Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 recite “determine a number
Q
'
S
C
I
2
of coded modulation symbols for second stage Sidelink Control Information (SCI) transmitted in a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) based on a plurality of parameters which includes
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) and excludes
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l).” Applicant’s original Specification does not appear to disclose excluding
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) from calculating
Q
'
S
C
I
2
.
Applicant’s published Specification discloses, for example in paragraph [0168], the a number of coded modulation symbols of second stage SCI
Q
'
S
C
I
2
is determined according several listed parameters, using the terminology “and/or” between each listed parameter. Paragraphs [0169]-[0170] further disclose the formula for calculating
Q
'
S
C
I
2
based on the number
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
of subcarriers for SCI2, and then the formula for calculating
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
, where the number
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
is equal to the number of
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) of subcarriers in OFDM symbol l that carry a PSCCH minus the total numbers of subcarriers carrying DMRS, CSI-RS, PT-RS and PSCCH in symbol l. In other words, the number
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
of subcarriers for SCI2 is equal to the number
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) of subcarriers in symbol l that are left available for SCI2 after numbers of subcarriers are used/subtracted for DMRS, CSI-RS, PT-RS and PSCCH (see, for example, the formula for
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
in paragraph [0170] of Applicant’s published Specification, which is well known in the art and disclosed in all of the Examiner’s cited references).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, would have understood that, the terminology “and/or” in paragraph [0168] indicates that, in some symbols, no subcarriers would be allocated for DMRS because no DMRS would be present, and the value of
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) for that symbol would be zero. That is not the same as “excludes
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l)” from the parameters on which the determination of
Q
'
S
C
I
2
is based. The term “excludes
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l)” means that subcarriers would be allocated for DMRS in a symbol l and that those DMRS symbols are not subtracted from the number of symbols available for SCI2. The is further supported by the formula disclosed in paragraph [0170].
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claims 1-2 recite “determine a number
Q
'
S
C
I
2
of coded modulation symbols for second stage Sidelink Control Information (SCI) transmitted in a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) based on a plurality of parameters which includes
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) and excludes
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l).” Further, Applicant’s Specification discloses calculating a number
Q
'
S
C
I
2
of coded modulation symbols for second stage SCI transmitted in a PSSCH based on the number
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
of subcarriers for SCI2, where the number
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
of subcarriers for SCI2 is equal to the number of
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) of subcarriers in OFDM symbol l that carry a PSCCH minus the total numbers of subcarriers carrying DMRS, CSI-RS, PT-RS and PSCCH in symbol l. In other words, the number
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
of subcarriers for SCI2 is equal to the number
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) of subcarriers in symbol l that are left available for SCI2 after numbers of subcarriers are used for DMRS, CSI-RS, PT-RS and PSCCH (see, for example, the formula for
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
in paragraph [0170] of Applicant’s published Specification, which is well known in the art and disclosed in all of the Examiner’s cited references).
However, Applicant’s amended claims recite that there is a number
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) of subcarriers carrying DMRS in symbol l and that
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) is excluded from the calculation of
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
. Accordingly, Applicant’s claimed calculation for
Q
'
S
C
I
2
incorrectly calculates the number
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
of subcarriers available for SCI2 in symbol l. Therefore, more subcarriers would be allocated to SCI2 than are available. Applicant’s Specification does not explain how this conflicting allocation of subcarriers in symbol l would be resolved, and does not enable how Applicant’s invention would function with a conflict caused by the allocation conflict for subcarriers in symbol l.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huawei et al., "Remaining details of sidelink physical layer structure", 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #100-e, R1-2000181, February 24 - March 6, 2020, 26 pages (cited in Applicant’s IDS file on September 16, 2022) (Hereafter, R1-2000181) in view of Guo et al. (US 2022/0377707) (and priority document CN2020/074039 filed on January 23, 2020), and further in view of Yeo et al. (US 2020/0351856).
Regarding Claim 1, R1-2000181 discloses a User equipment (R1-2000181, page 1, section 2.1, UE), comprising:
determine a number
Q
'
S
C
I
2
of coded modulation symbols for second stage Sidelink Control Information (SCI) transmitted in a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) based on at least a plurality of parameters which includes
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) and excludes
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l), wherein
the
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) is the number of subcarriers in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol l that carry a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) and the PSCCH carries first stage SCI,
l = 0, 1, 2 …,
N
s
y
m
b
o
l
P
S
S
C
H
– 1,
the
N
s
y
m
b
o
l
P
S
S
C
H
represents a number of OFDM symbols occupied in PSSCH transmission, and
the
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) is a number of subcarriers carrying a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) corresponding to the PSSCH on the OFDM symbol l.
(R1-2000181, page 19, section 2.9 AGC, PSSCH DMRS (if present); pages 22-23, section 8.4.4, number of coded modulation symbols for 2nd stage SCI transmission Q’SCI2 is determined by the given equation based on
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
, expressed as a number of subcarriers,
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) is the number of subcarriers in OFDM symbol l that carries DMRS, in the PSSCH transmission, and
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
is determined by a given equation based on sets of subcarriers being excluded from
M
S
C
P
S
S
C
H
,
N
s
y
m
b
o
l
P
S
S
C
H
represents a number of OFDM symbols occupied in PSSCH transmission, l = 0, 1, 2 …,
N
s
y
m
b
o
l
P
S
S
C
H
; page 23, Conclusions section, Proposal 2: The number of REs for PSCCH are excluded from the number of REs for the lowest-index sub-channel of the allocated sub-channel(s) for the PSSCH, Proposal 3: TBS determination for allocated sub-channel(s) for PSSCH shall take into account all sidelink RSs (DMRS, CSI-RS and PTRS), 1st-stage SCI (PSCCH), 2nd-stage SCI)
R1-2000181 does not explicitly disclose a processor; and a memory storin instructions, wherein the instructions stored in the memory are executable.
Guo discloses a User equipment (Guo, paragraph [0006], terminal device), comprising:
a processor; and a memory storin instructions, wherein the instructions stored in the memory are executable (Guo, paragraph [0104], processor couple to a memory configured to execute instructions) to:
determine a number of coded modulation symbols for second stage Sidelink Control Information (SCI) transmitted in a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) (Guo, paragraph [0199], eqn. 4; paragraph [0229], Noh_SCI2RE may be applied to determining a quantity of modulation symbols output based on an encoding rate of the second stage control information) based on a plurality of parameters which includes
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) and excludes
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l), wherein the
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) is the number of subcarriers in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol l that carry a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) and the PSCCH carries first stage SCI,
l = 0, 1, 2 …,
N
s
y
m
b
o
l
P
S
S
C
H
– 1,
the
N
s
y
m
b
o
l
P
S
S
C
H
represents a number of OFDM symbols occupied in PSSCH transmission, and
the
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) is a number of subcarriers carrying a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) corresponding to the PSSCH on the OFDM symbol l.
(Guo, Fig. 3; paragraph [0199], eqn. 4; paragraphs [0206]-[0207], eqn. 4c; the claimed SCI2 is second-stage control information and the PSCCH is the “control channel” shown in Fig. 3, and, in symbols 1 and 2, the number of subcarriers of the second-stage control information is the total number of subcarriers minus the number of subcarriers of the “control channel”;
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) is the quantity of subcarriers occupied by the data channel pilot [DMRS] on symbol l; accordingly, if no symbols were occupied by the DMRS on symbol l, then
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) would be zero in the calculation of
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
) (CN2020/074039, Fig. 3, the claimed SCI2 is second-stage control information and the PSCCH is the “control channel” shown in Fig. 3, and, in symbols 1 and 2, the number of subcarriers of the second-stage control information is the total number of subcarriers minus the number of subcarriers of the “control channel”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use a processor; and a memory storin instructions, wherein the instructions stored in the memory are executable to implement the invention of R1-2000181. The motivation to combine the references would have been to implement a UE according to known methods.
Although R1-2000181 and Guo disclose all of the claim limitations, the Examiner includes the Yeo reference in order to advance prosecution.
Yeo also discloses determine a number of coded modulation symbols for second stage Sidelink Control Information (SCI) transmitted in a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) (Yeo, paragraph [0199], eqn. 2, second control information mapped onto PSSCH, the number Q’SCI2 of bits coded using channel coding calculated using equation 2, which is based on
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
) based on at least
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l), wherein the
M
S
C
P
S
C
C
H
(l) is the number of subcarriers in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol l that carry a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) and the PSCCH carries first stage (Yeo, Figs. 24f, 24g, 26f, 26g, 28d, 30, in symbol 2 or 3, second control information is mapped to the remaining subcarriers after excluding the PSCCH subcarriers; paragraph [0391],
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
is the number of REs onto which the second control information can be mapped, and in the process of acquiring the number of REs, regions onto which at least one of the PSCCH, DMRS, or PT-RS is mapped may be excluded (from the number of REs); if no symbols were occupied by the DMRS on symbol l, then
M
S
C
D
M
R
S
(l) would be zero in the calculation of
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
).
Claim 2 is rejected under substantially the same rationale as claim 1.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed January 16, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts that the claims are patentable because the cited references allegedly do not disclose that a DMRS is excluded from the calculation of the number of coded modulation symbols for second stage (SCI) Q’SCI2. However, Firstly, Applicant’s original Specification does not appear to disclose that limitation. Secondly, all of the cited references disclose that there may be no subcarriers that are used for DMRS on a particular symbol, in which case the calculation of the number of coded modulation symbols for second stage (SCI) Q’SCI2 would not subtract a number of subcarriers for DMRS. Further, Guo discloses, in paragraph [0391],
M
S
C
S
C
I
2
is the number of REs onto which the second control information can be mapped, and in the process of acquiring the number of REs, regions onto which at least one of the PSCCH, DMRS, or PT-RS is mapped may be excluded (from the number of REs).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ALAN LOUIS LINDENBAUM whose telephone number is (571)270-3858. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nishant Divecha can be reached on (571) 270-3125. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALAN L LINDENBAUM/Examiner, Art Unit 2466
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419