yin teaches the UE of claims 1 and the NE of claim 10 respectively.
Yin further teaches the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to transmit configuration information associated with arranging the buffer size into a plurality of buffer groups (Para. [0391]- Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group. Para. [0426]- Yin discloses the relay UE can handle any control elements or packers received from the remote UE following the relay UE's prioritization rule. Alternatively, it can be broadcasted to all UEs for aligning understanding of remote UE's configuration. Para. [0425-0426]- Yin discloses providing a remote UE's configuration information to relay UE would be beneficial for the relay UE to correctly understand priority of each LCG in a Sidelink BSR received from the remote UE. Based on that, the relay UE may reorder the buffer status and update the information as a solution for Issue 6 (discussed below) or may directly schedule resource to higher priority data in the remote UE. Alternatively, it can be done by the relay UE passing its LCG/PPPP configuration (as discussed above) to the remote UE for aligning the configuration and also the understanding of the configuration ... the relay UE could apply the same configuration in the broadcast message),
the plurality of buffer groups are arranged based at least in part on a combination of the cast type and the HARQ feedback mode (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. Para. [0218-0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0224-0226]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses transmitting Sidelink processes associated with the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... configured sidelink grant and its associated HARQ information are associated with a Sidelink process ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU).
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Yin teaches the UE of claims 6 and the NE of claim 15 respectively.
Yin further teaches the configuration information comprises unique combinations of a destination identifier (ID) and the cast type (Para. [0450]- Yin discloses a configuration from a base station for establishing association between a destination index of BSR and a link of a second UE. Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList. Para. [0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0226]-Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources).
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Yin teaches the UE of claims 1 and the NE of claim 10 respectively.
Yin further teaches the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to transmit a buffer status report (BSR) comprising the buffer size, a destination identifier (ID), an LCG ID, the cast type, and the HARQ feedback mode (Figs. 16-17, Para. [0450]- Yin discloses to trigger and transmit a BSR to the base station, wherein the destination index related buffer status includes resource demand of the second UE for the link. Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. Para. [0218-0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0224-0226]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses transmitting Sidelink processes associated with the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... configured sidelink grant and its associated HARQ information are associated with a Sidelink process ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU),
the BSR is a sidelink BSR media access control-control element (MAC-CE) comprising fields that indicate the buffer size, the destination ID, the LCG ID, the cast type, and the HARQ feedback mode (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. Para. [0218-0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0224-0226]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses transmitting Sidelink processes associated with the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... configured sidelink grant and its associated HARQ information are associated with a Sidelink process ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, Yin teaches the UE of claims 1 and the NE of claim 10 respectively.
Yin further teaches the at least one processor is further configured to cause the UE to transmit the buffer size in a buffer status report (BSR) comprising a destination identifier (ID), an LCG ID, and a plurality of buffer sizes (Figs. 16-17, Para. [0450]- Yin discloses to trigger and transmit a BSR to the base station, wherein the destination index related buffer status includes resource demand of the second UE for the link. Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList ... LCG ID: The Logical Channel Group ID field identifies the group of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. Para. [0218-0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0224-0226]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses transmitting Sidelink processes associated with the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... configured sidelink grant and its associated HARQ information are associated with a Sidelink process ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU),
respective buffer sizes of the plurality of buffer sizes map to different combinations of cast types and HARQ feedback modes (Para. [0391-0392]-Yin discloses Sidelink BSR and Truncated Sidelink BSR MAC control elements consist of one Destination Index field, one LCG ID field and one corresponding Buffer Size field per reported target group ... Destination Index: The Destination Index field identifies the ProSe Destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is set to the index of the destination reported in destinationInfoList. Para. [0220]- Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (unicast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0226]-Yin discloses set destinationInfoList to include the (groupcast) sidelink communication transmission destination(s) for which it requests E-UTRAN to assign dedicated resources. Para. [0313-0315]-Yin discloses transmitting Sidelink processes associated with the Sidelink HARQ Entity ... configured sidelink grant and its associated HARQ information are associated with a Sidelink process ... the Sidelink HARQ Entity shall: [0314] if a sidelink grant has been indicated for this Sidelink process and there is SL data, for sidelink logical channels of ProSe destination associated with this sidelink grant, available for transmission: [0315] obtain the MAC PDU).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the new reference (Wang et al. (US 20220173840 A1)) being used in the current rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLADIRAN GIDEON OLALEYE whose telephone number is (571)272-5377. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 07:30am - 05:30pm to.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s SPE, NICHOLAS A. JENSEN can be reached on (571) 270-5443. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OO/
Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472