DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. PCT/KR2021/007384, filed on June 14, 2021, that claims foreign priority to 10-2020-0085510, filed on July 10, 2020.
Response to Arguments
3. Applicant’s arguments, filed on April 29, 2026, regarding rejection of claims 6, 9-10, 13, and 21-24 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any combination of the references being used in the current rejection. Examiner has applied Park ‘653 (US 2021/0051653) to clearly teach the amended limitations in claims 6, 9-10, 13, and 21-24.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 6, 13, and 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kusashima ‘829 (US 2022/0070829, “Kusashima ‘829”), in view of Kwon ‘993 (US 2019/0158993, “Kwon ‘993”), further in view of Nguyen ‘728 (US 2021/0105728, “Nguyen ‘728”; Nguyen ‘728 was filed on October 1, 2020, claiming priority to US provisional application 62/909553 filed on October 2, 2019, and thus Nguyen ‘728 was effectively filed before the claimed invention; further, the US provisional application 62/909553 fully supports all citations made in the rejection from the Nguyen ‘728 reference), and further in view of Park ‘653 (US 2021/0051653, “Park ‘653”; Park ‘653 was filed on August 14, 2020, claiming priority to US provisional application 62/887549 filed on August 15, 2019, and thus Park ‘653 was effectively filed before the claimed invention; further, the US provisional application 62/887549 fully supports all citations made in the rejection from the Park ‘653 reference).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Kusashima ‘829 discloses a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system supporting sidelink (FIG. 1, para 40-43; reception terminal device that performs reception by sidelink communication with another terminal device), the UE comprising:
a transceiver (FIGS. 1 and 3, para 63; transmission unit 207 and reception unit 205); and
a processor (FIGS. 1 and 3, para 63; control unit 203) configured to:
receive, from a network, information about a resource pool for sidelink communication and information about a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) (FIG. 1, para 60, 82-90, and 122; base station indicates to the terminal device sidelink resource pools for transmission and reception of sidelink channels, including resources for a sidelink feedback ACK/NACK channel; resources for the sidelink feedback ACK/NACK channel include frequency resources that are resource blocks; the sidelink feedback ACK/NACK channel is also referred to as a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH); thus, the terminal device receives from the base station information about the sidelink resource pools, including information about resources for PSFCH),
receive sidelink data on at least one physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (FIG. 1, para 82-90; sidelink data is received on PSSCH, using resources that include frequency-domain resource blocks), and
in case that the UE transmits sidelink feedback information on PSFCHs using multiple carriers, transmit the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data on the PSFCHs using the multiple carriers (FIG. 1, para 82-90; sidelink feedback ACK/NACK is transmitted to a transmission terminal device, in response to received sidelink data, on PSFCH, using resources that include frequency-domain resource blocks; resource blocks read on multiple carriers).
Although Kusashima ‘829 discloses a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system supporting sidelink, Kusashima ‘829 does not specifically disclose a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system supporting sidelink carrier aggregation. Further, Kusashima ‘829 does not specifically disclose transmission using the sidelink carrier aggregation. Furthermore, although Kusashima ‘829 discloses in a case that the UE transmits sidelink feedback information on PSFCHs using multiple carriers, transmit the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data on the PSFCHs using the multiple carriers, Kusashima ‘829 does not specifically disclose in case that the UE simultaneously transmits sidelink feedback information using multiple carriers, transmit the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data using the multiple carriers.
Kwon ‘993 teaches a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system supporting sidelink carrier aggregation (para 87; UE supports sidelink carrier aggregation),
transmission using the sidelink carrier aggregation (para 87; UE supports transmission using the sidelink carrier aggregation); and
in case that the UE simultaneously transmits sidelink feedback information using multiple carriers, transmit the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data using the multiple carriers (para 87, 90-94, and 138-141; the UE transmits data channels over multiple carriers in parallel, using sidelink carrier aggregation; the UE transmits negative acknowledgement (NACK) feedback information over the multiple carriers, using sidelink carrier aggregation, to the UE that transmitted original data; the NACK is transmitted when the original data reception has an error; thus, the UE simultaneously transmits sidelink feedback information over multiple carriers, where the sidelink feedback information includes acknowledgement information for the sidelink data using multiple carriers).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kusashima ‘829’s UE that receives information about a resource pool for sidelink communication, to include Kwon ‘993’s UE that supports sidelink carrier aggregation. The motivation for doing so would have been to efficiently support duplicated data transmission for a vehicle communication service which requires high reliability (Kwon ‘993, para 4).
Although Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993 discloses transmission using the sidelink carrier aggregation, Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993 does not specifically disclose identify a UE capability about a number of multiple PSFCHs that the UE supports for transmission. Further, although Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993 discloses in case that the UE simultaneously transmits sidelink feedback information on PSFCHs using multiple carriers, transmitting the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data on the PSFCHs using the multiple carriers, Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993 does not specifically disclose in case that the UE simultaneously transmits sidelink feedback information on PSFCHs, transmit the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data on the PSFCHs, based on the UE capability about the number of the multiple PSFCHs that the UE supports for transmission.
Nguyen ‘728 teaches identify a UE capability about a number of multiple PSFCHs that the UE supports for transmission (FIGS. 5, 7, and 9, para 82 and 108-111; a number of PSFCH transmissions satisfies a threshold value by being less than or equal to the threshold value, where the threshold value is a maximum number of PSFCH transmissions that the UE has a capability to transmit in a single HARQ feedback occasion), and
in case that the UE simultaneously transmits sidelink feedback information on PSFCHs, transmit the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data on the PSFCHs, based on the UE capability about the number of the multiple PSFCHs that the UE supports for transmission (FIGS. 5, 7, and 9, para 82 and 108-111; the UE transmits sidelink feedback information on a number of PSFCHs, including acknowledgement information for sidelink data, based on the UE capability about the number of PSFCHs).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined reception UE of Kusashima ‘829 and Kwon ‘993, to include Nguyen ‘728’s UE capability about the number of PSFCHs that the UE supports for transmission. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide further improvements in radio access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase (Nguyen ‘728, para 5).
Although Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993 and Nguyen ‘728 discloses in case that the UE simultaneously transmits sidelink feedback information on PSFCHs, transmit the sidelink feedback information including acknowledgement information for the sidelink data on the PSFCHs, based on the UE capability about the number of the multiple PSFCHs that the UE supports for transmission, Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993 and Nguyen ‘728 does not specifically disclose the UE supports for transmission in a specific slot over the sidelink carrier aggregation.
Park ‘653 teaches the UE supports for transmission in a specific slot over the sidelink carrier aggregation (para 263 and 291; sidelink capability information of a wireless device indicates whether the wireless device supports sidelink carrier aggregation and a supported sidelink slot format; sidelink radio resources are in accordance with the supported sidelink slot format of the wireless device; thus, sidelink capability information of the wireless device indicates whether the wireless device supports transmission in a specific slot over sidelink carrier aggregation, where the specific slot depends on the specific slot format).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined reception UE of Kusashima ‘829, Kwon ‘993, and Nguyen ‘728’s, to include Park ‘653’s sidelink capability information that indicates whether the wireless device supports sidelink carrier aggregation and a supported sidelink slot format. The motivation for doing so would have been to decrease packet loss rate in sidelink communications and increase communication reliability of the sidelink communication (Park ‘653, para 248).
Regarding claims 23 and 24, Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993, Nguyen ‘728, and Park ‘653 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 6 and 13, respectively, as outlined above.
Further, Nguyen ‘728 teaches wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the sidelink feedback information including the acknowledgement information for the sidelink data on the PSFCHs using the multiple carriers, based on the UE capability about the number of the multiple PSFCHs and a maximum transmission power of the UE, in case that the UE simultaneously transmits the sidelink feedback information on the PSFCHs using the multiple carriers (FIGS. 5, 7, and 9, para 82, 94, and 108-111; the UE transmits sidelink feedback information on a number of PSFCHs, including acknowledgement information for sidelink data, based on the UE capability about the number of PSFCHs and maximum transmit power capability of the UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined reception UE of Kusashima ‘829, Kwon ‘993, Nguyen ‘728, and Park ‘653, to further include Nguyen ‘728’s UE capability about the number of PSFCHs that the UE supports for transmission and the maximum transmit power capability of the UE. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide further improvements in radio access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase (Nguyen ‘728, para 5).
6. Claims 9-10 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kusashima ‘829, in view of Kwon ‘993, further in view of Nguyen ‘728, further in view of Park ‘653, and further in view of Yu ‘560 (US 2022/0394560, “Yu ‘560”).
Regarding claims 9 and 21, Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993, Nguyen ‘728, and Park ‘653 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 6 and 13, respectively, as outlined above.
Further, Kusashima ‘829 teaches the sidelink data being received on the PSSCHs using the multiple carriers (FIG. 1, para 82-90; sidelink data is received on PSSCH, using resources that include frequency-domain resource blocks; resource blocks read on the multiple carriers).
Although Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993, Nguyen ‘728, and Park ‘653 discloses the sidelink data being received on the PSSCHs using the multiple carriers, Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993, Nguyen ‘728, and Park ‘653 does not specifically disclose wherein in response to the sidelink data being received on the PSSCHs, resources of the PSFCHs where the sidelink feedback information including the acknowledgement information is transmitted are identified by one of a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) scheme, time division multiplexing (TDM) and code division multiplexing (CDM) based on frequency resources and time resources of each carrier where the sidelink data is received.
Yu ‘560 teaches wherein in response to the sidelink data being received on the PSSCHs, resources of the PSFCHs where the sidelink feedback information including the acknowledgement information is transmitted are identified by one of a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) scheme, time division multiplexing (TDM) and code division multiplexing (CDM) based on frequency resources and time resources of each carrier where the sidelink data is received (FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, para 35-39, 52-54, and 112-118; in a V2X communication system with multiple UEs, the multiple UEs exchange V2X data messages; UEs receive sidelink data from other UEs over PSSCH channels, and transmit ACK/NACK feedbacks to other UEs over PSFCH channels; PSFCH time-domain and frequency-domain resources are determined from a starting sub-channel index and slot index frequency-domain and time-domain resources used for a corresponding PSSCH, where information carried using PSFCH resources is multiplexed according to a FDM scheme; thus, sidelink data is received on a plurality of PSSCH sidelink data channels through a plurality of frequency carriers; further, PSFCH resources used to transmit ACK/NACK feedbacks are determined by the FDM scheme, based on PSSCH sub-channel frequency-domain and slot time-domain resources used to receive sidelink data; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined reception UE of Kusashima ‘829, Kwon ‘993, Nguyen ‘728, and Park ‘653, to include Yu ‘560’s UE that transmits sidelink data to a group of other UE over PSSCH channels, and receives ACK/NACK feedback over PSFCH channels. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a pre-emption mechanism between UEs in a V2X NR system (Yu ‘560, para 2-3).
Regarding claims 10 and 22, Kusashima ‘829 in combination with Kwon ‘993, Nguyen ‘728, Park ‘653, and Yu ‘560 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 9 and 21, respectively, as outlined above.
Further, Kusashima ‘829 teaches wherein information indicating a start physical resource block (PRB) and end PRB among PRB resources of the specific slot where the sidelink feedback information including the acknowledgement information is transmitted is determined based on the information about the PSFCH (FIG. 1, para 82-90; sidelink feedback ACK/NACK is transmitted by a reception terminal device, in response to transmitted sidelink data, on PSFCH, using resources that include frequency-domain resource blocks; PSFCH resources are in a slot, and are indicated by a resource block start position and a resource block end position).
Conclusion
Internet Communication
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only. (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.0.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NEVENA SANDHU whose telephone number is (571) 272-0679. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM EST, Friday variable.
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/NEVENA ZECEVIC SANDHU/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/Michael Thier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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