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
The Amendment to the claims filed on 02/17/2026 complies with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.121(c) and has been entered. Claims 1-2, 6-7 and 16-17 are amended. Claims 18-20 are cancelled. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is withdrawn in view of the present Amendment and the latest amendment to copending Application No. 17/771765, PG Pub. 2022/0417872.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's Arguments/Remarks filed 02/17/2026 (hereinafter Resp.) are fully considered hereinafter.
Applicant’s main argument is that the methods for receiving a sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB) from another terminal of Shin et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0153574 (hereinafter Shin) are “fundamentally different from the configuration of amended claim 1, in which information for a type of the other UE is included in the S-SSB” – See Resp.,7:¶3 because Shin “teaches that a terminal does not expect to receive S-SSB, PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH signals having different configurations” – See Resp.,7:¶2. Applicant further clarifies that “amended claim 1 no longer merely recites that a result of an already performed synchronization is determined based on the types of the UEs” but “the type of the other UE [is] identified from the S-SSB” – See id.:¶1.
While Applicant’s argument that Shin does not disclose a type of sidelink capable UE, within the meaning given to “type” by the present Specification – See, e.g., [¶483] and as known in the art before the filing date of the present application, is valid and was acknowledged in the previous Office Action at page 10, Applicant’s argument that Shin’s terminal does not expect to receive S-SSB, PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH signals having different configurations has no merit: Shin specifically teaches “a procedure for receiving a sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB) between terminals,” wherein “the parameters may be configured differently” – See [¶0113] e.g., “[t]wo terminals may be configured with different information on the parameters for the S-SSB such as the SCS, CP length, waveform, or time/frequency/code resource” – See [¶0114]. Thus, it should be apparent to one of ordinary skills in the art that that the disclosure assuming that the two terminals are configured with the same information on the parameters for decoding the S-SSB is the present disclosure, claiming a UE “performing a synchronization with the other UE based on the [received] S-SSB” without any inquiry about how to sense/detect and/or decode the received S-SSB – See, e.g., Amended Claim 1. Indeed, the present Specification states that “the UE may detect S-SSB transmitted by the other UE and determine a sidelink slot and a frame boundary based on the detected S-SSB” – See [¶484], whereby a person of ordinary skills in the art would know that frame and slot boundaries are determined based on the subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP), as described in 3GPP technical specifications,1 i.e., information a first UE must acquire from somewhere about the second UE before even being able to decode the information in a received S-SSB. Indeed, the Specification provides that if the UE “fails to receive the synchronization configuration from the serving cell, the UE may conform to a pre-configured synchronization configuration” or “the UE may be synchronized with another UE” when “[a] synchronization source or preference may be pre-configured to the UE,” – See [¶¶0326-27] therefore expecting that the UE is “pre-configured” to decode a synchronization source. On the contrary, Shin discloses several procedures for determining the S-SSB parameters/configuration information of another terminal such as “the SCS, CP length, waveform, or time/frequency/code resources for the S-SSB,” – See [¶¶0124-25] including a case where “[t]he S-SSB transmission parameter and configuration information may be . . . different from the S-SSB reception parameter and configuration information” of a terminal – See [¶0134] i.e., intimating that two UEs may have different SSB Tx/Rx properties. To be sure, Shin discloses, in Embodiment 2, a procedure for the first UE to obtain the S-SSB parameters and configuration information for the second UE so that the first UE can synchronize on the sidelink with the second UE – See [¶0224] (“rxParametersNCell field may be set only when an additional synchronization procedure is needed as described with reference to FIG. 5D” as shown in Table 5 wherein, among others, the SSB-Rx parameter indicates to the first UE the information needed to detect and decode a received S-SSB); see also [¶0218] (S-SSB-Rx is: “Information regarding the subcarrier spacing (SCS), CP length, waveform, and time/frequency/code resources for S-SSB reception of the terminal may be included”). This procedure is the foundation for decoding configuration information of another terminal in the PSBCH, as disclosed in Embodiment 4, because “the PSBCH [is] received through the S-SSB” – See, e.g., [¶0151], in accord with the present Specification disclosing that “based on whether the UE supports . . . a type of the UE, RESERVED bit field values of the PSBCH transmitted by the UE may be differently (pre-)set and/or used,” i.e., to signal the type of UE “when the UE uses S-SSB transmitted by a UE, which does not support PSCCH/PSSCH reception, for synchronization” – See [¶488].
It is true that Shin does not specifically discloses “the type” of UE received in an S-SSB within the meaning of the present Application. However, Shin discloses at least two procedures that apply specifically when “UE-1 and UE-2 must perform an additional synchronization procedure” – See [¶0101] and that allow a first UE to get information about “the type” of the synchronization reference UE: (1) the procedure explained in Embodiment 2 based on an additional parameter in the V2X/SL Resource Pool used to decode the received S-SSB as shown in Table 5 (e.g., a new parameter in the rxParametersNCell field beside SSB-Rx2); and (2) the procedure explained in Embodiment 4 based on using the Reserved bits in the PSBCH received in the S-SSB and shown in Table 6. It would be obvious for a person of ordinary skills in the art, knowing about the different types of UE based on their capability of receiving sidelink communication, e.g., from 3GPP R1-210xxx infra, to use the teaching of Shin to add a synchRef UE type parameter either to one of the resource pools used for sidelink communications, as in Table 5, or to use the PSBCH reserved bits in Table 6 to signal synchRef UE type because in both cases the first UE has to decode the S-SSB to get the configuration information, e.g., either using an in Table 5 or through the PSBCH content sent on the S-SSB and described in Table 6. Therefore, while it can be said that Shin fails to disclose the information on the type of UEs within the meaning of the present application, Applicant’s argument against Shin fails to persuade because Shin provides the means necessary for a person of ordinary skills in the art, familiar with the type of UEs known in the art before the filing date of the present application, to implement the S-SSB based informing function.
Applicant further argues that “Rl-210xxx does not disclose any synchronization procedure between UEs of different types, nor does it disclose transmitting information identifying a UE type via an S-SSB or performing synchronization based on such information” – See Resp., 7:¶4. However, the reference 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #104-e, R1-210xxx, Title: "Draft Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #104-e v0.2.0", Source MCC Support, February 19, 2021 (hereinafter 3GPP R1-210xxx) and the documents referenced therein, was used in the previous Office Action to remediate Shin’s silence on a “type” of UE within the meaning of the present Application. In response to applicant's argument against this reference individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). 3GPP R1-210xxx was referenced for disclosing the types related to a sidelink reception capability of the UE before the filing date of the present disclosure. Because both Shin and the cited secondary reference describe parameters and configuration information related to sidelink communications, including specific Rx/Tx configuration parameters, these references are properly combinable. In addition, the combination is motivated by the necessary standards compliance related to sidelink communications. Therefore, Applicant’s argument against the referenced combination is not persuasive.
Finally, Applicant’s argument that the cited references do not explicitly teach “the configuration of amended claim 1, in which information for a type of the other UE is included in and received via the S-SSB” – See Resp., 7:¶5 is also moot in view of Khoryaev et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0140967 (hereinafter Khoryaev), used as a reference in the previous Office action, disclosing methods of encoding additional information in an S-PSS to detect the type of the node broadcasting SLSS implicitly. Under the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation, the term “a type of the UE” is given the plain meaning a person of ordinary skills in the art would give to the term in light of the Specification, including a first type, a second type and a third type; the term sidelink-synchronization signal block (S-SSB) is given the definition known in the art, i.e., a resource block where S-PSS, S-SSS, and PSBCH signals with associated DM-RS are mapped to OFDM symbols – See Footnote 1, citing to 3GPP TS 38.211. Applicant could further amend Claim 1 to require specific types of UE and/or specific signals mapped to the S-SSB.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: "[362] Specifically, referring to FIG. Hl1" but there is no Fig. H1. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-17, as amended, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Shin et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0153574 (hereinafter Shin) in view of Draft Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #104-e v1.0.0, R1-210xxx, published February 19, 2021 (hereinafter 3GPP R1-2100001) and further in view of Khoryaev et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0140967 (hereinafter Khoryaev).
Regarding Claim 1, Shin teaches a method performed, by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving a sidelink-synchronization signal block (S-SSB) from other UE (“a procedure for receiving a sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB) from another terminal” – See [¶0096] whereby “[t]he V2X terminal (V2X UE-A) may receive a synchronization signal directly from another V2X terminal (V2X UE-B)” – See [¶0081] and “the sidelink synchronization signal may indicate a sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB)” – See [¶0087]; furthermore, “a terminal wishing to receive a synchronization signal should obtain configuration information thereabout” such as “the subcarrier spacing, CP length, waveform, and time/frequency/code resources for the S-SSB” and “parameter information for PSCCH and PSSCH transmission” – See [¶0099] whereby “Parameter Configuration Methods in NR Sidelink Communication System” comprise Alt-1 to Alt-5 – See [¶¶0118-123]);
performing a synchronization with the other UE based on the S-SSB (“the V2X terminal outside the coverage of the base station monitors a synchronization signal first to achieve synchronization and, if a synchronization signal is detected achieves synchronization with the source having transmitted the synchronization signal” – See [¶0099], “the terminal finds a synchronization signal by using the S-SSB reception parameter and configuration information, and if a synchronization signal is detected, achieves synchronization with the detected synchronization signal” – See [¶0132] and “[u]pon determining to achieve additional synchronization, the first terminal performs a synchronization procedure with the second terminal before receiving the PSCCH/PSSCH” – See [¶0142]),
wherein the S-SSB includes information for a type of the other UE (“the S-SSB may be composed of a SLSS and a PSBCH” – See [¶0131] whereby “[t]o enable two terminals configured with different parameters to communicate via sidelink communication, it is possible to include and configure the parameter information between terminals . . . in the PSBCH” – See [¶0251] and “the terminal decodes the PSBCH to obtain at least one of the following information” about the other UE, – See [¶0258] e.g., only “PSCCH/PSSCH transmission parameter and configuration information that can be transmitted by the terminal” is obtained – See [¶0260];[¶0262] indicating transmission only at the other UE, and/or “in Table 6, a DMRS pattern of 4 symbols may be defined to support a high speed environment and a DMRS pattern of 2 symbols may be defined to support a low speed environment. This pattern information of 1 bit may be included in the PSBCH information,” – See [¶0266] e.g., indicating the high-speed or low-speed type of the other UE), and
wherein the synchronization is performed based on (i) the information for the type of the other UE and (ii) a type of the UE (“the first terminal performs a synchronization procedure with the second terminal before receiving the PSCCH/PSSCH” – See [¶0142], e.g., by decoding the PSBCH on the S-SSB as shown in Table 6, “for the configuration information about the PSCCH/PSSCH, the number of bits A and B for PSCCHPSSCH- Tx and PSCCH-PSSCH-Rx may vary according to the included parameters” – See [¶0258] whereby “If both 1) and 2) are obtained, the terminal performs PSCCH/PSSCH transmission by using the information in 1) and performs PSCCH/PSSCH reception by using the information in 2)” – See [¶0264], i.e., the information for the type of the other UE indicates the other UE is capable of both PSCCH/PSSCH reception and transmission, and “a DMRS pattern of 4 symbols may be defined to support a high speed environment” – See [¶0266], whereby the first UE may not be a high speed UE, therefore the synchronization is performed at low speed of the first UE). Therefore, Shin anticipates Amended Claim 1.
In the alternative Shin does not disclose a type of UE based on whether the UE may not support all or part of SL reception operation (which it does based on the PSCCH-PSSCH Rx/Tx information in the PSBCH transmitted in the S-SSB), § 8.11.1.1, 3GPP R1-210xxx:135 teaches three types of UE based on SL reception capability3: (1) “S-SSB reception is not included for Type A UE”; (2) “Type B: Same as Type A with an exception of performing PSFCH and S-SSB reception” and (3) the rest of UEs (“Type D”), referencing 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #104-e, R1-2101412, Title: “FL summary for AI 8.11.1.1 – resource allocation for power saving,” Source: Moderator (OPPO), February 2021 (hereinafter 3GPP R1-2101412) describing the reduced SL reception of Type A and B UEs for power saving as compared with Type D – See § 3.1, 3GPP R1-2101412:3-4 (“Type A: UE is not capable of performing reception of any SL signals and channels” and proposing “Type B: Same as Type A with an exception of performing PSFCH and S-SSB reception”; and one company stating “that the UE Type definition, i.e., A, D (or B), are not related to UE capabilities but just as a reference for evaluation and designing the power saving features.”); see also § 5.1, id.:90 (“Type D: UE is capable of performing reception of all SL signals and channels defined in R16. It does not preclude UE to perform reception of a subset of SL signals/channels”). Furthermore, §7.2.11, 3GPP R1-210xxx:39-40 summarizes 5G V2X Rel. 16 NR UE features with reference to 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #104-e, R1-2102006, Title: “Updated RAN1 UE features list for Rel-16 NR after RAN1#104-e”; Source: Moderator (AT&T, NTT DOCOMO INC.), February 06, 2021 (hereinafter 3GPP R1-2102006) wherein, in §8, at page 65, is described at item 15-4, a UE’s capability to send and receive S-SSB, stating that “[f]or UE [that] supports NR sidelink, UE must indicate this FG [Feature Group] is supported,” i.e., indicating that this feature must be signaled to other UEs. Therefore, 3GPP R1-210xxx teaches and different SL reception capabilities of a SL UE (a type of UE) and specifically its capability to receive and transmit S-SSB depending on the UE’s type, i.e., that the result of the synchronization is determined based on (i) the type of the other UE; and (ii) a type of the UE.
Thus, Shin and 3GPP R1-210xxx each teach NR Sidelink (SL) enhancements for UE-to-UE synchronization before SL communication. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have understood that categorizing the UEs by their SL reception capabilities (type A, B., and D) and requiring transmission of SL Rx/Tx information, including Rx/Tx of S-SSB, as UE capability, as specified in 3GPP R1-210xxx, could have been combined with the method for enabling two terminals configured with different parameters to communicate via sidelink communication taught in Shin, e.g., additional parameters in the SL-CornrnResourcePoolV2X and/or parameters information in the PSBCH received on the S-SSB, because both methods allow SL synchronization based on synchronizing two UEs based on the S-SSB transmitted by one of them. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the combination through techniques known in the art. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of reducing the power consumption during resource sensing and/or random access as taught in 3GPP R1-210xxx.
Finally, Shin in view 3GPP R1-210xxx discloses how to explicitly indicate the SL Rx configuration information of the other UE (the type of UE). However, Khoryaev, teaching new designs for “Sidelink PSS signals design for NR-V2X communication,” – See [¶0024] “Sidelink SSS (designated as S-SSS or SSSS) signals for NR V2X communication,” – See [¶0027] and “Physical structure for sidelink SSB including sidelink broadcast channel-PSBCH” – See [¶0028] to “reduce the receiver complexity of initial acquisition for NR V2X sidelink communication” – See [¶0029], further teaches how to design S-PSS “to detect the type of the node broadcasting SLSS implicitly,” – See [¶0050] e.g., “apply time reversal mapping to legacy PSS sequences in the frequency domain to generate three S-PSS signals in the time domain which are the complex conjugated versions of PSS signal in time” – See [¶0051] (emphasis added) or the S-PSS signal can be derived from any of PSS sequence by “[a]pplying different cyclic shift in the frequency domain, which is different from the already defined legacy cyclic shifts {0, 43, 86}. For example, cyclic shifts from the set of {22, 65, 108} or {21, 64, 107} can be used” – See [¶0047]; see also [¶0079-82] (teaching three sets of S-SSS sequences can be used to differentiate three types of sync sources; this can be used also to differentiate three UE types).
Thus, Khoryaev and Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx each teaches a method of sidelink synchronization based on S-SSB transmitted between two UEs. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have understood that the enhancement to the S-PSS of the S-SSS to implicitly distinguish the type of the other UE, as taught by Khoryaev, could have been substituted in for the explicit transmission of the configuration information of other UE type using the PSBCH transmitted on the S-SSB as taught in Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx because both rely on known UE types, specified in 3GPP technical documents, and pre-configured to the UEs. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution through techniques known in the art. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of implicitly signaling the type of the other UE while simplifying reception complexity of the UE, as taught by Khoryaev.
In sum, Amended Claim 1 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Amended Claim 2, dependent from Amended Claim 1, Shin further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the type is related to a sidelink reception capability of the UE (“the terminal decodes the PSBCH to obtain at least one of the following information” – See [¶0259] e.g., “when DMRS pattern information for the PDSCH is included in Table 6, a DMRS pattern of 4 symbols may be defined to support a high speed environment and a DMRS pattern of 2 symbols may be defined to support a low speed environment,” – See [¶0266] i.e., the UE shall tune its reception for a certain sidelink transmission speed from the other UE; or “1) PSCCH/PSSCH transmission parameter and configuration information that the terminal can be transmitted by the terminal” – See [¶0260] i.e., the type is related to a sidelink reception capability of this UE)
and wherein a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) are received based on the synchronization being performed (“If only 1) is obtained, the terminal performs . . . PSCCH/PSSCH reception by using the parameter and configuration information in 1)” – See [¶0262]).
In addition, instead or in addition of the information decoded by the UE from the PSBCH in the S-SSB received from the other UE as disclosed in Shin, the information may comprise a type that is related to a sidelink reception capability of the UE(s), e.g., as taught in 3GPP R1-210xxx supra, received through any of the methods disclosed in Shin and in Khoryaev.
Therefore, Amended Claim 2 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 3, dependent from Amended Claim 2, although Shin does not teach specific types of UEs based on SL reception capabilities related to receiving synchronization and specific SL channels, Section (Action Item) 8.11.1.1, 3GPP R1-210xxx:134 further teaches wherein the type includes:
(a) a first type supporting only a sidelink transmission operation (“PSFCH reception is not included for Type A UE; S-SSB reception is not included for Type A UE” – See id., referencing 3GPP R1-2101412:2 (stating “Type A: UE is not capable of performing reception of any SL signals and channels” and “[t]he main reason not to support S-SSB reception was that the UE can always sync to network or GNSS timing, same as in LTE-V”));
(b) a second type supporting only a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) reception operation and/or an S-SSB reception operation among (i) the sidelink transmission operation and (ii) a sidelink reception operation (“Type B: Same as Type A with an exception of performing PSFCH and S-SSB reception” – See § 8.11.1.1, 3GPP R1-210xxx:134); and
(c) a third type supporting both (i) the sidelink transmission operation and (ii) the sidelink reception operation (“the same conditions as in RAN1#103-e regarding the context of the discussion of . . . Type D still apply” – See id.; see also Shin:[¶0008](“operating the terminal for sidelink transmission and reception”)).
Therefore, Claim 3 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 4, dependent from Claim 3, Shin teaches that “[i]f a synchronization signal is not detected, the terminal transmits the S-SSB by using the S-SSB transmission parameter and configuration information, and achieves synchronization through this” – See [¶0133] and that synchronization may fail between UE with different SL Tx/Rx configurations, e.g., when “the terminal does not expect to receive S-SSB, PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH signals having different configurations, . . . this method may fail to receive a sidelink signal in a certain scenario” – See [¶0248]. Even though Shin does not explicitly teach the UE being the first type or the second type, Shin implicitly teaches that synchronization is not performed when the first UE does not detect a synchronization signal, therefore transmits a S-SSB but the other UE responds with PSFCH with different configuration, e.g., different SCS.
To be sure, § 8.11.1.1, 3GPP R1-210xxx:134 further teaches the method of claim 3, wherein, based on a type of a UE transmitting the S-SSB being determined as the first type or the second type based on (i) the type of the UE being the first type or the second type (e.g., when UE is Type-A unable of receiving S-SSB), and (ii) the information on the type of the other UE (e.g., the other UE is Type-D capable of both SL transmitting and receiving), the synchronization is not performed (e.g., because the UE cannot receive S-SSB from the other UE).
Therefore, the combination of Claim 4 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 5, dependent from Claim 4, Shin further teaches wherein, based on the synchronization being not performed, the PSCCH and the PSSCH are not received (“configuration information for the PSCCH/PSSCH/PSFCH of another terminal is included in the PSBCH” – See [¶0122], whereby “[t]he S-SSB may include . . . a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH)” – See [¶0087]; therefore, when the UE cannot receive S-SSB containing the PSBCH with Rx/Tx information specific to the other UE synchronization fails, as explained supra, and the PSCCH and the PSSCH are not received).
Therefore, Claim 5 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Amended Claim 6, dependent from Claim 3, 3GPP R1-210xxx already teaches the type of the other UE being Type-A, B or D, as each of these types can transmit on S-SSB. Khoryaev further teaches a method of encoding S-PSS and/or S-SSS signals to distinguish implicitly between three types of nodes broadcasting SLSS, as explained in Regarding Amended Claim 1 supra. Because the combination of Shin and 3GPP R1-210xxx in view of Khoryaev is obvious as explained in Regarding Amended Claim 1 supra, Amended Claim 6 is also obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Amended Claim 7, dependent from Amended Claim 6, Khoryaev further teaches the method of claim 6, wherein the transmission type of the S-SSB is determined by differently applying a sequence related to the S-SSB to a transmission of the S-SSB based on the type of the other UE (“[i]n order to reduce UE complexity as well as implementation and standardization efforts” – See [¶0045], “S-PSS design is based on PSS design” – See [¶0044] e.g., “apply time reversal mapping to legacy PSS sequences in the frequency domain to generate three S-PSS signals in the time domain,” – See [¶0051] thus distinguishing among three types of the transmitting UE).
Because the combination of Shin and 3GPP R1-210xxx in view of Khoryaev is obvious as explained in Regarding Amended Claim 6 supra, Amended Claim 7 is also obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 8, dependent from Amended Claim 7, Shin further teaches the method of claim 7, wherein the sequence related to the S-SSB includes at least one of:
(i) a sequence related to a sidelink-primary synchronization signal (S-PSS) and/or a sidelink-secondary synchronization signal (S-SSS) (“the S-PSS may include a Zadoff-Chu sequence or M-sequence, and the S-SSS may include an M-sequence or gold sequence” – See [¶0087]);
(ii) a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence (“a DMRS pattern of 4 symbols may be defined to support a high speed environment and a DMRS pattern of 2 symbols may be defined to support a low speed environment. This pattern information of 1 bit may be included in the PSBCH” – See Shin:[¶0266], Table 6) whereby 3GPP TS 38.211:129 V16.4.0 (2020-12), “Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Physical channels and modulation (Release 16)” (hereinafter 3GPP TS 38.211), referenced as “38.211, Rel-16, CR0067, Cat F” by 3GPP R1-210xxx, at page 29, teaches in § 8.4.3 and Table 8.4.3.1-1, that “[f]or an S-SS/PSBCH block, the UE shall use . . . the same cyclic prefix length and subcarrier spacing for the S-PSS, S-SSS, PSBCH and DM-RS for PSBCH,” and sequence generation for DM-RS of PSBCH in § 8.4.1.4, 3GPP TS 38.211:127)
(iii) a scrambling sequence of the PSBCH (see §8.3.3.1, id.:122; see also “the payload of physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) is scrambled with PRBS sequences which generation is dependent on SLSS ID (e.g., through initial seed)” – See Khoryaev:[¶0307]); or
(iv) a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) masking sequence of the PSBCH.
Therefore, Claim 8 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 9, dependent from Amended Claim 7, Shin teaches a random seed for generation of the sequence related to the S-SSB (“the S-PSS may include a Zadoff-Chu sequence or M-sequence” – See [¶0087]) and 3GPP TS 38.211, referenced by 3GPP R1-210xxx, at page 29, teaches in § 5.1, at page 17-18, the M-sequence generation.
Khoryaev further teaches the method of claim 7, wherein based on the type being (i) the first type or (ii) the second type, the transmission type of the S-SSB is a type in which an additional offset value is applied to a random seed upon generation of the sequence related to the S-SSB (“if Polynomial: g(x)=x7+x4+1 with initial state x(0~6)={0110111} is used as an original polynomial for m-sequence” – See [¶0049], wherein a person of ordinary skills in the art would know that “the random seed” for a M-sequence is the initial state of the linear-feedback shift register that generates the sequence, here x(0~6), “it may be possible to apply different cyclic shifts to legacy PSS . . . [i]n order to generate two sequences” – See [¶0050]).
Therefore, Claim 9 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 10, dependent from Amended Claim 7, Khoryaev further teaches the method of claim 7, wherein,
based on the type being (i) the first type or (ii) the second type, the transmission type of the S-SSB is a type in which an additional offset value is applied to a sequence value after generating the sequence related to the S-SSB (“The third alternative, is to apply time reversal mapping to legacy PSS sequences in the frequency domain to generate three S-PSS signals in the time domain which are the complex conjugated versions of PSS signal in time” – See [¶0051], i.e., an additional offset value in time domain based on a Time-Reversed Sequence is achieved by applying DFT operation to a S-PSS sequence after generating that sequence related to the S-SSB, whereby “the conjugated PSS signals will be generated in the time domain” – See [¶0064] and associated, e.g., with the other UE type being (i) the first type or (ii) the second type)
Therefore, Claim 10 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Amended Claim 11, dependent from Claim 3, Shin further teaches the method of claim 3, wherein the information for the type of the other UE is identified based on a bit field value of a PSBCH differently configured based on the type (e.g., in Embodiment 4 using Alt-4, with regard to Table 6, showing numbers of bits A/B for the PSCCH-PSSCH-Tx/Rx of the other terminal encoded in the received PBSCH, whereby “[i]f only 1) [PSCCH-PSSCH-Tx] is obtained” the UE performs “PSCCH/PSSCH reception by using the parameter and configuration information in 1)” – See [¶0262], i.e., the type of the other UE is identified as Type A or B based on a bit field PSCCH-PSSCH-Rx not configured or Type D if configured, as taught by 3GPP R1-210xxx; the Reserved bits in Table 6 of Shin could be used the same way; see also Khoryaev:[¶0096] (“PSBCH can carry 1) information essential to physical layer operation, e.g., parameters describing L1 structure of PSCCH and/or PS SCH channels, 2) information relevant to sidelink synchronization procedure, e.g., type of original synchronization reference, sync hop information, allocation of sync resources and whether sync source is stationary. Finally, PSBCH should contain a set of reserved bits for the purpose of forwarding compatibility. e.g., type of original synchronization reference, sync hop information, allocation of sync resources and whether sync source is stationary. Finally, PSBCH should contain a set of reserved bits for the purpose of forwarding compatibility,” i.e., further developments such as signaling the type of the other UE)).
Therefore, Amended Claim 11 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 12, dependent from Amended Claim 11, Shin further teaches the method of claim 11, wherein a bit field value of the PSBCH based on the first type and a bit field value of the PSBCH based on the second type are set to the same value (e.g., “In Table 6, for the configuration information about the PSCCH/PSSCH, the number of bits A and B for PSCCH/PSSCH- Tx and PSCCH-PSSCH-Rx” – See [¶0258] are the same and indicating the same value “not configured,” i.e., cannot communicate over PSCCH/PSSCH, e.g., type A/B), and
wherein a bit field of the PSBCH based on the third type is set to a different value from (i) the bit field value of the PSBCH based on the first type and (ii) the bit field value of the PSBCH based on the second type (a “pattern information of 1 bit may be included in the PSBCH information” – See [¶0266], i.e., a bit field of the PSBCH based on the third type, Type D, that can communicate over PSCCH/PSSCH; additionally, the Reserved bits field in Table 6 may be similarly used).
Therefore, Claim 12 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 13, dependent from Claim 12, Shin further teaches the method of claim 12, wherein a bit field of the PSBCH is a RESERVED bit field (e.g., Table 6, showing the PSBCH contents, discloses a RESERVED field).
Therefore, Claim 13 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 14, dependent from Claim 3, Shin further teaches the method of claim 3, wherein, based on the type of the UE being the first type or the second type, the UE identifies the other UE, of which the type is the first type or the second type, as a UE with a lowest priority related to a synchronization source (“Referring to FIG. 3, the V2X terminal may receive a sidelink synchronization signal from various sidelink synchronization sources” – See [¶0066], separated by a number of hops from “a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or a global positioning system (GPS)” – See [¶0067]; when the first UE of type B “V2X UE-A receives a sidelink synchronization signal (SLSS) transmitted by V2X UE-1 that is directly synchronized with the GNSS” the “V2X UE-A may receive a synchronization signal from the GNSS in two hops” which is higher priority than when the other UE of Type A or B, “V2X UE-2, which is synchronized with the SLSS transmitted by V2X UE-1 synchronized with the GNSS, may transmit the SLSS. If V2X UE-A receives this SLSS, it indicates that a synchronization signal is received from the GNSS in three hops,” – See [¶0070] i.e., the other UE, here V2X UE-2, is a UE with a lowest priority related to the synchronization source, the GNSS, because it is 3 hops remoted from the GNSS, while V2X UE-1 is only two hops remoted, and when the “V2X terminal may receive a synchronization signal directly from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)” – See [¶0067], the GNSS is the highest priority source because it is the most precise; in addition, the first UE being of type B, “V2X terminal (V2X UE-A) may receive a synchronization signal indirectly from another V2X terminal (V2X UE-B),” as a synchronization source – See [¶0084] and receive S-SSB from the other UE of Type B, the “V2X UE-2, which is synchronized with the SLSS transmitted by V2X UE-1 synchronized directly with V2X UE-B, may transmit the SLSS” and when “V2X UE-A receives this SLSS, it indicates that a synchronization signal is received from V2X UE-B in three hops,” – See [¶0085] i.e., the lowest priority related to the synchronization source being another V2X UE).
Therefore, Claim 14 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Claim 15, dependent from Claim 3, Shin further teaches the method of claim 3, wherein, based on the type of the UE being the third type, e.g., a SD Rx/Tx UE, the UE identifies the other UE, of which the type is the first type or the second type, as a UE with a highest priority related to a synchronization source (“Receiving a synchronization signal indirectly from a GNSS may correspond to a case where V2X UE-A receives a sidelink synchronization signal (SLSS) transmitted by V2X UE-1 that is directly synchronized with the GNSS” – See [¶0070] whereby V2X UE-1 is the other UE and is capable of receiving SSB directly from the GNSS even if it is of first type, and the GNSS is the highest priority related to a synchronization source, as known in the art, when compared with “another V2X terminal synchronized with one V2X terminal [as] a sidelink synchronization source” – See [¶0086]).
Therefore, Claim 15 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Regarding Amended Claim 16, teaches a user equipment (UE) comprising:
one or more transceivers; one or more processors; and one or more memories connected to the one or more processors and configured to store instructions for operations executed by the one or more processors (“the terminal may include a receiver 800, a transmitter 804, and a processor 802. In one embodiment, the receiver 800 and the transmitter 804 may be collectively referred to as a transceiver” whereby “[t]he processor 802 may control a series of operations so that the terminal can operate according to the embodiments of the disclosure described” – See [¶0287] Fig. 8, and “computer program instructions may be stored in a computer readable memory that is usable in a specialized computer or a programmable data processing equipment” – See [¶0032]), wherein the operations comprise: the UE executing the steps of the method disclosed in Amended Claim 1, recited with the same language.
Because Amended Claim 1 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx., Amended Claim 16 is also obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of of Khoryaev.
Regarding Amended Claim 17, Shin further teaches a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: the steps of Amended Claim 1, recited with the same language, only from the perspective of the other UE. Because, e.g., the methods in Shin and Khoryaev do not distinguish between the UE and the other UE, Amended Claim 17 is obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
In sum, Claims 1-17, as amended, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over Shin in view of 3GPP R1-210xxx and further in view of Khoryaev.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Lindholm et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0124916 referenced in the previous Office Action;
Si et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0236888 discloses generating SSS/PSBCH signal;
Ly et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0404600 discloses SSB configuration in general;
Sun et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0089803, discloses three types of UEs based on their SL reception capabilities;
Ryu et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2023/0254789, discloses SL synchronization method and apparatus;
Gulati et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0051617, discloses SL synchronization priority rules;
Bharadwaj et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0396708, discloses method and apparatus for S-SSB transmission;
Leon Calvo et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0073875, discloses SL resource reservation;
3GPP TS 38.211 V16.4.0 (2020-12), “Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Physical channels and modulation (Release 16)”;
3GPP TS 36.331 v16.3.0 (2020-12), “Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 16)”;
3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #83, RP-190766, Title: “New WID on 5G V2X with NR sidelink,” Source: LG Electronics, Huawei, March 2019;
3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #104-e, R1-2102006, Title: “Updated RAN1 UE features list for Rel-16 NR after RAN1#104-e”; Source: Moderator (AT&T, NTT DOCOMO INC.), February 06, 2021.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 LUCIA GHEORGHE GRADINARIU whose telephone number is (571)272-1377. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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/L.G.G./Examiner, Art Unit 2478
/JOSEPH E AVELLINO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2478
1 See, e.g., § 8.4.3, 3GPP TS 38.211 V16.4.0 (2020-12), “Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Physical channels and modulation (Release 16)” (hereinafter 3GPP TS 38.211) specifying, at page 129, the S-SSB “consists of
N
symb
S-SSB
OFDM symbols, numbered in increasing order from 0 to
N
symb
S-SSB
-
1
within the S-SS/PSBCH block, where S-PSS, S-SSS, and PSBCH with associated DM-RS are mapped to symbols as given by Table 8.4.3.1-1. The number of OFDM symbols in an S-SS/PSBCH block
N
symb
S-SSB
=
13
for normal cyclic prefix and
N
symb
S-SSB
=
11
for extended cyclic prefix. The first OFDM symbol in an S-SS/PSBCH block is the first OFDM symbol in the slot” (emphasis added), wherein the frame/subframe/slot/symbol organization of the sidelink transmission is determined by the “higher-layer parameters subcarrierSpacing and cyclicPrefix, respectively” as shown in Table 4.2-1, at page 11, and further explained in § 4.3, at page 12.
2 See also 3GPP TS 36.331 v16.3.0 (2020-12), “Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 16)” (hereinafter 3GPP TS 36.331), at page 326, “NOTE 1: If commRxPool includes one or more entries including rxParametersNCell, the UE may only monitor such entries if the associated PSS/SSS or SLSSIDs is detected. When monitoring such pool(s), the UE applies the timing of the concerned PSS/SSS or SLSS.”
3 3GPP R1-210xxx references RAN1#103-e regarding the context of the discussion of Type A, B and D UE – See, e.g., Final Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #103-e, R1-2100001, Source MCC Support, January 20, 2021 (hereinafter 3GPP R1-210001), at page 47, proposing that SL UEs for “power saving mechanism should consider different reception capabilities of UE:
O Capability #1: UE does not support sidelink reception.
O Capability #2: UE supports receiving PSCCH on sidelink
O Capability #3: UE supports receiving PSFCH on sidelink
O Capability #4: UE supports the reception of PSCCH, PSSCH, (and PSFCH)”
Prosecution Insights