DETAILED ACTION
This communication is response to the amendment filed 04/09/2026. Claims 1-7, 10-18, 34, 35, 41, and 42 are pending and presented for examination.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/09/2026, regarding rejection of claims 34 and 35, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant argument that the current references fails to disclose all the limitations of claims 34 and 35, the examiner respectfully disagrees. The application is based on relay node selection for communication between communication device and infrastructure equipment via the relay node as illustrated in Fig 7 of applicant disclosure. Likewise, Interdigital discloses communication of selection of relay node for communication between communication device and infrastructure equipment (see Interdigital, Fig 7, Fig 8 and Fig 9 with corresponding description). Interdigital discloses a mobile relay WTRU may be considered a WTRU-to-Network mobile relay by being configured to act as a mobile relay between the eNB (e.g., and/or any other mobile network infrastructure node, other RAN nodes, etc.) and a remote WTRU (see Interdigital, ¶ 0074). Claim 1 is the method for performing the invention of selecting a relay node by a communication device, while claim 34 is the relay node of the invention and claim 35 is the infrastructure equipment of performing the selection of relay node.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 34 and 35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2016/164808 A1 to Interdigital Patent Holdings (hereafter Interdigital), see IDS dated 01/23/2024.
Regarding claim 34, Interdigital discloses a communications node acting as a relay (see Interdigital, Fig 2, WTRU-to-Network Relay 202; Fig 7, Mobile Relay WTRU 1, 702), the communications node comprising
transceiver circuitry configured to transmit and/or to receive signals (see Interdigital, Fig 7, Mobile Relay WTRU 1, 702 implicitly comprise transceiver circuitry),
control circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitry to
provide, to a communications device, an indication of a relay service which can be provided by the relay communications node (see Interdigital, Fig 7, steps 704 and 706; ¶ 0083: the mobile relay 402 may broadcast availability of the TMGI by sending a TMGI announcement message over a broadcast channel at 412. The mobile relay 402 may broadcast availability of the TMGI by sending a TMGI announcement message over a broadcast channel at 412 (e.g., repeatly with a configurable repetition interval); ¶ 0097: the remote WTRU 718 receives a mobile relay announcement from mobile relay WTRU1 702 at 704. The remote WTRU 718 receives a mobile relay announcement from mobile relay WTRU2 720 at 706. The mobile relay announcement at 704 and at 706 may be a Model A mobile relay announcement and/or a Model B response. The mobile relay announcements may include an indication of services provided by or supported by the mobile relay WTRUs),
receive an indication that the relay communications node has been selected by the communications device, and in response (see Interdigital, Fig 7 steps 708, 710, and 714; ¶ 0077; ¶ 0088; ¶ 0092; ¶ 0096; ¶ 0097),
provide the relay service to the communications device (see Interdigital, ¶ 0091; ¶ 0098).
Regarding claim 35, Interdigital discloses an infrastructure equipment (see Interdigital, Fig 2, eNB204; Fig 7, eNB 722, 702)comprising
transceiver circuitry configured to transmit and/or to receive signals (see Interdigital, Fig 7, eNB 722, 702 implicitly comprise transceiver circuitry),
control circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitry to provide, to a communications device, an indication of a relay service which can be provided by a communications node acting as a relay (see Interdigital, Fig 7, steps 712 and 714; ¶ 0074; ¶ 0091; ¶ 0097; ¶ 0110; ¶ 0113),
receive, from the communications device, an indication that the relay communications node has been selected by the communications device, and in response (see Interdigital, Fig 7, step 712; ¶ 0077; ¶ 0091; ¶ 0096; ¶ 0098; ¶ 0109; ¶ 0112; ¶ 0118),
transmit an indication to the selected relay communications node that the selected relay communications node has been selected by the communications device (see Interdigital, Fig 7, step 714; Fig 8, step 808; ¶ 0091; ¶ 0096; ¶ 0098; ¶ 0112; ¶ 0119; ¶ 0118).
Regarding claim 41, Interdigital discloses the communications node according to claim 34, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive, from a wireless communications network, a configuration identifying one or more relay services that the relay communications node is to provide, and wherein providing the indication of the relay service is based at least in part on the configuration received from the wireless communications network (see Interdigital, ¶ 0083; ¶ 0093; ¶ 0096: A mobile relay may be selected based on selection criterion and other information. The selection criteria of the mobile relay may include one or more of: services (e.g., connection info) announced, PLMN ID announced, TMGI, and mobile relay specific information. Mobile relay selection may employ the measurements provided by lower layers and/or one or more thresholds associated with the measurements. The associated thresholds may be provided in the application layer and/or by lower layers. The associated thresholds may be provided as part of a RRC configuration. FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example of selection of a mobile relay WTRU; ¶ 0112: The configuration for the mobile relay WTRU may be sent by the eNB to the mobile relay WTRU over the Uu link. For example, the configuration for the mobile relay WTRU may be sent using system information block (SIB) signaling or RRC signaling; ¶ 0113: Based on the configuration, the remote WTRU may enable measurements over the PC5 link of mobile relay WTRUs which are transmitting discovery messages within the communication range of the remote WTRU. The allowable list of mobile relays which may be measured may be sent by the eNB to the remote WTRU. The allowable list of mobile relays which may be measured may be sent by the eNB to the remote WTRU as part of the configuration. The allowable list of mobile relays to which the remote WTRU is allowed to reselect may be sent by the eNB to the remote WTRU as part of the configuration; ¶ 0191).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7 and 10-18 are allowed.
Claim 42 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 9,215,409 to Montero et al. discloses a communication system comprises a relay service configured to engage in video communications with a video endpoint and audio communications with an audio endpoint. The relay service comprises a control circuit configured to receive call control signals from the video endpoint, and automatically control communications between the relay service and the audio endpoint responsive to the call control signals.
US 2018/0343556 to WANG et al. discloses a first network device receives a resource configuration message sent by a second network device, where the resource configuration message includes a communication resource and first relay service type indication information, and the first relay service type indication information is used to indicate a type of a relay service in which the communication resource can be used.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/RASHEED GIDADO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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