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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/ has been entered.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. CN 202010785754.8, filed on 08/06/2020.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4, 6-11, 13-18, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuang et al. (2022/0338178), hereinafter Kuang in view of Wu, Zuomin (2022/0201750), hereinafter Wu, and Wang, Junwei (WO 2021/081700 A1), hereinafter Wang.
Re. Claims 1 and 19, Kuang teaches a channel access method for an unlicensed spectrum, comprising: executing, by a terminal, a first event, wherein the first event is that the terminal receives a channel access parameter configured by a network side device for an unlicensed spectrum (¶0153 - In order to improve coordination between UEs and gNB in unlicensed operation, the gNB can transmit information in its radio cell about the channel occupancy status, e.g., when the gNB acquires the unlicensed channel and/or when the gNB stops occupying the unlicensed channel. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”), wherein the channel access parameter for the unlicensed spectrum comprises an energy detection (ED) threshold, OR the first event is that the terminal obtains a channel occupancy status of the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum (¶0153 - In order to improve coordination between UEs and gNB in unlicensed operation, the gNB can transmit information in its radio cell about the channel occupancy status, e.g., when the gNB acquires the unlicensed channel and/or when the gNB stops occupying the unlicensed channel);
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach performing, by the terminal, channel access for the unlicensed spectrum based on the first event
However, Wu explicitly teaches performing, by the terminal, channel access for the unlicensed spectrum based on the first event (¶0063 - a first type of channel access is performed according to a channel access parameter corresponding to a channel access priority P).
Yet, the combination of Kuang and Wu does not expressly teach wherein the channel access parameter for the unlicensed spectrum comprises at least one of: sending, by the terminal, a sidelink (SL) signal and/or a Uu signal in a case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds.
However, Wang explicitly teaches sending, by the terminal, a sidelink (SL) signal and/or a Uu signal in a case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds (Pg. 19, Line 30 - the data on the sidelink of the unlicensed spectrum is unicast and is transmitted in both directions… Pg. 16, Line 13 - the first terminal device can perform uplink control when receiving the instruction information…).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu and Wang to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches performing channel access based on the first event (Wu, ¶0063) and Wang provides a sharing mode using an SL signal or Uu signal (Wang, Pg. 19 Line 30). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claims 10 and 20, Kuang teaches a channel access method for an unlicensed spectrum, comprising: initiating, by a network side device, channel access for an unlicensed spectrum to enable a terminal to obtain a channel occupancy status of the network side device (¶0153 - In order to improve coordination between UEs and gNB in unlicensed operation, the gNB can transmit information in its radio cell about the channel occupancy status, e.g., when the gNB acquires the unlicensed channel and/or when the gNB stops occupying the unlicensed channel. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”), OR configuring, by the network side device, a channel access parameter of the unlicensed spectrum for a terminal wherein the channel access parameter for the unlicensed spectrum comprises at least one of: an energy detection (ED) threshold, OR the first event is that the terminal obtains a channel occupancy status of the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum (¶0153 - In order to improve coordination between UEs and gNB in unlicensed operation, the gNB can transmit information in its radio cell about the channel occupancy status, e.g., when the gNB acquires the unlicensed channel and/or when the gNB stops occupying the unlicensed channel.); Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach performing, by the terminal, channel access for the unlicensed spectrum based on the first event
However, Wu explicitly teaches performing, by the terminal, channel access for the unlicensed spectrum based on the first event (¶0063 - a first type of channel access is performed according to a channel access parameter corresponding to a channel access priority P).
Yet, the combination of Kuang and Wu does not expressly teach wherein the channel access parameter for the unlicensed spectrum comprises at least one of: sending, by the terminal, a sidelink (SL) signal and/or a Uu signal in a case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds.
However, Wang explicitly teaches sending, by the terminal, a sidelink (SL) signal and/or a Uu signal in a case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds (Pg. 19, Line 30 - the data on the sidelink of the unlicensed spectrum is unicast and is transmitted in both directions… Pg. 16, Line 13 - the first terminal device can perform uplink control when receiving the instruction information…).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu and Wang to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches performing channel access based on the first event (Wu, ¶0063) and Wang provides a sharing mode using an SL signal or Uu signal (Wang, Pg. 19 Line 30). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 2, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach claim 1.
However, Kuang does not explicitly teach a first channel access parameter or a second channel access parameter, wherein the first channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing channel access in load-based equipment (LBE) mode; and the second channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing channel access in frame-based equipment (FBE) mode.
Yet, Wu expressly teaches a first channel access parameter or a second channel access parameter, wherein the first channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing channel access in load-based equipment (LBE) mode (¶0036 - a mode by which a communication device obtains channel occupancy time may be a channel access mode of Load-based equipment (LBE), that is, the communication device may perform LBT on an unlicensed spectrum after a service arrives, and start sending of signals after the LBT is successful); and the second channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing channel access in frame-based equipment (FBE) mode (¶0036-0037 - it may be a channel access mode of Frame-based equipment (FBE), that is, the communication device periodically performs the LBT on an unlicensed spectrum).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches both a first and second channel access parameter for LBT and FBE channel access modes (Wu, ¶0036). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claims 3, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 2.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach the first channel access parameter comprises at least one of following: clear channel assess (CCA) duration, contention window length, channel occupancy length, OR the ED threshold; and/or the second channel access parameter comprises at least one: a frame start position, a frame offset, a frame period length, the CCA duration, the channel occupancy length, an idle period length, the or ED threshold.
However, Wu explicitly teaches wherein the first channel access parameter comprises at least one of following: clear channel assess (CCA) duration, contention window length (¶0033 - a channel access mode of a communication device is multi-slot channel detection based on random backoff of a fixed contention window size. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “And/Or”), channel occupancy length, OR the ED threshold; and/or the second channel access parameter comprises at least one: a frame start position, a frame offset, a frame period length, the CCA duration, the channel occupancy length, an idle period length, the or ED threshold.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches where the first channel access parameter includes a contention window length (Wu, ¶0033). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 4, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach claim 1.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach wherein the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum is performed based on the first event in any one of the following modes: LBE mode and FBE mode.
However, Wu explicitly teaches wherein the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum is performed based on the first event in any one of the following modes: LBE mode and FBE mode (¶0036 - a mode by which a communication device obtains channel occupancy time may be a channel access mode of Load-based equipment (LBE)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches wherein the channel access is performed in either an LBE mode or an FBE mode (Wu, ¶0036). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 6, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 1.
Yet, the combination of Kuang and Wu does not expressly teach wherein the sending, by the terminal, the SL signal and/or Uu signal comprises at least one of following: sending, by the terminal, only the SL signal or sending, by the terminal, the SL signal and/or Uu signal in a time division multiplexing (TDM) mode.
However, Wang explicitly teaches wherein the sending, by the terminal, the SL signal and/or Uu signal comprises at least one of following: sending, by the terminal, only the SL signal (Pg. 19, Line 30 - the data on the sidelink of the unlicensed spectrum is unicast and is transmitted in both directions… Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of both “Or” and “And/Or”); or sending, by the terminal, the SL signal and/or Uu signal in a time division multiplexing (TDM) mode.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wang to the teaching of Kuang and Wu. The motivation for such would be as Wang provides a sendable information using an SL signal (Wang, Pg. 19 Line 30). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 7, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 1.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach wherein in the case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds, the method further comprises: obtaining, by the terminal, channel occupancy time (COT); and sharing, by the terminal, the COT with the network side device or another terminal; and/or in the case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds, the method further comprises at least one of following: sending, by the terminal, first control information to the network side device in a case that the terminal performs the access successfully via a plurality of carriers or a plurality of listen before talk (LBT) sub-bands; or sending, by the terminal, second control information to another terminal in the case that the terminal performs the access successfully via a plurality of carriers or a plurality of LBT sub-bands, wherein each of the first control information and the second control information is used to indicate at least one of following: a quantity of carriers shared with the network side device, a number of a carrier shared with the network side device, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared to the network side device, or a number of an LBT sub-band shared with the network side device and the second control information is used to indicate at least one of: a quantity of carriers shared with the network side device, a number of a carrier shared with the network side device, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared with the network side device, a number of an LBT sub-band shared with the network side device, a quantity of component carriers shared with another terminal, a number of a component carrier shared with another terminal, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared with another terminal, or a number of an LBT sub-band shared with another terminal.
However, Wu explicitly teaches wherein in the case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds, the method further comprises: obtaining, by the terminal, channel occupancy time (COT) (¶0006 - wherein the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource are time domain resources in Channel Occupancy Time (COT) acquired by the terminal); and sharing, by the terminal, the COT with the network side device or another terminal (¶0007 - there is provided an apparatus for transmitting data on an unlicensed spectrum, which includes: an acquisition module configured to acquire Channel Occupancy Time (COT). Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “And/Or”); and/or in the case that the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum succeeds, the method further comprises at least one of following: sending, by the terminal, first control information to the network side device in a case that the terminal performs the access successfully via a plurality of carriers or a plurality of listen before talk (LBT) sub-bands; or sending, by the terminal, second control information to another terminal in the case that the terminal performs the access successfully via a plurality of carriers or a plurality of LBT sub-bands, wherein each of the first control information and the second control information is used to indicate at least one of following: a quantity of carriers shared with the network side device, a number of a carrier shared with the network side device, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared to the network side device, or a number of an LBT sub-band shared with the network side device and the second control information is used to indicate at least one of: a quantity of carriers shared with the network side device, a number of a carrier shared with the network side device, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared with the network side device, a number of an LBT sub-band shared with the network side device, a quantity of component carriers shared with another terminal, a number of a component carrier shared with another terminal, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared with another terminal, or a number of an LBT sub-band shared with another terminal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches obtaining the COT and sending it to another terminal (Wu, ¶0006-0007). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 8, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 7.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach wherein sendable information and/or a sharing mode is configured by the network side device, wherein the sendable information comprises at least one: the SL signal, the Uu signal, the first control information, or the second control information; and the sharing mode comprises at least one: a mode in which sharing the COT is not allowed, a mode in which the COT is shared with the network side device, or a mode in which the COT is shared with the another terminal; and/or processes of sending different information in sendable information correspond to different ED thresholds, and different sharing modes correspond to different ED thresholds, wherein the sendable information comprises at least one of following: the SL signal, the Uu signal, the first control information, or the second control information; and the sharing modes comprise at least one: a mode in which sharing the COT is not allowed, a mode in which the COT is shared with the network side device, or a mode in which the COT is shared with the another terminal.
However, Wu explicitly teaches wherein sendable information and/or a sharing mode is configured by the network side device (¶0080 - The parameter indication information is configured by the network device for the terminal), wherein the sendable information comprises at least one: the SL signal, the Uu signal, the first control information (¶0091 - the first information includes at least one of: indication information of COT sharing. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”), OR the second control information; and the sharing mode comprises at least one: a mode in which sharing the COT is not allowed, a mode in which the COT is shared with the network side device, OR a mode in which the COT is shared with the another terminal (¶0081 - the parameter indication information is an RRC parameter configured by the network device for COT sharing of the terminal. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “And/Or”); and/or processes of sending different information in sendable information correspond to different ED thresholds, and different sharing modes correspond to different ED thresholds, wherein the sendable information comprises at least one of following: the SL signal, the Uu signal, the first control information, or the second control information; and the sharing modes comprise at least one: a mode in which sharing the COT is not allowed, a mode in which the COT is shared with the network side device, or a mode in which the COT is shared with the another terminal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches wherein the sendable information includes control information pertaining to a mode where a COT is sent to another terminal (Wu, ¶0080-0081, ¶0090). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 9, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 1.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach sending, by the terminal, first indication information to the network side device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate an ED threshold and/or a sharing mode currently used by the terminal; and the sharing mode comprises at least one: a mode in which sharing the COT is not allowed, a mode in which the COT is shared with the network side device, or a mode in which the COT is shared with another terminal.
However, Wu explicitly teaches sending, by the terminal, first indication information to the network side device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate an ED threshold and/or a sharing mode currently used by the terminal (¶0080 - The parameter indication information is configured by the network device for the terminal. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “And/Or”)); and the sharing mode comprises at least one: a mode in which sharing the COT is not allowed, a mode in which the COT is shared with the network side device, OR a mode in which the COT is shared with another terminal (¶0081 - the parameter indication information is an RRC parameter configured by the network device for COT sharing of the terminal. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches information regarding sharing a COT between terminals (Wu, ¶0080-0081). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 11, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 16.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach at least one of: sharing, by the network side device, a first channel occupancy time (COT) with the terminal after successfully initiating the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the first COT is used by the terminal for sending an SL signal; or sharing, by the network side device, a second COT with the terminal after successfully initiating the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the second COT is used by the terminal for sending an SL signal and a Uu signal.
However, Wu explicitly teaches at least one of following: sharing, by the network side device, first COT with the terminal after successfully initiating the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the first COT is used by the terminal for sending an SL signal (¶0085 - another transmission, which is uplink transmission or sidelink transmission of the terminal, is also included between the target uplink transmission and the target downlink transmission. ¶0087 - the terminal acquires the COT and sends the target uplink transmission to the network device through the first time domain resource in the COT, so that the network device may perform the target downlink transmission using the second time domain resource in the COT, so that the network device may have a higher probability of accessing the unlicensed spectrum. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”); OR sharing, by the network side device, second COT with the terminal after successfully initiating the channel access for the unlicensed spectrum, wherein the second COT is used by the terminal for sending an SL signal and a Uu signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches sending by a side device COT information for sending a SL signal (Wu, ¶0085). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 13, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 16.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach receiving, by the network side device, first control information sent by the terminal, wherein the first control information is sent by the terminal to the network side device after successful access of a plurality of carriers or a plurality of LBT sub-bands; and the first control information is used to indicate at least one of following: a quantity of carriers shared with the network side device, a number of a carrier shared with the network side device, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared to the network side device, or a number of an LBT sub-band shared with the network side device.
However, Wu explicitly teaches receiving, by the network side device, first control information sent by the terminal, wherein the first control information is sent by the terminal to the network side device after successful access of a plurality of carriers or a plurality of LBT sub-bands (¶0039 - The network device performs LBT (which, for example, may be single slot channel detection) on an unlicensed spectrum in gap time. If the LBT is successful, channel occupancy time in a next fixed frame period may be used for transmission of signals… In other words, channel resources that may be used by the communication device for sending services occur periodically); and the first control information is used to indicate at least one of following: a quantity of carriers shared with the network side device, a number of a carrier shared with the network side device, a quantity of LBT sub-bands shared to the network side device (¶0038 - Cat-4 LBT may mean that a channel detection mode of the communication device is multi-slot channel detection based on random backoff adjusted according to a contention window size. Specifically, Cat-4 LBT may include different channel access priorities according to priorities of transmission services. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”), OR a number of an LBT sub-band shared with the network side device.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches where first control information indicates a quantity of carriers or subbands (Wu, ¶0038). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 14, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 11.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach configuring, by the network side device, sendable information and/or a sharing mode for the terminal, wherein the sharing mode comprises at least one: a mode in which sharing COT is not allowed, a mode in which the first COT is shared with the terminal or a mode in which the second COT is shared with the terminal.
However, Wu explicitly teaches configuring, by the network side device, sendable information and/or a sharing mode for the terminal, wherein the sharing mode comprises at least one: a mode in which sharing COT is not allowed, a mode in which the first COT is shared with the terminal (¶0081 - the parameter indication information is an RRC parameter configured by the network device for COT sharing of the terminal. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”), OR a mode in which the second COT is shared with the terminal.
Yet, the combination of Kuang and Wu does not expressly teach wherein the sendable information comprises at least one of following: the SL signal OR the Uu signal.
However, Wang explicitly teaches wherein the sendable information comprises at least one of following: the SL signal (Pg. 19, Line 30 - the data on the sidelink of the unlicensed spectrum is unicast and is transmitted in both directions… Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”) OR the Uu signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu and Wang to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches a sharing mode where the COT is shared with a terminal (Wu, ¶0081) and Wang provides a sendable information using an SL signal (Wang, Pg. 19 Line 30). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 15, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 11.
Yet, Kuang does not explicitly teach configuring, by the network side device, that processes of sending different information in sendable information correspond to different ED thresholds, and that different sharing modes correspond to different ED thresholds and the sharing mode comprises at least one of following: a mode in which sharing COT is not allowed, a mode in which the first COT is shared with the terminal, or a mode in which the second COT is shared with the terminal.
However, Wu expressly teaches configuring, by the network side device, that processes of sending different information in sendable information correspond to different ED thresholds, and that different sharing modes correspond to different ED thresholds (¶0011-0012 - channel sensing on the unlicensed carrier corresponding to the first direction according to at least one of: a service priority corresponding to the first direction, a transmission power corresponding to the first direction, an energy detection threshold corresponding to the first direction. Also see ¶0021-0022, which describes a second channel), and the sharing mode comprises at least one of following: a mode in which sharing COT is not allowed, a mode in which the first COT is shared with the terminal (¶0081 - the parameter indication information is an RRC parameter configured by the network device for COT sharing of the terminal. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”), OR a mode in which the second COT is shared with the terminal.
Yet, the combination of Kuang and Wu does not expressly teach wherein sending, by the network side device, second indication information to the terminal, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate an ED threshold and/or a sharing mode used by the terminal in an information sending process; the sendable information comprises at least one of following: the SL signal or the Uu signal.
However, Wang explicitly teaches wherein sending, by the network side device, second indication information to the terminal, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate an ED threshold and/or a sharing mode used by the terminal in an information sending process; the sendable information comprises at least one of following: the SL signal or the Uu signal (Pg. 19 Line 30 - the data on the sidelink of the unlicensed spectrum is unicast and is transmitted in both directions… Pg. 16, Line 13 - the first terminal device can perform uplink control when receiving the instruction information… Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “Or”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu and Wang to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches a process of sending information corresponding to different ED thresholds (Wu, ¶0011-0012) and Wang provides a sharing mode using an SL signal or Uu signal (Wang, Pg. 19 Line 30). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 16, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 16.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach configuring, by the network side device, the channel access parameter for the terminal comprises: configuring, by the network side device, a first channel access parameter and/or a second channel access parameter for the terminal, wherein the first channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing SL channel access in load-based equipment (LBE) mode; and the second channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing SL channel access in frame-based equipment (FBE) mode.
However, Wu explicitly teaches a first channel access parameter or a second channel access parameter, wherein the first channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing channel access in load-based equipment (LBE) mode (¶0036 - a mode by which a communication device obtains channel occupancy time may be a channel access mode of Load-based equipment (LBE), that is, the communication device may perform LBT on an unlicensed spectrum after a service arrives, and start sending of signals after the LBT is successful); and the second channel access parameter is a parameter required by the terminal for performing channel access in frame-based equipment (FBE) mode (¶0036-0037 - it may be a channel access mode of Frame-based equipment (FBE), that is, the communication device periodically performs the LBT on an unlicensed spectrum).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches both a first and second channel access parameter for LBT and FBE channel access modes (Wu, ¶0036). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 17, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 16.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach wherein the first channel access parameter comprises at least one of: a clear channel assess (CCA) duration, a contention window length, a channel occupancy length, or the ED threshold; and the second channel access parameter comprises at least one of: a frame start position, a frame offset, a frame period length, the CCA duration, the channel occupancy length, an idle period length, or the ED threshold.
However, Wu explicitly teaches wherein the first channel access parameter comprises at least one of following: clear channel assess (CCA) duration, contention window length (¶0033 - a channel access mode of a communication device is multi-slot channel detection based on random backoff of a fixed contention window size. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “And/Or”), channel occupancy length, or energy detection (ED) threshold; and/or the second channel access parameter comprises at least one of following: frame start position, frame offset, frame period length, CCA duration, channel occupancy length, idle period length, or ED threshold.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches a parameter of contention window length (Wu, ¶0033). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Claims 5 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuang in view of Wu, Wang and Niu et al. (CN 110535548 B), hereinafter Niu.
Re Claim 5, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claims 2 and 16.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach wherein the channel access parameter comprises the first channel access parameter and/or the second channel access parameter.
Additionally, Wu further teaches wherein the channel access parameter comprises the first channel access parameter (¶0036 - a mode by which a communication device obtains channel occupancy time may be a channel access mode of Load-based equipment (LBE), that is, the communication device may perform LBT on an unlicensed spectrum after a service arrives, and start sending of signals after the LBT is successful. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “And/Or”) and/or the second channel access parameter.
Yet, the combination of Kuang, Wu, and Wang does not expressly teach the receiving the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum comprises: receiving, by the terminal, the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum based on a working state of the terminal, wherein the working state comprises an on-line working state and an off-line working state.
However, Niu explicitly teaches the receiving the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum comprises: receiving, by the terminal, the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum based on a working state of the terminal (Pg. 5, Line 40 - If the terminal uses the spectrum resource of the unlicensed spectrum, the terminal in the active state already has the dedicated resource allocated by the base station, that is, the terminal has contended for the spectrum resource in the unlicensed spectrum through a contention mechanism. When the terminal is in an idle state or an inactive state, the terminal needs to perform cell selection, select a suitable cell to camp on, receive system information and paging information in the camped cell, and even initiate an access process), wherein the working state comprises an on-line working state and an off-line working state (Pg. 5, Line 39 - In addition to the idle state and the inactive state, the terminal has one state, i.e., active state (Active)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu and Niu to the teaching of Kuang and Wang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches where the channel access parameter contains a channel access parameter (Wu, ¶0036), and Niu provides receiving a channel access parameter configured by the network device based on a working state of the terminal (Niu, Pg. 5 Line 40). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re Claim 18, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 16.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach wherein the channel access parameter comprises the first channel access parameter and/or the second channel access parameter
However, Wu further teaches wherein the channel access parameter comprises the first channel access parameter (¶0036 - a mode by which a communication device obtains channel occupancy time may be a channel access mode of Load-based equipment (LBE), that is, the communication device may perform LBT on an unlicensed spectrum after a service arrives, and start sending of signals after the LBT is successful. Additionally, Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features needs to be mapped because of the presence of “And/Or”) and/or the second channel access parameter.
Yet, the combination of Kuang and Wu does not expressly teach the receiving the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum comprises: receiving, by the terminal, the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum based on a working state of the terminal, wherein the working state comprises an on-line working state and an off-line working state.
However, Niu explicitly teaches the receiving the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum comprises: receiving, by the terminal, the channel access parameter configured by the network side device for the unlicensed spectrum based on a working state of the terminal (Pg. 5, Line 40 - If the terminal uses the spectrum resource of the unlicensed spectrum, the terminal in the active state already has the dedicated resource allocated by the base station, that is, the terminal has contended for the spectrum resource in the unlicensed spectrum through a contention mechanism. When the terminal is in an idle state or an inactive state, the terminal needs to perform cell selection, select a suitable cell to camp on, receive system information and paging information in the camped cell, and even initiate an access process), wherein the working state comprises an on-line working state and an off-line working state (Pg. 5, Line 39 - In addition to the idle state and the inactive state, the terminal has one state, i.e., active state (Active)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu and Niu to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches a channel access parameter (Wu, ¶0036), and Niu provides receiving a channel access parameter configured by the network device based on a working state of the terminal (Niu, Pg. 5 Line 40). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuang in view of Wu, Wang and Zhou et al (2021/0297869), hereinafter Zhou.
Re. Claim 12, Kuang, Wu and Wang teach Claim 11.
Yet, Kuang does not expressly teach wherein the sharing modes comprise: a mode in which the first COT is shared with the terminal, and a mode in which the second COT is shared with the terminal.
However, Wu explicitly teaches wherein the sharing modes comprise: a mode in which the first COT is shared with the terminal, and a mode in which the second COT is shared with the terminal (¶0087 - the terminal acquires the COT and sends the target uplink transmission to the network device through the first time domain resource in the COT, so that the network device may perform the target downlink transmission using the second time domain resource in the COT).
Yet, the combination of Kurang, Wu and Wang does not expressly teach wherein different sharing modes correspond to different ED thresholds.
However, Zhou expressly teaches wherein different sharing modes correspond to different ED thresholds (¶0004 - a node uses the Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) mechanism to determine whether a current channel is available, according to a result of Energy detection).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Wu and Zhou to the teaching of Kuang. The motivation for such would be as Wu teaches a mode of sharing the COT with the terminal (Wu, ¶0087) Zhou provides a means by which different sharing modes correspond to different ED thresholds (Zhou ¶0004). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are considered moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. Applicant’s argument hinges on the principal that the previous rejection was reliant on the contention window length. In order to supplement the rejection, Examiner introduces a new reference: Kuang et al. (2022/033818), which discloses a terminal obtaining a channel occupancy status of the network side device. Examiner interprets that the claim language allows for a selection between the energy detection threshold and the channel occupancy status due to the existence of the word “OR” separating the clauses. As such, Examiner has provided sufficient grounds for a new rejection and has updated all subsequent claims accordingly in order to uphold the current rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lin et al. (WO 202102603 A1) – Fig 1. & Pg. 5 Line 19 – Pg. 7 Line 14.
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/N.J.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475