DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on 04 April 2023 and Claims 1-11 are pending for examination.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04 April 2023, 05 October 2023, 04 March 2024, 18 February 2025, 09 September 2025, and 12 September 2025. are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
Applicant's arguments filed 18 September 2025 have been fully considered but they are
not persuasive.
Applicant argues regarding claims 1, on Page 6-8 of remark section that Ohtsuji only teaches “supported”, not used between relay UE and a cell connected to the relay UE.The Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant. Ohtsuji teaching that “frequency band supported by the base station” as a metric to evaluate throughput of the cellular link 101 (FIG. 1) between the base station and each relay UE(See [0068]-[0072], [0078]).
Applicant argues that Ohtsuji does not disclose a cell connected to the relay UE.The Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant. Ohtsuji teaching cell provided by the base station to each relay terminal and states cell information indicates parameters of each cell that the base station provides to each relay terminal. Ohtsuji [0032] and [0078].
Applicant argues that frequency band is part of a frequency band allocated for a RAT.The Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant Ohtsuji states the frequency band information is associated with a RAT supported by the base station, and also lists “RAT or communication scheme used between the base station and each relay terminal.” Ohtsuji [0078].
The Examiner has carefully considered applicant’s arguments but finds them unpersuasive. As demonstrated above, Ohtsuji discloses all elements of the amended claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1,3, 5 -10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ohtsuji (US 20200008127A1) which is cited in the IDS filed 3/04/2024.
With regarding claim 1, Ohtsuji disclose a communication control method used in a cellular communication system, the communication control method comprising: transmitting, by a relay user equipment having a capability of relaying data of a remote user equipment, a message comprising information related to the relay user equipment (See FIG. 4-5 and ¶[0015], [0032]-[0035], [0064], [0072], [0078], [0192]-[0196].[0032] In a first aspect, a radio terminal includes a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor is configured to receive selection assistance information from each of one or more relay terminals and select at least one specific relay terminal suitable for the radio terminal from among the one or more relay terminals based on the selection assistance information. Each specific relay terminal is configured to relay traffic between the radio terminal and a base station through a device-to-device (D2D) link between the specific relay terminal and the radio terminal and through a backhaul link between the specific relay terminal and the base station. The selection assistance information includes a first information element transmitted from the base station and received by each relay terminal. The first information element indicates at least one of:
(a) a frequency band supported by the base station[0064] Next, a specific example of a relay selecting procedure according to this embodiment is described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a process 500 that is an example of a relay selection performed by the remote UE 1. In Step 501, each relay UE 2 transmits selection assistance information to the remote UE 1. The remote UE 1 receives from the selection assistance information from each relay UE 2. Each relay UE 2 may transmit the selection assistance information in the relay discovery procedure (e.g., in Step 401 in FIG. 4). Specifically, according to the so-called announcement model (i.e., model A), each relay UE 2 may transmit a discovery signal containing the selection assistance information. In this way, the remote UE 1 can find relay UEs 2 by detecting their discovery signals and receive the selection assistance information from these relay UEs 2.); receiving, by the remote user equipment, the message (See ¶[0064], [0082], [0091], [0211].[0082] each relay UE (candidate) 2 transmits to the remote UE 1 the selection assistance information including cell information, and the remote UE 1 selects a relay while considering the received selection assistance information. Note that the cell information (or base-station information) indicates a capability of the base station 3 or a capability(ies) of one or more cells provided by the base station 3.); and performing, by the remote user equipment, processing configured to establish a sidelink connection between the remote user equipment and the relay user equipment, based on the message (See FIG. 4 ¶[0063], [0066], [0091], [0080].[0063] the remote UE 1 establishes a connection for one-to-one D2D communication (i.e., direct communication) with any one of the at least one selected specific relay UE. For example, the remote UE 1 may transmit a direct communication request (or a relay request) to the relay UE 2.[0066] In Step 502, the remote UE 1 performs a relay selection by using the selection assistance information received from each relay UE 2. In the relay selection in Step 502, the remote UE 1 may select at least one specific relay UE for the remote UE 1 from among one or more relay UEs 2 (i.e., relay UE candidates).) wherein wherein the message includes an information element indicating a frequency band used between the relay user equipment and a cell connected to the relay user equipment (See FIG. 1-2 ¶[0032]-[0033], [0071]-[0072], [0076]-[0078], [0159], [0184], [0130]-[0138]. Disclosed a frequency band used between the base station 3 and each relay terminal 2, [0078] teaches corresponds to the frequency band used between the relay UE and the cell it’s connected to.)
With regarding claim 3 Ohtsuji disclose wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the message by each of a plurality of the relay user equipments, and the performing comprises selecting or re-selecting one relay user equipment where the sidelink connection is to be established from among the plurality of the relay user equipments, based on the message of each of the plurality of the relay user equipments (See FIG. 6-7 and ¶[0032]-[0034], [0063]-[0066] [0091], [0211].[0034] receiving selection assistance information from each of one or more relay terminals; and selecting at least one specific relay terminal suitable for the radio terminal from among the one or more relay terminals based on the selection assistance information. The selection assistance information is similar to that in the first aspect.[0066] the remote UE 1 performs a relay selection by using the selection assistance information received from each relay UE 2. In the relay selection in Step 502, the remote UE 1 may select at least one specific relay UE for the remote UE 1 from among one or more relay UEs 2 (i.e., relay UE candidates).)
With regarding claim 5 Ohtsuji disclose wherein when the relay user equipment comprises a network connection with a cellular communication network, the message comprises information indicating a network communication state between the relay user equipment and the cellular communication network (See ¶[0072], [0078], [0145]-[0147], [0150]-[0153][0078] The cell information (or base-station information) may indicate a RAT or communication scheme (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, 5G, carrier aggregation, or dual connectivity) used between the base station 3 and each relay terminal 2. In some implementations, the RAT (or communication scheme) supported by the base station 3 could affect the estimated throughput of the cellular link 101 between the base station 3 and each relay UE 2. In other words, the frequency band supported by the base station 3 can be used as one of the metrics for evaluating the throughput of the cellular link 101. [0145] The radio terminal described in Supplementary note 4 or 5, wherein the second information element includes an estimated value of a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) applied to the uplink transmission performed by each relay terminal.
[0146] The radio terminal described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 6, wherein the selection assistance information further includes a third information element indicating a load on the base station.
[0147] The radio terminal described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 7, wherein the selection assistance information further includes a fourth information element indicating a load on each relay terminal.) With regarding claim 6 Ohtsuji disclose wherein when the relay user equipment comprises a sidelink connection with a different user equipment, the message comprises information indicating a sidelink communication state between the relay user equipment and the different user equipment (See FIG. 1 and ¶[0049]-[0050], [0063]-[0066], [0145]-[0149][0049] FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a radio communication network according to some embodiments including this embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows an example related to a UE-to-Network Relay. That is, a remote UE 1 includes at least one radio transceiver and is configured to perform D2D communication (e.g., ProSe direct discovery and ProSe direct communication) with one or more relay UEs 2 on a D2D link 102 (e.g., PC5 interface or sidelink). Further, though not shown in FIG. 1, the remote UE 1 is configured to perform cellular communication in a cellular coverage 31 provided by one or more base stations 3. The cellular coverage 31 includes one or more cells.
[0050] Each relay UE 2 includes at least one radio transceiver and is configured to perform cellular communication with the base station 3 on a cellular link 101 in the cellular coverage 31 and perform D2D communication (e.g., ProSe direct discovery and ProSe direct communication) with the remote UE 1 on the D2D link 102.
[0145] The radio terminal described in Supplementary note 4 or 5, wherein the second information element includes an estimated value of a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) applied to the uplink transmission performed by each relay terminal.
[0146] The radio terminal described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 6, wherein the selection assistance information further includes a third information element indicating a load on the base station.
[0147] The radio terminal described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 7, wherein the selection assistance information further includes a fourth information element indicating a load on each relay terminal.
[0148] The radio terminal described in Supplementary note 8, wherein the fourth information element indicates the number of other remote terminals connected to or communicating with each relay terminal.).
With regarding claim 7 Ohtsuji disclose wherein the message comprises information indicating a relay capability of the relay user equipment (See FIG. 6-7 and ¶[0082], [0091], [0145]-[0148], [0211].[0082] each relay UE (candidate) 2 transmits to the remote UE 1 the selection assistance information including cell information, and the remote UE 1 selects a relay while considering the received selection assistance information. Note that the cell information (or base-station information) indicates a capability of the base station 3 or a capability(ies) of one or more cells provided by the base station 3.,[0091] In some implementations, the remote UE 1 may use the selection assistance information, which includes the cell information and the uplink quality information,[0145] The radio terminal described in Supplementary note 4 or 5, wherein the second information element includes an estimated value of a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) applied to the uplink transmission performed by each relay terminal.
[0146] The radio terminal described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 6, wherein the selection assistance information further includes a third information element indicating a load on the base station.
[0147] The radio terminal described in any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 7, wherein the selection assistance information further includes a fourth information element indicating a load on each relay terminal.
[0148] The radio terminal described in Supplementary note 8, wherein the fourth information element indicates the number of other remote terminals connected to or communicating with each relay terminal).
With regarding claim 8 Ohtsuji disclose wherein the information indicating the relay capability of the relay user equipment comprises information related to a load of the relay user equipment (See ¶[0102], [0104], [0145]-[0149],[0160]-[0163], [0099][0102] The relay load information may indicate the number of other remote UEs that are connected to or communicating with each relay UE 2. Additionally or alternatively, the relay load information may indicate a usage ratio of the D2D radio resources, an occupancy level of an uplink transmission buffer of the relay UE 2, an occupancy level of a downlink reception buffer (or queue) of the relay UE 2, or an occupancy level of other packet buffers regarding UL transmission or DL reception.[0104] In some implementations, the remote UE 1 may use the relay load information to estimate the effective throughput R.sub.k of each relay UE 2 more accurately.). With regarding claim 09 Ohtsuji disclose a relay user equipment having a capability of relaying data of a remote user equipment in a cellular communication system (See ¶[0015], [0032]-[0035], [0064], [0072], [0082],[0154]-[0156] [0154] at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: [0155] transmit selection assistance information to the remote terminal; and [0156] relay traffic between the remote terminal and a base station through a device-to-device (D2D) link between the relay terminal and the remote terminal and through a backhaul link between the relay terminal and the base station, wherein, the relay user equipment comprising a transmitter configured to transmit a message comprising information related to the relay user equipment to the remote user equipment (See ¶[0032], [0064], [0082], [0091], [0152], [0182][0082] As understood from the above description, in this embodiment, each relay UE (candidate) 2 transmits to the remote UE 1 the selection assistance information including cell information, and the remote UE 1 selects a relay while considering the received selection assistance information. Note that the cell information (or base-station information) indicates a capability of the base station 3 or a capability(ies) of one or more cells provided by the base station 3), the message is used in processing configured to establish a sidelink connection between the remote user equipment and the relay user equipment (See ¶[0063]-[0064], [0072], [0078], [0080], [0091], [0184].[0063] the remote UE 1 establishes a connection for one-to-one D2D communication (i.e., direct communication) with any one of the at least one selected specific relay UE. For example, the remote UE 1 may transmit a direct communication request (or a relay request) to the relay UE 2.[0066] In Step 502, the remote UE 1 performs a relay selection by using the selection assistance information received from each relay UE 2. In the relay selection in Step 502, the remote UE 1 may select at least one specific relay UE for the remote UE 1 from among one or more relay UEs 2 (i.e., relay UE candidates).)), and the message includes an information element indicating a frequency band used between the relay user equipment and a network (See ¶[0032], [0072], [0078], [0159], [0184] [0197][0032] The selection assistance information includes a first information element transmitted from the base station and received by each relay terminal. The first information element indicates at least one of:
(a) a frequency band supported by the base station;.).
With regarding claim 10 Ohtsuji disclose a remote user equipment used in a cellular communication system, the remote user equipment comprising: a receiver configured to receive, from a relay user equipment having a capability of relaying data of a remote user equipment, a message comprising information related to the relay user equipment (See FIG. 4-5 and ¶[0015], [0032]-[0035], [0064], [0072], [0078], [0192]-[0196][0032] In a first aspect, a radio terminal includes a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor is configured to receive selection assistance information from each of one or more relay terminals and select at least one specific relay terminal suitable for the radio terminal from among the one or more relay terminals based on the selection assistance information. Each specific relay terminal is configured to relay traffic between the radio terminal and a base station through a device-to-device (D2D) link between the specific relay terminal and the radio terminal and through a backhaul link between the specific relay terminal and the base station. The selection assistance information includes a first information element transmitted from the base station and received by each relay terminal. The first information element indicates at least one of:
(a) a frequency band supported by the base station[0064] Next, a specific example of a relay selecting procedure according to this embodiment is described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a process 500 that is an example of a relay selection performed by the remote UE 1. In Step 501, each relay UE 2 transmits selection assistance information to the remote UE 1. The remote UE 1 receives from the selection assistance information from each relay UE 2. Each relay UE 2 may transmit the selection assistance information in the relay discovery procedure (e.g., in Step 401 in FIG. 4). Specifically, according to the so-called announcement model (i.e., model A), each relay UE 2 may transmit a discovery signal containing the selection assistance information. In this way, the remote UE 1 can find relay UEs 2 by detecting their discovery signals and receive the selection assistance information from these relay UEs 2.); and a controller configured to perform processing configured to establish a sidelink connection between the remote user equipment and the relay user equipment, based on the message (See ¶[0063], [0066]-[0067], [0080], [0091].[0063] the remote UE 1 establishes a connection for one-to-one D2D communication (i.e., direct communication) with any one of the at least one selected specific relay UE. For example, the remote UE 1 may transmit a direct communication request (or a relay request) to the relay UE 2.[0066] In Step 502, the remote UE 1 performs a relay selection by using the selection assistance information received from each relay UE 2. In the relay selection in Step 502, the remote UE 1 may select at least one specific relay UE for the remote UE 1 from among one or more relay UEs 2 (i.e., relay UE candidates).), wherein the message includes an information element indicating a frequency band used between the relay user equipment and a network (See ¶[0032], [0071]-[0072], [0078], [0159], [0184] [0197].[0032] The selection assistance information includes a first information element transmitted from the base station and received by each relay terminal. The first information element indicates at least one of:
(a) a frequency band supported by the base station;.[0091] In some implementations, the remote UE 1 may use the selection assistance information, which includes the cell information and the uplink quality information, to calculate an uplink throughput of a relay path consisting of the cellular link 101 and the D2D link 102.)). With regarding claim 11 Ohtsuji disclose the communication control method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency band is a part of a frequency band allocated for a Radio Access Technology (RAT) (See FIG. 2 and ¶[0058], [0076]-[0078], [0072], [0032]-[0033]. Disclosed a frequency band supported by the base station in the context of the RAT or communication scheme used between the base station and relay terminal, it inherently disclosed that these frequency bands are allocated for those specific RAT’s.).
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.
Claims 2, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohtsuji et al (US 20200008127A1) in view of Wu et al (US 20230328828 A1).
With regarding claim 2, Ohtsuji may not explicitly disclose further comprising: detecting by the relay user equipment, a radio link failure (RLF) between the relay user equipment and the network; and transmitting by the relay user equipment, a PC5-RRC message comprising information indicating the RLF to the remote user equipment. However, in analogous art, Wu disclose detecting by the relay user equipment, a radio link failure (RLF) between the relay user equipment and the network (See FIG. 9 and ¶[0025]-[0026], [0143]-[0149].[0025] Some embodiments of the present application provide a further method for wireless communications. The method may be performed by a relay UE. The method includes: establishing a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) connection of a link between a UE and the relay UE; establishing a RRC connection of a link between the relay UE and another UE; and transmitting a failure notification to the UE.
[0026] In some embodiments, in the method performed by the relay UE, the failure notification transmitted from the relay UE is one of: a sidelink RLF notification associated with the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE; a notification of failing to recover a sidelink RLF on the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE; and a notification of a PC5-S link failure on the link between the relay UE and the abovementioned another UE.); and transmitting by the relay user equipment, a PC5-RRC message comprising information indicating the RLF to the remote user equipment (See FIG. 7-8 and ¶[0025]-[0026], [0094]-[0097],[0088], [0104]], [0155]-[0156], [0199].[0104] After stopping receiving data from the relay UE, the UE may release the PC5 RRC connection between the UE and the relay UE. Alternatively, an AS layer of the UE may transmit an indication to a PC5-S layer of the UE, to indicate that the UE has stopped receiving the data from the relay UE.[0155] UE(a) releases the PC5 RRC connection between UE(a) and the relay UE. An AS layer of UE(a) may indicate to a PC5-S layer of UE(a), when UE(a) receives an end-mark indication from the relay UE. [0156] UE(a) may report, to a BS (e.g., BS 102 illustrated and shown in FIG. 1), failure information of at least one of a first hop link and an end-to-end relayed connection.) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claim invention to Ohtsuji teaches a robust method for relay selection and establishment, enabling D2D communication by using quality and capability information. And Wu teaches ensuring the relay UE can detect when its connection to the network fails (RLF), and notifies the remoter UE with a message (PC5-RRC) so the remote UE can quickly respond. This combination allows for faster relay reselection, minimize service downtime, and improve user experience. With regarding claim 4 Ohtsuji may not explicitly disclose wherein the message is a PC5-Radio Resource Control (RRC) message of a PC5-RRC layer or a discovery message of a PC5-S layer.
However, in analogous art, Wu disclose wherein the message is a PC5-Radio Resource Control (RRC) message of a PC5-RRC layer or a discovery message of a PC5-S layer (See ¶[0088], [0104], [0155]-[0156].[0104] After stopping receiving data from the relay UE, the UE may release the PC5 RRC connection between the UE and the relay UE. Alternatively, an AS layer of the UE may transmit an indication to a PC5-S layer of the UE, to indicate that the UE has stopped receiving the data from the relay UE.0155] UE(a) releases the PC5 RRC connection between UE(a) and the relay UE. An AS layer of UE(a) may indicate to a PC5-S layer of UE(a), when UE(a) receives an end-mark indication from the relay UE. [0156] UE(a) may report, to a BS (e.g., BS 102 illustrated and shown in FIG. 1), failure information of at least one of a first hop link and an end-to-end relayed connection.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claim invention to Ohtsuji teaches a system where the relay UE sends technical information to the remote UE to enable relay selection and sidelink setup, and Wu teaches control and status messages should be sent as PC5-RRC message between relay and relay UE. This combination apply PC5-RRC or PC5-S messages transmission to ensure interoperability and reliability.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 SHIVAKRISHNA VALLAMDASU whose telephone number is (571)272-5249. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Smith, Marcus R. can be reached on (571) 270-1096. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHIVAKRISHNA VALLAMDASU/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/Thomas R Cairns/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468