DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on 15 January 2026, and Information Disclosure Statement filed on 17 December 2025.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 15 January 2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 17 December 2025 was filed after the mailing date of the final Office action on 15 October 2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-4, 6, and 8-16 were pending in the Final Rejection mailed on 15 October 2025.
Claims 1, 8-9, and 13 were amended in amendments filed on 15 January 2026.
Claims 1-4, 6, and 8-16 remain pending for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-4, 6, and 8-16 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 9, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, claim 1 recites the limitation "the selected format" in lines 15-16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. While a format is claimed as included in plurality of second sidelink configuration information formats, no format is claimed as “selected”. Thus, the lack of antecedent basis may be evidence of a missing essential element.
Regarding Claim 12, claim 12 recites the limitation "the another communication apparatus" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Regarding Claim 12, although directed to "The communication apparatus of claim 1," the limitation specific to claim 12, "wherein the another communication apparatus determines to follow or ignore the information on the inter-UE coordinated usage" does not appear to further limit either the structure or function of the communication apparatus of claim 1, such as by further requiring the information on inter-UE coordinated usage to indicate whether another communication apparatus that receives the information may ignore the information. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4, 8, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wang (US 2023/0078636, previously made of record).
Regarding Claim 1, Wang discloses a communication apparatus, comprising:
control circuitry, which, in operation, generates information on inter-UE coordinated usage of a sidelink resource (Figs. 10A, 10B and ¶¶ 86-88 disclose an electronic device on a user equipment side (UE) and a method thereof, wherein processing circuitry performs transmission resource allocation for sidelink communication (SL) by selecting, for a first SL communication from the transmitting UE (txUE) to a first receiving UE, a set of transmission resources from a resource pool); and
transmission circuitry, which, in operation, transmits first sidelink control information (Figs. 10A, 10B, and ¶¶ 89-92 disclose the txUE transmitting 1st stage SCI via the txUE’s communication unit, possibly implemented as a transceiver) and second sidelink control information (¶¶ 90-91 disclose the txUE setting a preemption indication in 2nd stage SCI to indicate that transmission resources of a first SL communication are preempted — at least implying that the txUE transmits the 2nd stage SCI; ¶ 86 discloses the txUE as implemented as a UE shown in Fig. 4; Figs. 4 and ¶¶ 44-45 and 47 disclose the txUE as in communication with one or more receiving UEs (rxUEs) together performing the process illustrated in Fig. 6; and Fig. 6, ¶¶ 69 and 78 disclose the txUE multiplexing the 2nd-stage SCI with data on the PSSCH, and the rxUEs receiving 2nd stage SCI from the txUE; Figs. 11A, 11B and ¶ 96 similarly disclose an rxUE receiving 2nd stage SCI from the txUE; ¶¶ 158-161 disclose that the embodiments may be usable together — the methods of Figs. 10B, 11B and 6 appear to be usable together, highlighting different steps of the same method of the overall system), wherein,
the second sidelink control information is mapped to a sidelink data channel (¶ 48 discloses that SCI on PSSCH is referred to as “2nd-stage SCI” — thus, further disclosure of 2nd-stage SCI is disclosure of second SCI mapped to a PSSCH; ¶ 60 discloses 2nd-stage SCI as associated with a scheduled PSSCH; and Fig. 6 and ¶ 78 disclose 2nd-stage SCI as transmitted/received on PSSCH),
the second sidelink control information has a format of a plurality of second sidelink control information formats (¶¶ 54, 60, and 78 disclose 1st-stage SCI as indicating a format of 2nd-stage SCI, which at least implies that 2nd-stage SCI may have one of a plurality of formats, otherwise indicating the format would be wasteful),
the plurality of second sidelink control information formats includes a format indicating the information on inter-UE coordinated usage (¶¶ 61-69 disclose the 2nd-stage SCI as including whether a preemption indication; ¶ 91 describes the preemption indication as a bit indicating whether resource preemption occurs), and
the first sidelink control information includes a bit field indicating the selected format of the plurality of second sidelink control information formats (¶¶ 48-57 and 60 disclose 1st-stage SCI as including a “format of 2nd-stage SCI” field).
Regarding Claim 4, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein,
the transmission circuitry transmits the second sidelink control information to another communication apparatus (Fig. 6 and ¶ 69 disclose the txUE multiplexing the 2nd-stage SCI with data on PSSCH to the rxUE),
the control circuitry maps the information on inter-UE coordinated usage to a sidelink data channel (Id.), and
the transmission circuitry transmits, to the another communication apparatus, sidelink control information indicating that the information on inter-UE coordinated usage is transmitted in the sidelink data channel (Figs. 6, 10A-B, ¶¶ 60 and 89 disclose the txUE transmitting 1st-stage SCI to the rxUE, on PSCCH, indicating the resources for receiving and format of 2nd-stage SCI on PSSCH).
Regarding Claim 8, Wang discloses a communication apparatus, comprising:
reception circuitry (Fig. 11A, ¶¶ 94-96 and 99 disclose an electronic device of a UE (rxUE) including a communication unit such as a transceiver including an antenna communicatively connected to a processing unit, such as a processor, including a receiving unit for processing received communications), which, in operation,
receives first sidelink control information (Fig. 11B and ¶ 96 disclose the receiving unit receiving 1st-stage sidelink (SL) control information (SCI)) including a bit field indicating a format of a plurality of second sidelink control information formats (¶¶ 158-161 disclose that the embodiments may be usable together — the methods of Figs. 10B, 11B and 6 appear to be usable together, highlighting different steps of the same method of the overall system; ¶¶ 48-57 disclose the 1st SCI as indicating a format of 2nd-state SCI),
receives second sidelink control information having the indicated format (Fig. 11B, ¶¶ 78 and 97 disclose the rxUE receiving the 2nd-stage SCI according to the information provided in the 1st-stage SCI, which would include the format indication — if the format were different than indicated, then it would not have been received according to the 1st-stage SCI), and
receives a sidelink data channel (Fig. 11B and ¶ 98 disclose the rxUE receiving data transmitted in a first SL communication), wherein,
the second sidelink control information is mapped to the sidelink data channel (Figs. 6, 9, ¶¶ 48 and 77 disclose 2nd-stage SCI as received via PSSCH), and
one of plurality of second sidelink control information formats includes information on inter-UE coordinated usage (¶¶ 61-68 disclose the 2nd-stage SCI format as including a preemption indication as an example of inter-UE coordinated usage information); and
control circuitry, which, in operation, in response to the indicated format including the information on inter-UE coordinated usage, determines a resource where transmission is performed in sidelink based on the information on inter-UE coordinated usage included in the indicated format of the second sidelink control information (Fig. 11B and ¶ 98 disclose the rxUE receiving and decoding data transmitted in a first SL communication according to the 2nd-stage SCI).
Regarding Claim 13, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information on inter-UE coordinated usage is determined according to a resource available for reception (¶ 59 discloses the txUE determining or allocating resources for Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) data transmission to the rxUE out of resources available within a URLLC resource selection window).
Regarding Claim 14, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information on inter-UE coordinated usage is indicated in units of slots (¶ 40 discloses that scheduling transmission resources is on the basis of one time slot; Fig. 5 and ¶ 46 disclose the txUE selecting transmission resources, such as several subchannels in a certain time slot; and Fig. 7 and ¶ 59 disclose that the resources selected for the transmission of the SCI and eMBB data of the first Sidelink communication include 4 sub-channels (sub-channels 0-3) in one time slot (OFDM symbols 0-13)).
Regarding Claim 15, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,
the transmission circuitry transmits the second sidelink control information to another communication apparatus (Fig. 6 and ¶ 69 disclose the txUE multiplexing the 2nd-stage SCI with data on PSSCH to the rxUE),
the second sidelink control information indicates a destination ID (¶¶ 61-68 discloses the 2nd-stage SCI as indicating “Destination ID”), and
the another communication apparatus is identified from the destination ID (Figs. 6, 11B, ¶¶ 78 and 95 disclose the rxUE receiving the 2nd-stage SCI indicating the information apparently intended for them).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zhou (US 2023/0156669, previously cited).
Regarding Claim 2, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein,
the transmission circuitry transmits the second sidelink control information to another communication apparatus (Fig. 6 and ¶ 69 disclose the txUE multiplexing the 2nd-stage SCI with data on PSSCH to the rxUE).
Wang may not explicitly disclose wherein,
the information on inter-UE coordinated usage includes at least one of first information of a resource where the another communication apparatus is scheduled to perform transmission, second information of a resource where transmission by the transmission circuitry is scheduled, third information of a preferred resource recommended to the another communication apparatus to use, and fourth information of a non-preferred resource not recommended to the another communication apparatus to use.
However, in analogous art, Zhou discloses wherein,
the information on inter-UE coordinated usage includes at least one of first information of a resource where the another communication apparatus is scheduled to perform transmission, second information of a resource where transmission by the transmission circuitry is scheduled, third information of a preferred resource recommended to the another communication apparatus to use, and fourth information of a non-preferred resource not recommended to the another communication apparatus to use (¶ 68 discloses second stage SCI as in a bit field indicating information of a (non-)recommended resource; ¶¶ 66 and 74-75 disclose SCI formats 1-A, 2-A and 2-B as including bit fields used for indicating (non-)recommended resources).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Zhou to modify Wang in order to indicate (non-)recommended resources to the rxUE in the 2nd-stage SCI. One would have been motivated to do this, because coordinating resources for SL communication, such as through 2nd-stage SCI, may help UEs avoid communication delay or failure (Zhou ¶¶ 4 and 28).
Regarding Claim 11, Wang-Zhou disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 2.
Wang may not explicitly disclose wherein,
the preferred resource is a single resource or two or more resources, and
the non-preferred resource is a single resource or two or more resources.
However, in analogous art, Zhou discloses wherein,
the preferred resource is a single resource or two or more resources (¶ 68 discloses second stage SCI as in a bit field indicating information of a (non-)recommended resource; ¶¶ 66 and 74-75 disclose SCI formats 1-A, 2-A and 2-B as including bit fields used for indicating (non-)recommended resources), and
the non-preferred resource is a single resource or two or more resources (Id.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Zhou to modify Wang in order to indicate (non-)recommended resources to the rxUE in the 2nd-stage SCI. One would have been motivated to do this, because coordinating resources for SL communication, such as through 2nd-stage SCI, may help UEs avoid communication delay or failure (Zhou ¶¶ 4 and 28).
Claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yang et al. (US 2021/0395696, previously cited, hereinafter Yang).
Regarding Claim 3, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein,
the transmission circuitry transmits the second sidelink control information to another communication apparatus (Fig. 6 and ¶ 69 disclose the txUE multiplexing the 2nd-stage SCI with data on PSSCH to the rxUE).
Wang may not explicitly disclose wherein,
the control circuitry does not cause the another communication apparatus to perform transmission in a resource indicated to be available by the information on inter-UE coordinated usage.
However, in analogous art, Yang discloses wherein,
the control circuitry does not cause the another communication apparatus to perform transmission in a resource indicated to be available by the information on inter-UE coordinated usage (Fig. 12 and ¶¶ 91-93 disclose a first UE reserving a set of periodic resources and determining not to transmit in a period based on having no (further) data to transmit; ¶ 95 discloses SCI provided to UE2 before the period as indicating that it is not associated with a data transmission (i.e., the period is disclosed as indicated as available)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Yang to modify Wang in order to have a coordinating UE refrain from transmitting during a period including resources made available for a requesting UE to use for data transmission. One would have been motivated to do this, because i (Yang ¶ 74).
Regarding Claim 12, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 1.
Wang may not explicitly disclose wherein the another communication apparatus determines to follow or ignore the information on inter-UE coordinated usage.
However, in analogous art, Yang discloses wherein the another communication apparatus determines to follow or ignore the information on inter-UE coordinated usage (Fig. 12 and ¶¶ 91-93 disclose a first UE reserving a set of periodic resources and determining not to transmit in a period based on having no (further) data to transmit; ¶ 95 discloses SCI provided to UE2 before the period as indicating that it is not associated with a data transmission (i.e., the period is disclosed as indicated as available)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Yang to modify Wang in order to have a coordinating UE refrain from transmitting during a period including resources made available for a requesting . One would have been motivated to do this, because i (Yang ¶ 74).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ryu et al. (US 2022/0345277, previously cited, hereinafter Ryu).
Regarding Claim 6, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein,
the transmission circuitry transmits the second sidelink control information to another communication apparatus (Fig. 6 and ¶ 69 disclose the txUE multiplexing the 2nd-stage SCI with data on PSSCH to the rxUE).
Wang may not explicitly disclose wherein,
the control circuitry maps the information on inter-UE coordinated usage to a feedback channel of sidelink, and
transmission of the information on inter-UE coordinated usage in the feedback channel is reserved based on prior communication with the another communication apparatus.
However, in analogous art, Ryu discloses wherein,
the control circuitry maps the information on inter-UE coordinated usage to a feedback channel of sidelink (Fig. 4 and ¶ 92 disclose a UE generating sidelink feedback control information (SFCI), a type of SCI) to be transmitted through a Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH); ¶ 48 discloses the SFCI as indicating acknowledgment information), and
transmission of the information on inter-UE coordinated usage in the feedback channel is reserved based on prior communication with the another communication apparatus (Fig. 4 and ¶ 94 disclose the UE transmitting the PSFCH including the SFCI; ¶ 153 discloses a reception UE receiving a configuration of SFCI to be transmitted in PSFCH in advance of the PSFCH transmission).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Ryu to modify Zhou in order to allow a UE to use a previously received configuration to provide configuration information through a feedback channel. One would have been motivated to do this, because using the advanced configuration in order to allow a UE to (Ryu ¶ 153).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Zhou.
Regarding Claim 9, Wang discloses a sidelink communication control method, comprising:
transmitting first sidelink control information (Fig. 6 and ¶ 60 discloses transmitting user equipment (UE) (txUE) sending 1st-stage SCI multiplexed onto PSCCH); and
transmitting second sidelink control information (Fig. 6 and ¶ 69 discloses the txUE transmitting 2nd-stage SCI multiplexed onto PSSCH), wherein,
the second sidelink control information is mapped to a sidelink data channel (Id.),
a format indicating information on inter-UE coordinated usage (¶¶ 61-68 disclose 2nd-stage SCI as including an preemption indication as an example of information on inter-UE coordinated usage),
a second sidelink control information format includes a format indicating information on inter-UE coordinated usage (¶¶ 61-68 disclose 2nd-stage SCI as including a preemption indication as an example of information on inter-UE coordinated usage), and
the first sidelink control information includes a bit field indicating the [selected] format of the [plurality of] second sidelink control information format[s] (¶¶ 48-57 disclose 1st-stage SCI as indicating the format of 2nd-stage SCI).
Wang may not explicitly disclose wherein,
the second sidelink control information has a selected format of a plurality of second sidelink control information formats, and
the plurality of second sidelink control information formats includes a format indicating information on inter-UE coordinated usage.
However, in analogous art, Zhou discloses wherein,
the second sidelink control information has a selected format of a plurality of second sidelink control information formats (¶ 63 and 65 disclose 2nd-stage SCI as having a 1-A format; ¶ 71 discloses SCI, such as the 2nd-stage SCI, as possibly having 2-A or 2-B format), and
the plurality of second sidelink control information formats includes a format indicating information on inter-UE coordinated usage (¶¶ 66 and 74-75 disclose the 1-A, 2-A, and 2-B formats as possibly including information on inter-UE coordinated usage in the form of indicating a (non-)recommended resource or other resource assistance information (RAI)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Zhou to modify Wang in order to select a 2nd-stage SCI format and indicate the selected 2nd-stage SCI format in the 1st-stage SCI, and indicate the selection by indicating the 2nd-stage SCI format in the 1st-stage SCI. One would have been motivated to do this, because coordinating resources for SL communication, such as through 2nd-stage SCI, may help UEs avoid communication delay or failure (Zhou ¶¶ 4 and 28).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang-Zhou as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 12,200,757, hereinafter Lee).
Regarding Claim 10, Wang-Zhou disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 2.
Wang-Zhou may not explicitly disclose wherein the non-preferred resource is selected based on at least one of the second information and fifth information obtained by channel quality measurement.
However, in analogous art, Lee discloses wherein the non-preferred resource is selected based on at least one of the second information and fifth information obtained by channel quality measurement (Figs. 18, 22, and 26:65-27-50 disclose a receiving UE measuring resources to determine whether they might satisfy a quality of service (QoS) threshold, and determining which of the satisfying resources the receiving UE will occupy (i.e., for transmission), and indicating, in a Clear-to-Send-related message to neighboring UEs, a corresponding resource which will be in use for a specific duration so that the other UEs are not allowed to use the indicated resource(s) (i.e. indicating at least one non-preferred resource based on use of the resource by the receiving UE for transmission based on a quality of the channel of the resource — see Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment filed on 26 July 2024 of Non-Provisional Application No. 17/264,123, which resulted in the issue of Lee).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lee to modify Wang-Zhou in order to indicate non-recommended resources to the rxUE in the 2nd-stage SCI based on resources reserved for the txUE to use for transmission and . One would have been motivated to do this, because such communication of information based on such determinations may help UEs to more efficiently share a channel by avoiding resource collision (Lee 27:22-50).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Di Girolamo et al. (US 2023/0171738, hereinafter Di Girolamo).
Regarding Claim 16, Wang discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 1.
Wang may not explicitly disclose wherein,
a media access control (MAC) header includes a MAC control element (CE) indicating transmission of the information on inter-UE coordinated usage of the sidelink resource, and
the information on inter-UE coordinated usage is transmitted in the MAC CE.
However, in analogous art, Di Girolamo discloses wherein,
a media access control (MAC) header includes a MAC control element (CE) indicating transmission of the information on inter-UE coordinated usage of the sidelink resource (¶¶ 158-164 disclose an assistant UE responding to an assistance request message by including an assistant information reporting response message in a MAC CE), and
the information on inter-UE coordinated usage is transmitted in the MAC CE (Id.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Di Girolamo to modify Wang in order to include assistance/inter-UE coordinated usage information in a MAC CE of SCI transmitted via a PSFCH or PSSCH. One would have been motivated to do this, because including such information in a MAC CE may help an assistant UE to multiplex that information in a PSSCH or PSFCH message (Di Girolamo ¶ 165).
Conclusion
A shortened statutory period for reply to this action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. An extension of time may be obtained under 37 CFR 1.136(a). However, in no event, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of the action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS R CAIRNS whose telephone number is (571)270-0487. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM ET M-F.
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, MARCUS SMITH can be reached at (571) 270-1096. 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.
/Thomas R Cairns/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468