DETAILED ACTION
CONTINUED EXAMINATION UNDER 37 CFR 1.114
1. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 July 24, 2026, has been entered.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. 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 Arguments
3. Applicant's arguments, filed on July 24, 2026, with respect to objection to claim 8 have been considered and are persuasive. Objection to claim 8 has been withdrawn.
4. Applicant’s arguments regarding rejection of claims 7-10 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any combination of the references being used in the current rejection. Examiner has applied Baghel ‘228 (US 11,323,228, “Baghel ‘228”), further in view of Ye ‘804 (US 2021/0385804, “Ye ‘804”), and further in view of Chae ‘555 (US 2022/0030555, “Chae ‘555”) to clearly teach the amended limitations in claims 7-10.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. Claims 7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin ‘081 (US 2021/0007081, “Shin ‘081”), in view of Baghel ‘228 (US 11,323,228, “Baghel ‘228”), further in view of Ye ‘804 (US 2021/0385804, “Ye ‘804”), and further in view of Chae ‘555 (US 2022/0030555, “Chae ‘555”; Chae ‘555 was filed on October 6, 2021, claiming priority to US provisional application 62/977,085 filed on February 14, 2020, and thus Chae ‘555 was effectively filed before the claimed invention; further, the US provisional application 62/977,085 fully supports all citations made in the rejection from the Chae ‘555 reference).
Regarding claims 7 and 9, Shin ‘081 discloses a terminal (FIGS. 1 and 14, para 2 and 359-365; UE) comprising:
a control unit (FIG. 14, para 359-365; processor 1410 that controls processes such that the UE operates) that
configures a channel occasion for transmitting a response related to a retransmission process of terminal-to-terminal communication to a slot in a resource pool having a first cycle (FIGS. 11-12, para 9, 98, 209, and 211-212; transmission UE configures a resource for a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) used for transmitting and receiving feedback in a retransmission process of sidelink communication; the PSFCH feedback is a response to data transmitted on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmitted in a slot; a resource pool includes slot cycles for PSSCH transmission and slot cycles for PSFCH feedback transmission; PSSCH slot cycle reads on a first cycle);
a transmitter (FIG. 14, para 359-365; transceiver 1420 includes a transmitter) that
transmits data of the terminal-to-terminal communication to another terminal via the resource pool having the first cycle (FIGS. 11-12, para 9, 98, 209, and 211-212; transmission UE transmits sidelink data to a reception UE in the PSSCH slot cycle in the resource pool); and
a receiver (FIG. 14, para 359-365; transceiver 1420 includes a receiver) that
receives a response related to the retransmission process corresponding to the data of the terminal-to-terminal communication from the another terminal via a channel occasion that is configured in a slot that is located within a resource pool of a subsequent cycle (FIGS. 11-12, para 9, 98, 209, and 211-212; transmission UE receives from the reception UE feedback on the PSFCH, as part of the retransmission process; the feedback is in response to the sidelink data transmitted on the PSSCH; the feedback is received in a PSFCH slot that is subsequent to the PSSCH slot in the resource pool; thus, transmission UE receives the feedback corresponding to the transmitted sidelink data in a slot that is located within a resource pool of a subsequent cycle),
wherein the channel occasion is arranged with a second cycle in the resource pool, the second cycle being in units of slots (FIGS. 11-12, para 9, 98, 209, and 211-212; transmission UE receives from the reception UE feedback on the PSFCH, in response to the sidelink data transmitted on the PSSCH; the feedback is received in a PSFCH slot that is subsequent to the PSSCH slot in the resource pool; thus, transmission UE receives the feedback corresponding to the transmitted sidelink data in the PSFCH cycle in the resource pool, where the PSFCH cycle is in units of slots; the PSFCH cycle reads on a second cycle).
Although Shin ‘081 discloses transmits data of the terminal-to-terminal communication to another terminal via the resource pool having the first cycle, Shin ‘081 does not specifically disclose the resource pool having a number of slots in the first cycle.
Baghel ‘228 teaches the resource pool having a number of slots in the first cycle (col. 6:1-39; UE transmits sidelink feedback in a reporting period of multi-slot periodicity, where the reporting period occupies the entire bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool; thus, the resource pool has multiple slots in the reporting period), and
wherein the control unit is configured to determine the number of slots in the first cycle (col. 6:1-39; UE transmits sidelink feedback in a reporting period of multi-slot periodicity; thus, the number of slots in the reporting period is determined).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Shin ‘081’s terminal that receives a response related to a retransmission process, to include Baghel ‘228’s UE that transmits sidelink feedback in a reporting period of multi-slot periodicity. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve LTE, NR, and other multiple access technologies as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase (Baghel ‘228, col. 1:47-67, col. 2:1-2).
However, Shin ‘081 in combination with Baghel ‘228 does not specifically disclose the slot being located after a number of slots that is equal to or more than a configured number of slots from a slot for transmitting the data of the terminal-to-terminal communication.
Ye ‘804 teaches the slot being located after a number of slots that is equal to or more than a configured number of slots from a slot for transmitting the data of the terminal-to-terminal communication (para 155; physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) to physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) delay is K slots long, where K is configured; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Shin ‘081 and Baghel ‘228, to include Ye ‘804’s PSSCH to PSFCH delay that is K slots long. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide improvements in wireless communications to address the increase demand and range required in V2X communication (Ye ‘804, para 3-4).
Although Shin ‘081 in combination with Baghel ‘228 and Ye ‘804 discloses wherein the control unit is configured to determine the number of slots in the first cycle, Shin ‘081 in combination with Baghel ‘228 and Ye ‘804 does not specifically disclose determine the number of slots using a resource pool configuration comprising a bitmap.
Chae ‘555 teaches determine the number of slots using a resource pool configuration comprising a bitmap (para 286; sidelink resource pool bitmap is configured, and the size of the sidelink resource pool bitmap is equal to the number of uplink slots).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Shin ‘081, Baghel ‘228, and Ye ‘804, to include Chae ‘555’s size of the sidelink resource pool bitmap that is equal to the number of uplink slots. The motivation for doing so would have been to address the excessive delays when the resource pool comprises sidelink resources where a gap between two consecutive sidelink resources is large (Chae ‘555, para 250).
7. Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin ‘081, in view of Baghel ‘228, further in view of Ye ‘804, further in view of Chae ‘555, and further in view of Wang ‘681 (US 2021/0400681, “Wang ‘681”).
Regarding claim 8, Shin ‘081 in combination with Baghel ‘228, Ye ‘804, and Chae ‘555 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 7, as outlined above.
However, Shin ‘081 in combination with Baghel ‘228, Ye ‘804, and Chae ‘555 does not specifically disclose wherein the configuration performed by the control unit includes a case in which a number of slots in the first cycle is not a multiple of a number of slots in the second cycle.
Wang ‘681 teaches wherein the configuration performed by the control unit includes a case in which a number of slots in the first cycle is not a multiple of a number of slots in the second cycle (FIG. 3, para 5 and 44; UE transmits PSSCH in a slot and receives feedback on PSFCH in another slot; there is a one-on-one mapping between the transmitted PSSCH slot and the received PSFCH slot; specifically, PSSCH is transmitted in slot #0 and the corresponding PSFCH is received in slot #4; further, PSSCH is transmitted in slot #2 and the corresponding PSFCH is received in slot #6; thus, the number of slots in the PSSCH transmission cycle is equal to the number of slots in the PSFCH transmission cycle; thus, the number of slots in the PSSCH transmission cycle is not a multiple of the number of slots in the PSFCH transmission cycle).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Shin ‘081, Baghel ‘228, Ye ‘804, and Chae ‘555, to include Wang ‘681’s number of slots in the PSSCH transmission cycle that is not a multiple of the number of slots in the PSFCH transmission cycle. The motivation for doing so would have been to facilitate determining the resource for sidelink communication in NR to guarantee system performance (Wang ‘681, para 2-4).
8. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin ‘081, in view of Baghel ‘228, further in view of Ye ‘804, further in view of Chae ‘555, and further in view of Yan ‘225 (US 2022/0104225, “Yan ‘225”).
Regarding claim 10, Shin ‘081 in combination with Baghel ‘228, Ye ‘804, and Chae ‘555 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 7, as outlined above.
However, Shin ‘081 in combination with Baghel ‘228, Ye ‘804, and Chae ‘555 does not specifically disclose wherein the first cycle comprises a hyper frame having a period of 10240 milliseconds (ms).
Yan ‘225 teaches wherein the first cycle comprises a hyper frame having a period of 10240 milliseconds (ms) (para 16; a length of a hyper frame is 10240 ms).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Shin ‘081, Baghel ‘228, Ye ‘804, and Chae ‘555, to include Yan ‘225’s length of a hyper frame that is 10240 ms. The motivation for doing so would have been to consider longer maximum preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) interval (Yan ‘225, FIGS. 4-5, para 4-10).
Conclusion
Internet Communication
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only. (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.0.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NEVENA SANDHU whose telephone number is (571) 272-0679. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM EST, Friday variable.
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/NEVENA ZECEVIC SANDHU/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/Michael Thier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474
Prosecution Insights