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 Amendment
This is in response to an amendment/response filed 11/13/2025.
No claims have been cancelled.
No claims have been added.
Claims 1-20 are now pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claims 1, 7, and 16 (pages 10-18) in a reply filed 11/13/2025 have been considered but are moot because the arguments are based on newly changed limitations in the amendment and new ground of rejections using newly introduced references or a newly introduced portion of an existing reference are applied in the current 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Russell et al. US 20190037518 (hereinafter “Russell”) in view of Sharma et al. US 20230086337 (hereinafter “Sharma”) and in further view of Wang US 20220338092 (hereinafter “Wang”)
As to claim 1, 7, and 16 (claim 7 is the method claim for the device in claim 1 and claim 16 is the non-transitory medium of the device in claim 1):
Russell discloses:
A sidelink router device having a local IP Multimedia core network Subsystem (IMS) server function (“in the embodiments of the present disclosure a relay UE acts as an IMS/SIP proxy for each remote UE that is connected locally by some means to the relay UE.”, Russell [0107]), the sidelink router device comprising: a storage device; a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, (“Processor 1920 is configured to execute programmable logic, which may be stored, along with data, on device 1910, and shown in the example of FIG. 19 as memory 1940. Memory 1940 can be any tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may be a tangible or in transitory/non-transitory medium such as optical (e.g., CD, DVD, etc.), magnetic (e.g., tape), flash drive, hard drive, or other memory known in the art.”, Russell [0435]) (“One simplified diagram of a computing device is shown with regard to FIG. 19. The computing device of FIG. 19 could be any UE, S-CSCF, P-CSCF, I-CSCF, TURN server, STUN server, AS, or other node as described above.”, Russell [0433]) the operations comprising:
obtaining, from an IMS server function in the network while the sidelink router device is within the coverage area of the network, first and second device profiles corresponding to the first end user device and a third end user device, respectively, wherein each of the first and second device profiles includes respective service profile information; (“The information may further contain the SIP message R-URI and reply to header, which were obtained from the HSS.”, Russell [0224]) (“The relay UE 912 receives message 956 and stores the AS 916 address. Further, based either on an indication that message 956 contains a SIP method for the remote UE 910 or other separate parameter that contains the remote UE user identity, such as the target URI parameter and relay UE, the relay UE 912 uses the remote UE's user identity to determine the local connection ID address.”, Russell [0225]) (FIG. 6 shows multiple UEs 612 and 614, Russell)
facilitating a second wireless communication session using the first sidelink communication session with the first end user device and a second sidelink communication session with the third end user device, the second wireless communication session being established based on the first and second device profiles by the local IP Multimedia core network Subsystem (IMS) server function operating on the processing system, (“the first UE is provisioned with a set of radio parameters that allows the first UE to perform sidelink/PC5/PC5 sidelink Device to Device (D2D) communications, which is basically how a first UE can communicate with another UE. This first UE then either broadcasts on a frequency, using these radio parameters to configure the radio, or listens, which helps the first UE find another UE with whom to communicate. The other UE with which the first UE may communicate may be called a “UE to network relay”. A “UE to network relay” is a UE that has a connection to an E-UTRAN and one or more other UEs, and that may also relay traffic between the connected E-UTRAN and the one or more of the other UEs.”, Russell [0104]) (“The information may further contain the SIP message R-URI and reply to header, which were obtained from the HSS.”, Russell [0224]) (“The relay UE 912 receives message 956 and stores the AS 916 address. Further, based either on an indication that message 956 contains a SIP method for the remote UE 910 or other separate parameter that contains the remote UE user identity, such as the target URI parameter and relay UE, the relay UE 912 uses the remote UE's user identity to determine the local connection ID address.”, Russell [0225]) (FIG. 6 shows multiple UEs 612 and 614, Russell)
Russell as discussed above does not teach:
facilitating a first wireless communication session by relaying signals between a first end user device communicating with the sidelink router device over a first sidelink communication session and a second end user device communicating with the sidelink router device via a network,
wherein the first end user device is outside of a coverage area of the network, wherein the second end user device is within the coverage area of the network, and wherein the first wireless communication session is initiated while the sidelink router device is operating within the coverage area of the network;
storing the first and second device profiles in the storage device determining that the sidelink router device, the first end user device, and the third end user device are each outside of the coverage area of the network in response to the determining,
and utilizing the respective service profile information of the first and third end user devices to provide communication services between the first and third end user devices via the sidelink router device, wherein the communication services provided to the first and third end user devices comprise voice calling service and/or messaging service during a time period in which the sidelink router device, the first end user device, and the third end user device are each outside the coverage area of the network.
However, Sharma further teaches relay node providing extended coverage while it is within or outside network coverage which includes:
facilitating a first wireless communication session by relaying signals between a first end user device communicating with the sidelink router device over a first sidelink communication session and a second end user device communicating with the sidelink router device via a network, (FIG. 4 shows UE 93 relaying or routing sidelink signals from UE 91 and UE 92 to UE 82, Sharma)
wherein the first end user device is outside of a coverage area of the network, wherein the second end user device is within the coverage area of the network, and wherein the first wireless communication session is initiated while the sidelink router device is operating within the coverage area of the network; (“one of the UEs 82 within the coverage area of the cell 80 acts as a relay node for one or more of the UEs 91, 92, 93 which are outside the coverage area as represented by a sidelink 97.”, Sharma [0050]); (FIG. 4 shows UE 82 relaying or routing sidelink signals from UE 93 to UE 84, Sharma) (“Referring to FIGS. 4 and 7, in some embodiments, a remote UE (such as UE 93) is initially in an RRC-Connected state 700 and is performing radio communication with a gNB (such as radio infrastructure equipment 81). The remote UE 93 may be initially within a coverage area 83 of the gNB state (not shown in FIG. 4) when the remote UE 93 is in the RRC_CONNECTED state. At a later time, the remote UE 93 may be outside the coverage area of the gNB as shown in FIG. 4. It may therefore be desirable for the remote UE to re-establish connection with the gNB 81 via a relay UE (such as UE 82). In other embodiments, it may be preferable to establish connection to a different gNB via a different relay UE. The relay UE 82 is within the coverage area 80 of the gNB 81. Based on measurements of a Uu interface between the remote UE 93 and the gNB 81 when the remote UE 93 is in the RRC_CONNECTED state, the remote UE may determine to initiate a discovery procedure 702, 704 in order to determine a suitable node to act as a relay between the remote UE 93 and the gNB 81. The remote UE 93 may determine to initiate the discovery procedure 702, 704 if, for example, measurements of the Uu interface between the remote UE 93 and the gNB 81 fall below a pre-defined threshold, such as a received signal strength threshold or the like. In other example embodiments, the relay UE 82 may perform the discovery of remote UE 93. In other example embodiments, the relay UE 82 may periodically broadcast discovery signals.”, Sharma [0090])
Russell and Sharma are analogous because they pertain to providing extended network coverage to devices outside the coverage area.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include relay node providing extended coverage while it is within or outside network coverage as described in Sharma into Russell. By modifying the method to include relay node providing extended coverage while it is within or outside network coverage as taught by Sharma, the benefits of improved services (Russell [0003]) and improved service continuity (Sharma [0014]) are achieved.
The combination of Russell and Sharma as described above does not explicitly teach:
storing the first and second device profiles in the storage device determining that the sidelink router device, the first end user device, and the third end user device are each outside of the coverage area of the network in response to the determining,
and utilizing the respective service profile information of the first and third end user devices between the first and third end user devices via the sidelink router device, wherein the communication services provided to the first and third end user devices comprise voice calling service and/or messaging service during a time period in which the sidelink router device, the first end user device, and the third end user device are each outside the coverage area of the network.
However, Wang further teaches a relay UE that uses stored configuration information to facilitate NR communication between remote UEs when the relay UE and remote UEs loses network coverage which includes:
storing the first and second device profiles in the storage device determining that the sidelink router device, the first end user device, and the third end user device are each outside of the coverage area of the network in response to the determining, (“Apparatus and methods are provided for sidelink configuration and traffic forwarding for L2 UE-to-UE relay. In one novel aspect, the relay UE configures sidelink configuration for both direct PC5 link between the relay UE and the remote UE and indirect PC5 link between two remote UEs. The relay UE performs traffic forwarding for remote UEs based on the adaptation information included within the SL-SCH sub-header of PC5 MAC sub-PDU. The sidelink configuration for direct PC5 link includes RLC/MAC configuration. The Sidelink configuration for indirect PC5 link includes SDAP/PDCP configuration. The adaptation information includes end-to-end SLRB ID for one-hop based UE-to-UE relaying operation. The adaptation information includes both end-to-end SLRB ID and remote UE ID for multi-hop UE-to-UE relaying operation.”, Wang [0005]) (“FIG. 5 illustrate an exemplary diagram of NR UE-to-UE sidelink relay with the relay UE and the remote UE out of the network coverage in accordance with embodiments of the current invention. The NR network 500 has a gNB 501, a relay UE 502, and remote UEs 511, 512, and 513. At the time of establishing the L2 sidelink relay path for the remote UEs, the relay UE and the remote UEs are out-of-coverage. In one embodiment, relay UE 502 acquires the network configuration for the L2 sidelink relay according to its previously connection with the network. In another embodiment, relay UE 502 obtains network configuration for the L2 sidelink relay based on its pre-configuration. Out-of-coverage remote UEs, such as UEs 511, 512, and 513, forms a local group 520. Relay UE 502 schedules the radio resources for remote UEs in local group 520. Relay UE can relay data and signaling among the device members of the local group 520, which are out of the network coverage. In one embodiment, relay UE 502 performs L2 sidelink relay through sidelinks 521, 522, and 523 with remote UEs 511, 512, and 513, respectively.”, Wang [0029]) (Examiner’s Note: relay UE 502 stores remote UE ID and SLRB ID since the relay UE is able to relay data between remote UEs based on “pre-configuration”)
and utilizing the respective service profile information of the first and third end user devices to provide communication services between the first and third end user devices via the sidelink router device, wherein the communication services provided to the first and third end user devices comprise voice calling service and/or messaging service during a time period in which the sidelink router device, the first end user device, and the third end user device are each outside the coverage area of the network. (“FIG. 5 illustrate an exemplary diagram of NR UE-to-UE sidelink relay with the relay UE and the remote UE out of the network coverage in accordance with embodiments of the current invention. The NR network 500 has a gNB 501, a relay UE 502, and remote UEs 511, 512, and 513. At the time of establishing the L2 sidelink relay path for the remote UEs, the relay UE and the remote UEs are out-of-coverage. In one embodiment, relay UE 502 acquires the network configuration for the L2 sidelink relay according to its previously connection with the network. In another embodiment, relay UE 502 obtains network configuration for the L2 sidelink relay based on its pre-configuration. Out-of-coverage remote UEs, such as UEs 511, 512, and 513, forms a local group 520. Relay UE 502 schedules the radio resources for remote UEs in local group 520. Relay UE can relay data and signaling among the device members of the local group 520, which are out of the network coverage. In one embodiment, relay UE 502 performs L2 sidelink relay through sidelinks 521, 522, and 523 with remote UEs 511, 512, and 513, respectively.”, Wang [0029]) (Examiner’s Note: “NR UE-to-UE” sidelink relay implies voice and/or messaging service is facilitated by the relay)
Russell, Wang, and Sharma are analogous because they pertain to providing extended network coverage to devices outside the coverage area.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a relay UE that uses stored configuration information to facilitate NR communication between remote UEs when the relay UE and remote UEs loses network coverage as described in Wang into Russell as modified by Sharma. By modifying the method to include a relay UE that uses stored configuration information to facilitate NR communication between remote UEs when the relay UE and remote UEs loses network coverage as taught by Wang, the benefits of improved services (Russell [0003]) and improved service continuity (Sharma [0014] and Wang [0029]) are achieved.
As to claim 2, 9, and 18 (claim 9 is the method claim for the device in claim 1 and claim 18 is the machine-readable medium of the device in claim1):
Russell discloses:
The sidelink router device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise authentication of the first end user device for the first wireless communication session. (“Conversely, if the check is performed and the remote UE 710 is allowed to use a relay UE 712, or if the check is not performed, then the same node or another node in the remote UE's IMS 716 may process the SIP register utilizing standard procedures. For example, authentication may be performed in a security challenge and a SIP 401 unauthorized response may be sent back to the remote UE's IMS 716. This is for example defined in 3GPP TS 24.229. Such 401 unauthorized message is shown with regard to message 740 in the embodiment of FIG. 7 and is sent to Relay UE's IMS 714.”, Russell [0154])
As to claim 3, 10, and 19 (claim 10 is the method claim for the device in claim 1 and claim 19 is the machine-readable medium of the device in claim1):
Russell discloses:
The sidelink router device of claim 1, wherein the first sidelink communication session include a voice call or a messaging service.(“outgoing calls or sessions from a remote UE that had registered via the relay UE 520 can be initiated by the remote UE 510 itself, or the relay UE 520 on behalf of a remote UE 510 could initiate the outgoing session.”, Russell [0117])
As to claim 4, 11, and 20 (claim 11 is the method claim for the device in claim 1 and claim 20 is the machine-readable medium of the device in claim1):
Russell discloses:
The sidelink router device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise obtaining the second device profile for the third end user device from a third communication session that occurs prior to the second wireless communication session, (“Relay UE 912 receives message 930. The relay UE 912 may store the received remote UE user identity against the remote UE local connection ID address.”, Russell [0207]) (“the relay UE 712 may perform a look up on the Call-ID of the received SIP response from the relay UE's IMS 714 in the binding store, as for example created prior to sending message 732 above.”, Russell [0156]) wherein the second wireless communication session is established based in part on the second device profile by the local IMS server function operating on the processing system. (“in the embodiments of the present disclosure a relay UE acts as an IMS/SIP proxy for each remote UE that is connected locally by some means to the relay UE.”, Russell [0107])
As to claim 5 and 12 (claim 12 is the method claim for the device in claim 1):
Russell as described above does not explicitly teach:
The sidelink router device of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise facilitating the third communication session by relaying signals between the third end user device and a fourth end user device via the network, wherein the third end user device is outside of the coverage area of the network, wherein the fourth end user device is within the coverage area of the network, and wherein the third communication session is while the sidelink router device is operating within the coverage area of the network.
However, Sharma further teaches facilitating communication while one device is within the coverage area and another device is outside the coverage area which includes:
The sidelink router device of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise facilitating the third communication session by relaying signals between the third end user device and a fourth end user device via the network, wherein the third end user device is outside of the coverage area of the network, wherein the fourth end user device is within the coverage area of the network, and wherein the third communication session is while the device is operating within the coverage area of the network. (“At a later time, the remote UE 93 may be outside the coverage area of the gNB as shown in FIG. 4. It may therefore be desirable for the remote UE to re-establish connection with the gNB 81 via a relay UE (such as UE 82). In other embodiments, it may be preferable to establish connection to a different gNB via a different relay UE. The relay UE 82 is within the coverage area 80 of the gNB 81.”, Sharma [0090])
Russell and Sharma are analogous because they pertain to providing extended network coverage to devices outside the coverage area.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include facilitating communication while one device is within the coverage area and another device is outside the coverage area as described in Sharma into Russell. By modifying the method to include facilitating communication while one device is within the coverage area and another device is outside the coverage area as taught by Sharma, the benefits of improved service continuity (Sharma [0014]) and improved services (Russell [0003]) are achieved. are achieved.
As to claim 6:
Russell discloses:
The sidelink router device of claim 5, wherein the operations further comprise: subsequently facilitating a third communication session by sidelink communications between the first end user device, the third end user device and a fifth end user device, (“the first UE is provisioned with a set of radio parameters that allows the first UE to perform sidelink/PC5/PC5 sidelink Device to Device (D2D) communications, which is basically how a first UE can communicate with another UE. This first UE then either broadcasts on a frequency, using these radio parameters to configure the radio, or listens, which helps the first UE find another UE with whom to communicate. The other UE with which the first UE may communicate may be called a “UE to network relay”. A “UE to network relay” is a UE that has a connection to an E-UTRAN and one or more other UEs, and that may also relay traffic between the connected E-UTRAN and the one or more of the other UEs.”, Russell [0104]) wherein the third communication session is established based on the first and second device profiles by the local IMS server function operating on the processing system, (“in the embodiments of the present disclosure a relay UE acts as an IMS/SIP proxy for each remote UE that is connected locally by some means to the relay UE.”, Russell [0107])
Russell as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first, third and fifth end user devices are outside of the coverage area of the network, and wherein the sidelink communications is while the sidelink router device is outside the coverage area of the network.
However, Sharma further teaches facilitating sidelink communication while the devices are outside the coverage area which includes:
wherein the first, third and fifth end user devices are outside of the coverage area of the network, and wherein the sidelink communications is while the sidelink router device is outside the coverage area of the network. (“where UEs fall outside a coverage area of a wireless communication network and so communicate directly with one another. As represented by dashed lines 94, 95, 96, three UEs 91, 92, 93 are operable to transmit and receive signals representing data via sidelinks”, Sharma [0050])
Russell and Sharma are analogous because they pertain to providing extended network coverage to devices outside the coverage area.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include facilitating sidelink communication while the devices are outside the coverage area as described in Sharma into Russell. By modifying the method to include facilitating sidelink communication while the devices are outside the coverage area as taught by Sharma, the benefits of improved service continuity (Sharma [0014]) with improved services (Russell [0003]) are achieved.
As to claim 8 and 17 (claim 8 is the method claim for the non-transitory medium in claim 17):
Russell discloses:
The method of claim 7, comprising: wherein the local IMS server function utilizes the first device profile for establishing the second wireless communication session. (“The relay UE 912 may then send a message 932 comprising a third registration type. The message in 932 may include information including, but not limited to, the relay UE user identity, the remote UE user identity, an indication that the remote UE is acting as a remote UE, an indication that the third registration type is a remote UE registration or a relay registration, among other information.”, Russell [0208])
As to claim 13:
Russell as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 11, comprising: moving the sidelink router within the coverage area of the network prior to the first wireless communication session; and moving the sidelink router outside of the coverage area of the network prior to the second wireless communication session.
However, Sharma further teaches mobility of remote UE used to provide sidelink communication from within the coverage area to outside the coverage area which includes:
The method of claim 11, comprising: moving the sidelink router within the coverage area of the network prior to the first wireless communication session; and moving the sidelink router outside of the coverage area of the network prior to the second wireless communication session. (“a remote UE (such as UE 93) is initially in an RRC-Connected state 700 and is performing radio communication with a gNB (such as radio infrastructure equipment 81). The remote UE 93 may be initially within a coverage area 83 of the gNB state (not shown in FIG. 4) when the remote UE 93 is in the RRC_CONNECTED state. At a later time, the remote UE 93 may be outside the coverage area of the gNB as shown in FIG. 4”, Sharma [0090]);
Russell and Sharma are analogous because they pertain to providing extended network coverage to devices outside the coverage area.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include mobility of remote UE used to provide sidelink communication from within the coverage area to outside the coverage area as described in Sharma into Russell. By modifying the method to include mobility of remote UE used to provide sidelink communication from within the coverage area to outside the coverage area as taught by Sharma, the benefits of improved service continuity (Sharma [0014]) with improved services (Russell [0003]) are achieved.
As to claim 14:
Russell discloses:
The method of claim 13, wherein the sidelink router is part of a vehicle.(“ the relay UE 1612 could make a decision based on the current state of the associated vehicle.”, Russell [0381])
As to claim 15:
Russell discloses:
The method of claim 14, wherein the vehicle comprises an unmanned drone. (“Vehicles includes motor vehicles (e.g., automobiles, cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, etc.), aircraft (e.g., airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems, drones, helicopters, etc.)”, Russell [0432])
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 ANDREW C KIM whose telephone number is (703)756-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM (PST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at (571) 272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471