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 .
Response to Amendment
This communication is in response to the amendment of 3/13/2026 in which Applicant elects Group 1 (claims 1, 3-11, 19). All changes made to the claims have been entered. Accordingly, Claims 1, 3-11, 19 are currently pending in the application and Claims 12, 14-18, 20-22 withdrawn.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group 1 (Claims 1-11 and 19) in the reply filed on 3/13/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there would be no serious burden on Examiner. This is not found persuasive because Group 1 is shown to have separate utility such as receiving the 2nd-stage sidelink control information; and determining, based on the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field, that the format the 2nd-stage sidelink control information is the third-format and Group 2 is shown to have separate utility such as sending the 2nd- stage sidelink control information comprising and trigger information or coordination information.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the subject matter of “receiving 1st-stage sidelink control information comprising a 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field, wherein the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field indicates a format of 2nd-stage sidelink control information is a third-format; receiving the 2nd-stage sidelink control information; and determining, based on the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field, that the format the 2nd-stage sidelink control information is the third-format” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 4, 9, 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the subject matter “a third-format” in lines 6-7. It is however unclear on what is meant by “third” as a first and second format is never introduced. Examiner suggests clarifying such subject matter.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the first indication information" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is further unclear on if "the first indication information" is referring to 1st stage or 2nd stage sidelink control information. Examiner suggests clarifying such subject matter.
Claim 9, recites the subject matter “third indication information” in line 2. It is however unclear on what is meant by “third” as a first and second indication information is never introduced. Examiner suggests clarifying such subject matter.
Claim 19 recites the subject matter “a third-format” in line 10. It is however unclear on what is meant by “third” as a first and second format is never introduced. Examiner suggests clarifying such subject matter.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4-11, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2023/0012983), in view of Yao et al. (US 2022/0377722).
Regarding claim 1, 19, Zhang discloses a communication method (a sidelink transmission and reception methods and terminal equipment… include a processor and a memory , the memory storing data and a program, abstract and [0204] and figure 13 and figure 6) comprising:
receiving 1st-stage sidelink control information (the first terminal equipment transmits the first sidelink control information (SCI) to the second terminal equipment via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), [0100] and figure 6) ;
receiving the 2nd-stage sidelink control information (the first terminal equipment transmits the second sidelink control information (SCI) and the first transport block (TB) to the second terminal equipment via a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), [0101]-[0103] and figure 6);
wherein the 2nd-stage sidelink control information comprises trigger information or coordination information, wherein the trigger information triggers a coordination procedure, and wherein the coordination information comprises information about a coordination resource (the second sidelink control information…indicates or carries the triggering information and For example, a field in 2nd stage SCI may be used to indicate whether to trigger the report of the coordination information. After receiving the triggering information, UE A transmits the coordination information to UE B, [0102]-[0105] and [0074] and figure 6 and [0086] and [0026] and [0069]-[0070]).
Zhang however fails to disclose 1st-stage sidelink control information comprising a 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field, wherein the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field indicates a format of 2nd-stage sidelink control information is a third-format and determining, based on the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field, that the format the 2nd-stage sidelink control information is the third-format. However in a similar field of endeavor, Yao discloses 1st-stage sidelink control information comprising a 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field, wherein the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field indicates a format of 2nd-stage sidelink control information is a third-format and determining, based on the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field, that the format the 2nd-stage sidelink control information is the third-format (The field of “second stage SCI format” in first stage SCI should be 2 bits, to indicate one of three second stage SCI formats…the size of the “second stage SCI format” field in first stage SCI is 2 bits and SCI stage 1 also indicates an SCI stage 2 format which instructs the RX device on whether or what type of feedback is to be provided, [0090]-[0092] and [0022]-[0023] and [0027]-[0029]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of having a field of “second stage SCI format” in first stage SCI be 2 bits to indicate one of three second stage SCI formats as disclosed by Yao into the sidelink transmission and reception method comprising first and second stage SCI communication as disclosed by Zhang in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate 2nd stage formats to a device such that feedback may efficiently be determined.
Regarding claim 4, Zhang discloses wherein the receiving the first indication information comprises receiving the first indication information sent by a second device (the first terminal equipment transmits the first sidelink control information (SCI) to the second terminal equipment via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and
the first terminal equipment transmits the second sidelink control information (SCI) and the first transport block (TB) to the second terminal equipment via a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), [0100]-[0101] and figure 6).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang discloses wherein that the trigger information triggers the coordination procedure comprises trigger information triggers a first device to coordinate the second device to select a resource (For example, it is assumed that UE B is a transmitting equipment (first terminal equipment), UE A is a receiving equipment (second terminal equipment), and UE B autonomously selects resources for transmission. After UE B triggers UE A to report, UE A transmits coordination information to UE B, the coordination information including a resource set that UE A prefers to use, or a resource set that UE A does not prefer to use, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of this disclosure. UE B uses the coordination information to perform resource selection and transmission, [0069]-[0070] and [0026]).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang discloses wherein the information about the coordination resource is determined by the second device (For example, it is assumed that UE B is a transmitting equipment (first terminal equipment), UE A is a receiving equipment (second terminal equipment), and UE B autonomously selects resources for transmission. After UE B triggers UE A to report, UE A transmits coordination information to UE B, the coordination information including a resource set that UE A prefers to use, or a resource set that UE A does not prefer to use, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of this disclosure. UE B uses the coordination information to perform resource selection and transmission, [0069]-[0070] and [0026]).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang discloses wherein the coordination resource is used to coordinate a first device to select a resource (For example, it is assumed that UE B is a transmitting equipment (first terminal equipment), UE A is a receiving equipment (second terminal equipment), and UE B autonomously selects resources for transmission. After UE B triggers UE A to report, UE A transmits coordination information to UE B, the coordination information including a resource set that UE A prefers to use, or a resource set that UE A does not prefer to use, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of this disclosure. UE B uses the coordination information to perform resource selection and transmission, [0069]-[0070] and [0026]).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang discloses wherein the coordination information is trigger mechanism-based coordination information or non-trigger mechanism-based coordination information (the second sidelink control information…indicates or carries the triggering information and For example, a field in 2nd stage SCI may be used to indicate whether to trigger the report of the coordination information. After receiving the triggering information, UE A transmits the coordination information to UE B, [0102]-[0105] and [0074] and figure 6 and [0086] and [0026] and [0069]-[0070]).
Regarding claim 9, Zhang discloses receiving third indication information, wherein the third indication information indicates one of: the trigger information, trigger mechanism-based coordination information, or non-trigger mechanism-based coordination information (carries triggering information used for triggering a second terminal equipment to report sidelink resource information, [0019] and [0022] and [0102] and [0073]-[0074] and [0085]-[0086]).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang discloses wherein the third indication information is a field in the 2nd-stage sidelink control information (the triggering information is indicated by a field in the…second sidelink control information (SCI), [0073]-[0074] and [0132] and [0138] and [0163]).
Regarding claim 11, Zhang discloses wherein the trigger information comprises a parameter of the coordination procedure, and the parameter of the coordination procedure comprises at least one of the following information: a number of subchannels, a selection window size, a period, or priority information (the first terminal equipment transmits first indication information to the second terminal equipment, the first indication information being used by the second terminal equipment to determine the sidelink resource information. The first indication information includes at least one of the following or a combination thereof: resource selection window information, resource set size information, or resource frequency domain size information; however, the embodiments of this disclosure is not limited thereto… the resource frequency domain size information includes the number of sub-channels in a frequency domain occupied by sidelink resources, [0088]-[0096]).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al., in view of Yao et al., in further view of Guo et al. (US 2020/0228247).
Regarding claim 3, Yao discloses wherein the 2nd-stage sidelink control information format field occupies two bits (The field of “second stage SCI format” in first stage SCI should be 2 bits, to indicate one of three second stage SCI formats…the size of the “second stage SCI format” field in first stage SCI is 2 bits, [0090]-[0092] and [0022]-[0023] and [0027]-[0029]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of having a field of “second stage SCI format” in first stage SCI be 2 bits to indicate one of three second stage SCI formats as disclosed by Yao into the sidelink transmission and reception method comprising first and second stage SCI communication as disclosed by Zhang in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate 2nd stage formats to a device such that feedback may efficiently be determined.
Zhang and Yao fails to disclose a value of the two bits is 10. However in a similar field of endeavor, Guo discloses a value of the two bits is 10 (A SCI format can include a SCI format indicator field for identifying the SCI format…the SCI format indicator field can comprise of 2 bits…such as with a value ‘10’, [0192]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of having a SCI format indicator field of 2 bits with a value of 10 as disclosed by Guo into the sidelink transmission and reception method comprising first and second stage SCI communication as disclosed by Zhang and Yao in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate 2nd stage formats to a device via different values, such as with a value of 10.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Panteleev et al. (US 11601789) disclosing the transmitting UE selects the PSCCH resource and transmits a scheduling request using the PSCCH resource, while the receiving UE selects a PSCCH and the PSSCH resource and transmits a scheduling grant in the PSCCH containing transmission parameters and the PSSCH resource to the transmitting UE (abstract)
Ye et al. (US 2021/0321403) disclosing The field of “second stage SCI format” in first stage SCI should be 2 bits, to indicate one of two second stage SCI formats ([0169])
Kim et al. (US 2021/0028842) disclosing the 1st-stage SCI may include one or more information elements among priority information, frequency resource assignment information, time resource assignment information, resource reservation period information, DMRS pattern information, 2nd-stage SCI format information, a beta offset indicator, the number of DMRS ports, and modulation and coding scheme (MCS) information ([0075]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NGUYEN HOANG NGO whose telephone number is (571)272-8398. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kwang Yao can be reached at 571-272-3182. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NGUYEN H NGO/Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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