DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed January 13, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The rejection overcomes Applicant’s arguments because the alleged deficiency is premised on an improper focus on Kim for limitations that are expressly taught by Zeng. Zeng clearly discloses a relay UE that establishes a sidelink with a remote UE, monitors paging/control-related resources within configured sidelink bandwidth parts, and forwards information received from the base station to the remote UE over those sidelink resources (¶63, 95, 101, 119–122), thereby satisfying the claimed requirement that the same relay UE both monitors paging occasions in a BWP and forwards the page over a sidelink BWP. Applicant’s argument that Kim fails to disclose sidelink, BWP, or forwarding is not persuasive because Kim is not relied upon for those features; rather, Kim is cited solely for the well-known mechanism of transmitting paging during paging occasions with UE-specific identification via RRC-layer signaling (e.g., ¶255–256, 267), which supplements Zeng by enabling the relay UE to recognize that the received page is directed to a specific remote UE. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate Kim’s standardized paging identification into Zeng’s relay framework to ensure accurate and reliable delivery of paging messages to the intended remote UE. Accordingly, the combination teaches the claimed invention as a whole, and Applicant’s arguments fail because they do not address Zeng’s explicit relay and forwarding teachings or the articulated rationale for combining the references.
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.
Claims 1-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeng et al. (US 20200374857 A1) in view of Kim et al. (US 20220225434 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Zeng et al. teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a relay user equipment (UE), comprising: establishing a sidelink with a remote UE to provide one or more UE-to-network relay services to the remote UE (Paragraph 60, 63, 117, These passages teach establishing a direct sidelink/D2D connection between UEs where one UE relays communications to the network on behalf of another UE, corresponding to UE-to-network relay services); monitoring paging occasions (POs) in a first bandwidth part (BWP) (Paragraph 95, 97, 101, These passages teach monitoring paging using configured sidelink resources including BWPs specifically allocated for paging/control information, corresponding to monitoring paging occasions within a BWP); and forwarding the first page to the remote UE over the sidelink in an initial sidelink BWP for the sidelink (Paragraph 63, 119-120, 122, These passages teach forwarding (relaying) information received from the base station to the remote UE over a sidelink using configured sidelink resources including BWPs, corresponding to forwarding the page over an initial sidelink BWP).
Zeng et al. does not explicitly teach receiving a first page from a serving base station during a PO in the first BWP, wherein the first page is associated with information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE, and wherein the information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message from the serving base station.
However, Kim et al. teaches receiving a first page from a serving base station during a PO in the first BWP, wherein the first page is associated with information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE, and wherein the information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message from the serving base station (Paragraph 255, 256, 267, 282, These passages teach a serving base station transmitting paging directed to a specific UE during a paging occasion, with downlink system/control information delivered via RRC-layer signaling).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving a first page from a serving base station during a PO in the first BWP, wherein the first page is associated with information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE, and wherein the information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message from the serving base station as taught by Kim et al. in the system of Zeng et al., so that it would enable the relay UE that is already monitoring paging occasions and forwarding paging information over the sidelink to reliably determine that the received page is intended for the specific remote UE and correctly relay the paging message to that remote UE using standardized RRC-based paging identification and control signaling.
Regarding claim 2, Zeng et al. teaches receiving, from the remote UE over the sidelink, PO information for the remote UE, wherein the PO information is included in a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message (Paragraph 60, 63, 99, 105, 112, These passages collectively teach that a remote/accessory UE transmits UE-specific information (e.g., measurements, control/data, feedback) over a sidelink to a relay UE).
Regarding claim 3, Zeng et al. teaches the PO information identifies the PO in the first BWP, or the PO information indicates a paging cycle for the remote UE and an identifier of the remote UE (Paragraph 97, 99, 120, 134, These passages teach that paging-related control information (including paging occasions and timing such as DRX/paging cycles and UE-specific monitoring) is configured within sidelink resources including BWP and conveyed to the UE, thereby identifying when/where paging occurs and associating it with the UE).
Regarding claim 4, Zeng et al. teaches the identifier of the remote UE is a hashed international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) or an inactive radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI), and a hash function used for the IMSI or the I-RNTI is configured via a dedicated Uu radio resource control (RRC) message or a system information block (SIB), or is pre-configured (Paragraph 94, 99-100, These passages teach identifier-based communication using broadcast/system information (SIB) and network-configured parameters for sidelink operation, reasonably encompassing pre-configured or broadcast-configured identifier processing (e.g., hashed identifiers) for pairing and communication setup).
Regarding claim 5, Zeng et al. teaches the identifier of the remote UE is provided by a core access and mobility management function (AMF) (Paragraph 55, 76, 100, 120, These passages teach that the core network (which encompasses mobility management functions such as AMF) manages UE registration, services, and network-provided information to UEs via the base station).
Regarding claim 6, Zeng et al. teaches the relay UE is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state, the remote UE is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state, the first BWP is an initial BWP for the serving base station, and the POs monitored in the initial BWP include all POs in the initial BWP for the relay UE and all POs in the initial BWP for the remote UE (Paragraph 60, 61, 97, 99, These passages collectively teach both UEs operating without active network connection (idle/inactive), base-station-provided initial resources corresponding to an initial BWP, and that both devices monitor paging/control occasions within those resources, encompassing all monitored occasions for each UE).
Regarding claim 7, Zeng et al. teaches the first page comprises a SIB update or an emergency notification, and the relay UE forwards at least the SIB update or the emergency notification of the first page to the remote UE in a dedicated, broadcast, or groupcast PC5 RRC message (Paragraph 63, 94, 97, 99, 117, 122, These passages collectively teach that network broadcast information (including SIB and paging-type notifications) is received and relayed by a relay UE to another UE over sidelink using broadcast/control signaling, corresponding to forwarding SIB/emergency notifications via PC5 RRC messaging).
Regarding claim 8, Zeng et al. teaches the relay UE is in an RRC connected state, the remote UE is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state, the first BWP is an active BWP for the relay UE, and the POs monitored in the active BWP include all POs in the active BWP for the relay UE and all POs in the active BWP for the remote UE (Paragraph 61, 63, 95, 97, 99, 100, 116, 120, 134, These passages collectively teach a relay UE maintaining active cellular communication while configuring and using BWP-based sidelink resources, with the remote UE relying on the relay (i.e., not directly connected), and both devices monitoring control/paging opportunities within the configured resources).
Regarding claim 9, Zeng et al. teaches the first page comprises a dedicated page for the remote UE, and the relay UE forwards the first page to the remote UE in a PC5 RRC message (Paragraph 63, 95, 97, 122, These passages teach that paging information (i.e., a page dedicated to a specific accessory/remote UE) is generated/handled and relayed by a relay UE to that specific UE over a sidelink communication).
Regarding claim 10, Zeng et al. teaches the relay UE only forwards SIB updates or emergency notifications to the remote UE, and the relay UE does not monitor the first BWP for dedicated pages for the remote UE (Paragraph 86, 93, 97, 99, 114, 122, These passages collectively teach that the relay selectively forwards network broadcast/control information (e.g., SIB and paging-type notifications) to the remote UE while reducing or avoiding continuous monitoring and unnecessary signaling via DRX and selective operation).
Regarding claim 11, Zeng et al. teaches the relay UE and the remote UE are configured with a plurality of sidelink BWPs for the sidelink, and the initial sidelink BWP is one of the plurality of sidelink BWPs in which the relay UE and the remote UE completed relay selection (Paragraph 63, 95, 99-100, 108-109, 117, These passages teach that relay and remote UEs are configured with multiple sidelink BWPs/resources including an initial/default BWP selected from a pool, and that relay pairing/selection and synchronization occur prior to and enable use of those configured sidelink resources).
Regarding claim 12, Zeng et al. teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a remote user equipment (UE), comprising: establishing a sidelink with a relay UE to receive one or more UE-to-network relay services from the relay UE (Paragraph 60, 63, 117, 122, These passages teach a sidelink (D2D/cellular sidelink) established between a relay UE and a remote UE (accessory device) where the relay UE provides UE-to-network relay services by forwarding communications between the remote UE and the base station); and receiving, from the relay UE over the sidelink in an initial sidelink BWP for the sidelink, a first page forwarded from a serving base station (Paragraph 97, 99, 120, 122, 133-134, These passages teach that paging information from the base station is forwarded by the relay UE to the remote UE over configured sidelink resources (including BWP), such that the remote UE receives paging via an initial sidelink resource configuration).
Zeng et al. does not explicitly teach the first page was transmitted by the serving base station in a first bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the first page is associated with information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE, and wherein the information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message from the serving base station.
However, Kim et al. teaches the first page was transmitted by the serving base station in a first bandwidth part (BWP) (Paragraph 255, 267, 228, These passages teach that a serving base station (gNB) performs paging (i.e., transmits a page) to a UE via downlink physical channel processing, which maps the paging transmission to configured downlink radio resources), wherein the first page is associated with information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE (Paragraph 256, 361, 340, These passages teach that paging and related signaling are associated with UE-specific identity information), and wherein the information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message from the serving base station (Paragraph 335, 369, 385, These passages teach that the serving base station includes UE-specific and system information within RRC messages (e.g., RRC reconfiguration or response messages), such that information associated with directing communication (including paging-related/system information) is included in an RRC message transmitted from the serving base station to the UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the first page was transmitted by the serving base station in a first bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the first page is associated with information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE, and wherein the information indicating that the first page is directed to the remote UE is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message from the serving base station as taught by Kim in the system of Zeng et al., so that it would enable the relay-based sidelink paging framework of Zeng to utilize the standardized paging signaling, UE-specific identification, and RRC-based control procedures of Kim to reliably identify the intended UE and efficiently coordinate paging delivery through the relay UE within configured bandwidth resources.
Regarding claim 13, Zeng et al. teaches transmitting, to the relay UE over the sidelink, paging occasion (PO) information identifying POs during which the remote UE may be paged by the serving base station (Paragraph 63, 97, 120, 134, These passages teach that paging-related information originating from the base station is relayed via a relay UE to the remote/accessory UE over a sidelink and that specific control resources are configured for paging information, which identifies when the UE monitors for paging).
Regarding claim 14, Zeng et al. teaches the PO information is included in a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) message (Paragraph 60, 63, 99, 105, 112, These passages collectively teach that a remote/accessory UE transmits UE-specific information (e.g., measurements, control/data, feedback) over a sidelink to a relay UE).
Regarding claim 15, Zeng et al. teaches the PO information identifies the POs in the first BWP, or the PO information indicates a paging cycle for the remote UE and an identifier of the remote UE (Paragraph 97, 99, 120, 134, These passages teach that paging-related control information (including paging occasions and timing such as DRX/paging cycles and UE-specific monitoring) is configured within sidelink resources including BWP and conveyed to the UE, thereby identifying when/where paging occurs and associating it with the UE).
Regarding claim 16, Zeng et al. teaches the identifier of the remote UE is a hashed international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) or an inactive radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI), and a hash function used for the IMSI or the I-RNTI is configured via a dedicated Uu radio resource control (RRC) message or a system information block (SIB), or is pre-configured (Paragraph 94, 99-100, These passages teach identifier-based communication using broadcast/system information (SIB) and network-configured parameters for sidelink operation, reasonably encompassing pre-configured or broadcast-configured identifier processing (e.g., hashed identifiers) for pairing and communication setup).
Regarding claim 17, Zeng et al. teaches the identifier of the remote UE is provided by a core access and mobility management function (AMF) (Paragraph 55, 76, 100, 120, These passages teach that the core network (which encompasses mobility management functions such as AMF) manages UE registration, services, and network-provided information to UEs via the base station).
Regarding claim 18, Zeng et al. teaches the remote UE is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state, the relay UE is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state, and the first BWP is an initial BWP for the serving base station (Paragraph 60, 61, 97, 99, These passages collectively teach both UEs operating without active network connection (idle/inactive), base-station-provided initial resources corresponding to an initial BWP, and that both devices monitor paging/control occasions within those resources, encompassing all monitored occasions for each UE).
Regarding claim 19, Zeng et al. teaches the first page comprises a system information block (SIB) update or an emergency notification, and the remote UE receives at least the SIB update or the emergency notification of the first page from the relay UE in a dedicated, broadcast, or groupcast PC5 RRC message (Paragraph 63, 94, 97, 99, 117, 122, These passages collectively teach that network broadcast information (including SIB and paging-type notifications) is received and relayed by a relay UE to another UE over sidelink using broadcast/control signaling, corresponding to forwarding SIB/emergency notifications via PC5 RRC messaging).
Regarding claim 20, Zeng et al. teaches the remote UE is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state, the relay UE is in an RRC connected state, the first BWP is an active BWP for the relay UE, the remote UE does not monitor for pages from the serving base station, the first page comprises a dedicated page for the remote UE, and the remote UE receives the first page from the relay UE in a PC5 RRC message (Paragraph 61, 63, 92, 95, 97, These passages collectively teach a remote UE relying on a relay UE, while the relay UE maintains an active network connection and configured sidelink resources (including BWP) to relay dedicated paging information over sidelink signaling to the remote UE).
Regarding claim 21, Zeng et al. teaches the remote UE is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state, the relay UE is in an RRC connected state, the first BWP is an active BWP for the relay UE, and the remote UE only monitors for dedicated pages from the serving base station in an initial BWP of the serving base station (Paragraph 59, 86, 88, 95, 97, 99, 101, 116, 122, These passages collectively teach a low-power accessory UE operating in a reduced activity state while a relay UE maintains active connected communication with the base station and configures/uses BWP resources, where the accessory UE monitors paging/control information via initial/default configured resources corresponding to an initial BWP).
Regarding claim 22, Zeng et al. teaches the relay UE and the remote UE are configured with a plurality of sidelink BWPs for the sidelink, and the initial sidelink BWP is one of the plurality of sidelink BWPs in which the relay UE and the remote UE completed relay selection (Paragraph 63, 95, 99-100, 108-109, 117, These passages teach that relay and remote UEs are configured with multiple sidelink BWPs/resources including an initial/default BWP selected from a pool, and that relay pairing/selection and synchronization occur prior to and enable use of those configured sidelink resources).
Regarding claim 23, Zeng et al. teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a relay user equipment (UE), comprising: establishing a sidelink with a remote UE to provide one or more UE-to-network relay services to the remote UE (Paragraph 60, 63, 93, 117, These passages teach a sidelink (D2D/cellular sidelink) between UEs where one UE relays network communications for another UE, corresponding to providing UE-to-network relay services); receiving downlink data for the remote UE from the serving base station (Paragraph 63, 122, These passages teach the relay UE receiving downlink data from the base station intended for another UE); transmitting sidelink control information (SCI) instructing the remote UE to switch from a first sidelink bandwidth part (BWP) of the sidelink to a second sidelink BWP of the sidelink (Paragraph 95, 99, 126, These passages teach transmitting sidelink control information (SCI) that configures or changes BWP/resources for the remote UE, corresponding to instructing a switch between sidelink BWPs); and forwarding the downlink data to the remote UE over the second sidelink BWP of the sidelink (Paragraph 63, 101, 122, These passages teach forwarding received downlink data over sidelink using configured resources (including BWP), corresponding to forwarding over the second sidelink BWP).
Zeng et al. does not explicitly teach receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a serving base station for a downlink grant for the remote UE.
However, Kim et al. teaches receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a serving base station for a downlink grant for the remote UE (Paragraph 228, 230, 385, These passages teach that a serving base station transmits downlink control signaling including radio resource grants over a physical downlink channel, which the wireless device receives to obtain downlink resource allocation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a serving base station for a downlink grant for the remote UE as taught by Kim et al. in the system of Zeng et al., so that it would enable the relay UE to obtain explicit downlink resource allocation and scheduling information from the serving base station and thereby efficiently coordinate the reception and subsequent forwarding of downlink data to the remote UE over the sidelink using properly granted network resources.
Regarding claim 24, Zeng et al. teaches the DCI includes an identifier of the second sidelink BWP (Paragraph 99, 119, 126, These passages teach that sidelink control information (SCI/DCI equivalent) carries resource-related information including BWP configuration/selection).
Regarding claim 25, Zeng et al. teaches determining to use the second sidelink BWP to transmit the downlink data to the remote UE (Paragraph 99, 121-122, These passages teach that the relay device selects and configures a specific set of sidelink resources (including BWP) dedicated for data transmission and uses those resources to relay downlink data to the accessory (remote UE), which corresponds to determining to use a second sidelink BWP for transmitting downlink data).
Regarding claim 26, Zeng et al. teaches the relay UE is in an RRC connected state, and the remote UE is in an RRC connected state (Paragraph 61, 63, 116-117, These passages teach that both the relay device (UE 106) and the accessory/remote device (UE 107) maintain active cellular communication links).
Regarding claim 27, Zeng et al. teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a remote user equipment (UE), comprising: establishing a sidelink with a relay UE to receive one or more UE-to-network relay services from the relay UE (Paragraph 60, 63, 90, 93, These passages teach a remote UE (accessory device) establishing a sidelink/D2D connection with another UE acting as a relay to obtain communication services with the network via that relay); and receiving downlink data from a serving base station via the relay UE over the second sidelink BWP of the sidelink (Paragraph 63, 101, 122, These passages teach that downlink data from the base station is received at the relay UE and forwarded over configured sidelink resources (including BWPs) to the remote UE).
Zeng et al. does not explicitly teach receiving sidelink control information (SCI) instructing the remote UE to switch from a first sidelink bandwidth part (BWP) of the sidelink to a second sidelink BWP of the sidelink.
However, Kim et al. teaches receiving sidelink control information (SCI) instructing the remote UE to switch from a first sidelink bandwidth part (BWP) of the sidelink to a second sidelink BWP of the sidelink (Paragraph 235, 240, 241, These passages teach that a UE receives SCI over PSCCH containing time/frequency resource allocation information for sidelink resource pools that are confined to particular sidelink BWPs, thereby instructing the UE to use different sidelink BWPs corresponding to different configured resource pools).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving sidelink control information (SCI) instructing the remote UE to switch from a first sidelink bandwidth part (BWP) of the sidelink to a second sidelink BWP of the sidelink as taught by Kim et al. in the system of Zeng et al., so that it would enable the relay-based sidelink communication of Zeng et al. to dynamically allocate and adjust sidelink radio resources across different BWPs using SCI signaling to improve resource management, interference mitigation, and efficient delivery of relay-forwarded downlink data to the remote UE.
Regarding claim 28, Zeng et al. teaches the relay UE is in an RRC connected state, and the remote UE is in an RRC connected state (Paragraph 61, 63, 116-117, These passages teach that both the relay device (UE 106) and the accessory/remote device (UE 107) maintain active cellular communication links).
Regarding claim 29, Zeng et al. teaches the downlink data comprises physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the remote UE receives the downlink data over a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) of the sidelink (Paragraph 60, 63, 99, 121, These passages teach that downlink data from the base station (corresponding to PDSCH) is received by a relay UE and then forwarded over a sidelink/D2D data channel with allocated data resources (corresponding to PSSCH) to the remote UE).
Regarding claim 30, Zeng et al. teaches the second sidelink BWP is indicated in downlink control information (DCI) from the serving base station, or the second sidelink BWP is selected by the relay UE (Paragraph 99, 120, These passages teach that sidelink BWPs/resources are either indicated by the base station via downlink signaling (e.g., broadcast/resource indication) or alternatively selected by the relay device itself from network-provided pools).
Allowable Subject Matter
To more fully reflect the novel improvements described in the specification, the applicant could consider adding concepts directed to dynamic sidelink bandwidth part (BWP) switching based on downlink control information (DCI) received from the serving base station, including the relay UE receiving a downlink grant for the remote UE and then transmitting sidelink control information (SCI) instructing the remote UE to switch from a first sidelink BWP to a second sidelink BWP prior to forwarding downlink data. The claim could also incorporate the concept that the relay UE not only forwards paging but additionally receives and forwards downlink data for the remote UE over a different sidelink BWP than the initial sidelink BWP, thereby emphasizing coordinated BWP management between Uu and sidelink interfaces. Further, the applicant could add concepts relating to explicit coordination between the relay UE and remote UE for BWP transitions triggered by network signaling, including the relay UE controlling sidelink resource usage through SCI to optimize bandwidth and efficiency. Another potential enhancement would be to include that the paging or downlink transmissions are received in a first BWP of the cellular link and selectively forwarded over a different BWP of the sidelink, thereby highlighting cross-link BWP differentiation and resource adaptation. Finally, the applicant could incorporate architectural concepts such as the relay UE operating with processor and transceiver coordination to simultaneously monitor paging occasions while managing sidelink BWP configuration, thereby underscoring multi-interface control and improved spectral efficiency beyond simple page forwarding.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim et al. (US 20240314766 A1)
Wang et al. (US 12396056 B2)
Cheng et al. (US 20230224859 A1)
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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/ANDREW SHAJI KURIAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2464
/IQBAL ZAIDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464