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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/06/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-16, 18-19, and 30 are pending. Claims 17, 20-29 and 31-34 are cancelled.
3. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-8, 30 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to new combinations of references including new prior arts being used in the current rejection. The new grounds of rejection are necessitated by amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4 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, 2 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 20220377822 A1) hereinafter Wang and further in view of Wang et al.(US 20230073469 A1)hereinafter Wang69
As to claim 1. Wang teaches A processor of a user equipment (UE) configured to perform operations comprising:
transmitting, to a base station, a measurement report on a first path between the UE and the base station, ([0028][0029] UE including processor A response handler 193 sends a measurement report upon detecting a predefined path switching triggering event based on the received measurement configuration.)
receiving an RRCReconfiguration message from the base station, ([0006][0029] . A command receiver 194 receives a path switching message from the source gNB indicating to switch from the sidelink relay path to a target direct Uu link; the path switching message is a RRC Reconfiguration message from the source gNB.. )
a Uu medium access control (MAC) layer between the UE and the base station and a Uu physical (PHY) layer between the UE and the base station, ([0038] Fig. 7. At step 751, gNB 703 sends RRCReconfiguration message via the UE-to-Network relay to the remote UE 701 to configure the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and SDAP layers of the link between remote UE 701 and gNB 703. RRCReconfiguration message only configures the PHY, MAC and RLC layers of the link between remote UE 701 and gNB 703.)
Wang does not teach And wherein the RRCReconfiguration message instructs the UE to add for a multi-path relay, establishing the multi-path relay between the UE and the base station based on the RRCReconfiguration message, the multi-path relay comprising a Uu radio link control (RLC) layer between the UE and the base station, , a sidelink adaptation protocol layer between the UE and a relay UE, a sidelink RLC layer between the UE and the relay UE, a sidelink MAC layer between the UE and the relay UE and a sidelink PHY layer between the UE and a relay UE.
Wang69 teaches wherein the RRCReconfiguration message instructs the UE to add for a multi-path relay([0141]Fig. 3, Fig. 4, the mapping relationship between a Uu DRB and an uplink PC5 RLC bearer, and the mapping relationship between a downlink PC5 RLC bearer and a Uu DRB. configuration information from the base station to the remote UE is sent through an RRC reconfiguration message and forwarded by the relay UE to the remote UE; remote UE establishes a Uu DRB (SDAP entity and PDCP entity) and a PC5 RLC bearer based on the RRCReconfiguration message, established multi-path (uplink and downlink, at the relay)
establishing the multi-path relay between the UE and the base station based on the RRCReconfiguration message ([0141]Fig. 3, Fig. 4, remote UE establishes a Uu DRB (SDAP entity and PDCP entity) and a PC5 RLC bearer based on the RRCReconfiguration message established multi-path (uplink and downlink, at the relay)
the multi-path relay comprising , ([0141]Fig. 3, Fig. 4, remote UE establishes a Uu DRB (SDAP entity and PDCP entity) and a PC5 RLC bearer based on the RRCReconfiguration message , established multi-path (uplink and downlink, at the relay)
a Uu radio link control (RLC) layer between the UE and the base station, ([0139] [0140] base station configures a Uu DRB and the mapping relationship between the Uu DRB and a PC5 RLC bearer for the remote UE; the base station configures a PC5 RLC bearer for the remote UE)
.a sidelink adaptation protocol layer between the UE and a relay UE, ([0091] Fig. 3, the base station delivers the Uu bearer data packet of the remote UE to an adaptation layer to make the data packet processed by the adaptation layer, , adds an adaptation layer packet header to the data packet, and maps the data packet to a relay Uu BH bearer dedicated for data forwarding.)
a sidelink RLC layer between the UE and the relay UE, a sidelink MAC layer between the UE and the relay UE and a sidelink PHY layer between the UE and a relay UE.([0068] mapping the Uu PDCP PDU to the PC5 RLC bearer based on a mapping relationship which is configured by the base station or pre-configured or predefined, between the Uu bearer and the PC5 RLC bearer, remote UE performs RLC/MAC/physical (PHY) layer processing and transmits the data packet to the relay UE through a sidelink resource.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Wang69 with the teachings of Wang because Wang69 teaches that sidelink technology would reduce the burden of the cellular network, reduce the battery power consumption of a user equipment, increase a data rate, and satisfies the requirements for high data rate services and proximity services. (Wang69[0047])
Claim 30 are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1.
As to claim 2. the combination of Wang and Wang69 specifically Wang69 does not teach wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting, after the multi-path relay is established, a path addition confirmation to the base station, ([0141]Fig. 3, Fig. 4, the mapping relationship between a Uu DRB and an uplink PC5 RLC bearer, and the mapping relationship between a downlink PC5 RLC bearer and a Uu DRB. configuration information from the base station to the remote UE is sent through an RRC reconfiguration message and forwarded by the relay UE to the remote UE; remote UE establishes a Uu DRB (SDAP entity and PDCP entity) and a PC5 RLC bearer based on the RRCReconfiguration message, established multi-path (uplink and downlink, at the relay then and sends a configuration complete message to the base station.)
Claim(s) 3, 4, 6, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Wang69 and further in view of Mok et al. (US 20200128470 A1) hereinafter Mok
As to claim 3 the combination of Wang and Wang69 does not teach wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting UE capability information to the base station, wherein the UE capability information indicates whether the UE supports multi-path sidelink relay.
Mok teaches wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting UE capability information to the base station, wherein the UE capability information indicates whether the UE supports multi-path sidelink relay.([0076] [0264]Fig. 25, Fig.,1A, at operations 2510 and 2515, each of the terminal 110 having the V2X RX capability and the terminal 115 having no V2X RX capability may transmit terminal capability information to the base station 120; support multi path, sidelink relay)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Mok with the teachings of Wang and Wang69 because Mok teaches that transmitting UE capability information would allow base station to transmit the sidelink radio path configuration information to the respective terminals. (Mok [0264])
As to claim 4 the combination of Wang and Wang69 does not teach, wherein the second path is a direct path and establishing the second path between the UE and the base station further comprises: transmitting a random access channel (RACH) request to the base station; receiving a RACH response from the base station; and applying a corresponding multi-path configuration.
Mok teaches wherein the second path is a direct path and establishing the second path between the UE and the base station further comprises: transmitting a random access channel (RACH) request to the base station; ([0127] [0127] Fig. 1, Fig. 4, , the terminal may determine radio path change from a sidelink radio path i.e., direct path, to a Uu radio path, and then it may transmit a radio connection setup message (signal) to the base station 120; correspond to an RRC connection setup operation through a random access in the case of an LIE system)
receiving a RACH response from the base station; and applying a corresponding multi-path configuration. ([0139][0141] Fig. 1, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, If the random access response message is received from the base station 120, the terminal 110, at operation 630, may transmit a V2X message to the base station 120 using UL grant information indicated in the random access response message; in which data is transmitted using a random access if a terminal performing V2X communication using a sidelink wireless resource performs radio path change to a Uu radio path)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Mok with the teachings of Wang and Wang69 because Mok teaches that transmitting UE capability information would allow base station to transmit the sidelink radio path configuration information to the respective terminals. (Mok [0264])
As to claim 6. the combination of Wang and Wang69 does not teach` wherein the second path is an indirect path and the operations further comprise: discovering one or more potential relay UEs for indirect paths; and performing channel measurements on the one or more potential relay UEs.
Mok teaches ` wherein the second path is an indirect path and the operations further comprise: discovering one or more potential relay UEs for indirect paths; and performing channel measurements on the one or more potential relay UEs. ([0171][0175][0173] Fig. 13, path from UE 110 through relay UE to base station /indirect path, and from UE 110 to base station/direct, terminal 110 transfer the path decision information and radio path change request information including identification information (ID) of the terminal 110 to relay UE 140 through the sidelink/discover; performing channel measurement)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Mok with the teachings of Wang and Wang69 because Mok teaches that transmitting UE capability information would allow base station to transmit the sidelink radio path configuration information to the respective terminals. (Mok [0264])
As to claim 7. the combination of Wang, Wang69 and Mok specifically Wang teaches wherein the path addition command ([0032] Fig. 3, UE 303 receives path switch command. At step 321, UE switches path to Uu direct link 313 with gNB 301.)
indicates a target relay UE for the second path; ([0171] Fig. 13, the terminal 110 may transmit the radio path change request of the terminal 110 to the base station 120 through a relay terminal (UE) 140 that is directly communicable using the sidelink radio path)
and wherein establishing the second path between the UE and the base station further comprises establishing a link between the UE and the target relay UE ([0171][0175][0173] Fig. 13, path from UE 110 through relay UE to base station /indirect path, and from UE 110 to base station/direct, the path decision information and radio path change request information including identification information (ID) of the terminal 110 to the relay UE 140/target relay, through the sidelink based on the radio path change configuration information configured by the base station and the path decision transmission period)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Mok with the teachings of Wang and Wang69 because Mok teaches that transmitting UE capability information would allow base station to transmit the sidelink radio path configuration information to the respective terminals. (Mok [0264])
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Selva, Wang, Wang69, Mok and further in view of Shrestha et al. (US 20210360469 A1) hereinafter Shrestha
As to claim 5 the combination of Wang, Wang69, Mok does not teach , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a common RACH configuration in a system information block (SIB) or a dedicated RRC signaling, wherein the common RACH configuration or [[a]] the dedicated RRC signaling contains resources for the RACH.
Shrestha teaches wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a common RACH configuration in a system information block (SIB) or a dedicated RRC signaling, wherein the common RACH configuration or [[a]] the dedicated RRC signaling contains resources for the RACH. ([0028][0162]Fig. 5, base station 105-d may configure and indicate the common PRACH resource to UE 115-d via dedicated RRC signaling or broadcast signaling (e.g., a first system information block (SIB1), a second system information block (SIB2), remaining minimum system information (RMSI), etc.).)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Shrestha with the teachings of Wang, Wang69 Mok because Shrestha teaches that UE may enable to reduce signaling overhead by preempting one or more signals with a base station, improve latency, and reduce delay.(Shrestha[0201])
Claim(s) 8, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Wang69 and further in view of Liu et al. (US 20200084759 A1) hereinafter Liu
As to claim 8 the combination of Wang and Wang69 does not teach wherein the operations further comprise one or more of: transmitting a user preference for at least one of path adding or path removing via RRC signaling; or transmitting an intention on path setup or path release using UE assistance information or sidelink UE information.
Liu teaches wherein the operations further comprise one or more of: transmitting a user preference for at least one of path adding or path removing via RRC signaling; or transmitting an intention on path setup or path release using UE assistance information or sidelink UE information. ([0230][0231]Fig. 10, the interference component 1035 may transmit the measurement report to the base station indicating whether the second channel is available based on sensing the second channel, the receive frequency hopping pattern including an instruction to switch between a set of additional channels and a set of additional frame periods, each of the set of additional channels selected from the set of one or more available channels)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Liu with the teachings of Wang and Wang69 because Liu teaches that switch between available channels to mitigate the effect of the identified interference. (Liu [0222])
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 9-16, 18-19 are allowed.
6. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
7. Applicants invention is drawn to a user equipment, a processor of user equipment configured to perform operations comprising receiving a conditional path addition (CPA) command from the base station on a first path between the UE and the base station, wherein the CPA command indicates CPA configurations including CPA trigger conditions and multi-path configuration.
The Applicants independent claim 9 recites, inter alia A processor of a user equipment (UE) configured to perform operations comprising:
receiving an RRC Reconfiguration message;
receiving a conditional path addition (CPA) command from a base station on a first path between the UE and the base station, wherein the CPA command indicates a CPA configuration containing CPA trigger conditions and a multi-path configuration;
executing the CPA command in accordance with a determination that at least one of the CPA trigger conditions is fulfilled; and
establishing a second multi-path relay between the UE and the base station based on the RRC Reconfiguration message and in accordance with the determination that the CPA is to be executed, the multi-path relay comprising a Uu radio link control (RLC) layer between the ULE and the base station, a Uu medium access control (MAC) layer between the UE and the base station and a Uu physical (PHY) layer between the UE and the base station, a sidelink adaptation protocol layer between the UE and a relay UE, a sidelink RLC layer between the UE and the relay UE, a sidelink MAC layer between the ULE and the relay UE and a sidelink PHY layer between the UE and a relay UE.
The Applicants independent claim 9 comprises a particular combination elements which is neither taught nor suggested by prior arts.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art PURKAYASTHA; Punyaslok et al. [US 20220116840 A1] teaches in para [0232] Fig. 15, At block 1504, the base station may output, for transmission to a user equipment, a conditional PSCell addition (CPA) configuration generated based on the identifier. For example, the PSCell configuration control circuitry 1343 together with the communication and processing circuitry 1341 and the transceiver 1310, shown and described above in connection with FIG. 13, may provide a means to output, for transmission to a user equipment, a conditional PSCell addition (CPA) configuration generated based on the identifier.
And in para [0233] In some examples, the base station may determine a CPA execution condition using the identifier of the target PSCell, and include the CPA execution condition in the CPA configuration. In some examples, the base station may generate a secondary node (SN) Addition Request message including the at least one identifier, and transmit the SN Addition Request message to a target SN. In some examples, the SN Addition Request Acknowledge message includes at least one other identifier of at least one other target PSCell, and the base station may generate the CPA configuration based on the at least one other identifier.
And prior art Da Silva et al. [US 20230209425 A1]discloses in para 0125] According to certain embodiments, the method may further include transmitting a HANDOVER REQUEST message to a target MN node. The message contains an indication to the target node (target MN) that the UE is configured with CPC and/or CPA. In particular embodiments, the indication to the target node (target MN) that the UE is configured with CPC and/or CPA may be included in a HandoverPreparationInformation message with current source configuration. The HandoverPreparationlnformation may contain the UEs CPAC configurations in the source SN. In particular embodiments, the indication to the target node (target MN) that the UE is configured with CPC and/or CPA is included in an inter-node RRC message or as an IE of an XnAP inter-node message. In particular embodiments, the indication includes the CPC and CPA configuration that the UE is currently configured with.
However the combination of prior arts PURKAYASTHA and Da Silva does not teach
establishing a second multi-path relay between the UE and the base station based on the RRC Reconfiguration message and in accordance with the determination that the CPA is to be executed,
the multi-path relay comprising a Uu radio link control (RLC) layer between the ULE and the base station, a Uu medium access control (MAC) layer between the UE and the base station and a Uu physical (PHY) layer between the UE and the base station, a sidelink adaptation protocol layer between the UE and a relay UE, a sidelink RLC layer between the UE and the relay UE, a sidelink MAC layer between the ULE and the relay UE and a sidelink PHY layer between the UE and a relay UE.
Therefore, independent claim 9 is allowed for the above reasons.
The respective dependent claims of independent claims 10-19 are also allowed.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
DAMNJANOVIC; Jelena et al. [US 20230189355 A1] POWER HEADROOM REPORTING FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATIONS
Eyuboglu; Vedat et al. [US 11375527 B1] Wireless mesh network
CHENG; Peng et al. [US 20230077496 A1] RRC TIMER FOR LAYER 2 UE-TO-NETWORK RELAY
examiner should be directed to ATIQUE AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-6244. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 - 7:30 PM M-F Eastern.
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/ATIQUE AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413