DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
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.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. In particular, this Application is the national stage application of an international application that claims foreign priority to two WIPO publications, dated 20 May 2020. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements, submitted on 26 Sept 2022 and 17 May 2024, are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 14, 15, 23, 28, and 29 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the independent claims 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. In particular, Liu (cited on PTO-892 dated 31 Mar 2025) is now the primary reference of the obviousness rejection.
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.
Claims 1-3, 10-12, 17, 21, 25, 31, 32, 34-37, 40, and 43-50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Liu (US 20210250878) in view of Ericsson (NPL 1 cited on IDS, dated 17 May 2024).
Regarding claims 1, 17, 31, and 37, Liu teaches an apparatus and method for wireless communication at a first UE, comprising: one or more memories and one or more processor coupled to the one or more memories, the processors and memories configured to:
. . . a sidelink between the first UE and a second UE and . . . a link between the second UE and the network device (Liu, ¶¶123-124 and figure 2 – first terminal 102 establishes both a Uu link with wireless communication device 101 and a SL link with second terminal 103);
establish a direct communication link with the network device (Liu, ¶¶116, 124 and figure 2 – first terminal 102 establishes Uu link with wireless communication device 101);
convey, to the network device, a power headroom report for the sidelink of the . . . communication link (Liu, figures 8, 10, and 12 – step 102; Liu, ¶¶163-165 – first terminal transmits a first PHR for a first link (PHR_SL), where the first link is sidelink, and a second PHR, which is the total power headroom for both the first and second links [i.e. both the SL and Uu links]),
wherein the power headroom report is based at least in part on a power headroom corresponding to transmissions of the . . . communication link from the first UE to the second UE using the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE (Liu, ¶¶168, 176, 178, and 186 – power headroom is calculated based on maximum transmit power of a device over a link; Liu, ¶¶115 and 172-173 – PHR is the difference between a total maximum transmit power and the transmit power that has been used on [transmissions over] a link),
wherein the power headroom is based at least in part on a transmission power capability of the first UE (Liu, ¶¶176, 178, 186 – Pcmax; Liu, ¶¶12, 182 – PHR based on maximum transmit power of first terminal), and
wherein the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE is conveyed in a field that is dedicated to the sidelink of the . . . communication link (Liu, e.g. figures 11 and 13 and ¶252 – PHR MAC CE includes a field for PHR_total, PHR-_SL, and/or PHR_Uu); and
communicate, with the network device, one or more messages via the . . . communication link, the direct communication link, or both based at least in part on transmission of the power headroom report for the sidelink of the . . . communication link. Liu, figure 1 and ¶¶113,117 (user data is sent via Uu link or sidelink); Liu, ¶157 (power and resource allocation [i.e. communication with the network device] is adjusted using the PHR).
Liu teaches a UE that has both a Uu link and a sidelink (Liu, figure 2), but does not explicitly teach one of UEs acting as a relay. As a result, Liu does not explicitly teach a UE “establish[ing] a compound communication link with a network device via” a sidelink and “via” its Uu link. However, Ericsson teaches a compound link in which the relay UE has both a sidelink and Uu link and relays signals via both links between a remote UE and a eNB. Ericsson, figures 1 and 2 (either the remote UE or the eNB decides if the relay UE can act as a relay for the remote UE). At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to enable the first terminal, taught by Liu, to act as a relay UE for a second terminal, as taught by Ericsson, in order to service continuity to a remote UE, which may be out of coverage of the eNB or have sufficient path loss when transmitting to the eNB that use of a relay UE is beneficial. Ericsson, pg. 1 (introduction) and pg. 5 (section 5).
Claims 2, 11, 32, and 35 are directed to a different embodiment than claims 3 and 33. Regarding claims 2 and 32, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatus (relay UE) of claim 1 and method of claim 30, and the apparatus of claim 10 (eNB) and method of claim 34, wherein the processor and memory are further configured to: transmit (if the relay UE) and receive (if the eNB) the power headroom report to the network device using the direct communication link. Ericsson, figure 2 (eNB has direct link with relay UE); Liu, figure 2 (first terminal has Uu link with wireless communication device 101); Liu, figures 8 and 10 (first terminal transmits PHR directly to network device 101).
Regarding claims 3, 12, 33, and 36, the combination of Liu and Ericsson also teaches a relay UE transmit[ting] the power headroom report to the second UE using the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE. Ericsson, section 4.2, pg. 4 (message 3, which is transmitted to the remote UE, includes relay UE PHR). The combination of Liu and Ericsson also teaches the eNB receiving said PHR from the second UE. Ericsson, figure 2 (message 4 is a measurement report from the remote UE directly to the eNB).
Regarding claims 10, 25, 34, and 40, Ericsson teaches an apparatus and method for wireless communication at a network device, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories coupled to the processors, the processor and memory configured to:
. . . a sidelink between the first UE and a second UE and . . a link between the second UE and the network device (Liu, ¶¶123-124 and figure 2 – first terminal 102 establishes both a Uu link with wireless communication device 101 and a SL link with second terminal 103);
establish a direct communication link with the first UE (Liu, ¶¶116, 124 and figure 2 – first terminal 102 establishes Uu link with wireless communication device 101);
receive a power headroom report for the sidelink of the . . . communication link (Liu, figures 8, 10, and 12 – step 102; Liu, ¶¶163-165 – first terminal transmits a first PHR for a first link (PHR_SL), where the first link is sidelink, and a second PHR, which is the total power headroom for both the first and second links [i.e. both the SL and Uu links]),
wherein the power headroom report corresponds to transmissions of the . . . communication link from the first UE to the second UE using the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE (Liu, ¶¶168, 176, 178, and 186 – power headroom is calculated based on maximum transmit power of a device over a link; Liu, ¶¶115 and 172-173 – PHR is the difference between a total maximum transmit power and the transmit power that has been used on [transmissions over] a link),
wherein the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE is received in a field that is dedicated to the sidelink of the . . . communication link (Liu, e.g. figures 11 and 13 and ¶252 – PHR MAC CE includes a field for PHR_total, PHR-_SL, and/or PHR_Uu); and
communicate, with the first UE, one or more messages via the compound communication link, the direct communication link, or both based at least in part on transmission of the power headroom report for the sidelink of the compound communication link. Liu, figure 1 and ¶¶113,117 (user data is sent via Uu link or sidelink); Liu, ¶157 (power and resource allocation [i.e. communication with the network device] is adjusted using the PHR).
Liu teaches a UE that has both a Uu link and a sidelink (Liu, figure 2), but does not explicitly teach one of UEs acting as a relay. As a result, Liu does not explicitly teach a UE “establish[ing] a compound communication link with a network device via” a sidelink and “via” its Uu link. However, Ericsson teaches a compound link in which the relay UE has both a sidelink and Uu link and relays signals via both links between a remote UE and a eNB. Ericsson, figures 1 and 2 (either the remote UE or the eNB decides if the relay UE can act as a relay for the remote UE). At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to enable the first terminal, taught by Liu, to act as a relay UE for a second terminal, as taught by Ericsson, in order to service continuity to a remote UE, which may be out of coverage of the eNB or have sufficient path loss when transmitting to the eNB that use of a relay UE is beneficial. Ericsson, pg. 1 (introduction) and pg. 5 (section 5).
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Liu and Ericsson also teaches a UE configured to transmit the power headroom report in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) that is dedicated for sidelink power headroom reporting. Liu, ¶¶252 and figures 11 and 13 (MAC CE with dedicated fields for the PHR_SL, PHR_Uu, and/or PHR_total value for a D2D link).
Regarding claims 43 and 45, the combination of Liu and Ericsson also teaches a relay UE conveying and network device receiving, in a second field a second power headroom for the direct communication link between the first UE and the network device. Liu, figure 13 (field for PHR_Uu).
Regarding claims 47 and 49, the combination of Liu and Ericsson also teaches establish the compound communication link via the direct communication link between the second UE and the network device (Ericsson, figure 2 – direct link between relay UE and eNB is a part of the compound link between remote UE and eNB), wherein the second power headroom report is based at least in part on establishment of the compound communication link. Ericsson, pg. 4 (message 2 includes relay UE PHR); Liu, ¶¶252 and figures 11 and 13 (MAC CE with dedicated fields for the PHR_SL, PHR_Uu, and/or PHR_total value for a D2D link).
Regarding claims 44, 46, 48, and 50, the combination of Liu and Ericsson also teaches wherein the field is different from a second field associated with direct communication link power headroom reporting. Liu, ¶¶252 and figures 11 and 13 (MAC CE with different fields for the PHR_SL, PHR_Uu, and/or PHR_total).
Claims 4-7, 13, 18-20, 22, 26-27, 38-39, and 41-42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu in view of Ericsson (both of record) and further in view of Yi (US 2021/0045070).
Regarding claims 4, 18, and 38, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatuses of claims 1 and 17, the method of claim 37, and conveying/transmitting “one or more fields of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to power headroom reporting for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE.” Liu, figures 8-10 – step 102 (first terminal transmits PHR MAC CE to network device); Liu, ¶252 (MAC CE carries PHR_SL). The combination of Liu and Ericsson does not explicitly teach a relay UE configured “to receive a radio resource control (RRC) configuration allocating one or more fields of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to . . . [PHR]; identify, based at least in part on the RRC configuration, a serving cell identifier associated with the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE; and convey/transmit the . . . [PHR] that is associated with the serving cell identifier.”
However, Yi teaches the following:
receiv[ing] a radio resource control (RRC) configuration allocating fields of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to . . . [PHR] (Yi, ¶331 – MAC entity of UE receives RRC message with parameters for power headroom reporting procedure; Yi, ¶334 – RRC configuration parameters indicate the multiple entry PHR format; Yi, ¶90 – MAC CE used for power headroom reports [see figures 24 and 25 for example of fields in a PHR MAC CE]);
identify[ing], based at least in part on the RRC configuration, a serving cell identifier associated with the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE (Yi, figure 25 – PH field with “type 4”; Yi, ¶401 – type 4 represents a PH value for a sidelink channel with serving cell “X”; Yi, ¶¶340, 348 – ServCellIndex and reporting PH value for serving cell); and
convey[ing]/transmit[ting] the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE in the field of the fields of the MAC CE that is associated with the serving cell identifier. Yi, figure 25 (PH value is provided in PHR MAC CE for a serving cell in “type 4,” which indicates a sidelink channel).
At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use a single or multiple entry PHR MAC CE, as taught by Yi, when transmitting the sidelink PHRs, taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to allow the network to configure the size of the PHR based on available uplink resources. Yi, ¶333.
Regarding claims 5, 19, and 39, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatuses of claims 1 and 17, the method of claim 37, and conveying/transmitting “the fields as a first field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to power headroom reporting for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE.” Liu, figures 8-10 – step 102 (first terminal transmits PHR MAC CE to network device); Liu, ¶252 (MAC CE carries PHR_SL). The combination of Liu and Ericsson does not explicitly teach a relay UE configured to “receive a radio resource control (RRC) configuration that allocates the field as a first field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to . . . [PHR] and a second field of the MAC CE to identifying the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE; and . . . the [PHR including] an indicator of the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE in the second field of the MAC CE.”
However, Yi teaches the following:
receive a radio resource control (RRC) configuration that allocates a first field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to . . . [PHR] and allocates a second field of the MAC CE to identifying the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE (Yi, ¶331 – MAC entity of UE receives RRC message with parameters for power headroom reporting procedure; Yi, ¶334 – RRC configuration parameters indicate the multiple/single entry PHR format, which contain one or more fields of PHR; Yi, ¶90 – MAC CE used for power headroom reports); and
convey/transmit the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE in the first field of the MAC CE and an indicator of the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE in the second field of the MAC CE. Yi, ¶385 (UE transmits a PHR, as defined by the RRC parameters provided by the network device, with multiple PH values; Yi, ¶401 – values in figures 24 and 25 are the same described for figure 17; Yi, ¶¶340, 343 – in figure 17, a C field indicates the presence of a serving cell and PH field indicates a power headroom level, including for type 4, which is sidelink; Yi, figure 25 – “type 4” indicates that the power headroom level for the serving cell is sidelink).
At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the multiple entry MAC CE format, as taught by Yi, when reporting PHR in the system taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to recycle the variable sized multiple entry PHR MAC CE for sidelink (Yi, ¶338, 403) without increasing UE complexity. Yi, ¶350.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatus of claim 1 and conveying/transmitting “the first field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to power headroom reporting for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE, wherein the MAC CE is dedicated for sidelink power headroom reporting and convey the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE in the first field of the MAC CE.” Liu, figures 8-10 – step 102 (first terminal transmits PHR MAC CE to network device); Liu, ¶252 (MAC CE carries PHR_SL). The combination of Liu and Ericsson does not explicitly teach “receiv[ing] a radio resource control (RRC) configuration allocating a field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to . . . [PHR].”
However, Yi teaches the following:
receiv[ing] a radio resource control (RRC) configuration allocating a field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to . . . [PHR] (Yi, ¶331 – MAC entity of UE receives RRC message with parameters for power headroom reporting procedure; Yi, ¶334 – RRC configuration parameters indicate the multiple entry PHR format; Yi, ¶90 – MAC CE used for power headroom reports),
wherein the MAC CE is dedicated for sidelink power headroom reporting (Yi, ¶¶333, 337 – multiple or single entry PHR CE is a control element dedicated for PHR); and
convey[ing] the . . . [PHR] in the allocated field of the MAC CE. Yi, ¶343 and figure 25 (PH field indicates the power headroom level).
At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use a single or multiple entry PHR MAC CE, as taught by Yi, when transmitting the sidelink PHRs, taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to allow the network to configure the size of the PHR based on available uplink resources. Yi, ¶333.
Regarding claims 7 and 22, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatuses of claims 1 and 17, but does not teach a relay UE configured to “determine the power headroom based at least in part on a scheduled downlink transmission to the second UE, or a previously transmitted downlink transmission to the second UE, or a virtual reference downlink transmission to the second UE.” However, Yi teaches a network device transmitting downlink signals, including one or more DCI fields for power control. Yi, ¶357. In response, a UE may then determine a PH value power of an actual [i.e. previously-transmitted] transmission based on the one or more DCI fields. Id. at ¶358. At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use an actual transmission, as taught by Yi, when determining the PHR values, taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to calculate the PH value as the different between the max power allowed for a cell and the power of an actual transmission, which provides an accurate measurement. Yi, ¶358 (last sentence).
Regarding claims 13 and 41, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatus of claim 10, the method of claim 40 and “the power headroom report for the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE.” Liu, figures 8-10 – step 102 (first terminal transmits PHR MAC CE to network device); Liu, ¶252 (MAC CE carries PHR_SL); Ericsson, section 4.2, pg. 5 (message 4, which is received by the eNB in figure 2, includes remote UE PHR and relay UE PHR, which are the two devices that establish the side link).
The combination of Liu and Ericsson does not explicitly teach “wherein the processor and memory are further configured to: identify, based at least in part on establishing the communication link, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for configuring a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for . . . [PHR]; allocate, based at least in part on identifying the RRC configuration, a field of the MAC CE for . . . [PHR]; and transmit an indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE based at least in part on allocating the field of the MAC CE, wherein, to receive the power headroom report, the processor and memory are configured to receive the . . .[PHR] based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE.”
However, Yi teaches the following:
identifying, based at least in part on establishing the communication link, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for configuring a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for . . . [PHR] (Yi, ¶331 – MAC entity of UE receives RRC message with parameters for power headroom reporting procedure; Yi, ¶334 – RRC configuration parameters indicate the multiple entry PHR format; Yi, ¶90 – MAC CE used for power headroom reports);
allocating, based at least in part on identifying the RRC configuration, a field of the MAC CE for . . . [PHR] (Yi, ¶400 – “S” bit field can indicate whether a provided power headroom value is for a Uu transmission or a sidelink transmission); and
transmitting an indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE based at least in part on allocating the field of the MAC CE (Yi, figure 23 – network device transmits configuration parameters, such as the RRC parameters that define the format of the PHR),
wherein, to receive the power headroom report, the processor and memory are configured to receive the . . .[PHR] based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE. Yi, figure 23 (wireless device transmits PHR to the network devices); Yi, ¶402 (network device receives the power headroom values of the sidelink that it indicated in its RRC message).
At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the multiple entry MAC CE format, as taught by Yi, when reporting PHR in the system taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to recycle the variable sized multiple entry PHR MAC CE for sidelink (Yi, ¶338, 403) without increasing UE complexity. Yi, ¶350.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatus of claim 17 and “the field as a first field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to power headroom reporting for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE; transmit the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE in the first field of the MAC CE; and transmit a second power headroom report for a direct communication link between the first UE and the network device in a second field of the MAC CE..” Liu, figures 8-10 – step 102 (first terminal transmits PHR MAC CE to network device); Liu, ¶252 (MAC CE carries PHR_SL); Ericsson, section 4.2, pg. 5 (message 4, which is received by the eNB in figure 2, includes remote UE PHR and relay UE PHR, which are the two devices that establish the side link). The combination of Liu and Ericsson does not explicitly teach “receiv[ing] a radio resource control (RRC) configuration allocating a field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).”
However, Yi teaches the following:
receiv[ing] a radio resource control (RRC) configuration allocating a field of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to. . .[PHR] (Yi, ¶331 – MAC entity of UE receives RRC message with parameters for power headroom reporting procedure; Yi, ¶334 – RRC configuration parameters indicate the multiple entry PHR format; Yi, ¶90 – MAC CE used for power headroom reports);
transmit[ting] the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE in the allocated field of the MAC CE (Yi, ¶400 – “S” bit field can indicate whether a provided power headroom value is for a sidelink transmission); and
transmit[ting] a power headroom report for a direct communication link between the first UE and the network device in the MAC CE. Yi, ¶400 (“S” bit field can indicate whether a provided power headroom value is for a Uu transmission).
At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the multiple entry MAC CE format, as taught by Yi, when reporting PHR in the system taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to recycle the variable sized multiple entry PHR MAC CE for sidelink (Yi, ¶338, 403) without increasing UE complexity. Yi, ¶350.
Regarding claims 26 and 42, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatus of claim 25, the method of claim 40, and “the power headroom report for the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE.” Liu, figures 8-10 – step 102 (first terminal transmits PHR MAC CE to network device); Liu, ¶252 (MAC CE carries PHR_SL); Ericsson, section 4.2, pg. 5 (message 4, which is received by the eNB in figure 2, includes remote UE PHR and relay UE PHR, which are the two devices that establish the side link). The combination of Liu and Ericsson does not explicitly teach “identify, based at least in part on establishing the communication link, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for configuring a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for . . .[PHR]; allocate, based at least in part on identifying the RRC configuration, a first field of the MAC CE for power headroom reporting for the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE, and a second field for identifying the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE; and transmit an indication of the first field of the MAC CE and the second field of the MAC CE based at least in part on the allocating; wherein, to receive the power headroom report, the processor and memory are configured to receive the power headroom report based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the first field of the MAC CE and the second field of the MAC CE.”
However, Yi teaches the following:
identify[ing], based at least in part on establishing the communication link, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for configuring a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for . . .[PHR] (Yi, ¶331 – MAC entity of UE receives RRC message with parameters for power headroom reporting procedure; Yi, ¶334 – RRC configuration parameters indicate the multiple/single entry PHR format; Yi, ¶90 – MAC CE used for power headroom reports);
allocat[ing], based at least in part on identifying the RRC configuration, a first field of the MAC CE for power headroom reporting for the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE, and a second field for identifying the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE (Yi, ¶334 – network device defines PHR procedure for the UE, including PHR mode and power max, which are then provided in one or more fields of the PHR); and
transmit[ting] an indication of the first field of the MAC CE and the second field of the MAC CE based at least in part on the allocating (Yi, ¶337 – network device transmits a PHR configuration parameter, which defines the PHR format to be used by the UE);
wherein, to receive the power headroom report, the processor and memory are configured to receive the power headroom report based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the first field of the MAC CE and the second field of the MAC CE. Yi, ¶385 (UE transmits a PHR, as defined by the RRC parameters provided by the network device, with multiple PH values; Yi, ¶401 – values in figures 24 and 25 are the same described for figure 17; Yi, ¶¶340, 343 – in figure 17, a C field indicates the presence of a serving cell and PH field indicates a power headroom level, including for type 4, which is sidelink; Yi, figure 25 – “type 4” indicates that the power headroom level for the serving cell is sidelink).
At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the multiple entry MAC CE format, as taught by Yi, when reporting PHR in the system taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to recycle the variable sized multiple entry PHR MAC CE for sidelink (Yi, ¶338, 403) without increasing UE complexity. Yi, ¶350.
Regarding claim 27, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatus of claim 25 and “the power headroom report[ing] for the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE.” Liu, figures 8-10 – step 102 (first terminal transmits PHR MAC CE to network device); Liu, ¶252 (MAC CE carries PHR_SL); Ericsson, section 4.2, pg. 5 (message 4, which is received by the eNB in figure 2, includes remote UE PHR and relay UE PHR, which are the two devices that establish the side link).
The combination of Liu and Ericsson does not explicitly teach a network device configured to “identify, based at least in part on establishing the communication link, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for configuring a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for. . .[PHR]; allocate, based at least in part on identifying the RRC configuration, a field of the MAC CE for . . . [PHR]; and transmit an indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE based at least in part on allocating the field of the MAC CE, wherein receiving the . . . [PHR] is based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE, and the processor and memory are further configured to receive a power headroom report for a direct communication link with the second UE in the MAC CE based at least in part on transmitting the identified RRC configuration.”
However, Yi teaches the following:
identify[ing], based at least in part on establishing the communication link, a radio resource control (RRC) configuration for configuring a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for. . .[PHR] (Yi, ¶331 – MAC entity of UE receives RRC message with parameters for power headroom reporting procedure; Yi, ¶334 – RRC configuration parameters indicate the multiple/single entry PHR format; Yi, ¶90 – MAC CE used for power headroom reports);
allocat[ing], based at least in part on identifying the RRC configuration, a field of the MAC CE for . . . [PHR] (Yi, ¶400 – “S” bit field can indicate whether a provided power headroom value is for a Uu transmission or a sidelink transmission); and
transmit[ting] an indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE based at least in part on allocating the field of the MAC CE (Yi, figure 23 – network device transmits configuration parameters, such as the RRC parameters that define the format of the PHR),
wherein receiving the . . . [PHR] is based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the allocated field of the MAC CE, and . . . receiv[ing] a power headroom report for a direct communication link with the second UE in the MAC CE based at least in part on transmitting the identified RRC configuration. Yi, figure 23 (wireless device transmits PHR to the network devices); Yi, ¶402 (network device receives the power headroom values of the sidelink that it indicated in its RRC message).
At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the multiple entry MAC CE format, as taught by Yi, when reporting PHR in the system taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to recycle the variable sized multiple entry PHR MAC CE for sidelink (Yi, ¶338, 403) without increasing UE complexity. Yi, ¶350.
Claims 9, 16, 24, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu in view of Ericsson (both of record) and further in view of Wang (US 20160302252).
Regarding claims 9 and 24, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatuses of claims 1 and 17, but does not teach a relay UE configured to “identify a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) associated with the transmissions from the first UE to the second UE using the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE; and convey/transmit, to the network device, an indication of the identified MCS with the power headroom report for the sidelink between the first UE and the second UE.”
However, Wang teaches a relay UE transmitting a MCS MAC CE to an eNB. Wang, figure 7 (step a); Wang, ¶¶45, 47. The MCS is associated with a D2D transmission between the relay UE and at least one remote UE. Id. at ¶¶37-38. The MCS reporting can also include PHR for the D2D communication. Id. at ¶47. At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use a dynamic MCS, as taught by Wang, for the sidelink transmission, taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to prevent wasting network resources. Id. at ¶36.
Regarding claims 16 and 30, the combination of Liu and Ericsson teaches the apparatuses of claims 10 and 25, but does not explicitly teach a network device “configured to: receive, from the second UE, an indication of an MCS associated with the transmission from the second UE to the first UE over the sidelink between the second UE and the first UE, . . . [and] configured to schedule communications with the first UE based at least in part on receiving the indication of the MCS.”
However, Wang teaches a relay UE transmitting a MCS MAC CE to an eNB. Wang, figure 7 (step a); Wang, ¶¶45, 47. The MCS is associated with a D2D transmission between the relay UE and at least one remote UE. Id. at ¶¶37-38. The eNB then allocates [schedules] a resource size for the D2D transmission based on the provided MCS. Id., figure 7 (step b) and ¶¶38, 49. At the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use a dynamic MCS, as taught by Wang, for the sidelink transmission, taught by the combination of Liu and Ericsson, in order to prevent wasting network resources. Id. at ¶36.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure includes paragraph 81 and figure 5(b) of Kim, which teaches PHRs for both a UL link and D2D link being transmitted in the same message.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/Benjamin Lamont/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461