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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/02/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the Non-Final Rejection on 05/02/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7-9, 11-13 and 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3-5, 7-9, 11-13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi et al. (US 20220167180 A1 previously cited) in view of YEO et al. (US 20180145797 A1) further in view of VARGAS et al. (US 20200374858 A1 previously cited) still further in view of Matsumura et al. (US 20210168744 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Choi et al. discloses;
A method performed by a first user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system (Fig. 1, 2, 7, 10: vehicle/UE as receiving terminal), the method comprising:…
performing sidelink synchronization with a second UE (Fig. 7, 10: Step S710/S1020 – receiving terminal performing sidelink synchronization with transmitting terminal/second UE)…;
transmitting, to the second UE, location information of the first UE (Para. [0047]: “Various driving information such as velocity, heading, time, position [location information], and the like may be exchanged between the vehicles 100 and 110 through the V2V communications”; Para. [0067]: “the sidelink communications are applied may be classified as shown below in Table 1 according to the positions [location information] of the UEs (e.g., the UEs 235 and 236) participating in the sidelink communications.” That is, both receiving terminal and transmitting terminal exchange/transmit position/location information of each other)…;
receiving, from the second UE, information on a beam (Fig. Para. [0096]: “the receiving terminal may identify a beam index [i.e. the receiving terminal receives information on a beam send by the transmitting terminal] associated with the synchronization signal based on a resource in which the synchronization signal is received and/or information included in the synchronization signal)”)…, wherein the beam is generated based on the location information of the first UE (Para. [0105]: “The transmitting terminal [second UE] may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762).”; Para. [0154]: “The beam area may be determined based on information received from the receiving terminal (e.g., position information (e.g., a zone in which the receiving terminal is located), speed, and movement direction). The beams included in the beam area may be a portion of all beams of the transmitting terminal.” That is, beam #2 is generated by transmitting terminal/second UE based at least on the position/location information of the receiving terminal/first UE)…; and
transmitting, based on the using the beam pair configured by the initial beam management procedure (S760); Para. [0105]: “when sidelink data [sidelink data] to be transmitted to the receiving terminal is present, the transmitting terminal may generate SCI [sidelink control information] including scheduling information of the sidelink data (S761) [e.g. S762 and S763]. The transmitting terminal may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762)”) via a second carrier (FR2) (Fig. 7, 9, Para. [0005]: “sidelink communication may be performed using a high frequency band (e.g., millimeter wave band). The frequency band used for sidelink communication may be referred to as a ‘frequency range (FR) 2’. That is, steps S760/S1070 [e.g. Fig. 9: S762 (sidelink control) and S763 (sidelink data)] are performed using a ‘frequency range (FR) 2’” and beam #2).
Choi et al. does not teach:
“receiving, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier” and that the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are received via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE”;
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0004]: “implementation of a 5G communication system in an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”), YEO et al. discloses:
“receiving, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier”(Para. “[0386]: “the terminal may configure the second search space through at least one value of a CCE index, a PRB index, or a subband index received through the MIB/SIB/RRC signal based on a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] that the base station has configured to the terminal.” That is, a terminal receives a MIB (Master Information Block) providing information/configuration associated with frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the resource pool configuration/information for performing sidelink communications between UEs 235 and 236 in Choi et al.’s invention can be received by the first UE via a sidelink master information/a MIB including information/configuration associated with a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] as taught by YEO et al. where doing so would (YEO et al., Para. [0014]) allow for “efficiently performing communication between a base station and a terminal (or terminal-to-terminal communication).”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. teach (Choi et al., Para. [0077]) that “each of the UEs 235 and 236 may be configured to perform sidelink communications using a resource pool configured by the base station 210”, they do not teach that the performing a sidelink synchronization, the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are receiving/transmitting via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE”;
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Abstract: “sidelink communication across frequency band”), VARGAS et al. discloses that the performing a sidelink synchronization, receiving/transmitting the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” via:
“via a first carrier (Fig. 5, 6, 7A, 7B, Para. [0037], [0094], [0105], [0111]: “the wireless communication devices may further synchronize timing on the first sidelink and the second sidelink”; “the sidelink device 502a may transmit an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRCDirectConnectionReconfiguraton message) to the sidelink device 502b over the SRB previously established via the FR1 sidelink. The RRC reconfiguration message may include, for example, mmWave physical layer (PHY) configurations for beam direction(s), timing, location, and/or other Layer 1 (L1)/Layer 2 (L2) parameters in the radio protocol stack (e.g., the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model)” ; “the RRC reconfiguration message sent on FR1 may be utilized to configure L2 and higher layers, along with mmWave PHY configurations for beam direction(s) and resource, timing, location, and/or sequence parameters for L1/L2 procedures”…“the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”; “sub-6 GHz (e.g., FR1) sidelinks…may each be synchronized based on different reference synchronization sources…FR1 may include a first carrier frequency time-divided into a first plurality of slots 702a”. That is, sidelink synchronization is performed using first carrier FR1 and location information of the first UE is received using first carrier FR1), wherein the first carrier is preconfigured (Para. [0089]-[0090]: “the sidelink device 502a may be configured to simultaneously operate in at least two frequency bands, such as, for example, one or more sub-6 GHz bands and one or more mmWave bands…sub-6 GHz communications, the sidelink device 502a may be configured to transmit an omni-directional beam 504 over FR1”. That is, the first carrier/sub-6 GHz band/FR1 is preconfigured by the system); the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE (Fig. 6, Para. [0105]: “…the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”) and
wherein the second carrier is different from the first carrier” (Para. [0032]: “two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the “positions [location information] of the UEs” and “information on a beam” in Choi et al. in view of YEO et al.’s invention can be communicated via a first frequency/carrier and the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on “location information/geographical locations of the transmitting/second UE and where the first frequency/carrier (FR1) is different from the second frequency/carrier (FR2) as taught by VARGAS et al. where doing so would (VARGAS et al., Para. [0005]) allow “to obtain information related to the weather, nearby accidents, road conditions, activities of nearby vehicles and pedestrians, objects nearby the vehicle, and other pertinent information that may be utilized to improve the vehicle driving experience, increase vehicle safety, and support autonomous vehicles.”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al. teach (Choi et al. Abstract) “managing a beam in sidelink communication”, they do not teach:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0022]: “perform communication using beam forming (BF)”), Matsumura et al. discloses:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier (Para. [0050]: “the analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like)”), and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier” (Para. [0044]: “an analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the beams in Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al.’s invention can be analog beams where analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like) and the analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”) as taught by Matsumura et al. where doing so would (Matsumura et al., Para. [0053]) “improve the communication throughput or the communication quality.”
Regarding Claim 5, Choi et al. discloses;
A method performed by a second user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system(Fig. 1, 2, 7, 10: vehicle/UE as transmitting terminal), the method comprising:
performing a sidelink synchronization with a first UE (Fig. 7, 10: Step S710/S1020 – transmitting terminal performing sidelink synchronization with receiving terminal/first UE)…;
receiving, from the first UE, location information of the first UE (Para. [0047]: “Various driving information such as velocity, heading, time, position [location information], and the like may be exchanged between the vehicles 100 and 110 through the V2V communications”; Para. [0067]: “the sidelink communications are applied may be classified as shown below in Table 1 according to the positions [location information] of the UEs (e.g., the UEs 235 and 236) participating in the sidelink communications.” That is, both receiving terminal and transmitting terminal exchange/transmit position/location information of each other)…;
generating a beam based on the received location information of the first UE (Para. [0105]: “The transmitting terminal [second UE] may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762).”; Para. [0154]: “The beam area may be determined based on information received from the receiving terminal (e.g., position information (e.g., a zone in which the receiving terminal is located), speed, and movement direction). The beams included in the beam area may be a portion of all beams of the transmitting terminal.” That is, beam #2 is generated by transmitting terminal/second UE based at least on the position/location information of the receiving terminal/first UE) …;
transmitting, to the first UE, information on the generated beam (Fig. Para. [0096]: “the receiving terminal may identify a beam index [i.e. the receiving terminal receives information on a beam send by the transmitting terminal] associated with the synchronization signal based on a resource in which the synchronization signal is received and/or information included in the synchronization signal)”)…; and
receiving, based on the transmitted information on the beam, both sidelink control information and sidelink data information (Fig. 7, 9, 10: Para. [0099]: “The sidelink communication between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal may be performed using the beam pair configured by the initial beam management procedure (S760); Para. [0105]: “when sidelink data [sidelink data] to be transmitted to the receiving terminal is present, the transmitting terminal may generate SCI [sidelink control information] including scheduling information of the sidelink data (S761) [e.g. S762 and S763]. The transmitting terminal may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762)”) via the [[a]] second carrier ,
Choi et al. does not teach:
“receiving, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier” and that the performing a sidelink synchronization, the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are receiving/transmitting via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on
“location information of the second UE,”
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0004]: “implementation of a 5G communication system in an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”), YEO et al. discloses:
“receiving, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier”(Para. “[0386]: “the terminal may configure the second search space through at least one value of a CCE index, a PRB index, or a subband index received through the MIB/SIB/RRC signal based on a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] that the base station has configured to the terminal.” That is, a terminal receives a MIB (Master Information Block) providing information/configuration associated with frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the resource pool configuration/information for performing sidelink communications between UEs 235 and 236 in Choi et al.’s invention can be received by the first UE via a sidelink master information/a MIB including information/configuration associated with a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] as taught by YEO et al. where doing so would (YEO et al., Para. [0014]) allow for “efficiently performing communication between a base station and a terminal (or terminal-to-terminal communication).”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. teach (Choi et al., Para. [0077]) that “each of the UEs 235 and 236 may be configured to perform sidelink communications using a resource pool configured by the base station 210”, they do not teach that the performing a sidelink synchronization, the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are receiving/transmitting via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE”;
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Abstract: “sidelink communication across frequency band”), VARGAS et al. discloses that the performing a sidelink synchronization, receiving/transmitting the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” via:
“via a first carrier (Fig. 5, 6, 7A, 7B, Para. [0037], [0094], [0105], [0111]: “the wireless communication devices may further synchronize timing on the first sidelink and the second sidelink”; “the sidelink device 502a may transmit an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRCDirectConnectionReconfiguraton message) to the sidelink device 502b over the SRB previously established via the FR1 sidelink. The RRC reconfiguration message may include, for example, mmWave physical layer (PHY) configurations for beam direction(s), timing, location, and/or other Layer 1 (L1)/Layer 2 (L2) parameters in the radio protocol stack (e.g., the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model)” ; “the RRC reconfiguration message sent on FR1 may be utilized to configure L2 and higher layers, along with mmWave PHY configurations for beam direction(s) and resource, timing, location, and/or sequence parameters for L1/L2 procedures”…“the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”; “sub-6 GHz (e.g., FR1) sidelinks…may each be synchronized based on different reference synchronization sources…FR1 may include a first carrier frequency time-divided into a first plurality of slots 702a”. That is, sidelink synchronization is performed using first carrier FR1 and location information of the first UE is received using first carrier FR1), wherein the first carrier is preconfigured (Para. [0089]-[0090]: “the sidelink device 502a may be configured to simultaneously operate in at least two frequency bands, such as, for example, one or more sub-6 GHz bands and one or more mmWave bands…sub-6 GHz communications, the sidelink device 502a may be configured to transmit an omni-directional beam 504 over FR1”. That is, the first carrier/sub-6 GHz band/FR1 is preconfigured by the system); the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE (Fig. 6, Para. [0105]: “…the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”) and
wherein the second carrier is different from the first carrier” (Para. [0032]: “two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the “positions [location information] of the UEs” and “information on a beam” in Choi et al. in view of YEO et al.’s invention can be communicated via a first frequency/carrier and the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on “location information/geographical locations of the transmitting/second UE and where the first frequency/carrier (FR1) is different from the second frequency/carrier (FR2) as taught by VARGAS et al. where doing so would (VARGAS et al., Para. [0005]) allow “to obtain information related to the weather, nearby accidents, road conditions, activities of nearby vehicles and pedestrians, objects nearby the vehicle, and other pertinent information that may be utilized to improve the vehicle driving experience, increase vehicle safety, and support autonomous vehicles.”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al. teach (Choi et al. Abstract) “managing a beam in sidelink communication”, they do not teach:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0022]: “perform communication using beam forming (BF)”), Matsumura et al. discloses:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier (Para. [0050]: “the analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like)”), and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier” (Para. [0044]: “an analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the beams in Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al.’s invention can be analog beams where analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like) and the analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”) as taught by Matsumura et al. where doing so would (Matsumura et al., Para. [0053]) “improve the communication throughput or the communication quality.”
Regarding Claim 9, Choi et al. discloses;
A first user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1, 2, 7, 10: vehicle/UE as receiving terminal) comprising:
a transceiver capable of transmitting and receiving at least one signal (Fig, 3, Para. [0059]: “a communication node 300 may include at least…a transceiver 330”); and
a controller combined with the transceiver (Fig, 3, Para. [0059]: “a communication nxzode 300 may include at least one processor 310 [controller]…a transceiver 330…the communication node 300 may communicate with each other as connected via a bus 370”),
wherein the controller is configured to:…
perform sidelink synchronization with a second UE (Fig. 7, 10: Step S710/S1020 – receiving terminal performing sidelink synchronization with transmitting terminal/second UE)…;
transmit, to the second UE, location information of the first UE (Para. [0047]: “Various driving information such as velocity, heading, time, position [location information], and the like may be exchanged between the vehicles 100 and 110 through the V2V communications”; Para. [0067]: “the sidelink communications are applied may be classified as shown below in Table 1 according to the positions [location information] of the UEs (e.g., the UEs 235 and 236) participating in the sidelink communications.” That is, both receiving terminal and transmitting terminal exchange/transmit position/location information of each other)…;
receive, from the second UE, information on a beam (Fig. Para. [0096]: “the receiving terminal may identify a beam index [i.e. the receiving terminal receives information on a beam send by the transmitting terminal] associated with the synchronization signal based on a resource in which the synchronization signal is received and/or information included in the synchronization signal)”)… wherein the beam is generated based on the location information of the first UE (Para. [0105]: “The transmitting terminal [second UE] may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762).”; Para. [0154]: “The beam area may be determined based on information received from the receiving terminal (e.g., position information (e.g., a zone in which the receiving terminal is located), speed, and movement direction). The beams included in the beam area may be a portion of all beams of the transmitting terminal.” That is, beam #2 is generated by transmitting terminal/second UE based at least on the position/location information of the receiving terminal/first UE)…; and
transmit, based on the received information on the beam, both sidelink control information and sidelink data information (Fig. 7, 9, 10: Para. [0099]: “The sidelink communication between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal may be performed using the beam pair configured by the initial beam management procedure (S760); Para. [0105]: “when sidelink data [sidelink data] to be transmitted to the receiving terminal is present, the transmitting terminal may generate SCI [sidelink control information] including scheduling information of the sidelink data (S761) [e.g. S762 and S763]. The transmitting terminal may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762)”) via the [[a]] second carrier band). The frequency band used for sidelink communication may be referred to as a ‘frequency range (FR) 2’. That is, steps S760/S1070 [e.g. Fig. 9: S762 (sidelink control) and S763 (sidelink data)] are performed using a ‘frequency range (FR) 2’” and beam #2),
Choi et al. does not teach:
“receive, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier”, the performing a sidelink synchronization, the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are done via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE”;
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0004]: “implementation of a 5G communication system in an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”), YEO et al. discloses:
“receive, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier”(Para. “[0386]: “the terminal may configure the second search space through at least one value of a CCE index, a PRB index, or a subband index received through the MIB/SIB/RRC signal based on a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] that the base station has configured to the terminal.” That is, a terminal receives a MIB (Master Information Block) providing information/configuration associated with frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the resource pool configuration/information for performing sidelink communications between UEs 235 and 236 Choi et al. in view of YEO et al.’s invention can be received by the first UE via a sidelink master information/a MIB including information/configuration associated with a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] as taught by YEO et al. where doing so would (YEO et al., Para. [0014]) allow for “efficiently performing communication between a base station and a terminal (or terminal-to-terminal communication).”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. teach (Choi et al., Para. [0077]) that “each of the UEs 235 and 236 may be configured to perform sidelink communications using a resource pool configured by the base station 210”, they do not teach that the performing a sidelink synchronization, the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are receiving/transmitting via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE”;
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Abstract: “sidelink communication across frequency band”), VARGAS et al. discloses that the performing a sidelink synchronization, receiving/transmitting the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” via:
“via a first carrier (Fig. 5, 6, 7A, 7B, Para. [0037], [0094], [0105], [0111]: “the wireless communication devices may further synchronize timing on the first sidelink and the second sidelink”; “the sidelink device 502a may transmit an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRCDirectConnectionReconfiguraton message) to the sidelink device 502b over the SRB previously established via the FR1 sidelink. The RRC reconfiguration message may include, for example, mmWave physical layer (PHY) configurations for beam direction(s), timing, location, and/or other Layer 1 (L1)/Layer 2 (L2) parameters in the radio protocol stack (e.g., the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model)” ; “the RRC reconfiguration message sent on FR1 may be utilized to configure L2 and higher layers, along with mmWave PHY configurations for beam direction(s) and resource, timing, location, and/or sequence parameters for L1/L2 procedures”…“the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”; “sub-6 GHz (e.g., FR1) sidelinks…may each be synchronized based on different reference synchronization sources…FR1 may include a first carrier frequency time-divided into a first plurality of slots 702a”. That is, sidelink synchronization is performed using first carrier FR1 and location information of the first UE is received using first carrier FR1), wherein the first carrier is preconfigured (Para. [0089]-[0090]: “the sidelink device 502a may be configured to simultaneously operate in at least two frequency bands, such as, for example, one or more sub-6 GHz bands and one or more mmWave bands…sub-6 GHz communications, the sidelink device 502a may be configured to transmit an omni-directional beam 504 over FR1”. That is, the first carrier/sub-6 GHz band/FR1 is preconfigured by the system); the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE (Fig. 6, Para. [0105]: “…the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”) and
wherein the second carrier is different from the first carrier” (Para. [0032]: “two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the “positions [location information] of the UEs” and “information on a beam” in Choi et al.’s invention can be communicated via a first frequency/carrier and the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on “location information/geographical locations of the transmitting/second UE and where the first frequency/carrier (FR1) is different from the second frequency/carrier (FR2) as taught by VARGAS et al. where doing so would (VARGAS et al., Para. [0005]) allow “to obtain information related to the weather, nearby accidents, road conditions, activities of nearby vehicles and pedestrians, objects nearby the vehicle, and other pertinent information that may be utilized to improve the vehicle driving experience, increase vehicle safety, and support autonomous vehicles.”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al. teach (Choi et al. Abstract) “managing a beam in sidelink communication”, they do not teach:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0022]: “perform communication using beam forming (BF)”), Matsumura et al. discloses:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier (Para. [0050]: “the analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like)”), and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier” (Para. [0044]: “an analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the beams in Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al.’s invention can be analog beams where analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like) and the analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”) as taught by Matsumura et al. where doing so would (Matsumura et al., Para. [0053]) “improve the communication throughput or the communication quality.”
Regarding Claim 13, Choi et al. discloses;
A second user equipment (UE) (Fig. 1, 2, 7, 10: vehicle/UE as transmitting terminal) comprising:
a transceiver capable of transmitting and receiving at least one signal (Fig, 3, Para. [0059]: “a communication node 300 may include at least…a transceiver 330”); and
a controller combined with the transceiver (Fig, 3, Para. [0059]: “a communication node 300 may include at least one processor 310 [controller]…a transceiver 330…the communication node 300 may communicate with each other as connected via a bus 370”),
wherein the controller is configured to:
perform sidelink synchronization with a first UE (Fig. 7, 10: Step S710/S1020 – transmitting terminal performing sidelink synchronization with receiving terminal/first UE);
receive, from the first UE, location information of the first UE (Para. [0047]: “Various driving information such as velocity, heading, time, position [location information], and the like may be exchanged between the vehicles 100 and 110 through the V2V communications”; Para. [0067]: “the sidelink communications are applied may be classified as shown below in Table 1 according to the positions [location information] of the UEs (e.g., the UEs 235 and 236) participating in the sidelink communications.” That is, both receiving terminal and transmitting terminal exchange/transmit position/location information of each other)…;
generate a beam based on the received location information of the first UE (Para. [0105]: “The transmitting terminal [second UE] may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762).”; Para. [0154]: “The beam area may be determined based on information received from the receiving terminal (e.g., position information (e.g., a zone in which the receiving terminal is located), speed, and movement direction). The beams included in the beam area may be a portion of all beams of the transmitting terminal.” That is, beam #2 is generated by transmitting terminal/second UE based at least on the position/location information of the receiving terminal/first UE) …;
transmit, to the first UE, information on the generated beam (Fig. Para. [0096]: “the receiving terminal may identify a beam index [i.e. the receiving terminal receives information on a beam send by the transmitting terminal] associated with the synchronization signal based on a resource in which the synchronization signal is received and/or information included in the synchronization signal)”)…; and
receive, based on the transmitted information on the beam, both sidelink control information and sidelink data information (Fig. 7, 9, 10: Para. [0099]: “The sidelink communication between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal may be performed using the beam pair configured by the initial beam management procedure (S760); Para. [0105]: “when sidelink data [sidelink data] to be transmitted to the receiving terminal is present, the transmitting terminal may generate SCI [sidelink control information] including scheduling information of the sidelink data (S761) [e.g. S762 and S763]. The transmitting terminal may transmit the SCI to the receiving terminal by using the transmission beam (e.g., beam #2) determined in the initial beam management procedure (S762)”) via [[a]] the second carrier .
Choi et al. does not teach:
“receive, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier”, the performing a sidelink synchronization, the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are done via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE”;
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0004]: “implementation of a 5G communication system in an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”), YEO et al. discloses:
“receive, from a base station, sidelink master information including a configuration associated with a second carrier”(Para. “[0386]: “the terminal may configure the second search space through at least one value of a CCE index, a PRB index, or a subband index received through the MIB/SIB/RRC signal based on a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] that the base station has configured to the terminal.” That is, a terminal receives a MIB (Master Information Block) providing information/configuration associated with frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the resource pool configuration/information for performing sidelink communications between UEs 235 and 236 in Choi et al.’s invention can be received by the first UE via a sidelink master information/a MIB including information/configuration associated with a center frequency of the frequency band in the second frequency bandwidth [i.e. a second carrier/“an ultrahigh frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., like 60 GHz band)”] as taught by YEO et al. where doing so would (YEO et al., Para. [0014]) allow for “efficiently performing communication between a base station and a terminal (or terminal-to-terminal communication).”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. teach (Choi et al., Para. [0077]) that “each of the UEs 235 and 236 may be configured to perform sidelink communications using a resource pool configured by the base station 210”, they do not teach that the performing a sidelink synchronization, the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” are receiving/transmitting via:
“via a first carrier, wherein the first carrier is preconfigured”; the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE”;
“the second carrier being different from the first carrier”;
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Abstract: “sidelink communication across frequency band”), VARGAS et al. discloses that the performing a sidelink synchronization, receiving/transmitting the “location information of the first UE” and “information on a beam” via:
“via a first carrier (Fig. 5, 6, 7A, 7B, Para. [0037], [0094], [0105], [0111]: “the wireless communication devices may further synchronize timing on the first sidelink and the second sidelink”; “the sidelink device 502a may transmit an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRCDirectConnectionReconfiguraton message) to the sidelink device 502b over the SRB previously established via the FR1 sidelink. The RRC reconfiguration message may include, for example, mmWave physical layer (PHY) configurations for beam direction(s), timing, location, and/or other Layer 1 (L1)/Layer 2 (L2) parameters in the radio protocol stack (e.g., the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model)” ; “the RRC reconfiguration message sent on FR1 may be utilized to configure L2 and higher layers, along with mmWave PHY configurations for beam direction(s) and resource, timing, location, and/or sequence parameters for L1/L2 procedures”…“the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”; “sub-6 GHz (e.g., FR1) sidelinks…may each be synchronized based on different reference synchronization sources…FR1 may include a first carrier frequency time-divided into a first plurality of slots 702a”. That is, sidelink synchronization is performed using first carrier FR1 and location information of the first UE is received using first carrier FR1), wherein the first carrier is preconfigured (Para. [0089]-[0090]: “the sidelink device 502a may be configured to simultaneously operate in at least two frequency bands, such as, for example, one or more sub-6 GHz bands and one or more mmWave bands…sub-6 GHz communications, the sidelink device 502a may be configured to transmit an omni-directional beam 504 over FR1”. That is, the first carrier/sub-6 GHz band/FR1 is preconfigured by the system); the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on:
“location information of the second UE (Fig. 6, Para. [0105]: “…the sidelink devices 602 and 604 may utilize the geographical locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) and V2X data exchanged during establishment of the FR1 sidelink to aid in selection of the BPL”) and
wherein the second carrier is different from the first carrier” (Para. [0032]: “two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the “positions [location information] of the UEs” and “information on a beam” in Choi et al. in view of YEO et al.’s invention can be communicated via a first frequency/carrier and the beam is generated by the second UE is further based on “location information/geographical locations of the transmitting/second UE and where the first frequency/carrier (FR1) is different from the second frequency/carrier (FR2) as taught by VARGAS et al. where doing so would (VARGAS et al., Para. [0005]) allow “to obtain information related to the weather, nearby accidents, road conditions, activities of nearby vehicles and pedestrians, objects nearby the vehicle, and other pertinent information that may be utilized to improve the vehicle driving experience, increase vehicle safety, and support autonomous vehicles.”
Although Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al. teach (Choi et al. Abstract) “managing a beam in sidelink communication”, they do not teach:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier, and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier.”
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Para. [0022]: “perform communication using beam forming (BF)”), Matsumura et al. discloses:
“wherein analog beamforming is not performed in the first carrier (Para. [0050]: “the analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like)”), and
wherein the analog beamforming is performed in the second carrier” (Para. [0044]: “an analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the beams in Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al.’s invention can be analog beams where analog beam is not applied (first frequency range (FR1) [first carrier] or the like) and the analog beam is used to transmit a signal (particularly, a second frequency range (FR2) [second carrier]”) as taught by Matsumura et al. where doing so would (Matsumura et al., Para. [0053]) “improve the communication throughput or the communication quality.”
Regarding Claim 3, 7 and 11, Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al. still further in view of Matsumura et al. discloses all as applied to claim 1, 5, and 9 above, where Choi et al. further teaches wherein:
the information on the beam comprises at least one of a beam direction, a beam breadth, and a beam width (Para. [0093], Table 3: “A beam width used in the initial beam management procedure (e.g., maximum width of a beam)”).
Regarding Claim 4, 8, and 12, Choi et al. in view of YEO et al. further in view of VARGAS et al. still further in view of Matsumura et al. discloses all as applied to claim 1, 5 and 9 above, where VARGAS et al. further teaches:
receiving sidelink synchronization information (Fig. 6, Para. [0137]: “The synchronization reference information [sidelink synchronization information] for each sidelink (FR1 and FR2) may include, for example, a sidelink synchronization signal (S-SS)…”), wherein the sidelink synchronization in