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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 25-28 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 25 recites the limitations (i.e. 2nd and 3rd limitations) wherein the remote UE transmit SL uplink traffic information and SL uplink traffic status information to the SL remote UE that is not disclosed in the specification. Applicant’s own specification at Fig. 8A, 8B, 9Aand 9B shows wherein the remote UE sends SL uplink traffic information and SL uplink traffic status information to the relay UE 930 (i.e 9B:955) and not transmitting to the remote UE. A remote UE can’t send UL information to itself.
Claims 26-28 are rejected under 112 first paragraph since claims 26-28 are dependent on claim 25
Claim 30 recites the limitations (i.e. 1st limitations) wherein the SL relay UE ……is configured to receive SL downlink (DL) traffic from an SL relay UE that is not disclosed in the specification. Applicant’s own specification at Fig. 8A, 8B, 9Aand 9B shows wherein the relay UE sends SL downlink traffic information to the remote UE (i.e Fig.9B:953) and not transmitting to a SL relay UE. A relay UE can’t receive DL information from itself.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 16 and 29 is/are rejected under 112 second paragraph since claim 16 recited in optional format (i.e “in case” at line 11 in claim 16) and not a positive recitation. Words such as “may, might, can, could, in case, when, potentially, possibly” are optional language and do not narrow claim limitations (In re Johnston, 77 USPQ2d 1788 (Fed Cir 2006)).
Claims 17-24 are rejected under 112 second paragraph since claims 17-24 are dependent on claim 16
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
1. 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 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.
2. 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 of this title, 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.
3. Claims 16-23 and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No US 2022/0312262 to Chen et al. (hereinafter Chen) in view of U.S. Publication No US 2019/0166640 to Wei et al. (hereinafter Wei)
As to claims 16, Chen discloses a method performed by a sidelink (SL) relay user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving SL downlink (DL) traffic (Chen; [0045] discloses Regarding the downlink (DL), the relay UE 610 may transfer to the remote UE 615 first data/signaling 620 originating at the relay UE 610 or second data/signaling 625 originating at the network 605 (and forwarded by the relay UE 610));
transmitting, via SL communication, the SL DL traffic to an SL remote UE (Chen; [0045] discloses Regarding the downlink (DL), the relay UE 610 may transfer to the remote UE 615 first data/signaling 620 originating at the relay UE 610 or second data/signaling 625 originating at the network 605 (and forwarded by the relay UE 610));
receiving, via the SL communication, SL uplink (UL) traffic from the SL remote UE (Chen; [0045] The remote UE 615 may transfer to the relay UE 610 first data/signaling 620 destined for the relay UE 610 or second data/signaling 625 destined for the network 605 (via the relay UE 610) on the uplink (UL));
transmitting the SL UL traffic (Chen; [0045] The remote UE 615 may transfer to the relay UE 610 first data/signaling 620 destined for the relay UE 610 or second data/signaling 625 destined for the network 605 (via the relay UE 610) on the uplink (UL));
in case that SL UL traffic status information about the SL UL traffic is received from the SL remote UE, transmitting the SL UL traffic status information about the SL UL traffic (Chen; Fig.7b; 8B; [0050]; [0057]-[0059] shows and discloses a payload 870 transmitted from the remote UE 865 and indicated as being destined for the relay UE 860 corresponding to SL UL traffic status information)
Chen discloses of communication between remote UE and relay UE and sending UL and DL data. Chen fails to explicitly disclose transmitting SL DL traffic status information about the SL DL traffic. However, Wei discloses
transmitting SL DL traffic status information about the SL DL traffic (Wei; Fig.5:506; [0099] discloses If the data is to be transmitted from the buffer of the relay device to the remote UE then the relay device transmits a buffer status report message to the remote UE)
It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings before the effective filing date of the invention. One would be motivated to combine the teachings so that the remote UE can make a decision based on the buffer status received from relay UE and thus use the limited resources in an effective way
As to claim 17, the rejection of claim 16 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Chen-Wei discloses further comprising:
obtaining SL DL traffic control information determined based on the SL DL traffic status information (Wei; Fig.5; Fig.6; [0096]-[0099] If data is received then it is stored in the data buffer for transmission to the remote UE. If, however, the buffer exceeds a predetermined amount, such as if the buffer is full for example, then the relay device determines immediately that it should transmit the data to the remote UE. If the data is to be transmitted from the buffer of the relay device to the remote UE then the relay device transmits a buffer status report message to the remote UE); and
controlling SL DL traffic flow based on the SL DL traffic control information (Wei; Fig.5; Fig.6; [0096]-[0099] If data is received then it is stored in the data buffer for transmission to the remote UE. If, however, the buffer exceeds a predetermined amount, such as if the buffer is full for example, then the relay device determines immediately that it should transmit the data to the remote UE. If the data is to be transmitted from the buffer of the relay device to the remote UE then the relay device transmits a buffer status report message to the remote UE).
As to claim 18, the rejection of claim 16 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Chen-Wei discloses further comprising:
obtaining SL UL traffic control information determined based on the SL UL traffic status information (Wei; Fig.8; [0116] the UE 311 then transmits a buffer status report message to the relay device 305 indicating a status of its buffer and that data should be transmitted to the relay device 305. In response the relay device 305 provides an allocation of resources to the UE 311 as represented by an arrow 808. The remote UE 311 then transmits the data to the relay device 305 from the data buffer 702 to a relay device 305 which is received within the receive buffer 430. According to an example embodiment of the present technique, the relay device 305 may store data within its receive buffer 430 from the remote UE 311 for a predetermined time or until a trigger event occurs in order to make efficient use of the communications resources)
transmitting the SL UL traffic control information to the SL remote UE (Wei; Fig.8; [0116] the UE 311 then transmits a buffer status report message to the relay device 305 indicating a status of its buffer and that data should be transmitted to the relay device 305. In response the relay device 305 provides an allocation of resources to the UE 311 as represented by an arrow 808. The remote UE 311 then transmits the data to the relay device 305 from the data buffer 702 to a relay device 305 which is received within the receive buffer 430. According to an example embodiment of the present technique, the relay device 305 may store data within its receive buffer 430 from the remote UE 311 for a predetermined time or until a trigger event occurs in order to make efficient use of the communications resources); and
controlling SL UL traffic flow based on the SL UL traffic control information (Wei; Fig.8; [0116] the UE 311 then transmits a buffer status report message to the relay device 305 indicating a status of its buffer and that data should be transmitted to the relay device 305. In response the relay device 305 provides an allocation of resources to the UE 311 as represented by an arrow 808. The remote UE 311 then transmits the data to the relay device 305 from the data buffer 702 to a relay device 305 which is received within the receive buffer 430. According to an example embodiment of the present technique, the relay device 305 may store data within its receive buffer 430 from the remote UE 311 for a predetermined time or until a trigger event occurs in order to make efficient use of the communications resources).
As to claim 19, the rejection of claim 16 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Chen-Wei discloses further comprising:
identifying whether a condition for transmitting the SL DL traffic status information is satisfied (Wei; Fig.6:S10; [0098] the relay device determines whether or not the data should be transmitted to the remote UE. For example, this may be because the timer has expired. If the answer is no, then more data is received for the remote UE and so processing passes to Step S4. If data is received then it is stored in the data buffer for transmission to the remote UE. If, however, the buffer exceeds a predetermined amount, such as if the buffer is full for example, then the relay device determines immediately that it should transmit the data to the remote UE)
wherein, as a result of the identifying, when the condition is satisfied, the SL DL traffic status information is transmitted (Wei; Fig.6:S10; [0098] the relay device determines whether or not the data should be transmitted to the remote UE. For example, this may be because the timer has expired. If the answer is no, then more data is received for the remote UE and so processing passes to Step S4. If data is received then it is stored in the data buffer for transmission to the remote UE. If, however, the buffer exceeds a predetermined amount, such as if the buffer is full for example, then the relay device determines immediately that it should transmit the data to the remote UE).
As to claim 20, the rejection of claim 19 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Chen-Wei discloses wherein the condition comprises at least one of a case where a buffer status is greater than a first threshold value, a case where channel busy ratio is greater than a second threshold value, or a case where a latency requirement is not satisfied (Wei; Fig.6:S10; [0098] the relay device determines whether or not the data should be transmitted to the remote UE. For example, this may be because the timer has expired. If the answer is no, then more data is received for the remote UE and so processing passes to Step S4. If data is received then it is stored in the data buffer for transmission to the remote UE. If, however, the buffer exceeds a predetermined amount, such as if the buffer is full for example, then the relay device determines immediately that it should transmit the data to the remote UE. Here Wei is applied for the 1st alternative where a buffer status is greater than a first threshold value).
As to claim 21, the rejection of claim 16 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Chen-Wei discloses wherein the SL DL traffic status information comprises at least one of buffer status information of the SL remote UE, status information of a channel between the SL remote UE and the SL relay UE, or information about latency between the SL remote UE and the SL relay UE (Wei; Fig.6:S10; [0098] the relay device determines whether or not the data should be transmitted to the remote UE. If data is received then it is stored in the data buffer for transmission to the remote UE. If, however, the buffer exceeds a predetermined amount, such as if the buffer is full for example, then the relay device determines immediately that it should transmit the data to the remote UE. Here Wei is applied for the 1st alternative buffer status information).
As to claim 22, the rejection of claim 16 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Chen-Wei discloses further comprising obtaining a request for the SL DL traffic status information (wei; [0042] (Wei; Fig.6:S10; [0098] the relay device determines whether or not the data should be transmitted to the remote UE. For example, this may be because the timer has expired. If the answer is no, then more data is received for the remote UE and so processing passes to Step S4. If data is received then it is stored in the data buffer for transmission to the remote UE. If, however, the buffer exceeds a predetermined amount, such as if the buffer is full for example, then the relay device determines immediately that it should transmit the data to the remote UE. Here Wei is applied for the 1st alternative where a buffer status is greater than a first threshold value).
As to claim 23, the rejection of claim 16 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Chen-Wei discloses wherein the SL DL traffic status information is transmitted via at least one of a buffer status report (BSR) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, SL adaptation sublayer control signaling, or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message (Wei; [0043] discloses buffer status reports (BSR) are transmitted. Here Wei is applied for 1st alternative).
4. Claims 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No US 2022/0312262 to Chen et al. (hereinafter Chen) in view of U.S. Publication No US 2019/0166640 to Wei et al. (hereinafter Wei) in view of U.S. Publication No US 2024/0267113 to Dees et al. (hereinafter Dees)
As to claim 24, Chen-Wei discloses scheduling, but fails to discloses mode of scheduling. However, Dees discloses further comprising:
identifying a mode of SL scheduling (Dees; [0119] all the communication with the Remote UE takes place over Sidelink (SL) channels currently using a self-scheduling method of resource selection (Mode -2) for the Remote UE) ,
wherein the SL DL traffic status information is signaled based on a result of the identifying (Dees; [0119] all the communication with the Remote UE takes place over Sidelink (SL) channels currently using a self-scheduling method of resource selection (Mode -2) for the Remote UE).
It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings before the effective filing date of the invention. One would be motivated to combine the teachings in order to use the 3GPP standard for scheduling
Conclusion
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/FAISAL CHOUDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478