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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/20/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential steps, such omission amounting to a gap between the steps. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted steps are:
Claims 1, 14, and 20 recites a limitation that “in response to the first sidelink strategy being applied on the first terminal, stopping, by the first terminal, a Channel Busy Ratio (CBR) measurement.” The claim does not recite when or how a CBR measurement is initiated, nor does the claim or cited specification passages provide a clear, unambiguous antecedent basis or temporal context for “stopping” the CBR measurement. Because the claim only recites the act of “stopping” without establishing that a CBR measurement was previously initiated or otherwise in progress, a person of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to determine with reasonable certainty whether “stopping” means (a) ceasing an ongoing measurement that was previously initiated, (b) suspending sampling for a period, or (c) preventing future initiation of CBR measurements.
Accordingly, the claim is indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, and is therefore rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b). The applicant is invited to amend the claims to provide an antecedent and temporal context for the CBR measurement limitation or otherwise clarify the intended meaning of “stopping.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1,14,20 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.
Amended claims 1,14, and 20 overcomes Lee and Hoang. However, Tseng discloses the amended limitations in amended claims 1,14, and 20. Therefore, combination of Lee, Hoang, Tseng fully discloses amended claims 1,14, and 20. Amended claims 1,14, and 20 are not allowable at least for the reasons cited above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-3, 7-8,10-11,13-17,19-23,25,58 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al.(US 20200169986; hereinafter “Lee”) in view of Hoang et al. (US20210243749; hereinafter “Hoang”) further in view of Tseng et al.(US 20230066448; hereinafter “Tseng”).
Regarding claims 1,20, Lee discloses:
A sidelink method, comprising:
obtaining, by a first terminal, a channel congestion condition; ([0169] The UE may know the CBR level of each carrier either by measuring CBR by a lower layer on the carrier or by receiving a CBR value from a cell.)
and selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.), wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with selecting the sidelink resource ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.), wherein the channel congestion condition is measured by a network device; ([0168] The network may indicate CBR level of a particular carrier or a particular resource pool.)
and obtaining the channel congestion condition comprises: ([0169] The UE may know the CBR level of each carrier either by measuring CBR by a lower layer on the carrier or by receiving a CBR value from a cell.)
receiving the channel congestion condition from the network device. ([0168] The network may indicate CBR level of a particular carrier or a particular resource pool.)
However, Lee does not disclose:
and selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition, wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with sensing a sidelink resource or sensing, selecting the sidelink resource, or sensing and selecting the sidelink resource,
Hoang discloses:
and selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition ([0219] a WTRU determines to perform sensing-based or no-sensing (e.g., random selection) resource selection based on (pre-)configuration and/or CBR measurement and/or resource reservation signal/message), wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with sensing a sidelink resource, selecting the sidelink resource, or sensing and selecting the sidelink resource. ([0219] a WTRU determines to perform sensing-based or no-sensing (e.g., random selection) resource selection based on (pre-)configuration and/or CBR measurement and/or resource reservation signal/message)
obtaining, by the first terminal, a resource selection method in response to the sidelink strategy being the first sidelink strategy, and selecting, by the first terminal, a target sidelink resource from a sidelink resource pool according to the resource selection method. ([0219] Methods to select one or more (pre)-configured resources are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a WTRU determines to perform sensing-based or no-sensing resource selection based on (pre-)configuration and/or CBR measurement and/or resource reservation signal/message, for example, using an SCI_Notification message, a pre-emption message or a resource reservation sequence.)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy (e.g., random selection) based on the channel congestion condition the teachings of Lee with UE determines to select whether to perform sensing-based or no-sensing of the teachings of Hoang to include selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition, wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with sensing a sidelink resource or sensing and selecting the sidelink resource. The motivation would have been to determine whether the resource slots are available and to randomly selected resource or perform sensing-based resource selection based on CBR value. (Hoang ¶[0002], ¶[0219])
However, combination of Lee and Hoang does not disclose:
wherein the sidelink strategy comprises a first sidelink strategy, in response to the first sidelink strategy being applied on the first terminal, stopping, by the first terminal, a Channel Busy Ratio (CBR) measurement, obtaining, by the first terminal, a resource selection method in response to the sidelink strategy being the first sidelink strategy, and selecting, by the first terminal, a target sidelink resource from a sidelink resource pool according to the resource selection method.
Tseng discloses:
wherein the sidelink strategy comprises a first sidelink strategy, in response to the first sidelink strategy being applied on the first terminal ([0157] the SL-Tx UE may implement a partial sensing mechanism (e.g., first sidelink strategy) while the SL-Tx UE is staying in SL-DRX off-periods.), stopping, by the first terminal, a Channel Busy Ratio (CBR) measurement, ([0159] To begin with CBR measurement, in some implementations, the UE may stop implementing CBR measurement during the SL-DRX off-periods.)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings of combination of Lee and Hoang with the teachings of Tseng to include the sidelink strategy comprises a first sidelink strategy, in response to the first sidelink strategy being applied on the first terminal, stopping, by the first terminal, a Channel Busy Ratio (CBR) measurement, obtaining, by the first terminal, a resource selection method in response to the sidelink strategy being the first sidelink strategy, and selecting, by the first terminal, a target sidelink resource from a sidelink resource pool according to the resource selection method. The motivation would have been to improve sidelink (SL) packet exchange operations. (Tseng ¶[0005])
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses:
wherein selecting the sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition comprises: selecting the sidelink strategy based on a relationship between the channel congestion condition and a congestion threshold. ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.)
Regarding claims 3,15,21, Lee discloses:
wherein selecting the sidelink strategy based on the relationship between the channel congestion condition and the congestion threshold, comprises: ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.)
selecting a first sidelink strategy in response to the channel congestion condition not reaching a congestion threshold; ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.)
However, Lee does not disclose:
or selecting a second sidelink strategy in response to the channel congestion condition reaching a congestion threshold; wherein resources being sensed under the first sidelink strategy are less than resources being sensed under the second sidelink strategy.
Hoang discloses:
or selecting a second sidelink strategy in response to the channel congestion condition reaching a congestion threshold; ([0221] In an embodiment, the WTRU may determine to perform sensing-based resource selection if one or any combination of the following conditions are satisfied: the (pre-)configured resources are shared among different WTRUs; CBR measured in the resource pool is greater than a threshold)
wherein resources being sensed under the first sidelink strategy are less than resources being sensed under the second sidelink strategy. ([0220] The WTRU may determine to perform no-sensing resource selection by randomly selecting one or multiple transmission resources if any one or more of the following conditions are satisfied: …, CBR measured in the resource pool is below a threshold, … ; [0221] In an embodiment, the WTRU may determine to perform sensing-based resource selection if one or any combination of the following conditions are satisfied: CBR measured in the resource pool is greater than a threshold; Examiner’s Note: if CBR measured in the resource pool is below a threshold, perform no-sensing resource selection. If CBR measured in the resource pool is greater than a threshold, perform sensing-based resource selection. Therefore, resources being sensed under the no-sensing resource selection are less than resources being sensed under sensing-based resource selection.)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of Lee with the teachings of Hoang to include or selecting a second sidelink strategy in response to the channel congestion condition reaching a congestion threshold; wherein resources being sensed under the first sidelink strategy are less than resources being sensed under the second sidelink strategy. The motivation would have been to determine whether the resource slots are available and to randomly selected resource or perform sensing-based resource selection based on CBR value. (Hoang ¶[0002], ¶[0219])
Regarding claims 7, 22, Lee discloses:
wherein the network device is a base station, and receiving the channel congestion condition from the network device comprises: ([0169] The UE may know the CBR level of each carrier either by measuring CBR by a lower layer on the carrier or by receiving a CBR value from a cell.)
receiving the channel congestion condition sent by the base station via first signaling ([0169] The UE may know the CBR level of each carrier either by measuring CBR by a lower layer on the carrier or by receiving a CBR value from a cell.), the first signaling comprises at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) signaling or downlink control information (DCI). ([0049]the RRC layer exchanges RRC messages between the UE and the BS)
Regarding claims 8,23, Lee does not disclose:
wherein the network device is a second terminal, and receiving the channel congestion condition from the network device comprises:
receiving the channel congestion condition sent by the second terminal via second signaling, the second signaling comprises at least one of following information:
Physical layer control information for sidelink, MAC layer control information for sidelink, or RRC layer control information for sidelink.
Hoang discloses:
wherein the network device is a second terminal, and receiving the channel congestion condition from the network device comprises:
receiving the channel congestion condition sent by the second terminal via second signaling, the second signaling comprises at least one of following information:
Physical layer control information for sidelink, MAC layer control information for sidelink, or RRC layer control information for sidelink. ([0136] In one embodiment, the transmitter WTRU may be configured to use a predefined MCS and a number of symbols and resource elements for transmission of PSCCH based on QoS of the data. In one embodiment, the transmitter WTRU may include the initial transmission of the referred PSCCH in the SCI_Notification; ([0222] The thresholds, for example, a CBR threshold, number of SCI_Notification messages, number of pre-emption messages, etc. may be pre-configured or configured for the WTRU via RRC or SCI.)
Regarding claim 10, Lee does not disclose:
selecting a corresponding congestion threshold based on a priority of sidelink data to be sent from the first terminal.
Hoang discloses:
selecting a corresponding congestion threshold based on a priority of sidelink data to be sent from the first terminal. ([0222] The thresholds, for example, a CBR threshold, number of SCI_Notification messages, number of pre-emption messages, etc. may be pre-configured or configured for the WTRU via RRC or SCI. The thresholds may be determined based on the QoS of the packet, for example, VQI, priority, latency, etc; )
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of Lee with the teachings of Hoang to include selecting a corresponding congestion threshold based on a priority of sidelink data to be sent from the first terminal. The motivation would have been to determine whether the resource slots are available and to randomly selected resource or perform sensing-based resource selection based on CBR value. (Hoang ¶[0002], ¶[0219])
Regarding claims 11, 25, Lee does not disclose:
further comprising: obtaining, by the first terminal, a predetermined correspondence between the priority and the congestion threshold; or, receiving, by the first terminal, downlink signaling from a base station and obtaining a correspondence between the priority and the congestion threshold based on the downlink signaling.
Hoang discloses:
further comprising: obtaining, by the first terminal, a predetermined correspondence between the priority and the congestion threshold; ([0222] The thresholds, for example, a CBR threshold, number of SCI_Notification messages, number of pre-emption messages, etc. may be pre-configured or configured for the WTRU via RRC or SCI. The thresholds may be determined based on the QoS of the packet, for example, VQI, priority, latency, etc.)
or, receiving, by the first terminal, downlink signaling from a base station and obtaining a correspondence between the priority and the congestion threshold based on the downlink signaling. ([0222] The thresholds, for example, a CBR threshold, number of SCI_Notification messages, number of pre-emption messages, etc. may be pre-configured or configured for the WTRU via RRC or SCI. The thresholds may be determined based on the QoS of the packet, for example, VQI, priority, latency, etc.)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of Lee with the teachings of Hoang to include obtaining, by the first terminal, a predetermined correspondence between the priority and the congestion threshold, or, receiving, by the first terminal, downlink signaling from a base station and obtaining a correspondence between the priority and the congestion threshold based on the downlink signaling. The motivation would have been to determine whether the resource slots are available and to randomly selected resource or perform sensing-based resource selection based on CBR value. (Hoang ¶[0002], ¶[0219])
Regarding claim 13, Lee discloses:
or, randomly selecting a target sidelink resource from a sidelink resource pool. ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.)
Hoang discloses:
wherein the first sidelink strategy comprises:
sensing part of resources in a sidelink resource pool, and selecting a target sidelink resource from the part of resources based on a sensing result; ([0221] In an embodiment, the WTRU may determine to perform sensing-based resource selection if one or any combination of the following conditions are satisfied)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of Lee with the teachings of Hoang to include sensing part of resources in a sidelink resource pool, and selecting a target sidelink resource from the part of resources based on a sensing result. The motivation would have been to determine whether the resource slots are available and to randomly selected resource or perform sensing-based resource selection based on CBR value. (Hoang ¶[0002], ¶[0219])
Regarding claim 14, Lee discloses:
A congestion control method for sidelink, comprising:
obtaining, by a first terminal, a channel congestion condition; ([0169] The UE may know the CBR level of each carrier either by measuring CBR by a lower layer on the carrier or by receiving a CBR value from a cell.)
determining, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.), wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with selecting the sidelink resource ([0169] The UE may (randomly) select one or more carriers of which CBR value is below the threshold among the indicated carriers.),
and determining, by the first terminal, a limitation on a value of a sidelink data transmission parameter based on the sidelink strategy. ([0084] A UE (regardless of its RRC state) performs transmission parameter adaptation based on the CBR. The exemplary adapted transmission parameters include maximum transmission power, range of the number of retransmission per TB, range of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource block number, range of MCS, maximum limit on channel occupancy ratio.)
wherein the channel congestion condition is measured by a network device; ([0168] The network may indicate CBR level of a particular carrier or a particular resource pool.)
and obtaining the channel congestion condition comprises: ([0169] The UE may know the CBR level of each carrier either by measuring CBR by a lower layer on the carrier or by receiving a CBR value from a cell.)
receiving the channel congestion condition from the network device. ([0168] The network may indicate CBR level of a particular carrier or a particular resource pool.)
However, Lee does not disclose:
and selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition, wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with sensing a sidelink resource or sensing and selecting the sidelink resource.
Hoang discloses:
and selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition ([0219] a WTRU determines to perform sensing-based or no-sensing (e.g., random selection) resource selection based on (pre-)configuration and/or CBR measurement and/or resource reservation signal/message), wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with sensing a sidelink resource or sensing and selecting the sidelink resource. ([0219] a WTRU determines to perform sensing-based or no-sensing (e.g., random selection) resource selection based on (pre-)configuration and/or CBR measurement and/or resource reservation signal/message)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of Lee with the teachings of Hoang to include selecting, by the first terminal, a sidelink strategy based on the channel congestion condition, wherein the sidelink strategy is associated with sensing a sidelink resource or sensing and selecting the sidelink resource. The motivation would have been to determine whether the resource slots are available and to randomly selected resource or perform sensing-based resource selection based on CBR value. (Hoang ¶[0002], ¶[0219])
Regarding claim 16, Lee does not disclose:
further comprising: selecting, by the first terminal, a communication resource for sidelink transmission based on the sidelink strategy, wherein the communication resource comprises at least one of following resources: a time resource, a frequency resource, or a port resource.
Hoang discloses:
further comprising: selecting, by the first terminal, a communication resource for sidelink transmission based on the sidelink strategy, ([0219] Methods to select one or more (pre)-configured resources are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a WTRU determines to perform sensing-based or no-sensing resource selection based on (pre-)configuration and/or CBR measurement and/or resource reservation signal/message, for example, using an SCI_Notification message, a pre-emption message or a resource reservation sequence.)
wherein the communication resource comprises at least one of following resources: a time resource, a frequency resource, or a port resource. ([0169] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 which illustrates a WTRU randomly selecting four time-frequency resources to perform a CCA for transmissions of transmission of two SCI_Notification messages.)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of Lee with the teachings of Hoang to include selecting, by the first terminal, a communication resource for sidelink transmission based on the sidelink strategy, wherein the communication resource comprises at least one of following resources: a time resource, a frequency resource, or a port resource. The motivation would have been to determine whether the resource slots are available and to randomly selected resource or perform sensing-based resource selection based on CBR value. (Hoang ¶[0002], ¶[0219])
Regarding claim 17, Lee discloses:
wherein determining the limitation on the value of the sidelink data transmission parameter based on the sidelink strategy, comprises: ([0084] A UE (regardless of its RRC state) performs transmission parameter adaptation based on the CBR. The exemplary adapted transmission parameters include maximum transmission power, range of the number of retransmission per TB, range of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource block number, range of MCS, maximum limit on channel occupancy ratio.)
determining a transmission parameter mapping relationship based on the sidelink strategy, the transmission parameter mapping relationship comprising a correspondence between the channel congestion condition and the limitation on the value of the sidelink data transmission parameter; ([0082] For controlling channel utilization, the network is able to indicate how the UE adapts its transmission parameters for each transmission pool depending on the channel busy ratio (CBR); [0084] A UE (regardless of its RRC state) performs transmission parameter adaptation based on the CBR. The exemplary adapted transmission parameters include maximum transmission power, range of the number of retransmission per TB, range of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource block number, range of MCS, maximum limit on channel occupancy ratio.)
and querying the transmission parameter mapping relationship and obtaining the limitation on the value of the sidelink data transmission parameter that corresponds to the channel congestion condition. ([0084] A UE (regardless of its RRC state) performs transmission parameter adaptation based on the CBR. The exemplary adapted transmission parameters include maximum transmission power, range of the number of retransmission per TB, range of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource block number, range of MCS, maximum limit on channel occupancy ratio.)
Regarding claim 19, Lee discloses:
wherein the limitation on the value of the sidelink data transmission parameter comprises at least one of followings: ([0084] A UE (regardless of its RRC state) performs transmission parameter adaptation based on the CBR. The exemplary adapted transmission parameters include)
a maximum allowed transmitting power; ([0084] maximum transmission power)
an available modulation coding method; ([0084] range of MCS)
a maximum number of time resources and/or frequency resources occupied by a single transmission; ([0084] range of physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource block number)
a maximum number of times for retransmission of a data block; ([0084] range of the number of retransmission per TB)
and an upper limit of a Channel Occupancy Ratio (CR). ([0084] maximum limit on channel occupancy ratio)
Regarding claim 58, Lee discloses:
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by a processor, the processor implements a method of claim 1. ([0221] A UE 900 includes a processor 901, a memory 902, and a transceiver 903. The memory 902 is coupled to the processor 901, and stores a variety of information for driving the processor 901. The transceiver 903 is coupled to the processor 901, and transmits and/or receives a radio signal. The processor 901 implements the proposed functions, procedures, and/or methods. In the aforementioned embodiments, an operation of the first network node may be implemented by the processor 901.)
Conclusion
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/NHU PHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479