DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to communications filed on October 3, 2025. Claims 1, 3, 10, 12, 19, and 20 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 10 have been amended to recite the limitation “wherein the MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value.” Claim 19 has been amended to recite “wherein the first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises an indication of a first modulation and coding scheme (MCS), wherein the first MCS is associated with a first maximum value and a first minimum value” and “wherein the second set of D2D transmission parameters comprises a second MCS, wherein the second MCS is associated with a second maximum value and a second minimum value”.
The specification, at various instances, makes reference to a maximum relay count and a maximum validity time (See [0171] and [0172] of the written description as filed). The specification also recites features related to minimization of interference (See [0122] of the written description as filed) and minimizing transmission timing overlap (See [0140] of the written description as filed). However, there is no disclosure in the written description of any maximum or minimum values associated with a modulation and coding scheme.
Claims 2-9 depend from claim 1 and are rejected based on the same reasoning. Claims 11-18 depend from claim 10 and are rejected based on the same reasoning. Claim 20 depends from claim 19 is are rejected based on the same reasoning.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1 and 10 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, 8, 11, 13, and 19 of U.S. Patent No. 11,570,754. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1 and 10 of the present application are obvious based on claims 1, 3, 8, 11, 13, and 19 of U.S. Patent No. 11,570,754 in view of Deng et al. (US 2018/0026741).
Present application:
1. A method implemented by a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:
receiving configuration information indicating a plurality of measurement ranges for a device to device (D2D) resource pool, each measurement range being associated with a respective set of one or more D2D transmission parameters;
performing measurements associated with resources in the D2D resource pool,
wherein the measurements are associated with resources corresponding to one or more of a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH);
selecting a first set of D2D transmission parameters of the respective sets of D2D transmission parameters based on the measurements, wherein the first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and wherein the first set of D2D transmission parameters is selected based on the measurements being within a first measurement range of the plurality of measurement ranges indicated in the configuration information; and
performing a D2D transmission using the D2D resource pool in accordance with the selected first set of D2D transmission parameters.
wherein the MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value
US 11,570,754:
1. A method, implemented by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), for performing Device-to-Device (D2D) communications using a wireless network, the method comprising:
receiving configuration information associated with D2D transmission adaption;
[8. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information associated with D2D transmission adaption comprises a table that indicates a measured energy threshold associated with a transmission parameter.]
measuring energy of resources associated with a resource pool;
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transmission is a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) transmission or a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) transmission
determining that resource usage of the resources exceeds a threshold based on the measurements; determining a number of allowed retransmissions for a first transmission sent via the resources of the resource pool based on the configuration information and the determination that the resource usage of the resources exceeds the threshold; determining a transmit power and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for the first transmission based on the configuration information and the determination that the resource usage of the resources exceeds the threshold; and
transmitting the first transmission over at least one of the resources associated with the resource pool using the determined transmit power and MCS.
Claim 1 does not recite that the MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value. However, Deng teaches that the MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value (“target MCS grade of current traffic can be known from the correspondence between the SINR mapping ranges and the MCS grades” – See [0080]; See also Table 1; The MCS is associated with a maximum value (e.g., MCS3_H) and a minimum value (e.g., MCS3_L)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Claim 1 such that MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value. Motivation for doing so would be to provide a plurality of MCS grades wherein each grade is associated with a range of MCS values (See Deng, [0079]).
Claim 10 is rejected based on similar reasoning as given above.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4-11, and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae et al. (US 2017/0272299) in view of Seo et al. (US 2015/0078270) and Deng et al. (US 2018/0026741).
Regarding Claim 1, Lee teaches a method implemented by a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:
receiving configuration information indicating a plurality of measurement ranges for a device to device (D2D) resource pool, each measurement range being associated with a respective set of one or more D2D transmission parameters (“In more detail, one or more resource pools for discovery transmission may be configured, and an RSRP (or value related to received signal strength, such as RSRQ) range may be configured in each of one or more resource pools” – See [0083]; “the D2D signal transmission UE may transmit a D2D communication packet by configuring repetition times and a transmission power in accordance with the target range” – See [0087]; “The repetition times according to signal strength (or transmission power) of the eNB may be configured previously, or may be transferred by a network through physical layer signaling (SIB, PDCCH/EPDCCH, etc.) or higher layer signaling (RRC signaling) … If the configuration such as Table 1 is signaled to the UE, a threshold value of each boundary and repetition times of each region may be included in the physical layer or higher layer signal” – See [0090]; See also Table 1; The UE/WTRU receives configuration information indicating a plurality of RSRP ranges corresponding to a D2D resource pool, wherein each range is associated with a D2D transmission parameter such as repetition number, transmit power, etc.);
performing measurements associated with resources in the D2D resource pool (“if RSRP is within a certain threshold value or more” – See [0089]; The UE measures the RSRP in association with determining transmission parameters for transmissions in the resources of the D2D resource pool),
wherein the measurements are associated with resources corresponding to one or more of a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) or physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (“All or some of the methods which will be described hereinafter may be used for transmission power mask configuration of a PSDCH (Physical sidelink discovery channel) and a PSCCH (Physical sidelink control channel)” – See [0121]; “a PSDCH/PSCCH/PSSCH time mask may be the same as that shown in FIG. 18” – See [0137]; The resources correspond to a PSCCH/PSSCH);
selecting a first set of D2D transmission parameters of the respective sets of D2D transmission parameters based on the measurements, wherein the first set of D2D transmission parameters is selected based on the measurements being within a first measurement range of the plurality of measurement ranges indicated in the configuration information (“For example, if RSRP is within a certain threshold value or more, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to M times, and if RSRP is the threshold value or less, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to N times. In this case, since a lower transmission power of the discovery signal is configured if RSRP becomes great (that is, closer to eNB), M may be configured to be greater than N, whereby coverage loss due to the transmission power may be compensated by repeated transmission. According to more generalized description, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured previously in accordance with RSRP as illustrated in Table 1 below” – See [0089]; See also Table 1; The UE selects a first set of D2D transmission parameters (e.g., M2) based on the RSRP measurement, wherein the measured RSRP is in the range between P1 and P2, wherein the ranges were indicated in the configuration information, as shown above); and
performing a D2D transmission using the D2D resource pool in accordance with the selected first set of D2D transmission parameters (“the D2D signal transmission UE may transmit a D2D communication packet by configuring repetition times and a transmission power in accordance with the target range” – See [0087]; The UE transmits the D2D signal using the D2D resource pool using the selected parameters).
Chae does not explicitly teach that the first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS).
However, Seo teaches that the first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) (“In the example of FIG. 11, it will be assumed that operation is performed at MCS level n, when a SINR range corresponds to [SINR1, SINR2], and that operation is performed at MCS level n+1, when a SINR range corresponds to [SINR2, SINR3] … the D2D receiving terminal may measure the SINR value” – See [0140]; “the exemplary operation SINR range for each MCS level of FIG. 11 may correspond to a value commonly notified by the base station with respect to an overall cell” – See [0141]; The D2D transmission parameters include an MCS level).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chae such that the first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Motivation for doing so would be to allow the WTRU to use a higher MCS when the channel conditions are suitable (See Seo, [0129]).
Chae and Seo do not explicitly teach that the MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value.
However, Deng teaches that the MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value (“target MCS grade of current traffic can be known from the correspondence between the SINR mapping ranges and the MCS grades” – See [0080]; See also Table 1; The MCS is associated with a maximum value (e.g., MCS3_H) and a minimum value (e.g., MCS3_L)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chae such that MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value. Motivation for doing so would be to provide a plurality of MCS grades wherein each grade is associated with a range of MCS values (See Deng, [0079]).
Regarding Claim 2, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 1. Chae further teaches that the selected first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises a number of transmissions for the D2D transmission in the D2D resource pool (“For example, if RSRP is within a certain threshold value or more, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to M times, and if RSRP is the threshold value or less, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to N times. In this case, since a lower transmission power of the discovery signal is configured if RSRP becomes great (that is, closer to eNB), M may be configured to be greater than N, whereby coverage loss due to the transmission power may be compensated by repeated transmission. According to more generalized description, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured previously in accordance with RSRP as illustrated in Table 1 below” – See [0089]; See also Table 1; The D2D transmission parameters comprise a number of repetitions (number of transmissions) for the D2D transmission).
Regarding Claim 4, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 1. Chae further teaches that the selected first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises a transmission power for the D2D transmission in the D2D resource pool (“if signal strength RSRP, RSRQ from the eNB is a threshold value or less, which is previously set, the discovery signal may be transmitted at a previously configured transmission power XdBm, and if the signal strength is the threshold value or more, the discovery signal may be transmitted at YdBm … This step type transmission power configuration is not limited to two steps, and may be generalized by configuration of M transmission power values” – See [0081]; The D2D transmission parameters further include a transmission power for the D2D transmission).
Regarding Claim 5, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 1. Chae further teaches that the configuration information comprises an indication of a respective maximum threshold for each of the plurality of measurement ranges (See Table 1; As shown in Table 1, the maximum threshold for parameter M1 is P1, the maximum threshold for parameter M2 is P2, the maximum threshold for parameter MT is PT, and so on).
Regarding Claim 6, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 5. Chae further teaches that each of the plurality of measurement ranges is associated with a respective minimum threshold (See Table 1; As shown in Table 1, the minimum threshold for parameter M2 is P1, the minimum threshold for parameter MT is PT-1, and so on).
Regarding Claim 7, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 6. Chae further teaches that selecting the first set of D2D transmission parameters of the respective sets of D2D transmission parameters based on the measurements comprises selecting the first set of D2D transmission parameters of the respective sets of D2D transmission parameters based on the measurements indicating resource usage that is below a respective maximum threshold associated with the first measurement range and that is above a respective minimum threshold associated with the first measurement range (See Table 1; The set of parameters M2 is selected when the RSRP measurement indicates received power levels below maximum threshold P2 and above minimum threshold P1).
Regarding Claim 8, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 1. Chae further teaches that each measurement range corresponds to a resource usage range associated with of the D2D resource pool (See Table 1; Each of the ranges shown in the leftmost column of Table 1 corresponds to a received power range associated with the D2D resource pool).
Regarding Claim 9, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 1. Chae further teaches that the measurements comprise signal strength measurements performed to determine an amount of resources that are being used by other WTRUs in the D2D resource pool (See Table 1; The RSRP measurements are reception power (signal strength) measurements that determine an amount of resources being used).
Claim 10 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 1.
Claim 11 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 2.
Claim 13 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 4.
Claim 14 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 5.
Claim 15 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 6.
Claim 16 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 7.
Claim 17 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 8.
Claim 18 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 9.
Regarding Claim 19, Chae teaches a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) comprising a processor and memory (“the UE 20 according to the present invention may include … a processor 23, a memory 24” – See [0161]; “When implemented by firmware or software, the method according to the embodiments of the present invention may be embodied by a module, a procedure, or a function that performs the functions or operations described above. Software code may be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor” – See [0168]), the processor and memory configured to:
receive configuration information indicating a first measurement range and a second measurement range associated with device to device (D2D) resource pool, the first measurement range being associated with a first set of one or more D2D transmission parameters, the second measurement range being associated with a second set of one or more transmission parameters, wherein the configuration information indicates a first maximum threshold associated with the first transmission range and a second maximum threshold associated with the second transmission range (“In more detail, one or more resource pools for discovery transmission may be configured, and an RSRP (or value related to received signal strength, such as RSRQ) range may be configured in each of one or more resource pools” – See [0083]; “the D2D signal transmission UE may transmit a D2D communication packet by configuring repetition times and a transmission power in accordance with the target range” – See [0087]; “The repetition times according to signal strength (or transmission power) of the eNB may be configured previously, or may be transferred by a network through physical layer signaling (SIB, PDCCH/EPDCCH, etc.) or higher layer signaling (RRC signaling) … If the configuration such as Table 1 is signaled to the UE, a threshold value of each boundary and repetition times of each region may be included in the physical layer or higher layer signal” – See [0090]; See also Table 1; The UE/WTRU receives configuration information indicating a plurality of RSRP ranges corresponding to a D2D resource pool, wherein each range is associated with a D2D transmission parameter such as repetition number, transmit power, etc. For example, a first measurement range defined by P1 < R < P2 is associated with a first set of parameters M2, and a second measurement range defined by PT-1 < R < PT is associated with a second set of parameters M2, wherein P2 is the maximum threshold associated with the first range and PT is the maximum threshold associated with the second range);
perform measurements associated with resources in the D2D resource pool (“if RSRP is within a certain threshold value or more” – See [0089]; The UE measures the RSRP in association with determining transmission parameters for transmissions in the resources of the D2D resource pool),
wherein the measurements are associated with resources corresponding to one or more of a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) or physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (“All or some of the methods which will be described hereinafter may be used for transmission power mask configuration of a PSDCH (Physical sidelink discovery channel) and a PSCCH (Physical sidelink control channel)” – See [0121]; “a PSDCH/PSCCH/PSSCH time mask may be the same as that shown in FIG. 18” – See [0137]; The resources correspond to a PSCCH/PSSCH);
select the first set of D2D transmission parameters of the respective sets of D2D transmission parameters if the measurements indicate that resource usage in the D2D transmission pool corresponds to the first measurement range or select the second set of D2D transmission parameters of the respective sets of D2D transmission parameters if the measurements indicate that resource usage in the D2D transmission pool corresponds to the second measurement range (“For example, if RSRP is within a certain threshold value or more, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to M times, and if RSRP is the threshold value or less, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to N times. In this case, since a lower transmission power of the discovery signal is configured if RSRP becomes great (that is, closer to eNB), M may be configured to be greater than N, whereby coverage loss due to the transmission power may be compensated by repeated transmission. According to more generalized description, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured previously in accordance with RSRP as illustrated in Table 1 below” – See [0089]; See also Table 1; The UE selects a first set of D2D transmission parameters (e.g., M2) when the measurement is within the first range, and the UE selects a second set of D2D transmission parameters (e.g., MT) when the measurement is within the second range); and
perform a D2D transmission using the D2D resource pool in accordance with the selected first or second set of D2D transmission parameters (“the D2D signal transmission UE may transmit a D2D communication packet by configuring repetition times and a transmission power in accordance with the target range” – See [0087]; The UE transmits the D2D signal using the D2D resource pool using the selected parameters).
Chae does not explicitly teach that the D2D transmission parameters comprise an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS).
However, Seo teaches D2D transmission parameters comprising an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) (“In the example of FIG. 11, it will be assumed that operation is performed at MCS level n, when a SINR range corresponds to [SINR1, SINR2], and that operation is performed at MCS level n+1, when a SINR range corresponds to [SINR2, SINR3] … the D2D receiving terminal may measure the SINR value” – See [0140]; “the exemplary operation SINR range for each MCS level of FIG. 11 may correspond to a value commonly notified by the base station with respect to an overall cell” – See [0141]; The D2D transmission parameters include an MCS level).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chae such that the D2D transmission parameters comprise an indication of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Motivation for doing so would be to allow the WTRU to use a higher MCS when the channel conditions are suitable (See Seo, [0129]).
Chae and Seo do not explicitly teach a first MCS associated with a first maximum value and a first minimum value and a second MCS associated with a second maximum value and a second minimum value.
However, Deng teaches a first MCS associated with a first maximum value and a first minimum value and a second MCS associated with a second maximum value and a second minimum value (“target MCS grade of current traffic can be known from the correspondence between the SINR mapping ranges and the MCS grades” – See [0080]; See also Table 1; A first MCS grade is associated with a first maximum value (e.g., MCS3_H) and a first minimum value (e.g., MCS3_L) and a second MCS grade is associated with a second maximum value (e.g., MCS2_H) and a second minimum value (e.g., MCS2_L)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chae such that a first MCS is associated with a first maximum value and a first minimum value and a second MCS is associated with a second maximum value and a second minimum value for the same reasons as those give with respect to Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 20, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the WTRU of Claim 19. Chae further teaches that the first set of D2D transmission parameters is associated with a first number of transmissions for the D2D transmission and a first power level for the D2D transmission, and the second set of D2D transmission parameters is associated with a second number of transmissions for the D2D transmission and a second power level for the D2D transmission (“For example, if RSRP is within a certain threshold value or more, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to M times, and if RSRP is the threshold value or less, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured to N times. In this case, since a lower transmission power of the discovery signal is configured if RSRP becomes great (that is, closer to eNB), M may be configured to be greater than N, whereby coverage loss due to the transmission power may be compensated by repeated transmission. According to more generalized description, the repetition times of the discovery signal may be configured previously in accordance with RSRP as illustrated in Table 1 below” – See [0089]; “if signal strength RSRP, RSRQ from the eNB is a threshold value or less, which is previously set, the discovery signal may be transmitted at a previously configured transmission power XdBm, and if the signal strength is the threshold value or more, the discovery signal may be transmitted at YdBm … This step type transmission power configuration is not limited to two steps, and may be generalized by configuration of M transmission power values” – See [0081]; See also Table 1; The first set of D2D transmission parameters includes a first repetition number M2 (first number of transmissions for the D2D transmission) and a first transmission power level XdBm. The second set of D2D transmission parameters includes a second repetition number MT (second number of transmissions for the D2D transmission) and a second transmission power level YdBm).
Claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae et al. (US 2017/0272299) in view of Seo et al. (US 2015/0078270) and Deng et al. (US 2018/0026741) and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2017/0303215).
Regarding Claim 3, Chae in view of Seo and Deng teaches the method of Claim 1. Chae, Seo, and Deng do not explicitly teach that the WTRU drops at least one D2D transmission based on detecting a given level of channel usage.
However, Kim teaches that the WTRU drops at least one D2D transmission based on detecting a given level of channel usage (“In FIG. 61, when an overlapped duration is greater than the threshold value (6110), transmission of the D2D signal is dropped in the entirety of the subframe #n+1 (FIG. 61a), and when the overlapped duration is smaller than the threshold value (6120), the D2D signal is not dropped but normally transmitted (FIG. 61b)” – See [1139]; The D2D transmission is dropped based on an amount of overlap with another transmission in the subframe (level of channel usage)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chae such that the WTRU drops at least one D2D transmission based on detecting a given level of channel usage. Motivation for doing so would be to avoid interference between carriers (See Kim, [0971]).
Claim 12 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 3.
Response to Arguments
On page 9 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Chae does not teach “wherein the measurements are associated with resources corresponding to one or more of a PSCCH or PSSCH.” Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Claim 1 does not specify precisely how the resources correspond to the PSCCH/PSSCH. According to the broadest reasonable interpretation, this may include measurements associated with resources that correspond (in any way) to a PSCCH or PSSCH. In Chae, RSRP measurements are performed as part of a discovery between D2D UEs, wherein the D2D communications are associated with resources corresponding to a PSCCH/PSSCH (“All or some of the methods which will be described hereinafter may be used for transmission power mask configuration of a PSDCH (Physical sidelink discovery channel) and a PSCCH (Physical sidelink control channel)” – See [0121]; “a PSDCH/PSCCH/PSSCH time mask may be the same as that shown in FIG. 18” – See [0137]).
On pages 9-11 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Chae does not teach “wherein the first set of D2D transmission parameters comprises a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for the D2D transmission in the D2D resource pool, wherein the MCS is associated with a maximum value and a minimum value,” as recited in independent claim 1. Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot based on the new grounds of rejection. In response to the amended limitations, the Examiner relies upon the previously cited Seo reference as well as the newly cited Deng reference.
On pages 11-12 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Seo does not teach “a WTRU drops at least one D2D transmission based on detecting a given level of channel usage,” as recited in dependent claim 3. Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot based on the new grounds of rejection. In response to the amended limitations, the Examiner relies upon the newly cited Kim reference.
Conclusion
Applicant’s amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott M Sciacca whose telephone number is (571)270-1919. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday, 7:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST.
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/SCOTT M SCIACCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478