Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/249,513

COMMUNICATION APPARATUSES AND COMMUNICATION METHODS FOR SIDELINK BROADCAST

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Apr 18, 2023
Examiner
SAIFUDDIN, AHMED
Art Unit
2475
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 0m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
24 granted / 29 resolved
+24.8% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
56 currently pending
Career history
85
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.3%
-37.7% vs TC avg
§103
65.6%
+25.6% vs TC avg
§102
29.7%
-10.3% vs TC avg
§112
2.3%
-37.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 29 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 17, 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by LIN et al. (Patent No: US20230239793A1), hereinafter, LIN Regarding Claim 17, LIN teaches A communication apparatus comprising: circuity, which in operation, determines a periodic transmission time interval to transmit a first signal; -Fig. 4, 5, 7; Paragraph [0041][0062][0080-0083] ( [0041] recites, “As shown in FIG. 4, a UE (e.g., a Transmitter (Tx) UE or Receiver (Rx) UE) may include a wireless transceiver 10, a controller 20, a storage device 30, a display device 40, and an Input/Output (I/O) device 50.” The controller determines when to transmit periodically based on the SL configuration as shown in the flowchart of Fig. 7. [0083] recites,” In step S730, based on the exchange of the SL DRX configuration, the UE determines when to perform transmission or reception to or from the peer UE during an SL DRX operation.“ DRX operation (transmission/reception) happens in DRX-ON duration periodically.[0062] recites, “The transmission pattern may include information indicative of specific time-frequency radio resources that the UE uses to perform transmission to the peer UE. For example, the information may include a timing offset for SL DRX (also called an SL DRX offset, including an SL DRX start offset and/or an SL DRX slot offset), a transmission pattern per repetition cycle (e.g., specified by a duration for transmission located in the beginning of each repetition cycle) (also called an SL DRX-ON duration), and a repetition cycle length (also called an SL DRX cycle). In one embodiment, the transmission pattern can be kind of SL configured grants, or periodically reserved resource.”) and a transmitter, which in operation, transmits the first signal at the periodic transmission time interval in response to the determination. -Fig. 7 (S740); Paragraph [0084] ([0084] recites, “ In step S740, based on the determination, the UE performs transmission or reception to or from the peer UE during the SL DRX operation.” i.e., during DRX-ON duration periodically) Claim 39 is the method claim corresponding to the apparatus Claim 17 which has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 17. Claim 39 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 17. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim 18-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN in view of FREDA et al. (Patent No: US20230063472A1), hereinafter, FREDA Regarding Claim 18, LIN teaches the limitations of Claim 17 LIN explicitly does not mention The communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate a first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on a value of a multiplier parameter. However, FREDA teaches The communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate a first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on a value of a multiplier parameter. -Paragraph [0287][112-1123] ([0287] recites, “ A WTRU may determine the DRX cycle and/or on-duration and/or periodicity of RX resource pool change based on the priority of the last SCI scheduling data received by the WTRU.”[122-123] recites, “ Occur periodically in relation to a particular active slot (or multiple such active slots), or integer multiples of periodic slots that occur prior to a particular active slot. ….. a. For example, all slots k×m, where k may be a (pre)configured or predefined periodicity (e.g. 100 ms) and m may be an integer multiple (1, 2, 3, . . . ).” WTRU is the circuitry responsible for determine the periodicity and for transmitter/receiver control.) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “circuitry is further configured to calculate a first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on a value of a multiplier parameter.” of FREDA. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to ensure safer traveling, collision avoidance, and improved traffic efficiency [0088] Regarding Claim 19, LIN and FREDA teach the limitations of Claim 18 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 18, wherein the circuitry is further configured to increase the first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval when the value of the multiplier parameter is larger. -Paragraph [0117] ([0117] recites,” In one approach, sensing patterns with different periodicities may be selected according to the traffic status, the traffic priority and/or power mode. If there is no traffic and/or the traffic with low priority and/or power saving mode, the large sensing periodicity can be selected. Upon data arrival and/or the traffic with the high priority and/or full power mode, full sensing or the small sensing periodicity can be selected. “ As explained above, depending on the traffic situation/priority first periodicity of the periodic transmission can increased.) Regarding Claim 20, LIN and FREDA teach the limitations of Claim 18 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 18, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine not to transmit the first signal when the value of the multiplier parameter is a specific value. -Paragraph [0056] ([0056] recites, “..If the UE does not receive any PDCCH data before the DRX on duration timer expires, UE can turn off its radio to save power until the end of the DRX cycle and resume PDCCH monitoring in the start of the next DRX cycle…” As explained above, if the UE does not receive any PDCCH data during DRX on duration (parameter), UE can turn off its radio and no transmission/reception.) Regarding Claim 21, LIN and FREDA teach the limitations of Claim 18 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 18, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate the first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on a second periodicity of an operating cycle, wherein a portion of the operating cycle relates to an active time period during which the communication apparatus is active and the remaining portion of the operating cycle relates to an inactive time period during which the communication apparatus is inactive. However, FREDA teaches The communication apparatus of claim 18, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate the first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on a second periodicity of an operating cycle, wherein a portion of the operating cycle relates to an active time period during which the communication apparatus is active -Fig. 8; Paragraph [1228-1229] [0207]( [1228] recites, “The sidelink monitoring time may be determined based on a combination of an active time related to the selected first DRX configuration and the active time related to the selected second DRX configuration. As indicated above herein, a WTRU may determine that it is to be active (e.g. monitors SL PSCCH) when at least one of the active times indicate the WTRU should be active. In one example, the determination at 820 may include a determination that at least one of the active times associated with a selected DRX configuration indicates that the WTRU be in an active monitoring state…” [1229] recites, “Thus, a method for determining DRX operation in a WTRU having information indicating multiple DRX configurations includes determining the sidelink monitoring time. Such a method includes selecting a first DRX configuration from the multiple DRX configurations based on a first cast type associated with a first QoS information for a first SLRB configuration, and selecting a second DRX configuration from the multiple DRX configurations based on a second cast type associated with a second QoS information for a second SLRB configuration. The WTRU may then determine a sidelink monitoring time based on a combination of an active time associated with the first DRX configuration and an active time associated with the second DRX configuration.” and the remaining portion of the operating cycle relates to an inactive time period during which the communication apparatus is inactive [0207] recites, “For example, an RX WTRU may monitor or receive PSCCH within an active time and the WTRU may skip monitoring or receiving PSCCH outside active time…..In addition, inactive time, Off-duration, a time window wherein a WTRU may skip monitoring PSCCH..”) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “circuitry is further configured to calculate the first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on a second periodicity of an operating cycle, wherein a portion of the operating cycle relates to an active time period during which the communication apparatus is active and the remaining portion of the operating cycle relates to an inactive time period during which the communication apparatus is inactive.” of FREDA. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to ensure safer traveling, collision avoidance, and improved traffic efficiency [0088] Regarding Claim 22, LIN and FREDA teach the limitations of Claim 21 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate the first periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval to be shorter than the second periodicity of the operating cycle when the value of the multiplier parameter is a specific value. Paragraph [0117] ([0117] recites,” In one approach, sensing patterns with different periodicities may be selected according to the traffic status, the traffic priority and/or power mode. If there is no traffic and/or the traffic with low priority and/or power saving mode, the large sensing periodicity can be selected. Upon data arrival and/or the traffic with the high priority and/or full power mode, full sensing or the small sensing periodicity can be selected. “ As explained above, depending on the traffic situation/priority first periodicity of the periodic transmission can shorter (smaller)) Regarding Claim 23, LIN and FREDA teach the limitations of Claim 21 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configured to extend the active time period to the remaining portion of the operating cycle when the value of the multiplier parameter is a specific value such that the communication apparatus remains active throughout the operating cycle. However, FREDA teaches The communication apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configured to extend the active time period to the remaining portion of the operating cycle when the value of the multiplier parameter is a specific value such that the communication apparatus remains active throughout the operating cycle. -Paragraph [0251] ([0251] recites, “… In one example application of the above, a WTRU may perform DRX between periodic transmissions and disables DRX when receiving an SCI which indicates presence of an asynchronous transmission.” As explained above, DRX may be disabled by the UE and thus the communication apparatus remains active throughout the operating cycle.) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “the circuitry is further configured to extend the active time period to the remaining portion of the operating cycle when the value of the multiplier parameter is a specific value such that the communication apparatus remains active throughout the operating cycle.” of FREDA. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to ensure safer traveling, collision avoidance, and improved traffic efficiency [0088] Claim 24-27, 29-33, 36-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN in view of FREDA and further in view of MOHAMMAD SOLEYMANI et al. (Patent No: US20230199909 A1), hereinafter, MOHAMMAD Regarding Claim 24, LIN and FREDA teach the limitations of Claim 21 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: identify one danger level of a plurality of danger levels associated with the communication apparatus; and determine the value of the multiplier parameter corresponding to the one danger level. However, MOHAMMAD teaches The communication apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: identify one danger level of a plurality of danger levels associated with the communication apparatus; and determine the value of the multiplier parameter corresponding to the one danger level. -Fig. 12; TABLE 1; Paragraph [0327] ([0327] recites, “Depending on the geographical location the UE is in for e.g. Proximity to road / crossing / junction /traffic light or zones or any hazardous situation as well as emergency situation the DRX cycle can be adapted as longDRXcycle-SL or a shortDRXcycle-SL.” It is easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that danger level (hazardous situation) depends on the zone and DRX cycle can dependent on the zone and can be mapped to the zone as shown in Table 1) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “circuitry is further configured to: identify one danger level of a plurality of danger levels associated with the communication apparatus; and determine the value of the multiplier parameter corresponding to the one danger level” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to efficiently map the different traffic types to sidelink DRX [0454] Regarding Claim 25, LIN, FREDA, and MOHAMMAD combination teach the limitations of Claim 24 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 24, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate the periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels. However, MOHAMMAD teaches, The communication apparatus of claim 24, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate the periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels. -TABLE 1; Paragraph [0384][0386-0387][0327] ([0384] recites, “..the control channel of the sidelink can align the different UEs DRX configurations. It is crucial that the wake-up time should be aligned with SCI periodicity / transmissions on the sidelink…”[0386-0387] recites, “Only relevant UEs SCI may need to be considered for decoding e.g. UEs in proximity, e.g. based on relative distance between UEs; within the same zone; within the same group (groupcast, ad-hoc-group)” [0327] recites, “Depending on the geographical location the UE is in for e.g. Proximity to road / crossing / junction /traffic light or zones or any hazardous situation as well as emergency situation the DRX cycle can be adapted as longDRXcycle-SL or a shortDRXcycle-SL.” It is easily understandable from the above description and also from TABLE 1, that depending on the specific zone (danger level) from plurality of zones, periodicity (pattern) is calculated.) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “the circuitry is further configured to calculate the periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval based on the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels.” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to efficiently map the different traffic types to sidelink DRX [0454] Regarding Claim 26, LIN, FREDA, and MOHAMMAD combination teach the limitations of Claim 25 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 25, wherein the circuitry is further configured to shorten the periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval when the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels is determined to be high. However, MOHAMMAD teaches, The communication apparatus of claim 25, wherein the circuitry is further configured to shorten the periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval when the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels is determined to be high. -Paragraph [0304-0305] ([0304-0305] recites, “Sidelink RSS (proximity to other V-UEs) ➔ the closer, the higher the risk (VRU safety) Depending on the configured NR numerology e.g. sub-carrier spacing for the UE, the DRX cycle can be optionally configured as a shortDRXcycle-SL.” Shortened cycle length implies shortened periodicity) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “the circuitry is further configured to shorten the periodicity of the periodic transmission time interval when the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels is determined to be high.” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to efficiently map the different traffic types to sidelink DRX [0454] Regarding Claim 27, LIN, FREDA, and MOHAMMAD combination teach the limitations of Claim 25 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 25, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine the danger level of the plurality of danger levels is based on a geographical zone identified based on a location of the communication apparatus However, MOHAMMAD teaches The communication apparatus of claim 25, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine the danger level of the plurality of danger levels is based on a geographical zone identified based on a location of the communication apparatus -Paragraph [0172] [0304]( The location of V-UE and proximity dictates the danger level (risk) and therefore, the danger level (risk) defined by the location of V-UE and classified in several zones. [0304] recites, “Sidelink RSS (proximity to other V-UEs) ➔ the closer, the higher the risk (VRU safety)” [0172] recites,” In embodiments, the transceiver is configured to adjust at least one parameter [e.g., DRX period] of its discontinuous reception, DRX, cycle in dependence on a geographical location of the transceiver [e.g., position of the transceiver; or geographical zone or area the transceiver is located].”) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “determine the danger level of the plurality of danger levels is based on a geographical zone identified based on a location of the communication apparatus” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to efficiently map the different traffic types to sidelink DRX [0454] Regarding Claim 29, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 24 LIN further teaches, The communication apparatus of claim 24, further comprising: a receiver, which in operation, receives a second signal from a peer communication apparatus within a pre-defined period; wherein the circuitry is configured to determine whether to transmit the first signal further based on the second signal from the peer communication apparatus. -Fig. 5, 7; Paragraph [0066][0079-0084] ([0066] recites, “Considering asymmetric traffic flow (i.e., the traffic characteristic from UE A to peer UE B is different from that from peer UE B back to UE A), it is more flexible for a UE to maintain separate SL DRX configurations for transmission and for reception. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the application of separate SL DRX configurations according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 5, UE A applies the SL DRX configuration 1 to determine when to transmit to UE B, while UE B applies the SL DRX configuration 2 to determine when to transmit to UE A. Therefore, UE A applies the SL DRX configuration 1 for transmission to UE B and applies the SL DRX configuration 2 for reception from UE B; while UE B applies the SL DRX configuration 1 for reception from UE A and applies the SL DRX configuration 2 for transmission to UE A.” Flowchart in Fig. 7 explains communication between peer UEs. [0082-0084] recites, “In step S720, the UE exchanges the SL DRX configuration with the peer UE. In step S730, based on the exchange of the SL DRX configuration, the UE determines when to perform transmission or reception to or from the peer UE during an SL DRX operation. In step S740, based on the determination, the UE performs transmission or reception to or from the peer UE during the SL DRX operation.”) Regarding Claim 30, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 29 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 29, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: determine if the peer communication apparatus is in the geographical zone based on the second signal; and wherein, the circuity determines not to transmit the first signal in response to the determination of the peer communication apparatus is in the geographical zone. However, MOHAMMAD teaches The communication apparatus of claim 29, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: determine if the peer communication apparatus is in the geographical zone based on the second signal; and wherein, -Paragraph [0222-0226] ([0222-0226] recites,” In embodiments, the transceiver is configured to transmit the sidelink relaying request in dependence on at least one out of a power of received sidelink signals, a battery level of the transceiver, a mobility condition of the transceiver, a zone the transceiver is located” as explained above, the zone in which peer communication apparatus is located is known from the second transmitted signal.) the circuity determines not to transmit the first signal in response to the determination of the peer communication apparatus is in the geographical zone. -TABLE1; Paragraph [0172-0173] ([0172] recites, “ In embodiments, the transceiver is configured to adjust at least one parameter [e.g., DRX period] of its discontinuous reception, DRX, cycle in dependence on a geographical location of the transceiver [e.g., position of the transceiver; or geographical zone or area the transceiver is located].” As explained, DRX cycle adjustment is done based on the zone, i.e., when it can transmit and when it can’t. TABLE 1 shows monitoring patterns depending on the Zone. It is easily understandable that for peer UEs outside of the zone the first signal is not transmitted.) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “determine if the peer communication apparatus is in the geographical zone based on the second signal; and wherein, the circuity determines not to transmit the first signal in response to the determination of the peer communication apparatus is in the geographical zone” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to efficiently map the different traffic types to sidelink DRX [0454] Regarding Claim 31, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 24 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 24, wherein a resource pool, comprising a transmission resource pool and a receive resource pool, is specifically configured for the communication apparatus. -Paragraph [0154] ([0154] recites, “In one embodiment, if a SL groupcast/broadcast service is SL DRX enabled, a SL DRX capable UE apply the Tx/Rx resource pools dedicated for SL DRX to perform groupcast/broadcast transmission/reception. In contrast, a SL DRX incapable UE may also apply Rx resource pool dedicated for SL DRX to receive packets for this groupcast/broadcast services. If it is further specified that during the whole period of the Tx/Rx resource pool dedicated for SL DRX, all those SL DRX capable UEs should keep awake, then a SL DRX incapable UE can also transmit data in these resource pool dedicated for SL DRX.”) Regarding Claim 32, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 31 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 31, wherein the transmission resource pool does not overlap with another transmission resource pool configured for another communication apparatus. -Paragraph [0095][0066] ([0095] recites, “In one embodiment, in SL relay scenario, the time for the relay UE to transmit to or receive from its upstream relay UE (or gNB) is not overlapped with the time for the relay UE to transmit to or receive from its downstream UE (e.g., a relay UE or a remote UE).” As explained above for different communicating devices the time to transmit/receive may not overlap and therefore, use different resource pool. Also, as shown in Fig. 5 and as recited in [0066] different SL DRX configuration may be used for different communicating device. [0066] recites, “..As shown in FIG. 5, UE A applies the SL DRX configuration 1 to determine when to transmit to UE B, while UE B applies the SL DRX configuration 2 to determine when to transmit to UE A. ..”) Regarding Claim 33, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 32 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 32, wherein the transmission resource pool overlaps with another receive resource pool configured for the another communication apparatus. -Paragraph [0154] ([0154] recites, “..If it is further specified that during the whole period of the Tx/Rx resource pool dedicated for SL DRX, all those SL DRX capable UEs should keep awake, then a SL DRX incapable UE can also transmit data in these resource pool dedicated for SL DRX.” As explained above for this configuration SL DRX incapable UE can transmit in the same resource pool for SL DRX capable UE, i.e., transmit resource pool of SL DRX incapable UE overlaps with receive resource pool of SL DRX capable UE.) Regarding Claim 36, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 31 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 31, wherein a time resource pool, which indicates the transmission resource pool and the receive resource pool, is partly or entirely aligned the active time period. -Paragraph [0163] ([0163] recites, “With this resource pool configuration, both a SL DRX capable UE and a SL DRX incapable UE can monitor the same broadcast/groupcast service normally. This is because by aligning the time period of shared resource pools with the common broadcast/groupcast SL DRX active time of groupcast/broadcast services, the transmission/reception time of a SL DRX incapable UE is reshaped as if this SL DRX incapable UE performs SL DRX operation like a SL DRX capable UE does.”) Regarding Claim 37, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 36 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 36, wherein the circuitry is further configured to allocate a transmission duration and a receive duration within the active time period according to the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels associated with the communication apparatus. However, MOHAMMAD teaches The communication apparatus of claim 36, wherein the circuitry is further configured to allocate a transmission duration and a receive duration within the active time period according to the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels associated with the communication apparatus. -Paragraph [0304-0305] ([0304-0305] recites, “Sidelink RSS (proximity to other V-UEs) ➔ the closer, the higher the risk (VRU safety) . Depending on the configured NR numerology e.g. sub-carrier spacing for the UE, the DRX cycle can be optionally configured as a shortDRXcycle-SL. Else from a UE perspective it is beneficial that a longDRXcycle-SL is configured.” As explained above depending on the location (proximity), danger levels (zones) are determined and transmission/receive duration depends on danger level (zone). ) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “allocate a transmission duration and a receive duration within the active time period according to the one danger level of the plurality of danger levels associated with the communication apparatus” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to efficiently map the different traffic types to sidelink DRX [0454] Regarding Claim 38, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 37 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 37, wherein the transmission duration is positively correlated with the danger level of the plurality of danger levels; whereas the receive duration is negatively correlated with the danger level of the plurality of danger levels. However, MOHAMMAD teaches The communication apparatus of claim 37, wherein the transmission duration is positively correlated with the danger level of the plurality of danger levels; whereas the receive duration is negatively correlated with the danger level of the plurality of danger levels. -Fig. 12; Paragraph [0327][0398-0399] ([0327] recites, “Depending on the geographical location the UE is in for e.g. Proximity to road / crossing / junction /traffic light or zones or any hazardous situation as well as emergency situation the DRX cycle can be adapted as longDRXcycle-SL or a shortDRXcycle-SL. “ [0398-0399] recites, “FIG. 12 shows a schematic illustration of a UE within a 5 × 5 m configured zone monitors multiple configured DRX patterns of nearby zones in order to formulate a common DRX configuration so that it is able to receive messages from everyone in proximity. Another possibility with zones is that it allows the number of sub-channels to be monitored during DRX on-time to be scaled with the size of the zone. For a given density, the number of V-UEs is proportional to the zone area. Thus, it is beneficial that the number of sub-channels to be monitored scales with area to reduce the sub-channel blockage or collisions. The zone approach has the flexibility to limit the numbers of zones monitored by a P-UE. It also allows to adjust the number of sub-channels to be monitored to match the local density in the zone. For e.g. if the zone size is 5 m × 5 m, then the UE can decide to monitor sub-channels as well as listen to the nearby zones based on a scaling factor. The table 2 gives a possible dependency considering the sub-channels, zone dimension and the bandwidth part” As explained, zone approach (based on proximity/danger level) is flexible and transmission/receive duration can be fully controlled by DRX cycle and number (levels) of zones created (considered) ) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “transmission duration is positively correlated with the danger level of the plurality of danger levels; whereas the receive duration is negatively correlated with the danger level of the plurality of danger levels.” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to efficiently map the different traffic types to sidelink DRX [0454] Claim 34, 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN in view of FREDA, MOHAMMAD and further in view of SALIM et al. (Patent No: US20230397295A1), hereinafter, SALIM Regarding Claim 34, LIN, FREDA and MOHAMMAD teach the limitations of Claim 32 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 32, wherein a portion of the receive resource pool overlaps with a portion of the another transmission pool configured for the another communication apparatus. However, SALIM teaches The communication apparatus of claim 32, wherein a portion of the receive resource pool overlaps with a portion of the another transmission pool configured for the another communication apparatus. -Paragraph [0017] ([0017] recites, “The UE and/or the further UE may apply an offset to their selected discontinuous reception configuration to ensure at least a partial overlap between the on periods of each UE.” [0043] recites, “.. Resource pools of transmission resources are utilised to manage resource and allocation and manage interference between potentially concurrent transmissions. A resource pool is a set of time-frequency resources from which resources for a transmission can be selected. UEs can be configured with multiple transmit and receive resource pools.” It is evident that when the DRX reception periods has partial overlap, resource pool may overlap too.) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “a portion of the receive resource pool overlaps with a portion of the another transmission pool configured for the another communication apparatus. ” of SALIM. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to address power saving concerns which may become relevant when utilising sidelink communications with UEs with a limited power budget [0047] Regarding Claim 35, LIN, FREDA, MOHAMMAD, and SALIM teach the limitations of Claim 34 LIN further teaches The communication apparatus of claim 34, further comprising: a receiver, which in operation, receives a third signal from the another communication apparatus through the portion of the receive resource pool. -Paragraph [0059] [0154]([0059] recites, “when a UE activates SL communication for NR-V2X, the UE should keep monitoring all SL Rx resource pools for possible SL transmission which may happen in any time…” [0154] recites, “UE may also apply Rx resource pool dedicated for SL DRX to receive packets for this groupcast/broadcast services. If it is further specified that during the whole period of the Tx/Rx resource pool dedicated for SL DRX, all those SL DRX capable UEs should keep awake, then a SL DRX incapable UE can also transmit data in these resource pool dedicated for SL DRX.” As explained above, UE may receive data from SL DRX incapable UE (another apparatus) through the receive resource pool) Claim 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN in view of FREDA, MOHAMMAD and further in view of Park et al. (Patent No: US20210051653A1), hereinafter, Park Regarding Claim 28, LIN, FREDA, and MOHAMMAD combination teach the limitations of Claim 27 LIN explicitly does not teach The communication apparatus of claim 27, wherein the circuitry is further configured to identify the geographical zone based on a Global Navigation Satellite System location of the communication apparatus and pre-loaded map data. However, Park teaches The communication apparatus of claim 27, wherein the circuitry is further configured to identify the geographical zone based on a Global Navigation Satellite System location of the communication apparatus and pre-loaded map data. -Paragraph [0207][0257] ([0207] recites, “the one or more peripherals 1526 may comprise software and/or hardware that provide features and/or functionalities, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a keypad, a display, a touchpad, a power source, a satellite transceiver, a universal serial bus (USB) port, a hands-free headset, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a media player, an Internet browser, an electronic control unit (e.g., for a motor vehicle), and/or one or more sensors (e.g., an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a temperature sensor, a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a light sensor, a camera, and/or the like)……. The GPS chipset 1517 and the GPS chipset 1527 may be configured to determine and provide geographic location information of the wireless device 1502 and the base station 1504” GPS chipset derive location from GNSS signal. [0257] recites, ”The first base station 2504 may receive, from the first wireless device 2512, device information of the second wireless device 2516. The device information may indicate at least one of: a serving cell, a serving base station, a resource pool, a zone, and/or the like.”) It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Power Saving Enhancement for Sidelink Communication” proposed by LIN to include the concept of “identify the geographical zone based on a Global Navigation Satellite System location of the communication apparatus and pre-loaded map data” of MOHAMMAD. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to Configure parameters for sidelink communication between wireless devices may be based on sidelink capabilities of at least one of the wireless devices (e.g., a receiving wireless device), which may help to ensure successful sidelink communications between the wireless devices[0005] Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED SAIFUDDIN whose telephone number is (703)756-4581. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-6:00pm. 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, KHALED M KASSIM can be reached on 571-270-3770. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /AHMED SAIFUDDIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2472 /KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2472
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 18, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+15.5%)
3y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
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