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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/01/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1,5-6,10-11,15-16,20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1,5-6,10-11,15-16,20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. (US 20240223311; hereinafter “Lu”) in view of Fujishiro et al. (US 20240381452, provisional application No.63301773 is used for mapping; hereinafter “Fujishiro”).
Regarding Claim 1, Lu discloses:
A method performed by a remote user equipment (UE) (Fig. 3A Remote UE) communicating with a relay UE (Fig. 3A UE-to-Network Relay UE) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising receiving, at a sidelink relay adaptation protocol (SRAP) layer of the remote UE (Fig. 3A ADAPT), an SRAP protocol data unit (PDU) (¶[0008] first information transmitted by a sending terminal is received, where the first information includes identification information in an adaptation layer PDU. ¶[0097]: the first information may be information received by the remote terminal. ¶[0099]: the adaptation layer PDU may be the entire PDU at the adaptation layer or a sub-PDU at the adaptation layer. In ¶[0007] ¶[0097] ¶[0099], since the adaptation layer in the sidelink relay context performs the same adaptation functions, this maps directly to the SRAP layer receiving an SRAP PDU);
identifying a UE identity and a bearer identity included in an SRAP header of the SRAP PDU; (¶[0104]: matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE; matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE. ¶[0116]: the first terminal determines whether the first UE ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information is consistent with the UE ID configured for the first terminal. In ¶[0104] ¶[0116], identification information such as UE ID and bearer ID are control information which resides in the PDU header, which is known in the pertinent art)
identifying that at least one of the UE identity or the bearer identity included in the SRAP header of the SRAP PDU does not match with a configuration for the remote UE (¶[0009] whether to discard the adaptation layer PDU is determined based on the identification information. ¶[0104]: matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE. ¶[0116]: firstly determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the first terminal … if the two are inconsistent, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded ¶[0123]: determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the relay terminal for the relay terminal; if the two are inconsistent),
and based on the identification that the at least one of the UE identity or the bearer identity does not match with the configuration for the remote UE, discarding the SRAP PDU at the SRAP layer of the remote UE. (¶[0116]: firstly determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the first terminal … if the two are inconsistent, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded ¶[0123]: determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the relay terminal for the relay terminal; if the two are inconsistent, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded).
However, Lu does not disclose:
wherein the configuration includes a list of mapping between the bearer identity and a radio link control (RLC) channel;
Fujishiro discloses:
wherein the configuration includes a list of mapping between the bearer identity and a radio link control (RLC) channel; ([0048] the remote UE 100-1 and the Uu-SRAP of gNB 200-1 perform mapping between the bearer (Uu-PDCP) and the PC5 RLC channel (PC5-RLC). The PC5-SRAP and the Uu-SRAP of the relay UE 100-2 perform mapping between the PC5 RLC channel (PC5-RLC) and the Uu RLC channel (Uu-RLC); Examiner’s Note: A skilled artisan would understand that these mappings are stored as a set (i.e., a list) within the configuration to support proper association between bearers and RLC channels.)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of lU with the teachings of Fujishiro to include the configuration includes a list of mapping between the bearer identity and a radio link control (RLC) channel. The motivation would have been to perform a first communication on a direct link between a remote user equipment and a base station and a second communication on an indirect link between the remote user equipment and the base station via a relay user equipment. (Fujishiro ¶ [0004])
Regarding Claims 5, 15, Lu discloses in case that the UE identity included in the SRAP header of the SRAP PDU is included in a configuration table and the bearer identity included in the SRAP header of the SRAP PDU does not match with a bearer included in the configuration table for the UE identity, discarding the SRAP PDU. (¶[0104]: the preset discarding condition may be determined according to one of the following … matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE. ¶[0100]: When the preset discarding condition is satisfied, it means that the first information has error data and needs to be discarded. ¶[0009]: whether to discard the adaptation layer PDU is determined based on the identification information. Under broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification and an understanding of one of ordinary skill in the art, the term “configuration table” is interpreted as a structured data set maintained by a network element (e.g., gnb, UE, relays) for the purpose of storing and retrieving configuration parameters associated with network operations ¶[0116]: if the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU is inconsistent with the bearer ID configured for the first terminal, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded).
Regarding Claim 6, Lu discloses a method performed by a relay user equipment (UE) communicating with a relay UE in a wireless communication system (Fig. 3A UE-to-Network Relay UE), the method comprising: receiving, at a sidelink relay adaptation protocol (SRAP) layer (Fig. 3A ADAPT) of the remote UE (Fig. 3A Remote UE), an SRAP protocol data unit (PDU) (¶[0008] first information transmitted by a sending terminal is received, where the first information includes identification information in an adaptation layer PDU. ¶[0097]: the first information may be information received by the remote terminal. ¶[0099]: the adaptation layer PDU may be the entire PDU at the adaptation layer or a sub-PDU at the adaptation layer. In ¶[0007] ¶[0097] ¶[0099], since the adaptation layer in the sidelink relay context performs the same adaptation functions, this maps directly to the SRAP layer receiving an SRAP PDU); identifying a UE identity and a bearer identity included in an SRAP header of the SRAP PDU (¶[0104]: matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE; matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE. ¶[0116]: the first terminal determines whether the first UE ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information is consistent with the UE ID configured for the first terminal. In ¶[0104] ¶[0116], identification information such as UE ID and bearer ID are control information which resides in the PDU header, which is known in the pertinent art); identifying that at least one of the UE identity or the bearer identity included in the SRAP header of the SRAP PDU does not matches with a configuration for the remote UE (¶[0009] whether to discard the adaptation layer PDU is determined based on the identification information. ¶[0104]: matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE. ¶[0116]: firstly determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the first terminal … if the two are inconsistent, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded ¶[0123]: determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the relay terminal for the relay terminal; if the two are inconsistent) and based on the identification that the at least one of the UE identity or the bearer identity does not match with the configuration for the relay UE, discarding the SRAP PDU at the SRAP layer of the remote UE (¶[0116]: firstly determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the first terminal … if the two are inconsistent, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded ¶[0123]: determine whether the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information is consistent with the bearer ID configured for the relay terminal for the relay terminal; if the two are inconsistent, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded).
However, Lu does not disclose:
wherein the configuration includes a list of mapping between the bearer identity and a radio link control (RLC) channel;
Fujishiro discloses:
wherein the configuration includes a list of mapping between the bearer identity and a radio link control (RLC) channel; ([0048] the remote UE 100-1 and the Uu-SRAP of gNB 200-1 perform mapping between the bearer (Uu-PDCP) and the PC5 RLC channel (PC5-RLC). The PC5-SRAP and the Uu-SRAP of the relay UE 100-2 perform mapping between the PC5 RLC channel (PC5-RLC) and the Uu RLC channel (Uu-RLC).)
It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings
of lU with the teachings of Fujishiro to include the configuration includes a list of mapping between the bearer identity and a radio link control (RLC) channel. The motivation would have been to perform a first communication on a direct link between a remote user equipment and a base station and a second communication on an indirect link between the remote user equipment and the base station via a relay user equipment. (Fujishiro ¶ [0004])
Regarding Claims 10,20, Lu discloses in case that the UE identity included in the SRAP header of the SRAP PDU is included in a configuration table and the bearer identity included in the SRAP header of the SRAP PDU does not match with a bearer included in the configuration table for the UE identity, discarding the SRAP PDU (¶[0104]: the preset discarding condition may be determined according to one of the following … matching the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU included in the first information to the bearer ID configured for the Remote UE. ¶[0100]: When the preset discarding condition is satisfied, it means that the first information has error data and needs to be discarded. ¶[0009]: whether to discard the adaptation layer PDU is determined based on the identification information. Under broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification and an understanding of one of ordinary skill in the art, the term “configuration table” is interpreted as a structured data set maintained by a network element (e.g., gnb, UE, relays) for the purpose of storing and retrieving configuration parameters associated with network operations ¶[0116]: if the first bearer ID in the adaptation layer PDU is inconsistent with the bearer ID configured for the first terminal, the adaptation layer PDU is discarded).
Regarding Claim 11 based on claim 1, Lu discloses a remote user equipment (UE) (Fig. 3A Remote UE) communicating with a relay UE (Fig. 3A UE-to-Network Relay UE) in a wireless communication system, the remote UE comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the remote UE to (¶[0164]: the processor of the computer device is configured to provide computing and control capabilities. Claim 9: A computer device, comprising: a processor; a memory; and a transceiver)
Regarding Claim 16 based on claim 6, Lu discloses a relay user equipment (UE) (Fig. 3A UE-to-Network Relay UE) communicating with a remote UE in a wireless communication system (Fig. 3A Remote UE), the relay UE comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the relay UE to (¶[0164]: the processor of the computer device is configured to provide computing and control capabilities. Claim 9: A computer device, comprising: a processor; a memory; and a transceiver)
Conclusion
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/NHU PHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479