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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/7/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 11/7/2025 has been accepted and entered. Accordingly, claims 1, 9, 14, 16, and 22 have been amended.
Claims 1, 3-16, and 18-22 are currently pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments on pages 10-13 of Remarks, with respect to claim(s) 1, 9, 14, 16, and 22 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 § 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.
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 1, 3, 8, 14-16, and 18- 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (US 2023/0328840 A1), hereinafter “Cheng”, in view of Baek et al. (US 2021/0315057 A1), hereinafter “Baek”.
Re. Claim 1, Cheng teaches the following limitations:
A relay discovery method, (¶0012 the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for selecting the second UE for relay communications between the UE and the base station, or between the UE and a third UE, or both, based on the discovery signal [i.e. method using discovery signal for relay UE])
comprising: receiving, by a first terminal, a discovery message transmitted by a second terminal via a Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearer (SL SRB); (¶0083 A remote UE [i.e. a first terminal] may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE [i.e. discovery message broadcasted (transmitted) by a relay UE (second terminal) and received by remote UE (first terminal)] as described herein. & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
and parsing, by the first terminal, the discovery message to determine whether to select the second terminal as its relay terminal, (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages [i.e. checking fields (parsing) of the discovery message in order to determine and select a relay UE] provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a.)
wherein said parsing, by the first terminal, the discovery message to determine whether to select the second terminal as its relay terminal comprises: parsing, by the first terminal, the discovery message, (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages [i.e. checking fields (parsing) of the discovery message in order to determine and select a relay UE] provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a.)
and according to information on services supported by the second terminal included in the discovery message, determining that the second terminal is available for serving as a relay for the first terminal, (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a. & ¶0144 Additionally or alternatively, the remote UE 115-b may select the relay UE 115-a for relay services based on the relay UE 115-a supporting a relay or connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-b. [i.e. the remote UE (first terminal), based on a discovery message, determines a candidate relay UE (second terminal) can provide a requested service through checking a service code (information of services supported by relay) within the discovery message, and if it matches the connectivity service requested by the remote UE then it is selected as relay UE])
Yet, Cheng does not explicitly teach: and selecting the second terminal as its relay terminal when measuring that a radio signal strength of the second terminal is higher than a first threshold, wherein the first threshold is configured by a network.
However, in the analogous art, Baek teaches such limitations:
and selecting the second terminal as its relay terminal when measuring that a radio signal strength of the second terminal is higher than a first threshold, (¶0168 The remote terminal may select a relay terminal from the relay terminal list, based on a received signal strength (or received signal quality) of a radio link between the remote terminal and a discovered relay terminal and/or a function of the discovered relay terminal (e.g., function indicated by a service code). In this case, the remote terminal may select a relay terminal based on parameter(s) configured by the system information and/or the dedicated signaling message (e.g., RRC signaling message) of the base station. For example, the remote terminal may select a neighboring terminal that has transmitted a reference signal having an RSRP equal to or greater than the sidelink discovery threshold (e.g., minimum RSRP threshold) set in the step S502 as the relay terminal.)
wherein the first threshold is configured by a network. (¶0168 the remote terminal may select a relay terminal based on parameter(s) configured by the system information and/or the dedicated signaling message (e.g., RRC signaling message) of the base station. For example, the remote terminal may select a neighboring terminal that has transmitted a reference signal having an RSRP equal to or greater than the sidelink discovery threshold (e.g., minimum RSRP threshold) [i.e. RSRP threshold (first threshold) configured by base station (network)] set in the step S502 as the relay terminal.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Baek’s teaching of selecting a second terminal as a relay UE when it meets or exceeds a preconfigured threshold, because it would enable the device to determine a relay terminal for a remote terminal thereby improving service coverage and performance of the system. (see Baek ¶0025)
Re. Claim 3, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 1.
Cheng further teaches:
wherein said receiving, by the first terminal, the discovery message transmitted by the second terminal via the SL SRB (¶0083 A remote UE [i.e. a first terminal] may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE [i.e. discovery message broadcasted (transmitted) by a relay UE (second terminal) and received by remote UE (first terminal)] as described herein. & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
further comprises: receiving, by the first terminal, a discovery announcement message transmitted periodically by the second terminal via the SL SRB. (¶0083 A remote UE may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE & ¶0138 The remote UE 115-b may identify a presence of at least one suitable relay UE 115 to request relay service in its proximity based on the discovery messages. To enable identification, the relay UE 115-a may announce its presence by transmitting sidelink discovery messages periodically [i.e. remote UE (first terminal) receives transmitted discovery announcement messages transmitted by the relay UE (second terminal)] & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal.)
Re. Claim 8, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 1.
Cheng further teaches:
further comprising: transmitting, by the first terminal, a discovery request message via the SL SRB, (¶0083 the remote UE may announce sidelink discovery solicitation messages to which a relay UE may respond. These discovery messages may include certain information that could be used by the remote UE or the relay UE, or both, to establish a sidelink (also referred to as a sidelink connection) used to relay transmissions to and from the base station [i.e. discovery solicitation messages (discovery request message) from a remote UE (first terminal) and received by relay UE (second terminal)] & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
wherein said receiving, by the first terminal, the discovery message transmitted by the second terminal via the SL SRB (¶0083 A remote UE may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE [i.e. discovery message broadcasted (transmitted) by a relay UE (second terminal) and received by remote UE (first terminal)] as described herein. & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
comprises: receiving, by the first terminal, a discovery response message transmitted by the second terminal via the SL SRB. (¶0083 discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) & ¶0254-¶0257 Example 1: A method for wireless communication at a UE is described. & Example 2: The method of example 1, further comprising: monitoring a sidelink channel to receive a discovery signal from a second UE during an active duration of a discontinuous reception cycle based at least in part on the sidelink discontinuous reception configuration; and receiving the discovery signal from the second UE based at least in part on the monitoring. & Example 4: The method of examples 2 to 3, further comprising: broadcasting a discovery request message during the active duration of the discontinuous reception cycle based at least in part on the sidelink discontinuous reception configuration; monitoring the sidelink channel to receive a discovery response message from the second UE during the active duration of the discontinuous reception cycle; and receiving the discovery response message from the second UE based at least in part on the monitoring, the discovery signal comprising the discovery response message. [i.e. a remote UE (first terminal) receives discovery response message from a second UE (second terminal)])
Re. Claim 14, Cheng teaches the following limitations:
A relay discovery method, (¶0012 the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for selecting the second UE for relay communications between the UE and the base station, or between the UE and a third UE, or both, based on the discovery signal [i.e. method using discovery signal for relay UE])
comprising: transmitting, by a second terminal, a discovery message to a first terminal via a Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearer (SL SRB), (¶0083 A remote UE [i.e. a first terminal] may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE [i.e. discovery message broadcasted (transmitted) by a relay UE (second terminal) and received by remote UE (first terminal)] as described herein. & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
such that the first terminal parses the discovery message to determine whether to select the second terminal as its relay terminal (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages [i.e. checking fields (parsing) of the discovery message in order to determine and select a relay UE] provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a.)
wherein that the first terminal parses the discovery message to determine whether to select the second terminal as its relay terminal comprises that: the first terminal parses the discovery message, (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages [i.e. checking fields (parsing) of the discovery message in order to determine and select a relay UE] provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a.)
and according to information on services supported by the second terminal included in the discovery message, determines that the second terminal is available for serving as a relay for the first terminal, (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a. & ¶0144 Additionally or alternatively, the remote UE 115-b may select the relay UE 115-a for relay services based on the relay UE 115-a supporting a relay or connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-b. [i.e. the remote UE (first terminal), based on a discovery message, determines a candidate relay UE (second terminal) can provide a requested service through checking a service code (information of services supported by relay) within the discovery message, and if it matches the connectivity service requested by the remote UE then it is selected as relay UE])
Yet, Cheng does not explicitly teach: and selects the second terminal as its relay terminal when measuring that a radio signal strength of the second terminal is higher than a first threshold; wherein the first threshold is configured by a network.
However, in the analogous art, Baek explicitly discloses such limitations:
and selects the second terminal as its relay terminal when measuring that a radio signal strength of the second terminal is higher than a first threshold (¶0168 The remote terminal may select a relay terminal from the relay terminal list, based on a received signal strength (or received signal quality) of a radio link between the remote terminal and a discovered relay terminal and/or a function of the discovered relay terminal (e.g., function indicated by a service code). In this case, the remote terminal may select a relay terminal based on parameter(s) configured by the system information and/or the dedicated signaling message (e.g., RRC signaling message) of the base station. For example, the remote terminal may select a neighboring terminal that has transmitted a reference signal having an RSRP equal to or greater than the sidelink discovery threshold (e.g., minimum RSRP threshold) set in the step S502 as the relay terminal.)
wherein the first threshold is configured by a network. (¶0168 the remote terminal may select a relay terminal based on parameter(s) configured by the system information and/or the dedicated signaling message (e.g., RRC signaling message) of the base station. For example, the remote terminal may select a neighboring terminal that has transmitted a reference signal having an RSRP equal to or greater than the sidelink discovery threshold (e.g., minimum RSRP threshold) [i.e. RSRP threshold (first threshold) configured by base station (network)] set in the step S502 as the relay terminal.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Baek’s teaching of selecting a second terminal as a relay UE when it meets or exceeds a preconfigured threshold, because it would enable the device to determine a relay terminal for a remote terminal thereby improving service coverage and performance of the system. (see Baek ¶0025)
Re. Claim 15, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 14.
Cheng further teaches the following limitations:
further comprising: receiving, by the second terminal, a discovery request message transmitted by the first terminal via the SL SRB, (¶0083 the remote UE may announce sidelink discovery solicitation messages to which a relay UE may respond. These discovery messages may include certain information that could be used by the remote UE or the relay UE, or both, to establish a sidelink (also referred to as a sidelink connection) used to relay transmissions to and from the base station [i.e. discovery solicitation messages (discovery request message) from a remote UE (first terminal) and received by relay UE (second terminal)] & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
wherein said transmitting, by the second terminal, the discovery message to the first terminal via the SL SRB (¶0083 discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) & ¶0254-¶0257 Example 1: A method for wireless communication at a UE is described. & Example 2: The method of example 1, further comprising: monitoring a sidelink channel to receive a discovery signal from a second UE during an active duration of a discontinuous reception cycle based at least in part on the sidelink discontinuous reception configuration; and receiving the discovery signal from the second UE based at least in part on the monitoring. [i.e. a remote UE (first terminal) receives discovery message (transmitted) from a second UE (second terminal)])
further comprises: transmitting, by the second terminal, a discovery response message to the first terminal via the SL SRB. (¶0083 discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) & ¶0254-¶0257 Example 1: A method for wireless communication at a UE is described. & Example 2: The method of example 1, further comprising: monitoring a sidelink channel to receive a discovery signal from a second UE during an active duration of a discontinuous reception cycle based at least in part on the sidelink discontinuous reception configuration; and receiving the discovery signal from the second UE based at least in part on the monitoring. & Example 4: The method of examples 2 to 3, further comprising: broadcasting a discovery request message during the active duration of the discontinuous reception cycle based at least in part on the sidelink discontinuous reception configuration; monitoring the sidelink channel to receive a discovery response message from the second UE during the active duration of the discontinuous reception cycle; and receiving the discovery response message from the second UE based at least in part on the monitoring, the discovery signal comprising the discovery response message. [i.e. a remote UE (first terminal) receives discovery response message (transmitted) from a second UE (second terminal)])
Re. Claim 16, Cheng teaches the following limitations:
A terminal device (Fig. 2 & ¶0084 Upon detecting a candidate relay UE, based on the discovery messages, the remote UE may select the candidate relay UE to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay UE can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE, or the like. & ¶0092 A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays)
comprising a processor and a memory, (¶0206 FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example of or include the components of device 805, device 905, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 1105 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a UE communications manager 1110, an I/O controller 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, memory 1130, and a processor 1140.)
wherein the memory has a computer program stored thereon, (¶0214 The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory)
and the processor is configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to: (¶0214 The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting DRX for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems).)
receive a discovery message transmitted by a second terminal via a Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearer (SL SRB); (¶0083 A remote UE [i.e. a first terminal] may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE [i.e. discovery message broadcasted (transmitted) by a relay UE (second terminal) and received by remote UE (first terminal)] as described herein. & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
and parse the discovery message to determine whether to select the second terminal as its relay terminal. (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages [i.e. checking fields (parsing) of the discovery message in order to determine and select a relay UE] provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a.)
wherein the processor is further configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to: parse the discovery message, (¶0141 The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages [i.e. checking fields (parsing) of the discovery message in order to determine and select a relay UE] provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a. & ¶0214 The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting DRX for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems).)
and according to information on services supported by the second terminal included in the discovery message, determine that the second terminal is available for serving as a relay for the first terminal, (¶0140-¶0141 Once the remote UE 115-b detects a candidate relay UE (e.g., the relay UE 115-a) based on the discovery messages, the remote UE 115-b may select the candidate relay to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-a as described herein. The remote UE 115-b may evaluate the former condition by performing measurements on the discovery messages received from the candidate relay UE 115-a, and it checks the latter condition by referring to a field (e.g., a relay service code) included in the discovery messages provided by the candidate relay UE 115-a. & ¶0144 Additionally or alternatively, the remote UE 115-b may select the relay UE 115-a for relay services based on the relay UE 115-a supporting a relay or connectivity service requested by the remote UE 115-b. [i.e. the remote UE (first terminal), based on a discovery message, determines a candidate relay UE (second terminal) can provide a requested service through checking a service code (information of services supported by relay) within the discovery message, and if it matches the connectivity service requested by the remote UE then it is selected as relay UE])
Yet, Cheng does not explicitly teach: and select the second terminal as its relay terminal when measuring that a radio signal strength of the second terminal is higher than a first threshold; wherein the first threshold is configured by a network.
However, in the analogous art, Baek explicitly discloses such limitations:
and select the second terminal as its relay terminal when measuring that a radio signal strength of the second terminal is higher than a first threshold (¶0168 The remote terminal may select a relay terminal from the relay terminal list, based on a received signal strength (or received signal quality) of a radio link between the remote terminal and a discovered relay terminal and/or a function of the discovered relay terminal (e.g., function indicated by a service code). In this case, the remote terminal may select a relay terminal based on parameter(s) configured by the system information and/or the dedicated signaling message (e.g., RRC signaling message) of the base station. For example, the remote terminal may select a neighboring terminal that has transmitted a reference signal having an RSRP equal to or greater than the sidelink discovery threshold (e.g., minimum RSRP threshold) set in the step S502 as the relay terminal.)
wherein the first threshold is configured by a network. (¶0168 the remote terminal may select a relay terminal based on parameter(s) configured by the system information and/or the dedicated signaling message (e.g., RRC signaling message) of the base station. For example, the remote terminal may select a neighboring terminal that has transmitted a reference signal having an RSRP equal to or greater than the sidelink discovery threshold (e.g., minimum RSRP threshold) [i.e. RSRP threshold (first threshold) configured by base station (network)] set in the step S502 as the relay terminal.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Baek’s teaching of selecting a second terminal as a relay UE when it meets or exceeds a preconfigured threshold, because it would enable the device to determine a relay terminal for a remote terminal thereby improving service coverage and performance of the system. (see Baek ¶0025)
Re. Claim 18, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 16.
Cheng further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to: (¶0214 The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting DRX for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems).)
The remaining limitations of claim 18 are similar to the limitations of Claim 8, therefore the rejection is also similar.
Re. Claim 19, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 14.
Cheng further teaches:
A terminal device, (Fig. 2 & ¶0084 Upon detecting a candidate relay UE, based on the discovery messages, the remote UE may select the candidate relay UE to function as a relay based on a sidelink quality satisfying a threshold or that the candidate relay UE can provide a connectivity service requested by the remote UE, or the like. & ¶0092 A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays [i.e. relay UE (terminal device)])
comprising a processor and a memory, (¶0206 FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example of or include the components of device 805, device 905, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 1105 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a UE communications manager 1110, an I/O controller 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, memory 1130, and a processor 1140.)
wherein the memory has a computer program stored thereon, (¶0214 The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory)
and the processor is configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to perform the method according to claim 14. (¶0214 The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting DRX for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems).)
Re. Claim 20, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 19.
Cheng further teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to: (¶0214 The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting DRX for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems).)
receive a discovery request message transmitted by the first terminal via the SL SRB, (¶0083 the remote UE may announce sidelink discovery solicitation messages to which a relay UE may respond. These discovery messages may include certain information that could be used by the remote UE or the relay UE, or both, to establish a sidelink (also referred to as a sidelink connection) used to relay transmissions to and from the base station [i.e. discovery solicitation messages (discovery request message) from a remote UE (first terminal) and received by relay UE (second terminal)] & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
wherein the processor is further configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to: transmit a discovery response message to the first terminal via the SL SRB. (¶0083 discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) & ¶0254-¶0257 Example 1: A method for wireless communication at a UE is described. & Example 2: The method of example 1, further comprising: monitoring a sidelink channel to receive a discovery signal from a second UE during an active duration of a discontinuous reception cycle based at least in part on the sidelink discontinuous reception configuration; and receiving the discovery signal from the second UE based at least in part on the monitoring. & Example 4: The method of examples 2 to 3, further comprising: broadcasting a discovery request message during the active duration of the discontinuous reception cycle based at least in part on the sidelink discontinuous reception configuration; monitoring the sidelink channel to receive a discovery response message from the second UE during the active duration of the discontinuous reception cycle; and receiving the discovery response message from the second UE based at least in part on the monitoring, the discovery signal comprising the discovery response message. [i.e. a remote UE (first terminal) receives discovery response message from a second UE (second terminal)])
Claims 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng combined with Baek and further in view of Koziol et al. (WO 2018/0071517 A1, previously cited in PTO-892 filed 3/27/2025), hereinafter referred to as Koziol.
Re. Claim 4, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 3.
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the discovery announcement message comprises at least a transmission period.
However, in the analogous art, Koziol explicitly teaches such a limitation:
the discovery announcement message comprises at least a transmission period. (¶0064 the remote UE 110 can optionally monitor (block 365) for the response in the subsequent time periods if provided in the relay discovery message [i.e. transmission period provided with relay discovery announcement] or configured by the network or according to specified behavior. Concerning these time periods, the time period here refers to the reoccurring or recurrence of the targeted resource(s) within a discovery time period.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Koziol’s teaching of a discovery announcement message comprising a transmission period, because it would decrease power consumption by only monitoring for transmission during a specific period of time. (see Koziol ¶0039)
Re. Claim 5, Cheng combined with Baek and Koziol teaches claim 4.
Koziol further teaches:
further comprising: receiving, by the first terminal, the discovery announcement message from the second terminal periodically via the SL SRB based on the transmission period after obtaining the transmission period. (¶0064 the remote UE [i.e. first terminal] 110 can optionally monitor (block 365) for the response in the subsequent time periods if provided in the relay discovery message [i.e. receiving/monitoring during transmission period based on received transmission period information] or configured by the network or according to specified behavior. & ¶0053 Currently in order to perform relay discovery, the remote UE 110 can use either Model A or Model B discovery as described in "3GPP TS 23.303, Proximity-based services (ProSe); Stage 2". Each of these models requires a remote UE [i.e. first terminal] 110 to listen to a sidelink discovery channel [i.e. a SL SRB] and detect Discovery Announcement or Discovery Response messages in the discovery resource pool (e.g., meaning time/frequency resources dedicated to sidelink discovery), which is either pre- configured on the UE 110 or provided to the UE 110 from the network (e.g., the eNB 170) by the means of broadcast or dedicated signaling.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Koziol’s teaching of a discovery announcement message being transmitting and received during a transmission period after obtaining the transmission period, because it would decrease power consumption by only monitoring for transmission during a specific period of time. (see Koziol ¶0039)
Re. Claim 6, Cheng combined with Baek and Koziol teaches claim 4.
Koziol further teaches:
wherein the transmission period is equal to a period of radio resources on which the discovery announcement message is transmitted. (¶0064 the remote UE 110 can optionally monitor (block 365) for the response in the subsequent time periods if provided in the relay discovery message [i.e. transmission period provided with relay discovery announcement] or configured by the network or according to specified behavior. Concerning these time periods, the time period here refers to the reoccurring or recurrence of the targeted resource(s) within a discovery time period.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Koziol’s teaching of a transmission period being equal to a period of radio resources required for transmitting an announcement message, because it would decrease power consumption by only monitoring for transmission during a specific period of time. (see Koziol ¶0039)
Re. Claim 7, Cheng combined with Baek and Koziol teaches claim 6.
Koziol further teaches:
wherein the period of the radio resources is a period of pre-configured radio resources configured by a network, or a period of radio resources obtained autonomously by the second terminal. (¶0064 the remote UE 110 can optionally monitor (block 365) for the response in the subsequent time periods if provided in the relay discovery message or configured by the network [i.e. pre-configured radio resources by a network] or according to specified behavior. Concerning these time periods, the time period here refers to the reoccurring or recurrence of the targeted resource(s) within a discovery time period. [i.e. period of radio resources])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Koziol’s teaching of a period of radio resources being a period of radio resources pre-configured by the network, because it would decrease power consumption by only monitoring for transmission during a specific period of time. (see Koziol ¶0039)
Claims 9 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng combined with Baek, and further in view of Hoang et al. (US 2023/0300713 A1), hereinafter referred to as Hoang.
Re. Claim 9, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 8.
Cheng further teaches:
wherein the first terminal triggers transmission of the discovery request message or monitors the discovery message (¶0083-¶0084 A remote UE may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE as described herein. In another example, the remote UE may announce sidelink discovery solicitation messages to which a relay UE may respond. [i.e. remote UE (first terminal) triggers transmission of discovery solicitation messages (discovery request message)] & While in the power saving mode, the remote UE may power-ON appropriate circuitry for some period to monitor a wireless channel for discovery messages from other UEs. [i.e. remote UE (first terminal) can also monitor for discovery messages])
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: in the following case: the first terminal needs to be connected to a third terminal, wherein a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is less than a distance between the third terminal and the first terminal, a distance between the second terminal and the third terminal is less than a third threshold, and a signal strength of the second terminal and a signal strength of the third terminal are higher than a fourth threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Hoang teaches such limitations:
in the following case: the first terminal needs to be connected to a third terminal, (¶0331 as illustrated in FIG. 4, a destination WTRU has two paths between a source WTRU and the destination WTRU from which to select. [i.e. source WTRU (first terminal) needs connected to destination WTRU (third terminal)])
wherein a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is less than a distance between the third terminal and the first terminal, (¶0155-¶0157 In various embodiments, the one or more sidelink measurements may include a first sidelink measurement associated with the first hop. In various embodiments, the one or more sidelink measurements may include a second sidelink measurement associated with the second hop. the first sidelink measurement may include any of a CQI, an RSRP, an RSRQ, a pathgain, a pathloss, a distance between the first sidelink relay and the first WTRU. & ¶0235 the sidelink relay may receive a location of a source WTRU and/or a destination WTRU, and may determine whether to act as a relay for that source WTRU and/or destination WTRU based on a distance to the source WTRU and/or the destination WTRU. & ¶0315 the WTRU may relay [i.e. a second terminal (a relay terminal)] the message if the distance between the WTRU and the source WTRU [i.e. distance between second terminal and first terminal] and/or the distance between the WTRU and the destination WTRU is larger than one (pre-)configured threshold and/or smaller than another (pre-)configured threshold. [i.e. a scenario where a WTRU operating as relay (a second terminal) and the source (first terminal) is less than a threshold, the threshold being defined in further citations] & ¶0330-¶0332 A WTRU may prioritize the path with a smaller number of hops. For example, the WTRU may prioritize a path having smaller number of hops if other criteria are satisfied. The other criteria may include any of the following: (i) a sidelink measurement in each hop of the path is larger than a threshold; and (ii) a distance in each hop of the path is smaller than a threshold. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a destination WTRU has two paths between a source WTRU and the destination WTRU from which to select. The first path is a direct link (i.e., a single hop) between the source and the destination WTRUs. The second path is via a relay WTRU (e.g., two hops). The WTRU prioritizes the direct link path if the sidelink measurements between the source and destination WTRUs are satisfied (e.g., are larger than) a threshold. The WTRU may prioritize one path over another based on combined sidelink measurements of a plurality of hops in a path. For example, the WTRU may prioritize the path having the lowest/highest value combined sidelink measurements of the hops in the path. & ¶0350 The WTRU may determine the sidelink measurement of a path, for example, based on one or more sidelink measurements of some or all hops of the path. [i.e. WTRU will be chosen as relay when the path based on sidelink measurements has the lowest value (distance), which can include only considering some or all of the hops in the path (e.g. only the first hop being considered in measurement). Therefore, relay selection and discovery message transmission/monitoring is based on the distance of the first hop (between first and second terminal) being less than the distance between the first and third terminal, as depicted in Fig. 4 where the Source (first terminal) needs connected to the Destination (third terminal)])
a distance between the second terminal and the third terminal is less than a third threshold, (¶0315 the WTRU may relay the message if the distance between the WTRU and the source WTRU and/or the distance between the WTRU and the destination WTRU is larger than one (pre-)configured threshold and/or smaller than another (pre-)configured threshold. [i.e. distance between the relay WTRU (second terminal) and destination WTRU (third terminal) is smaller (less than) a (pre-)configured threshold (third threshold)])
and a signal strength of the second terminal and a signal strength of the third terminal are higher than a fourth threshold. (¶0125-¶0126 the method may include triggering transmission of the discovery messages based on the QoS and the path measurement. determining the path measurement may include determining the path measurement as a function (metric) of (i) the first measurements, or (ii) the second measurements, or (iii) at least one of the first measurements and at least one of the second measurements. In various embodiments, the function may be any of a minimum RSRP [i.e. a fourth threshold, a minimum measure of signal strength of the first and second measurements for triggering a relay discovery message] and a maximum RSRP. & ¶0156 the second sidelink measurement may include any of a channel quality indicator (CQI), a reference signal receive power (RSRP), & ¶0157 the first sidelink measurement may include any of a CQI, an RSRP, [i.e. first and second measurements include RSRP, which is a measure of signal strength])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Hoang’s teaching of the first terminal connecting to a third terminal based on distance thresholds and where a signal strength of the second terminal and signal strength of the third terminal are higher than a threshold, because it would enable the device to send/receive a relay discovery message for using the second terminal as a relay in a scenario where the distance between the first and second terminal is less than the distance between the first and third terminal, so as to efficiently select a sidelink relay terminal in order to ensure service continuity and avoid service interruption. (see Hoang ¶0119-¶0121)
Re. Claim 22, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 16.
Cheng further teaches:
wherein the terminal device triggers transmission of the discovery request message or monitors the discovery message (¶0083-¶0084 A remote UE may discover a relay UE based on discovery messages (also referred to as discovery signals) broadcasted from the relay UE and received at the remote UE as described herein. In another example, the remote UE may announce sidelink discovery solicitation messages to which a relay UE may respond. [i.e. remote UE (first terminal) triggers transmission of discovery solicitation messages (discovery request message)] & While in the power saving mode, the remote UE may power-ON appropriate circuitry for some period to monitor a wireless channel for discovery messages from other UEs. [i.e. remote UE (first terminal) can also monitor for discovery messages])
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: in the following case: the first terminal needs to be connected to a third terminal, wherein a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is less than a distance between the third terminal and the first terminal, a distance between the second terminal and the third terminal is less than a third threshold, and a signal strength of the second terminal and a signal strength of the third terminal are higher than a fourth threshold.
However, in the analogous art, Hoang teaches such limitations:
in the following case: the terminal needs to be connected to a third terminal, (¶0331 as illustrated in FIG. 4, a destination WTRU has two paths between a source WTRU and the destination WTRU from which to select. [i.e. source WTRU (first terminal) needs connected to destination WTRU (third terminal)])
wherein a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is less than a distance between the third terminal and the first terminal, (¶0155-¶0157 In various embodiments, the one or more sidelink measurements may include a first sidelink measurement associated with the first hop. In various embodiments, the one or more sidelink measurements may include a second sidelink measurement associated with the second hop. the first sidelink measurement may include any of a CQI, an RSRP, an RSRQ, a pathgain, a pathloss, a distance between the first sidelink relay and the first WTRU. & ¶0235 the sidelink relay may receive a location of a source WTRU and/or a destination WTRU, and may determine whether to act as a relay for that source WTRU and/or destination WTRU based on a distance to the source WTRU and/or the destination WTRU. & ¶0315 the WTRU may relay [i.e. a second terminal (a relay terminal)] the message if the distance between the WTRU and the source WTRU [i.e. distance between second terminal and first terminal] and/or the distance between the WTRU and the destination WTRU is larger than one (pre-)configured threshold and/or smaller than another (pre-)configured threshold. [i.e. a scenario where a WTRU operating as relay (a second terminal) and the source (first terminal) is less than a threshold, the threshold being defined in further citations] & ¶0330-¶0332 A WTRU may prioritize the path with a smaller number of hops. For example, the WTRU may prioritize a path having smaller number of hops if other criteria are satisfied. The other criteria may include any of the following: (i) a sidelink measurement in each hop of the path is larger than a threshold; and (ii) a distance in each hop of the path is smaller than a threshold. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a destination WTRU has two paths between a source WTRU and the destination WTRU from which to select. The first path is a direct link (i.e., a single hop) between the source and the destination WTRUs. The second path is via a relay WTRU (e.g., two hops). The WTRU prioritizes the direct link path if the sidelink measurements between the source and destination WTRUs are satisfied (e.g., are larger than) a threshold. The WTRU may prioritize one path over another based on combined sidelink measurements of a plurality of hops in a path. For example, the WTRU may prioritize the path having the lowest/highest value combined sidelink measurements of the hops in the path. & ¶0350 The WTRU may determine the sidelink measurement of a path, for example, based on one or more sidelink measurements of some or all hops of the path. [i.e. WTRU will be chosen as relay when the path based on sidelink measurements has the lowest value (distance), which can include only considering some or all of the hops in the path (e.g. only the first hop being considered in measurement). Therefore, relay selection and discovery message transmission/monitoring is based on the distance of the first hop (between first and second terminal) being less than the distance between the first and third terminal, as depicted in Fig. 4 where the Source (first terminal) needs connected to the Destination (third terminal)])
a distance between the second terminal and the third terminal is less than a third threshold, (¶0315 the WTRU may relay the message if the distance between the WTRU and the source WTRU and/or the distance between the WTRU and the destination WTRU is larger than one (pre-)configured threshold and/or smaller than another (pre-)configured threshold. [i.e. distance between the relay WTRU (second terminal) and destination WTRU (third terminal) is smaller (less than) a (pre-)configured threshold (third threshold)])
and a signal strength of the second terminal and a signal strength of the third terminal are higher than a fourth threshold. (¶0125-¶0126 the method may include triggering transmission of the discovery messages based on the QoS and the path measurement. determining the path measurement may include determining the path measurement as a function (metric) of (i) the first measurements, or (ii) the second measurements, or (iii) at least one of the first measurements and at least one of the second measurements. In various embodiments, the function may be any of a minimum RSRP [i.e. a fourth threshold, a minimum measure of signal strength of the first and second measurements for triggering a relay discovery message] and a maximum RSRP. & ¶0156 the second sidelink measurement may include any of a channel quality indicator (CQI), a reference signal receive power (RSRP), & ¶0157 the first sidelink measurement may include any of a CQI, an RSRP, [i.e. first and second measurements include RSRP, which is a measure of signal strength])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Hoang’s teaching of the first terminal connecting to a third terminal based on distance thresholds and where a signal strength of the second terminal and signal strength of the third terminal are higher than a threshold, because it would enable the device to send/receive a relay discovery message for using the second terminal as a relay in a scenario where the distance between the first and second terminal is less than the distance between the first and third terminal, so as to efficiently select a sidelink relay terminal in order to ensure service continuity and avoid service interruption. (see Hoang ¶0119-¶0121)
Claims 10, 12-13, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng combined with Baek, and further in view of Back et al. (US 2023/0164536 A1, previously cited in PTO-892 filed 3/27/2025), hereinafter referred to as Back.
Re. Claim 10, Cheng combined with Baek teaches claim 8.
The combined references fail to expressly disclose: wherein the discovery request message is included in a Medium Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) that includes a Logical Channel Identity (LCID) of a selected SL SRB.
However, in the analogous art, Back explicitly discloses such a limitation:
wherein the discovery request message is included in a Medium Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) that includes a Logical Channel Identity (LCID) of a selected SL SRB (¶0030 In an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operating a user equipment (UE) related to sidelink discovery in a wireless communication system. The method may include: generating, by the UE, a discovery message; and transmitting, by the UE, the discovery message. The discovery message may be delivered to a medium access control (MAC) layer over a logical channel (LCH), and the LCH may have a fixed logical channel identity (LCD) and a fixed priority for discovery. & ¶0039 Sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted by the UE may include a discovery message indicator indicating that a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) is related to the discovery message & ¶0075 RBs may be classified into two types, signaling radio bearer (SRB) and data radio bearer (DRB). The SRB is used as a path in which an RRC message is transmitted on the control plane, & ¶0145 The discovery message may not be multiplexed with data for a different service or a different channel, except for RRC connection related data. & ¶0143 The discovery message may be delivered to a MAC layer over a logical channel (LCH), and the LCH may have a fixed logical channel identity (LCD) [i.e. an LCID for the LCH included in a MAC PDU, using a SRB related to sidelink discovery (a selected SL SRB)] and a fixed priority for discovery. & ¶0146 For the same broadcast type and the same destination, a MAC PDU for current transmission may be determined according to a priority rule. In the following operation, it is assumed that a dedicated MAC PDU for a discovery message is determined [i.e. a discovery request message including a MAC PDU]. For example, assuming that an LCH is configured as illustrated in FIG. 13, a first LCH (i.e., (A, a, 1) [i.e. the logical channel identity (LCID) configuration of the selected RB]) may be an LCH for a discovery channel… [i.e. a channel used for discovery purposes is synonymous with an SRB])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Back’s teaching of a discovery request message being included in a MAC PDU with a LCID of a selected SL SRB, because it would allow for the configuration of a logical channel as a discovery channel. (see Back ¶0141-¶0143)
Re. Claim 12, Cheng combined with Baek and Back teach claim 10.
Cheng further teaches:
wherein said transmitting, by the first terminal, the discovery request message via the SL SRB comprises: transmitting, by the first terminal, the discovery request message (¶0083 the remote UE may announce sidelink discovery solicitation messages to which a relay UE may respond. These discovery messages may include certain information that could be used by the remote UE or the relay UE, or both, to establish a sidelink (also referred to as a sidelink connection) used to relay transmissions to and from the base station [i.e. discovery solicitation messages (discovery request message) from a remote UE (first terminal) and received by relay UE (second terminal)] & ¶0115 the discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure is performed by using a signaling radio bearer (SRB) of the PC5 link. & ¶0108 The PC5 interface is a sidelink interface between the remote terminal and the relay terminal. [i.e. discovery procedure is performed using a SRB on a sidelink interface, therefore is considered a sidelink signaling radio bearer SL SRB])
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: on a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) associated with a radio resource pool that includes configuration information of a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), the PSCCH being a control channel when the PSSCH is transmitted.
However, in the analogous art, Back explicitly discloses such limitations:
on a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) associated with a radio resource pool that includes configuration information of a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), the PSCCH being a control channel when the PSSCH is transmitted. (¶0039 Sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted by the UE may include a discovery message indicator indicating that a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) is related to the discovery message. & ¶0104 For example, UE1 may transmit sidelink control information (SCI) to UE2 on a PSCCH, and then transmit data based on the SCI to UE2 on a PSSCH. & ¶0111 the UE may autonomously select or schedule SL transmission resources. For example, the UE may select resources in a configured resource pool on its own and perform SL communication in the selected resources.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng and Baek’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Back’s teaching of the discovery message being transmitted on a PSSCH associated with configuration information of a PSCCH, because it would allow sidelink control information to be sent without a dedicated discovery channel. (see Back ¶0157)
Re. Claim 13, Cheng combined with Baek and Back teach claim 12.
Cheng further teaches:
further comprising: determining a radio configuration parameter for the first terminal in at least one of the following schemes: (¶0157-¶0158 The remote UE 115-g may monitor a discovery resource pool 425 for the one or more broadcasted discovery messages 420 during the active DRX duration 410. The discovery resource pool 425 may be a set of time and frequency resources assigned to the remote UE 115-g for sidelink operations, and more specifically for monitoring the discovery messages 420. [i.e. the remote UE monitors (determines] a radioi configuration parameter for the remote UE (first terminal))
the first terminal uses a pre-configured radio configuration parameter when the first terminal is out of a coverage of a network device; (¶0158 A resource pool may be a reception resource pool or a transmission resource pool, or a combination thereof. These may be either signaled by a base station 105 for an in coverage case, or preconfigured for an out-of-coverage case. In the example of FIG. 4, the discovery resource pool 425 may be a reception resource pool. The discovery resource pool 425 may be a set of time and frequency resources assigned to the remote UE 115-g for sidelink operations, and more specifically for monitoring the discovery messages 420.)
or the first terminal uses a radio configuration parameter broadcasted by the network device when the first terminal is within the coverage of the network device. (¶0158 A resource pool may be a reception resource pool or a transmission resource pool, or a combination thereof. These may be either signaled by a base station 105 for an in coverage case, or preconfigured for an out-of-coverage case. In the example of FIG. 4, the discovery resource pool 425 may be a reception resource pool. The discovery resource pool 425 may be a set of time and frequency resources assigned to the remote UE 115-g for sidelink operations, and more specifically for monitoring the discovery messages 420.)
Re. Claim 21, Cheng combined with Baek and Back teach claim 13.
Cheng further teaches:
wherein that the first terminal uses a radio configuration parameter broadcasted by the network device when the first terminal is within the coverage of the network device comprises at least one of: (¶0158 A resource pool may be a reception resource pool or a transmission resource pool, or a combination thereof. These may be either signaled by a base station 105 for an in coverage case, or preconfigured for an out-of-coverage case. In the example of FIG. 4, the discovery resource pool 425 may be a reception resource pool. The discovery resource pool 425 may be a set of time and frequency resources assigned to the remote UE 115-g for sidelink operations, and more specifically for monitoring the discovery messages 420.)
or the first terminal uses a radio resource and parameter broadcasted by the network device . (¶0007 The apparatus may include means for transmitting sidelink DRX information to a base station while operating in a connected mode, receiving a message including a sidelink DRX configuration from the base station based on the sidelink DRX information, and operating according to the sidelink DRX configuration. & ¶0152 In the example of FIG. 3, the UE 115-e may be operating in a connected mode. That is, the UE 115-b may to begin with having a direct connection (e.g., via a Uu interface) with the base station 105-b. & ¶0157-¶0158 The remote UE 115-g may monitor a discovery resource pool 425 for the one or more broadcasted discovery messages 420 during the active DRX duration 410. & A resource pool may be a reception resource pool or a transmission resource pool, or a combination thereof. These may be either signaled by a base station 105 for an in coverage case, or preconfigured for an out-of-coverage case. & ¶0177 The UE communications manager 815 may transmit sidelink DRX information to a base station while operating in a connected mode, receive a message including a sidelink DRX configuration from the base station based on the sidelink DRX information, and operate according to the sidelink DRX configuration.)
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng combined with Baek, Back, and further in view of Liu (US 2023/0023135 A1, previously cited in PTO-892 filed 3/27/2025), hereinafter “Liu”, and also further in view of Peng (US 2015/0094073 A1, previously cited in PTO-892 filed 3/27/2025), hereinafter referred to as “Peng”.
Re. Claim 11, Cheng combined with Baek and Back teaches claim 10.
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the selected SL SRB is SRB0.
However, in the analogous art, Liu teaches such a limitation:
wherein the selected SL SRB is SRB0, (¶0122 In the relay related discovery procedure and/or connection establishment procedure, for example, the first broadcast address discovery request and/or establishment request message is transmitted by using SRB0 [i.e. used (selected) SL SRB is SRB0] for which security is not activated,)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Cheng, Baek and Back’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Liu’s teaching of the selected SL SRB being SRB0, because it would allow the relay discovery procedure to operate initially when security is not activated in order to broadcast direct communication requests. (see Liu ¶0118 & ¶0122)
Yet, the combined reference does not explicitly teach: and the LCID of SRB0 is 0.
However, in the analogous art, Peng teaches such a limitation:
and the LCID of SRB0 is 0. (¶0159 As shown in FIG. 7, logical channel identifies (LCID) corresponding to SRB0/2/3 are 0, 1, and 2 respectively.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine Cheng, Baek, Back and Liu’s invention of Discontinuous reception for sidelink communications in wireless communications systems to include Peng’s teaching of the LCID of SRBO being 0, because it would allow for the mapping of the logical channel for control plane signaling as a discovery channel. (see Peng ¶0004)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Paladugu et al. (US 2025/0184879 A1); Fig. 5 and at least ¶0072 disclose that a remote UE interested in relay service may discover a relay UE in part by monitoring relay service code within a discovery message procedure, which is used for identifying a connectivity service the relay UE provides (information on services supported).
Ebrahim Rezagah et al. (US 2022/0337990 A1); at least ¶0035 discloses remote UE performing measurments of signal strength of discovery messages in order to determine potential relays for selection based on a signal strength threshold.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY A MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4423. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri :30.
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, Rebecca Song can be reached at 571-270-3667. 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.
/G.A.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417