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(s) was/were submitted on 07/08/2025, 09/03/2025 and 10/15/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless -
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7, 11-23, and 27-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being
anticipated by He et al. (US 20200037343 A1; hereinafter "He").
Regarding claim 1, He discloses a method for wireless communications at a user
equipment (UE), comprising:
determining that a channel occupancy in a shared radio frequency spectrum band is
available for use by the UE for sidelink transmission ([0014] The present disclosure relates to a pre-5th-Generation or 5G communication system to be provided for supporting vehicle to vehicle communication (= sidelink communication); [0133] LBT procedures on a node attempting to transmit on a carrier in unlicensed spectrum require the node to perform aclear channel assessment to determine if the channel is free for use. Thus, any LBT procedure involves at least energy detection to determine if the channel is being used.);transmitting a message in a first slot of the channel occupancy using a channel of the shared radio frequency spectrum band ( the sidelink control information (SCI) messages are transmitted over physical sidelink control channels (PSCCH); [0175] In each SCI, the UE may set the channel occupancy time starting from current slot of the SCI that shows the resource duration the UE may use the resources for this bursty transmission. [0297] Sidelink control information (SCI) is defined: SCI is transmitted in PSCCH. See also, Figs. 18, 32-44 showing PSCCH being in the first slot), the message indicating a reserved slot within the channel occupancy for a subsequent communication by the UE ([0200] When the resources reserved by another UE are not used for transmission by the UE, the channel occupancy time in the SCI of the UE may include the slots that are reserved by another UE so that other UEs performing sensing may know the time duration the UE needs to use the channel…The preemption indication can be in a separate preemption indication channel or in the same SCI channel with associated data channel; [0206] Channel occupancy time is carried in each SCI to indicate consecutive time duration with same frequency RB locations that the UE uses for transmission); [0206] Channel occupancy time is carried in each SCI to indicate consecutive time duration with same frequency RB locations that the UE uses for transmission.); and communicating in the reserved slot based at least in part on one or more control messages between the first slot and the reserved slot, one or more reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements between the first slot and the reserved slot, a channel sensing procedure with energy detection within a sensing window, or a combination thereof ([0204] The UE may transmit the transmission immediately after sensing the channel to be idle (= a channel sensing procedure with energy detection within a sensing window) for at least a sensing interval with contention window set to zero; [0419] . If a SCI (= a control message) for NR in the sensing window indicates a periodic resource is not used any more in the next period, LTE resource allocation module may include the resource in the candidate resource set. While calculating RSSI, the UE may not include the resources at the same
time slot where that NR SCI is located, or a RSSI offset can be added in the RRSI
calculation to offset the interference caused by the NR transmission).
Regarding claim 2, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth, and He further
discloses detecting one or more sidelink control messages from at least one other UE indicating a set of reserved slots reserved by the at least one other UE for subsequent communications within the channel occupancy; and selecting the reserved slot based at least in part on the set of reserved slots such that each slot between the first slot and the reserved slot is reserved by the UE or the at least one other UE detecting one or more sidelink control messages from at least one other UE indicating a set of reserved slots reserved by the at least one other UE for subsequent communications within the channel occupancy; and selecting the reserved slot based at least in part on the set of reserved slots such that each slot between the first slot and the reserved slot is reserved by the UE or the at least one other UE ([0202] When the resources reserved by another UE are used for transmissions by the UE, the channel occupancy time in the SCI of the UE may include the slots that are reserved by another UE so that other UEs performing sensing may know the time duration the UE needs touse the channel; [0204] The UE may transmit the transmission immediately after sensing the channel to be idle (= a channel sensing procedure with energy detection within a sensing
window) for at least a sensing interval with contention window set to zero; [0419] . If a SCI (= a control message) for NR in the sensing window indicates a periodic resource is not used any more in the next period, LTE resource allocation module may include the
resource in the candidate resource set. While calculating RSSI, the UE may not include
the resources at the same time slot where that NR SCI is located, or a RSSI offset can be added in the RRSI calculation to offset the interference caused by the NR transmission;
selecting the reserved slot based at least in part on the reserved slots being reserved by the UE or the at least one other UE is implied).
Regarding claim 3, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth, and He further
discloses selecting the reserved slot to be consecutive to the first slot; and refraining from performing the channel sensing procedure before the reserved slot based at least in part on the reserved slot and the first slot being consecutive ([0205] In one embodiment, consecutive time slots with different frequency RB location are provided; [0206] If there are no sufficient consecutive time slots with same frequency RB location for LBT sensing, other resources that are located in consecutive time slots but with different frequency RB location may also be considered for LBT sensing. Channel occupancy time is carried in each SCI to indicate consecutive time duration with same frequency RB locations that the UE uses for transmission; refraining from performing the channel sensing procedure before the reserved slot based at least in part on the reserved slot and the first slot being consecutive is implied ).
Regarding claim 4, He discloses the limitations of claim 3 as set forth, and He further
discloses selecting the reserved slot to be consecutive to the first slot based at least in part on transmissions in the first slot by the UE being independent of feedback in response to the transmissions ([0427] There is a separate resource pool that is configured by e.g., higher layers and dedicated for the use of ACK/NACK feedback channels.).
Regarding claim 5, He discloses the limitations of claim 3 as set forth, and He further
discloses wherein communicating in the reserved slot comprises: transmitting a feedback request for transmissions in the reserved slot ([0129] A UE that wants to transmit a TB may also transmit the UE's associated SCI, which is also referred to as a scheduling assignment; [0178] if the PSFCH resource can be indicated in the DCI for HARQ-based retransmissions, the PSFCH presence can be indicated either explicitly or implicitly by the DCI or by higher layers. If HARQ/retransmission can be enabled or disabled by a SCI, the configuration (either by DCI or higher layers) from gNB/network may have a higher priority than SCI signaling; thus HARQ may be enabled via SCI transmitted on a reserved slot).
Regarding claim 6, He discloses the limitations of claim 5 as set forth, and He further
discloses wherein the feedback request specifies one or more slots within the channel
occupancy reserved for feedback ([0427] There is a separate resource pool that is
configured by e.g., higher layers and dedicated for the use of ACK/NACK feedback
channels.).
Regarding claim 7, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth, and He further
discloses detecting, as part of the channel sensing procedure, one or more sidelink control messages from at least one other UE in a second slot preceding the reserved slot, wherein the second slot and the reserved slot are consecutive; and communicating in the reserved slot based at least in part on detecting the one or more sidelink control messages ([0129] A UE that wants to transmit a TB may also transmit the UE's associated SCI, which is also referred to as a scheduling assignment. A TB and the associated SCI may always be transmitted in the same subframe; [0312] When the channel is sensed to be idle for a (pre)configured number of OFDM symbols in one slot, the UE can start the transmission of the reservation signal from next OFDM symbol until the end of the slot; [0313] The number of OFDM symbols that need to be sensed to be idle in one slot may adapt accordingly if the UE fails in previous slots... When the number of OFDM symbols that needs to be sensed to be an idle is decreased to zero, the UE can use the channel in next slot without sensing.).
Regarding claim 11, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth, and He further
discloses communicating in the reserved slot based at least in part on the energy detection in the sensing window between the first slot and the reserved slot being below an energy detection threshold ([0133] LBT procedures on a node attempting to transmit on a carrier in unlicensed spectrum require the node to perform a clear channel assessment to determine if the channel is free for use. Thus, any LBT procedure involves at least energy detection to determine if the channel is being used; [0312] When the channel is sensed to be idle for a (pre)configured number of OFDM symbols in one slot, the UE can start the transmission of the reservation signal from next OFDM symbol until the end of the slot; [0240] One example is shown below. When a channel congestion level is lower than a (pre-)configured threshold, the mapping table is used to map from a priority level to a backoff counter.).
Regarding claim 12, He discloses the limitations of claim 11 as set forth, and He further
discloses performing energy detection in one or more symbols of a second slot preceding the reserved slot, wherein the second slot and the reserved slot are consecutive ([0133] LBTprocedures on a node attempting to transmit on a carrier in unlicensed spectrum require the node to perform a clear channel assessment to determine if the channel is free for use. Thus, any LBT procedure involves at least energy detection to determine if the channel is being used; [0312] When the channel is sensed to be idle for a (pre)configured number of OFDM symbols in one slot, the UE can start the transmission of the reservation signal from next OFDM symbol until the end of the slot; [0313] When the UE fails to sense in current slot, the number of OFDM symbols needs to be sensed to be an idle for reservation signal in next slot can be decreased by a value (e.g., n) to N-n. This procedure may be repeated within the selection window until either the sensing succeeds or the number of OFDM symbols that needs to be sensed to be an idle is decreased to zero. When the number of OFDM symbols that needs to be sensed to be an idle is decreased to zero, the UE can use the channel in next slot without sensing).
Regarding claim 13, He discloses the limitations of claim 12 as set forth, and He further
discloses determining the one or more symbols based at least in part on a sensing window size, a reception mode to transmission mode transition time, a fixed gap value, or a combination thereof ([0313] The number of OFDM symbols that need to be sensed to be idle in one slot may adapt accordingly if the UE fails in previous slots. An initial value (N) is set to the number of OFDM symbols that needs to be sensed to be idle for reservation signal in the first slot. When the UE fails to sense in current slot, the number of OFDM symbols needs to be sensed to be an idle for reservation signal in next slot can be decreased by a value (e.g., n) to N-n. This procedure may be repeated within the selection window until either the sensing succeeds or the number of OFDM symbols that needs to be sensed to be an idle is decreased to zero. When the number of OFDM symbols that needs to be sensed to be an idle is decreased to zero, the UE can use the channel in next slot without sensing.).
Regarding claim 14, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth, and He further
discloses transmitting a feedback request for transmissions in the first slot, the feedback request indicating that the reserved slot is for feedback for the transmissions ([0396] ACK/NACK for the resource allocation SCI from the member UEs to the scheduling UEs may be used to indicate whether the resource allocation by the scheduling UE is received correctly or not by the member UEs, at least when the signaled resources are a group of resources for the whole group of UEs.).
Regarding claim 15, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth, and He further
discloses transmitting a feedback request for transmissions in the first slot, the feedback request indicating that the reserved slot and one or more other slots within the channel occupancy are for feedback for the transmissions ([0396] ACK/NACK for the resource allocation SCI from the member UEs to the scheduling UEs may be used to indicate whether the resource allocation by the scheduling UE is received correctly or not by the member UEs, at least when the signaled resources are a group of resources for the whole group of UEs.).
Regarding claim 16, He discloses the limitations of claim 15 as set forth, and He further
discloses receiving, in the reserved slot, feedback for the transmissions in the first slot; and releasing the one or more other slots based at least in part on receiving feedback for the transmissions in the first slot ([0396] ACK/NACK for the resource allocation SCI from the member UEs to the scheduling UEs may be used to indicate whether the resource
allocation by the scheduling UE is received correctly or not by the member UEs, at least
when the signaled resources are a group of resources for the whole group of UEs; [0397]
As provided, the aforementioned determination of the scheduling UE can be used for
UEs to (re)-select scheduling UE(s); [0398] When a UE is selected as a scheduling UE,
other UEs that joins now or later need to be get informed by the scheduling UE. Higher
layer signaling can be used by the scheduling UE to inform other UEs that are is selected
as a scheduling UE.).
Claims 17-23 and 27-28 are rejected on the same grounds set forth in the rejection of
claims 1-7 and 11-12, respectively.
Claims 17-23 and 27-28 recite similar features as in claims 1-7 and 11-12, respectively, from the perspective of an apparatus at a UE. He further discloses an apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors one or more memories one or more processors and storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the UE toa processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by
the processor to cause the apparatus to perform similar functions ([0095], [0096], and Fig. 3: UE 116 with processor 340 and memory 360.)).
Claim 29 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in the rejection of claim 1. Claim 29
recites similar features as in claim 1, from the perspective of an apparatus with means to
perform the recited functions. He further discloses an apparatus with means to perform these functions ([0095], [0096], and Fig. 3: UE 116 with processor 340 and memory 360.)).
Claim 30 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in the rejection of claim 1. Claim 30
recites similar features as in claim 1, from the perspective of a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instruction to perform the recited functions.
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 of this title, 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 8-10 and 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
He in view of et al. (US 20200037343 A1; hereinafter "He") in view of InterDigital Inc. (3GPP RAN WG1 Meeting AH 1901, Taipei, Taiwan, January 21st - 25th 2019, R1-1900769; hereinafter "NPL1").
Regarding claim 8, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth. But He does not
disclose detecting, as part of the channel sensing procedure, one or more sidelink control
messages from at least one other UE in each slot between the first slot and the reserved slot ; and communicating in the reserved slot based at least in part on detecting the one or more sidelink control messages in each slot between the first slot and the reserved slot. However, in the same field of endeavor, NPL1 discloses detecting, as part of the
channel sensing procedure, one or more sidelink control messages from at least one other UE in a reserved slot; and communicating in another reserved slot based at least in part on detecting the one or more sidelink control messages in the reserved slot (P. 12, Sec 6.2: Step 3: The UE excludes the reserved resources of other UEs based on decoding SCIs. The UE can follow the similar procedure in LTE V2X to exclude the resources reserved by the other UEs.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing
date of the claimed invention to modify the method of He as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from NPL1, to derive the limitations of claim 8, because this is simply a design implementation choice that can be easily selected by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the above teaching from NPL1, and the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to avoid collisions in the reserved slots.
Regarding claim 9, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth. But He does not
disclose communicating in the reserved slot based at least in part on an RSRP measurement of sidelink transmissions in all slots between the first slot and the reserved slot exceeding an RSRP threshold. However, in the same field of endeavor, NPL1 discloses communicating in the reserved
slot based at least in part on an RSRP measurement of sidelink transmissions in all slots
exceeding an RSRP threshold (P. 12, Sec 6.2: Step 4: The UE performs CCA in each of the available resources to determine whether each resource is available or not - the results of which are used in Step 6. The UE may determine how many resources are available within a slot. The UE determines that a subchannel is occupied if the associated S-RSSI measured is greater than a threshold S-RSSI Threshold.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing
date of the claimed invention to modify the method of He as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from NPL1, to derive the limitations of claim 9, because this is simply a design implementation choice that can be easily selected by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the above teaching from NPL1, and the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to communicate on the reserved slots when the channel quality is good.
Regarding claim 10, He discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth. But He does
not disclose communicating in the reserved slot based at least in part on an RSRP
measurement of sidelink transmissions in a second slot consecutive to the reserved slot
exceeding an RSRP threshold.
However, in the same field of endeavor, NPL1 discloses communicating in the reserved
slot based at least in part on an RSRP measurement of sidelink transmissions in all slots
exceeding an RSRP threshold (P. 12, Sec 6.2: Step 3: The UE excludes the reserved
resources of other UEs based on decoding SCIs. The UE can follow the similar procedure
in LTE V2X to exclude the resources reserved by the other UEs; Step 4: The UE performs
CCA in each of the available resources to determine whether each resource is available
or not - the results of which are used in Step 6. The UE may determine how many
resources are available within a slot. The UE determines that a subchannel is occupied if
the associated S-RSSI measured is greater than a threshold S-RSSI Threshold.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing
date of the claimed invention to modify the method of He as applied to claim 1, based on the above teaching from NPL1, to derive the limitations of claim 10, because this is simply a design implementation choice that can be easily selected by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the above teaching from NPL1, and the modification uses prior art elements according to their established functions to produce a predictable result that is equivalent to the claimed limitations. This method of improving was well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, who would have been motivated to perform this modification in order to communicate on the reserved slots when the channel quality is good.
Claims 24-26 are rejected on the same grounds set forth in the rejection of claims 8-10,
respectively. Claims 24-26 recite similar features to those in claims 8-10, respectively, from the perspective of an apparatus at a UE. He further discloses an apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform similar functions ([0095], [0096], and Fig. 3: UE 116 with processor 340 and memory 360.)).
Response to arguments:
Applicant argues that He fails to anticipate "transmitting a message in a first slot of the channel occupancy" where the message indicates "a reserved slot within the channel occupancy for a subsequent communication by the UE," as recited in claim 1. The Office Action appears to have taken the position that He's discussion of reserved resources is equivalent to the "reserved slot" in claim 1 and that the SCI described in He is equivalent to the "message" in claim 1. See Office Action at p. 6. Even if these alleged equivalencies are accurate (which Applicant does not concede), He fails to anticipate that a UE transmits a message in a slot of a channel occupancy and that the message indicates a reserved slot in the same channel occupancy for a subsequent communication by the same UE. (Emphasis Added).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Under the Broadest Reasonable (BRI) He does indeed teach "transmitting a message in a first slot of the channel occupancy". Specifically, to further clarify, He, in the related paragraphs teach [0128] the sidelink control information (SCI) messages are transmitted over physical sidelink control channels (PSCCH); [0175] In each SCI, the UE may set the channel occupancy time starting from current slot of the SCI that shows the resource duration the UE may use the resources for this bursty transmission. [0297] Sidelink control information (SCI) is defined: SCI is transmitted in PSCCH). Additionally, Fig. 18, (Also, Figs. 32-44), in specific embodiments, clearly shows that PSCCH (which carries SCI) is in the first slot:
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In regards to Applicant’s argument that He fails to teach a reserved slot in the same channel occupancy for a subsequent communication by the same UE, Examiner first states that “channel occupancy” is broad time and is not further defined in the claim. Furthermore, Examiner states that, He teaches [0200] The preemption indication can be in a separate preemption indication channel or in the same SCI channel with associated data channel; [0206] Channel occupancy time is carried in each SCI to indicate consecutive time duration with same frequency RB locations that the UE uses for transmission. Additionally, claimed concept can be also seen in Fig. 18 which shows that PSCCH (which carries the SCI) and SRS/CSI (subsequent communication) being in the same channel occupancy:
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Conclusion
14.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.
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/AYAZ R SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2476