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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant Arguments/REMARKS correspondence filed on 10/24/2025.
Claims 1-6, 8, 10-19 are pending and rejected.
Response to arguments starts on page 42.
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 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 1-4, 8, 10-12, & 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae et al (WO2021034763) in view of Hui et al (US20210050979).
Regarding claim 1, Chae teaches a method comprising:
selecting, by a first device, a first sidelink (SL) resource on a first slot and a second SL resource on a second slot ([0217], [0219], discloses the concept of resource selection based on sensing, slot gaps in between selecting SL resources);
But Chae fails to teach—
determining, by a first device, a sensing window based on a request of a pre-emption check for the second SL resource; and
determining, by a first device, candidate resources within a time interval related to the sensing window,
wherein, based on the first slot not being monitored by the first device, the second SL resource on the second slot is excluded from the candidate resources based on at least one resource reservation period value configured for a resource pool, and
wherein whether the first device performs pre-emption-based resource reselection for the second SL resource, which is not included in the candidate resources, is based on a priority value related to a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission.
However, Hui teaches—
determining, by a first device, a sensing window based on a request of a pre-emption check for the second SL resource (([0239]-[0241], [0245]-[0252], “first sidelink transmission may be transmitted via second radio resource, wherein the second radio resource being different from the first radio resource”—resource selection after preemptive event where the initial SL resource (first radio resource) is preempted, and the sidelink transmission is moved to a second resource; “One or more radio resources being indicated for preemption..may be excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” & “One or more radio resources reserved by a SCI may be excluded…when the SCI indicates a priority being higher than a threshold”[Wingdings font/0xE0]excluding or including resources from reselection based on SCI-indicated priority, matching the idea of priority, matching the idea of priority-based reselection logic, and the phrase “excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” due to higher-priority SCIs confirms that priority governs reselection decisions; and “a first sidelink transmission may preempt a second…in response to a first priority…being higher than a second priority”—this confirms that priority-based preemption is applied, reinforcing that priority evaluation governs access and reselection to previously reserved or used resources disclose determining a first sensing window (aligned with second sensing window) for the purposes of detecting SCI messages associated with sidelink preemption; the second sensing window is triggered in response to the need for preemption check: Other Relevant Text: The first timing window may be a sensing window…The wireless device may not receive the first SCI within the first time window because that the wireless device was transmitting but not receiving during the second sidelink transmission”); and
determining, by a first device, candidate resources within a time interval related to the sensing window ([0245]-[0253], disclose that the candidate resources are selected based on sensed availability and interference characteristics (RSSI, RSRP) within the sensing window: Relevant text: “a wireless device may initialize a set of radio resources to a union of all the candidate radio resources for a first sidelink transmission within a second time window…The wireless device may determine the radio resources from the set of radio resources based on an average RSSI on each radio resource within the first time window”),
wherein, based on the first slot not being monitored by the first device, the second SL resource on the second slot is excluded from the candidate resources based on at least one resource reservation period value configured for a resource pool ([0245]-[0251], the exclusion is due to a transmission occurring during the sensing window (first time slot not monitored), causing missed SCI detection and subsequent exclusion of those resource; the “resource reservation period value corresponds to the time-related parameters within which reservation is identified (sensing window vs selection window). Relevant text: “the wireless device may exclude first radio resources…in response to the first radio resources being unknown…reserved by a first SCI…The wireless device may not resource the first SCI within the first time window because that the wireless device was transmitting but not receiving…”), and
wherein whether the first device performs pre-emption-based resource reselection for the second SL resource, which is not included in the candidate resources, is based on a priority value related to a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission ([0239]-[0241], [0243]-[0244], [0250], [0252]-[0254], “first sidelink transmission may be transmitted via second radio resource, wherein the second radio resource being different from the first radio resource”—resource selection after preemptive event where the initial SL resource (first radio resource) is preempted, and the sidelink transmission is moved to a second resource; “One or more radio resources being indicated for preemption..may be excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” & “One or more radio resources reserved by a SCI may be excluded…when the SCI indicates a priority being higher than a threshold”[Wingdings font/0xE0]excluding or including resources from reselection based on SCI-indicated priority, matching the idea of priority, matching the idea of priority-based reselection logic, and the phrase “excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” due to higher-priority SCIs confirms that priority governs reselection decisions; and “a first sidelink transmission may preempt a second…in response to a first priority…being higher than a second priority”—this confirms that priority-based preemption is applied, reinforcing that priority evaluation governs access and reselection to previously reserved or used resources; discloses the system determines whether to perform reselection (e.g. increase threshold, expand sensing window) based on priority metrics ties to the sidelink transmission (which maps to the MAC PDU priority).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 2, Chae fails to teach the method wherein the PSSCH transmission is reserved on the second SL resource.
However, Hui teaches the method wherein the PSSCH transmission is reserved on the second SL resource ([0243]-[0244], [0250], [0252]-[0254],discusses a “first sidelink transmission” and “second sidelink transmission”. With references to sidelink control information (SCI) and associated radio resources; The “first sidelink transmission” corresponds to transmission via selected resources after resource selection; clearly links MAC PDU (first sidelink transmission) with selected radio resources (including second SL resource); further discloses the system determines whether to perform reselection (e.g. increase threshold, expand sensing window) based on priority metrics ties to the sidelink transmission (which maps to the MAC PDU priority).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 3, Chae fails to teach but Hui teaches the method further comprising:
performing a transmission on the first SL resource ([0245]-[0246], [0249], text state the device may not receive SCI in the sensing window because it was transmitting (not receiving) during the second sidelink transmission; this supports that transmission on the first SL resource causes the first slot to be not monitored (no sensing)), wherein the first SL resource by the first device, the first slot is not monitored by the first device dur to the transmission on the first SL resource ([0245]-[0246], [0249], text state the device may not receive SCI in the sensing window because it was transmitting (not receiving) during the second sidelink transmission; this supports that transmission on the first SL resource causes the first slot to be not monitored (no sensing)).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 4, Chae fails to teach but Hui teaches the method wherein, based on that a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement value related to the second SL resource is greater than a threshold, the second SL resource is reselected by the first device based on the priority value related to the PSSCH transmission ([0245]-[0247], [0249]-[0250], describes exclusion of resources based on RSRP thresholds and iterative adjustment of RSRP thresholds; also, priority-based exclusion and reselection is disclosed, including consideration of RSRP and priority of resource selection).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 10, Chae fails to teach the method further comprising:
receiving, from a second device based on a third SL resource, sidelink control information (SCI) including information related to a fourth SL resource, wherein the fourth SL resource overlaps with the second SL resource.
However, Hui teaches the method further comprising:
receiving, from a second device based on a third SL resource, sidelink control information (SCI) including information related to a fourth SL resource ([0245]-[0251], text discusses receiving SCI indicating reserved resources and handling overlapping resources in the candidate resource set) which corresponds to receiving from a second device based on another SL resource SCI and other information to different SL resources),
wherein the fourth SL resource overlaps with the second SL resource ([0245]-[0251], text discusses receiving SCI indicating reserved resources and handling overlapping resources in the candidate resource set) which corresponds to receiving from a second device based on another SL resource SCI and other information to different SL resources).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 11, Chae fails to teach but Hui teaches the method wherein, based on that the priority value related to the PSSCH transmission to be transmitted by the first device on the second SL resource is greater than a priority value related to a PSSCH transmission to be transmitted by the second device on the fourth SL resource, and based on that a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement value obtained based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on the third SL resource is greater than a threshold, the second SL resource is reselected by the first device.
However, Hui teaches the method wherein, based on that the priority value related to the first MAC PDU to be transmitted by the first device on the second SL resource is greater than a priority value related to a third MAC PDU to be transmitted by the second device on the fourth SL resource, and based on that a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement value obtained based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on the third SL resource is greater than a threshold, the second SL resource excluded from the plurality of candidate resources is reselected by the first device ([0243]-[0251], discloses exclusion and reselection based on priority thresholds and RSRP thresholds, including consideration of overlapping transmissions and preemption decisions based on priority and measured RSRP).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 12, Chae fails to teach the method wherein the priority value related to the PSSCH transmission to be transmitted by the second device on the fourth SL resource is less than a pre-configured priority value.
However, Hui teaches the method wherein the priority value related to the third MAC PDU to be transmitted by the second device on the fourth SL resource is less than a pre-configured priority value ([0246]-[0247], [0254], discuss excluding resources if a priority indicated in the SCI is higher than a threshold; which aligns with a comparison between a priority (of a third transmission) and a threshold (pre-configured priority value), which supports the idea that a lower priority (less than threshold) allows transmission; further discusses sidelink transmission resource selection based on priority which aligns with a third MAC PDU).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 18, Chae teaches a first device comprising:
at least one transceiver ([0212], transceiver) and
at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that ([0192]-[0193], memory, processor), based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising:
selecting a first sidelink (SL) resource on a first slot and a second SL resource on a second slot ([0217], [0219], discloses the concept of resource selection based on sensing, slot gaps in between selecting SL resources);
But Chae fails to teach—
determining a sensing window based on a request of a pre-emption check for the second SL resource; and
determining candidate resources within a time interval related to the sensing window,
wherein, based on the first slot not being monitored by the first device, the second SL resource on the second slot is excluded from the candidate resources based on at least one resource reservation period value configured for a resource pool, and
wherein whether the first device performs pre-emption-based resource reselection for the second SL resource, which is not included in the candidate resources, is based on a priority value related to a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission.
However, Hui teaches—
determining a sensing window based on a request of a pre-emption check for the second SL resource (([0239]-[0241], [0245]-[0252], “first sidelink transmission may be transmitted via second radio resource, wherein the second radio resource being different from the first radio resource”—resource selection after preemptive event where the initial SL resource (first radio resource) is preempted, and the sidelink transmission is moved to a second resource; “One or more radio resources being indicated for preemption..may be excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” & “One or more radio resources reserved by a SCI may be excluded…when the SCI indicates a priority being higher than a threshold”[Wingdings font/0xE0]excluding or including resources from reselection based on SCI-indicated priority, matching the idea of priority, matching the idea of priority-based reselection logic, and the phrase “excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” due to higher-priority SCIs confirms that priority governs reselection decisions; and “a first sidelink transmission may preempt a second…in response to a first priority…being higher than a second priority”—this confirms that priority-based preemption is applied, reinforcing that priority evaluation governs access and reselection to previously reserved or used resources disclose determining a first sensing window (aligned with second sensing window) for the purposes of detecting SCI messages associated with sidelink preemption; the second sensing window is triggered in response to the need for preemption check: Other Relevant Text: The first timing window may be a sensing window…The wireless device may not receive the first SCI within the first time window because that the wireless device was transmitting but not receiving during the second sidelink transmission”); and
determining candidate resources within a time interval related to the sensing window ([0245]-[0253], disclose that the candidate resources are selected based on sensed availability and interference characteristics (RSSI, RSRP) within the sensing window: Relevant text: “a wireless device may initialize a set of radio resources to a union of all the candidate radio resources for a first sidelink transmission within a second time window…The wireless device may determine the radio resources from the set of radio resources based on an average RSSI on each radio resource within the first time window”),
wherein, based on the first slot not being monitored by the first device, the second SL resource on the second slot is excluded from the candidate resources based on at least one resource reservation period value configured for a resource pool ([0245]-[0251], the exclusion is due to a transmission occurring during the sensing window (first time slot not monitored), causing missed SCI detection and subsequent exclusion of those resource; the “resource reservation period value corresponds to the time-related parameters within which reservation is identified (sensing window vs selection window). Relevant text: “the wireless device may exclude first radio resources…in response to the first radio resources being unknown…reserved by a first SCI…The wireless device may not resource the first SCI within the first time window because that the wireless device was transmitting but not receiving…”), and
wherein whether the first device performs pre-emption-based resource reselection for the second SL resource, which is not included in the candidate resources, is based on a priority value related to a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission ([0239]-[0241], [0243]-[0244], [0250], [0252]-[0254], “first sidelink transmission may be transmitted via second radio resource, wherein the second radio resource being different from the first radio resource”—resource selection after preemptive event where the initial SL resource (first radio resource) is preempted, and the sidelink transmission is moved to a second resource; “One or more radio resources being indicated for preemption..may be excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” & “One or more radio resources reserved by a SCI may be excluded…when the SCI indicates a priority being higher than a threshold”[Wingdings font/0xE0]excluding or including resources from reselection based on SCI-indicated priority, matching the idea of priority, matching the idea of priority-based reselection logic, and the phrase “excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” due to higher-priority SCIs confirms that priority governs reselection decisions; and “a first sidelink transmission may preempt a second…in response to a first priority…being higher than a second priority”—this confirms that priority-based preemption is applied, reinforcing that priority evaluation governs access and reselection to previously reserved or used resources; discloses the system determines whether to perform reselection (e.g. increase threshold, expand sensing window) based on priority metrics ties to the sidelink transmission (which maps to the MAC PDU priority).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 19, Chae teaches a processing device comprising:
at least one processor ([0192]-[0193], memory, processor) and
at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that ([0192]-[0193], memory, processor), based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising:
selecting a first sidelink (SL) resource on a first slot and a second SL resource on a second slot ([0217], [0219], discloses the concept of resource selection based on sensing, slot gaps in between selecting SL resources);
But Chae fails to teach—
determining a sensing window based on a request of a pre-emption check for the second SL resource; and
determining candidate resources within a time interval related to the sensing window,
wherein, based on the first slot not being monitored by the first device, the second SL resource on the second slot is excluded from the candidate resources based on at least one resource reservation period value configured for a resource pool, and
wherein whether the first device performs pre-emption-based resource reselection for the second SL resource, which is not included in the candidate resources, is based on a priority value related to a physical sidfelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission.
However, Hui teaches—
determining a sensing window based on a request of a pre-emption check for the second SL resource (([0239]-[0241], [0245]-[0252], “first sidelink transmission may be transmitted via second radio resource, wherein the second radio resource being different from the first radio resource”—resource selection after preemptive event where the initial SL resource (first radio resource) is preempted, and the sidelink transmission is moved to a second resource; “One or more radio resources being indicated for preemption..may be excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” & “One or more radio resources reserved by a SCI may be excluded…when the SCI indicates a priority being higher than a threshold”[Wingdings font/0xE0]excluding or including resources from reselection based on SCI-indicated priority, matching the idea of priority, matching the idea of priority-based reselection logic, and the phrase “excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” due to higher-priority SCIs confirms that priority governs reselection decisions; and “a first sidelink transmission may preempt a second…in response to a first priority…being higher than a second priority”—this confirms that priority-based preemption is applied, reinforcing that priority evaluation governs access and reselection to previously reserved or used resources disclose determining a first sensing window (aligned with second sensing window) for the purposes of detecting SCI messages associated with sidelink preemption; the second sensing window is triggered in response to the need for preemption check: Other Relevant Text: The first timing window may be a sensing window…The wireless device may not receive the first SCI within the first time window because that the wireless device was transmitting but not receiving during the second sidelink transmission”);
determining candidate resources within a time interval related to the sensing window ([0245]-[0253], disclose that the candidate resources are selected based on sensed availability and interference characteristics (RSSI, RSRP) within the sensing window: Relevant text: “a wireless device may initialize a set of radio resources to a union of all the candidate radio resources for a first sidelink transmission within a second time window…The wireless device may determine the radio resources from the set of radio resources based on an average RSSI on each radio resource within the first time window”),
wherein, based on the first slot not being monitored by the first device, the second SL resource on the second slot is excluded from the candidate resources based on at least one resource reservation period value configured for a resource pool ([0245]-[0251], the exclusion is due to a transmission occurring during the sensing window (first time slot not monitored), causing missed SCI detection and subsequent exclusion of those resource; the “resource reservation period value corresponds to the time-related parameters within which reservation is identified (sensing window vs selection window). Relevant text: “the wireless device may exclude first radio resources…in response to the first radio resources being unknown…reserved by a first SCI…The wireless device may not resource the first SCI within the first time window because that the wireless device was transmitting but not receiving…”), and
wherein whether the first device performs pre-emption-based resource reselection for the second SL resource, which is not included in the candidate resources, is based on a priority value related to a physical sidfelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission ([0239]-[0241], [0243]-[0244], [0250], [0252]-[0254], “first sidelink transmission may be transmitted via second radio resource, wherein the second radio resource being different from the first radio resource”—resource selection after preemptive event where the initial SL resource (first radio resource) is preempted, and the sidelink transmission is moved to a second resource; “One or more radio resources being indicated for preemption..may be excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” & “One or more radio resources reserved by a SCI may be excluded…when the SCI indicates a priority being higher than a threshold”[Wingdings font/0xE0]excluding or including resources from reselection based on SCI-indicated priority, matching the idea of priority, matching the idea of priority-based reselection logic, and the phrase “excluded from the set of candidate radio resources” due to higher-priority SCIs confirms that priority governs reselection decisions; and “a first sidelink transmission may preempt a second…in response to a first priority…being higher than a second priority”—this confirms that priority-based preemption is applied, reinforcing that priority evaluation governs access and reselection to previously reserved or used resources; discloses the system determines whether to perform reselection (e.g. increase threshold, expand sensing window) based on priority metrics ties to the sidelink transmission (which maps to the MAC PDU priority).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Claims 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae in view of Hui, in further view of Shilov et al (US20200374861).
Regarding claim 13, Chae and Hui fail to teach the method wherein a resource reservation period value selected by the first device from among the at least one resource reservation period value configured for the resource pool is greater than a remaining packet delay budget (PDB).
However, Shilov teaches the method wherein a resource reservation period value selected by the first device from among the at least one resource reservation period value configured for the resource pool is greater than a remaining packet delay budget (PDB) (describes that the resource selection window initiated after a trigger “may be bounded by a remaining packet delay budget (T_PDB)”, directly supporting the concept that the window (Fig 1, [0013], reservation period) is constrained by, and thus greater than or equal to), the remaining PDB).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Claims 5-6, 8, & 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae in view of Hui, in further view of Shilov, in further view of Cao et al (US11,956,679).
Regarding claim 5, Chae, Hui, and Shilov fail to teach the method wherein the RSRP measurement value related to the second SL resource is obtained based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) through which sidelink control information (SCI) including information related to a resource overlapping with the second SL resource is transmitted.
However, Cao teaches the method wherein the RSRP measurement value related to the second SL resource is obtained based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) through which sidelink control information (SCI) including information related to a resource overlapping with the second SL resource is transmitted (col 23-24 lines 55-67 & lines 1-44 respectively, the RSRP measurement is performed by the sensing UE, that SCI or DMRS is used to detect the presence of potential overlapping resources; that the SCI indicates associated PSSCH transmission, from which RSRP is measured).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. Lastly, Cao teaches sensing and resource selection based on priorities for sidelink transmissions. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 6, Chae, Hui, and Shilov fail to teach the method wherein the RSRP measurement value related to the second SL resource is obtained based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a PSSCH scheduled by sidelink control information (SCI) including information related to a resource overlapping with the second SL resource.
However, Cao teaches the method wherein the RSRP measurement value related to the second SL resource is obtained based on a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) scheduled by sidelink control information (SCI) including information related to a resource overlapping with the second SL resource (col 23-24 lines 55-67 & lines 1-44 respectively, the US performs RSRP measurement, and this is based on DMRS, the DMRS is associated with a PSSCH (“the sending UE further measures the corresponding PSSCH RSRP for the PSSCH resource”), the PSSCH transmission is scheduled or detected through SCI, and the SCI or DMRS is used to identify resource overlap for exclusion).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. Lastly, Cao teaches sensing and resource selection based on priorities for sidelink transmissions. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 8, Chae, Hui, and Shilov fail to teach but Cao teaches the method wherein, based on that a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement value related to the second SL resource is less than or equal to a threshold, the second SL resource is not reselected by the first device (col 23-24 lines 55-67 & lines 1-44 respectively, RSRP is measured, and a threshold is applied, if RSRP is below the threshold, the resource is not excluded, which states it remains a candidate for reselection, if RSRP is above the threshold, it is excluded and thus not reselected).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. Lastly, Cao teaches sensing and resource selection based on priorities for sidelink transmissions. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 14, Chae, Hui, and Shilov fail to teach the method wherein an interval between the first slot and the second slot is equal to N times the resource reservation period value, and wherein N is a positive integer.
However, Cao teaches the method wherein an interval between the first slot and the second slot is equal to N times the resource reservation period value, and wherein N is a positive integer (col 10 lines 29-45, Col 24 lines 25-44; RSVP is resource reservation period, time slot gaps between the transmissions is n x RSVP where n>=1 and n is an integer).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. Lastly, Cao teaches sensing and resource selection based on priorities for sidelink transmissions. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 15, Chae, Hui, and Shilov fail to teach the method wherein an interval between the first slot and the second slot is smaller than the resource reservation period value.
However, Cao teaches the method wherein an interval between the first slot and the second slot is smaller than the resource reservation period value (col 10 lines 29-45, Col 24 lines 25-44; RSVP is resource reservation period, time slot gaps between the transmissions is n x RSVP where n>=1 and n is an integer).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. Lastly, Cao teaches sensing and resource selection based on priorities for sidelink transmissions. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention, which uses sensing-driven resource exclusion, reservation period awareness, and preemption-priority based reselection logic. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae in view of Hui, in further view of Shilov, in further view of Cao, in further view of Chelikani Article 2019, 5G NR: ControlResourceSet Zero (CORESET#0) & Search Space Zero (hereinafter "Chelikani").
Regarding claim 16, Chae, Hui, Shilov, and Cao fail to teach the method further comprising:
determining a search space related to downlink control information (DCI) for SL scheduling based on a carrier indication field (CIF) value with zero; and
monitoring at least one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate within the search space.
However, Chelikani teaches the method further comprising:
determining a search space related to downlink control information (DCI) for SL scheduling based on a carrier indication field (CIF) value with zero (Relevant text: “UE decodes the MIB message and reads the value of the IE ‘PDCCH Config SIB1’, “First 4 bits (MSB) [Wingdings font/0xE0] controlResourceSetZero index, Last 4 bits (LSB) [Wingdings font/0xE0] searchSpaceZero index…determine the CORESET#0 size and the system frame number & slot index the UE needs to monitor for the Type-0-PDCCH common search space”; This directly discloses how the search space for monitoring DCI is determined based on values (indexes) broadcast in MIB/SIB, which in Shilov standards is based on CIF = 0 by default for SSB-carrier-aligned CORESET#0 (i.e. when only one carrier is used); Since CIF is omitted from DCI when there’s only one serving cell or one BWP, CIF is 0); and
monitoring at least one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate within the search space (Relevant text: “SearchSpaceZero: Search Space index is used to determine the Type 0 PDCCH Search Space Monitoring occasion, meaning it determines the System Frame Number (SFNc) & Slot Index where Type0-PDCCH (carrying the SI RNTI) can be monitored”; & “For SSB Index 0: Slot Indexn0 = 8 and n0 + 1 = 9 … Type 0 PDCCH search space is located in Slot Index 8 & 9 with one symbol Index 0 in each slot allocated for Type 0 PDCCH”; this clearly describes how the UE monitors specific PDCCH candidates at calculated times within the search space based on multiplexing patterns and slot calculations).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. Cao teaches sensing and resource selection based on priorities for sidelink transmissions. Lastly, Chelikani teaches determining a search space for DCI monitoring and monitoring PDCCH candidates in the Search Space. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention, which uses sensing-driven resource exclusion, reservation period awareness, and preemption-priority based reselection logic. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Regarding claim 17, Chae, Hui, Shilov, and Cao fail to teach the method further comprising:
receiving the DCI from a base station; and
performing SL communication based on a SL resource scheduled by the DCI.
However, Chelikani teaches the method further comprising:
receiving the DCI from a base station (Relevant text discusses the same PDCCH decoding and search space logic applies to SL DCI when SL scheduling is configured which means that once the DCI is received (even if for SI), the method of identifying and monitoring DCI applies to SL scheduling scenarios as well); and
performing SL communication based on a SL resource scheduled by the DCI (Relevant text discusses the same PDCCH decoding and search space logic applies to SL DCI when SL scheduling is configured which means that once the DCI is received (even if for SI), the method of identifying and monitoring DCI applies to SL scheduling scenarios as well).
A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to yield a method and apparatus for performing resource reselection in NR V2X. Chae teaches that a transmitter device monitors a “sensing window” to identify potential conflicts with other devices’ sidelink control information (SCI), including using signal power thresholds (SL-RSRP) to exclude radio resources from a set of candidate resources. The exclusion is based on a priority aware sensing threshold which adapts based on the transmitted and received packet priorities. Further, Hui describe enhanced exclusion rules where candidate resources may be removed when reserved resources are unknown due to the device not monitoring a previous slot (due to transmission activity), and when SCI indicates higher-priority reservations. Furthermore, Shilov teaches that a resource selection window is defined as a time interval where a UE selects sidelink resources for transmission; the resource selection window starts T1 ≥ 0 after a resource (re-selection trigger and is bounded by at least a remaining packet delay budget. Cao teaches sensing and resource selection based on priorities for sidelink transmissions. Lastly, Chelikani teaches determining a search space for DCI monitoring and monitoring PDCCH candidates in the Search Space. These procedures reflect a clear teaching of excluding resources that were not monitored in a sensing window, in light of reservation periods or preemption indicators.
Additionally, the references collectively teach a priority-based resource reselection mechanism triggered when the remaining candidate resource all below a threshold. For instance, Hui discloses increasing the sensing or priority threshold iteratively or expanding the selection window to accommodate higher priority MAC PDUs when resource exclusion leads to insufficient availability. This is consistent with the teaching in Chae where sensing thresholds are adjusted to ensure a sufficient number of remaining candidate resources, with further filtering using S-RSSI. Such techniques naturally lead a POSITA to determine, upon excluding resources due to monitoring limitations or SCI-based preemption, whether to perform reselection based on priority values associated with the MAC PDU to ensure timely and reliable transmission. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention, which uses sensing-driven resource exclusion, reservation period awareness, and preemption-priority based reselection logic. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to combine these teachings to arrive at the claimed invention because a POSITA would’ve been motivated by the need to improve the reliability of SL communication in high-load environments by avoiding the use of SL resources that may be unmonitored or preempted. It enables intelligent resource selection based on sensing results, reservation cycles, and priority values to ensure robust the low-latency data transmission.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/24/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Applicant’s position relies on an unduly narrow reading of the amended claims and improperly imports a specific embodiment from the specification into the claims, contrary to the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard. The claim does not require the exact sequential embodiment argued by Applicant, not does it require exclusion of the second SL resource only through one singular mechanism. Applicant’s own specification expressly states that “based on” means “based at least in part on”, rather than “based solely on”, and further explains that “configured” broadly refers to settings, parameters, memory values, and operational characteristics of the device whether operational or non-operational. Thus, “excluded…based on” does not require exclusion solely by one exact mechanism, and “configured for a resource pool” reasonably encompasses reservation parameters and scheduling configurations used for sidelink resoiurce determination. Applicant cannot rely on broad disclosure for patentability while later attempting to narrow the claims only a preferred embodiment not expressly recited.
Regarding limitation (A), the Office properly related on Chae in view of Hui, Chae teaches the sidelink sending framework, including selecting sidelink resources, determining sending windows, and identifying candidate resources based on sensing results and reservation information. Hui expressly teaches excluding resources when a prior slot was not monitored. Specifically, Hui teaches that “the wireless device may exclude first radio resources from the set of radio resources” when those resources are “unknown radio resources” ([0250]), and further explains that such unknown resources occur where resources were reserved by SCI but the UE did not receive the SCI because the “wireless device was transmitting but not receiving” during the relevant sidelink transmission. Thus, because the earlier slot was not monitored, the later reserved resource is treated as unavailable and excluded, directly corresponding to the claimed situation where the “first slot” is not monitored and the “second SL resource” is excluded.
Applicant argues Hui merely excluded unknown resources due to a non-reception of SCI and does not disclose exclusion “based on at least one resource reservation period value configured for a resource pool.” This argument is not persuasive because Hui’s exclusion is expressly tied to reserved future resources created by prior SCI reservation signaling. Those reserved resources depend on reservation intervals and resource-pool configurations governing recurring sidelink reservations. Under BRI, the claim does not require the exact phrase “resource reservation period value,” but only exclusion based on reservation information associated with the resource pool. Thus, the reserved future resource identified from the prior SCI is reasonably such a reservation-period-based exclusion, and Applicant improperly requires the exact claim terminology to appear verbatim in Hui rather than considering the combined teaches as a whole.
Regarding limitation (B), Applicant’s argument is likewise unpersuasive because the rejection does not rely on Hui alone to disclose every aspect of the claimed preemption-based reselection. Hui teaches that when the prior slot is not monitored, the second resource is treated as reserved and excluded from candidate resources. Once that excluded resource is identified, the determination of whether to perform pre-emption-based reselection based on a priority value related to a PSSCH transmission would be an obvious implementation based on Hui expressly teaches that after excluding a resource from the candidate set based on resource reservation period candidate values (P_CANDI), the UE determines whether to perform the pre-emption check, re-evaluation check or resource reselection for RSC_K based on whether a prior value of a packet (e.g. MAC PDU) to be transmitted is less than or greater than a pre-configured pre-emption-related priority threshold [0299]-[0301]. Thus, Hui directly teaches that reselection of the excluded resource is based on transmission priority, and the claim does not require the exact sequence or wording argued by Applicant, only that pre-emption-based reselection be determined using a priority value related to the sidelink/PSSCH transmission.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL WILLIAM ABBATINE whose telephone number is (571)272-0192. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 0830-1700 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nishant Divecha can be reached at (571) 270-3125. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MICHAEL WILLIAM ABBATINE JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419