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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 3, 7-11, 13, 16, 18, 21-24 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al (US 2019/0357033, hereinafter Cheng), in view of Wu et al (US 2020/0146094, hereinafter Wu) and in view of Ahmad (US 2019/0349951, hereinafter Ahmad).
Regarding claim 1, Cheng discloses a device-to-device (D2D) communication method, wherein the method comprises: establishing, by a first terminal, a sidelink between the first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the sidelink corresponds to a sidelink slice (UE communicates with a second UE via a side-link channel, meaning a side-link is established between the two UEs, Para [0049], slicing of resources on a side-link interface and/or channel, Para [0057]); and wherein establishing the sidelink between the first terminal and the second terminal comprises communicating, by the first terminal, with the second terminal on the sidelink by using a physical transmission resource corresponding to the sidelink slice (first and second UE communicate via one or more side-link channels, Para [0049], slice identifier corresponds to a resource allocation to be used for the D2D communication, Para [0066], resource allocation is the set of resources to be used for communication, Para [0069]); sending, by the first terminal, a first message to the second terminal, wherein the first message comprises identification information of the sidelink slice (first UE transmits slice identifier in a message to second UE, Para [0073]), but not explicitly the first message is a request and is a request to establish the sidelink. Wu discloses establishing unicast side-link communication, where first UE transmits a request and second UE transmits a response accepting the request, Para [0066], it would be obvious to include slice ID in the request, as D2D communication will occupy that particular slice of time and frequency resources. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Wu in the system of Cheng in order to improve efficiency techniques for V2X communications and establishment of unicast side-links; and does not disclose sending, by the first terminal, a broadcast message, wherein the broadcast message comprises identification information of the sidelink slice, receiving, by the first terminal from the second terminal, a response to the broadcast message, wherein the response to the broadcast message indicates that the second terminal supports the sidelink slice and first terminal sends the request based on the second terminal supporting the sidelink slice. Ahmad discloses a WTRU can transmit a discovery message including slice IDs and a second WTRU can inspect the message for the slice IDs, where WTRUs can support certain network slices and transmit discovery response message, Para [0101], a WTRU can include service codes in a message in response to a solicitation message, Para [0090], service codes indicate network slices, Para [0085], slice information is criteria with which two WTRUs discover each other, Para [0100] and the discovery message can be broadcasted by the WTRU, Para [0094]. Further discovery between two WTRUs is followed by connection establishment, Para [0081], the two WTRU perform discovery and exchange codes in order to perform connection establishment, Para [0084]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Ahmad in the system of Cheng in view with Wu in order to enhance discovery techniques and select appropriate communication devices that meet discovery requirements.
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Cheng discloses the method/apparatus according to claim 2/17, wherein sending the first request to the second terminal comprises: sending, by the first terminal, the first request to the second terminal based on a correspondence between identification information of a D2D service application and the identification information of the sidelink slice, wherein the sidelink is used to transmit data of the D2D service application (service type to be used for D2D communication, which indicates a D2D service associated with D2D application, Para [0062-63], slice identifier corresponds with service type, Para [0068]).
Regarding claims 7 and 21, Cheng discloses the method/apparatus according to claim 2/16, wherein sending the first request to the second terminal comprises: sending, by the first terminal, the first request to the second terminal if the first terminal determines that an access network device allows use of the sidelink slice (first UE can transit slice information to the BS, the BS can determine slice configurations and the BS can transmit the slice information to the second UE, Para [0095-97], further the data structure can be configured for a UE by RRC signaling from the base station, Para [0070], the data structure associating slice identifier with service type and resources, Para [0067]/Fig. 4, therefore a UE can transmit slice identifiers to a BS that it plans on using and a BS configures slice information, it is obvious that the UE is allowed to use it and an explicit allowance message would be an obvious variation to one of ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding claims 8 and 22, Cheng discloses the method/apparatus according to claim 7/21, wherein the method further comprises: sending, by the first terminal, a third request to the access network device, wherein the third request comprises the identification information of the sidelink slice (first UE transmits slice identifier to the base station, Para [0094]); and receiving, by the first terminal from the access network device, a response to the third request, wherein the response to the third request indicates that the sidelink slice is allowed to be used (the data structure can be configured for a UE by RRC signaling from the base station, Para [0070], the data structure associating slice identifier with service type and resources, Para [0067]/Fig. 4, therefore a UE can transmit slice identifiers to a BS that it plans on using and a BS configures slice information, it is obvious that the UE is allowed to use it and an explicit allowance message would be an obvious variation to one of ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding claims 9 and 23, Cheng discloses the method/apparatus according to claim 1/16, wherein the method further comprises: determining, by the first terminal, the physical transmission resource (first UE determines the resource allocation based on the slice identifier, Para [0069]).
Regarding claims 10 and 24, Cheng discloses the method/apparatus according to claim 9/23, wherein determining the physical transmission resource comprises: sending, by the first terminal, a fourth request to an access network device, wherein the fourth request comprises identification information of the sidelink slice (first UE transmits indications of one or more slices to the base station, Para [0072]); and receiving, by the first terminal from the access network device, a response to the fourth request, wherein the response to the fourth request comprises the physical transmission resource (base station can indicate the resource allocations corresponding to the slice identifiers, by RRC message, Para [0072]).
Regarding claim 11, Cheng discloses the method according to claim 9, wherein determining the physical transmission resource comprises: receiving, by the first terminal, a system information block (SIB) from an access network device, wherein the SIB comprises a correspondence between identification information of the sidelink slice and a physical transmission resource pool (base station can indicate resource allocations corresponding to slice identifiers and transmits this via an SIB, Para [0072]); and determining, by the first terminal, the physical transmission resource based on the physical transmission resource pool (first UE determines the resource allocation based on the slice identifier, Para [0069], UE can select resources from a pool of configured resources, Para [0056], in this case, the resource allocation is a resource pool corresponding to slice identifiers).
Regarding claim 13, Cheng discloses a device-to-device (D2D) communication method, wherein the method comprises: receiving, by a second terminal, a first request from a first terminal, wherein the first request comprises identification information of a sidelink slice (first UE transmits slice identifier in a message to second UE, Para [0073]), the first request is used to establish a sidelink between the first terminal and the second terminal, and the sidelink corresponds to the sidelink slice (UE communicates with a second UE via a side-link channel, meaning a side-link is established between the two UEs, Para [0049], slicing of resources on a side-link interface and/or channel, Para [0057]); but does not explicitly disclose sending, by the second terminal, a response to the first request to the first terminal, wherein the response to the first request indicates that the sidelink is successfully established. Wu discloses establishing unicast side-link communication, where first UE transmits a request and second UE transmits a response accepting the request, Para [0066]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Wu in the system of Cheng in order to improve efficiency techniques for V2X communications and establishment of unicast side-links; and does not disclose receiving, by the second terminal, a broadcast message, wherein the broadcast message comprises identification information of the sidelink slice, sending, by the second terminal to the first terminal, a response to the broadcast message, wherein the response to the broadcast message indicates that the second terminal supports the sidelink slice and first terminal sends the request based on the second terminal supporting the sidelink slice. Ahmad discloses a WTRU can transmit a discovery message including slice IDs and a second WTRU can inspect the message for the slice IDs, where WTRUs can support certain network slices and transmit discovery response message, Para [0101], slice information is criteria with which two WTRUs discover each other, Para [0100] and the discovery message can be broadcasted by the WTRU, Para [0094]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Ahmad in the system of Cheng in view with Wu in order to enhance discovery techniques and select appropriate communication devices that meet discovery requirements.
Regarding claim 16, Cheng discloses a communication apparatus (UE, Fig. 2), wherein the communication apparatus comprises: at least one processor and one or more memories (processor and memory, Fig. 2) coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor to establish a sidelink between the communication apparatus and a second terminal, wherein the sidelink corresponds to a sidelink slice (UE communicates with a second UE via a side-link channel, meaning a side-link is established between the two UEs, Para [0049], slicing of resources on a side-link interface and/or channel, Para [0057]); and a transceiver (TX/RX modulator and antenna, Fig. 2), the transceiver configured to communicate with the second terminal on the sidelink by using a physical transmission resource corresponding to the sidelink slice (first and second UE communicate via one or more side-link channels, Para [0049], slice identifier corresponds to a resource allocation to be used for the D2D communication, Para [0066], resource allocation is the set of resources to be used for communication, Para [0069]); sending, by the first terminal, a first message to the second terminal, wherein the first message comprises identification information of the sidelink slice (first UE transmits slice identifier in a message to second UE, Para [0073]), but not explicitly the first message is a request and is a request to establish the sidelink. Wu discloses establishing unicast side-link communication, where first UE transmits a request and second UE transmits a response accepting the request, Para [0066], it would be obvious to include slice ID in the request, as D2D communication will occupy that particular slice of time and frequency resources. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Wu in the system of Cheng in order to improve efficiency techniques for V2X communications and establishment of unicast side-links; and does not disclose sending, by the first terminal, a broadcast message, wherein the broadcast message comprises identification information of the sidelink slice, receiving, by the first terminal from the second terminal, a response to the broadcast message, wherein the response to the broadcast message indicates that the second terminal supports the sidelink slice and first terminal sends the request based on the second terminal supporting the sidelink slice. Ahmad discloses a WTRU can transmit a discovery message including slice IDs and a second WTRU can inspect the message for the slice IDs, where WTRUs can support certain network slices and transmit discovery response message, Para [0101], slice information is criteria with which two WTRUs discover each other, Para [0100] and the discovery message can be broadcasted by the WTRU, Para [0094]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Ahmad in the system of Cheng in view with Wu in order to enhance discovery techniques and select appropriate communication devices that meet discovery requirements.
Regarding claim 26, Cheng discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising: in response to receiving the response to the broadcast message, determining, by the first terminal, that the second terminal supports the sidelink slice based on the received response to the broadcast message. Ahmad discloses the remote WTRU may transmit the received solicitation code in order to trigger a response from a relay WTRU that supports a slice associated with the solicitation code and the remote WTRU may process one or more discovery codes received from a relay WTRU in a discovery message using the received discovery filter to determine whether the relay WTRU(s) support a slice, Para [0084]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Ahmad in the system of Cheng in view with Wu in order to enhance discovery techniques and select appropriate communication devices that meet discovery requirements.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng, in view of Wu, in view of Ahmad and in view of Lee et al (US 2018/0270666, hereinafter Lee).
Regarding claim 14, Cheng discloses the method according to claim 13, but not wherein sending the response to the first request to the first terminal comprises: sending, by the second terminal, the response to the first request to the first terminal if the second terminal has permission to use the sidelink slice. Lee discloses a UE can receive a message from the mobility management function that the UE is permitted to communicate over at least one slice, Para [0010] and in view of Wu, the second UE sent confirmation to first UE after receiving this message from the AMF. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Lee in the system of Cheng and in view of Wu and Ahmad in order to improve privacy and protection of slice information.
Regarding claim 15, Cheng discloses the method according to claim 14, but not wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by the second terminal from a mobility management network element, identification information of one or more sidelink slices that the second terminal has permission to use. Lee discloses a UE can receive a message from the mobility management function that the UE is permitted to communicate over at least one slice, Para [0010]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the techniques taught by Lee in the system of Cheng and in view of Wu in order to improve privacy and protection of slice information.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 12 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/27/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues the references do not disclose the limitations in the claim. Applicant argues the limitation where the first terminal sends a request in response to determining the second terminal supports the sidelink slice. Applicant argues the Cheng and Wu references do not disclose this limitation. In response, argument is moot because the office action never stated Cheng and Wu references disclosed this limitation. The limitation is disclosed by the Ahmad reference. Ahmad discloses discovery between two WTRUs is followed by connection establishment, Para [0081], the two WTRU perform discovery and exchange codes in order to perform connection establishment, Para [0084]. The two WTRUs perform a discovery exchange, where service codes are included in the messages, the service codes indicating network slices, slices the WTRU can support or communicates with, and then afterwards a connection can be established. Therefore, Ahmad discloses this limitation. Applicant argues over the limitation that the response to the broadcast message, from the second terminal, indicates the second terminal supports the network slice. Applicant argues none of the three references disclose this limitation. Applicant appears to admit Ahmad discloses a discovery response message from the second WTRU but not that this message includes a supported network slice. In response Ahmad does disclose this limitation. Ahmad discloses the remote WTRU may transmit the received solicitation code in order to trigger a response from a relay WTRU that supports a slice associated with the solicitation code (e.g., in order to perform connection establishment with the relay WTRU). Further the remote WTRU may process one or more discovery codes received from a relay WTRU in a discovery message using the received discovery filter to determine whether the relay WTRU(s) support a slice that the remote WTRU would like to utilize, Para [0084]. The codes in the messages indicate the network slices that the WTRU is able to connect to, Para [0085]. The two WTRUs in Ahmad are able to exchange discovery messages with service codes, the service codes indicate the network slices that are supported by the WTRU. A connection can be established after the discovery exchange.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN CUNNINGHAM whose telephone number is (571) 272-1765. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday 7:30-18:00 (EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Vu can be reached on (571) 272-3155. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN M CUNNINGHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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