DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on 01 January 2024. Claims 1-5, 7-9, 11-14, 16-21, 24, 39 are pending 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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 7-9, 11-14, 16-21, 24, and 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Baghel et al. (US 20180324848 A1) (hereinafter Bag).
Regarding claim 1 and 24, Bag teaches an information transmission method (Bag, see fig. 5 ) / a relay UE (Bag, see fig. 3):
performed by a relay user equipment (UE) and comprising (Bag, see fig. 4):
a memory, a transceiver, and a processor (Bag, fig. 3, [0046]-[0053]);
wherein a memory is configured to store a computer program (Bag, fig. 3, [0046]-[0053]: See paragraph [0053].);
a transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data under a control of the processor (Bag, fig. 12, [0112]-[0117]: [0113] The processing system 1214 may be coupled to a transceiver 1210. The transceiver 1210 is coupled to one or more antennas 1220. The transceiver 1210 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1210 receives a signal from the one or more antennas 1220, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1214, specifically the reception component 1104 In addition, the transceiver 1210 receives information from the processing system 1214, specifically the transmission component 1106, and based on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1220. The processing system 1214 includes a processor 1204 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The processor 1204 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The software, when executed by the processor 1204, causes the processing system 1214 to perform the various functions described supra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1206 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 1204 when executing software. The processing system 1214 further includes at least one of the components 1104, 1106, 412, 414, and 416. The components may be software components running in the processor 1204, resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 1206, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1204, or some combination thereof. The processing system 1214 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and/or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359.); and
the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory to perform (Bag, fig. 12, [0112]-[0117]: See above for paragraph [0113].):
transmitting preset information to a network-side device, wherein the preset information indicates through a preset content whether the preset information is related to the relay UE or to a remote UE served by the relay UE (Bag, fig. 1, [0034]-[0042], [0054]-[0084]: [0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communications system and an access network 100. The wireless communications system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes base stations 102, UEs 104, and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160. For example, UE 104a and UE 104b may be communicating via a device-to-device (D2D). D2D communication may be used to provide direct communication between devices such as UEs. D2D communication enables one device to communicate with another device and transmit data to the other device over allocated resources. In an aspect, the UE 104a may include relay component 410 configured to relay information from the base station 102 to the UE 104b and/or from the UE 104b to the base station 102. Further, in an aspect, the UE 104b may include communication component 420 configured to facilitate sidelink communication with the UE 104a. In some aspects, one or both of the UE 104a and/or 104b may be in a connected state with base station 102. The base stations 102 may include macro cells (high power cellular base station) and/or small cells (low power cellular base station). The macro cells include eNBs. The small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.).
Regarding claim 2, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 1:
wherein the preset information comprises at least one of the following:
a Scheduling Request (SR) (Bag, fig. 2c-2D, fig. 9, [0045], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0103] FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 of a method of wireless communication at a remote UE. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 466). At block 902, the method may transmit, on at least one sidelink channel, a scheduling request to a relay UE connected with a network entity. For example, as described herein, the remote UE 466 and/or the communication component 420 may execute the scheduling component 426 to transmit, on at least one sidelink channel 430, a scheduling request to a relay UE 464 connected with a network entity (e.g., base station 462).;
a scheduling signaling of a Uu interface sent by the network-side device;
a Sidelink Buffer Status Reporting Medium Access Control Control Element (Sidelink BSR MAC CE) (Bag, fig. 2c-2D, fig. 9, [0045], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0106] In some aspects, the scheduling request may be transmitted on a periodic resource. Further, for instance, the periodic resource may be allocated when the remote UE links to the relay UE. In some aspects, the method may further transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, SCI including a flag indicating an upcoming transmission of a buffer status report within a data portion of the upcoming transmission, and transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, a buffer status report as a MAC CE within the data portion.);
a scheduling signaling of a sidelink interface transmitted through a Uu interface; or
a sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message transmitted through a Uu interface.
Regarding claim 3, blank teaches an information transmission method according to claim 2:
wherein when the preset information comprises the SR, the preset content comprises at least one of the following (Bag, fig. 2c-2D, fig. 9, [0045], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: See above for paragraph [0103].):
SR resources used by the SR, wherein different SR resources are configured corresponding to the relay UE and the remote UE; or
SR carrying indication information, wherein the indication information is configured to indicate whether the preset information is intended for the relay UE or the remote UE (Bag, fig. 7, [0091]-[0102], [0103]-[0106]: [0091] FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 of a method of resource allocation at a relay UE. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 464). At block 702, the method may receive, on a downlink channel from a network entity, at least one indication including resource allocation information for at least one of the relay UE or a remote UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the relay component 410 may execute the resource allocation component 414 to receive, on a downlink channel from a network entity (e.g., base station 462), at least one indication including resource allocation information for at least one of the relay UE 464 or a remote UE 466. At block 704, the method may transmit, on a sidelink channel to the remote UE, the resource allocation information of remote UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the relay component 410 may execute the resource allocation component 414 to transmit, on a sidelink channel 430, the resource allocation information to the remote UE 466.), or
the indication information is configured to indicate a UE identity for which the preset information is intended.
Regarding claim 4, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 3:
wherein different SR resources are configured for different remote UEs (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0063] In the case where a single RNTI may be determined and forwarded to a corresponding remote UE 466, the relay UE 464 may obtain the single RNTI associated with the remote UE 466 for determining the sidelink grant allocated by the base station 462 for the remote UE 466. The relay UE 464 may perform such procedure for each distinct RNTI associated with different remote UEs. As such, in either case, the relay UE 464 receives an indication including one or more RNTIs of remote UEs 466, and based on the indication, the relay UE 464 may decode PDCCH from the base station 462 to obtain the grant, and passes the grant onto the remote UE 466. [0081] For example, the D2D UEs may perform synchronous resource allocation for SR (or RTS). Unlike asynchronous on-demand RTS operation, the resource to send SR may be short and periodic. The resource may be used to support code-division multiplexing (CDM) such that multiple remote UEs including remote UE 466 can transmit in the resource at the same time. The relay UE 464 may discern the transmitter(s) or distinct remote UEs by identifying different code(s) used in the CDM scheme. In this SR, 1-bit of information may be transmitted by each remote UE as a request for relay-allocated resource to be used for sidelink operation.).
Regarding claim 5, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 2:
wherein a triggering condition of the SR comprises one or more of the following:
the relay UE receives the SR sent by the remote UE through the sidelink interface (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0109]: [0105] In some aspects, the resource grant may correspond to an allocation of resources by the relay UE 464 on a sidelink interface for communication between the remote UE 466 and the relay UE 464. In some aspects, the scheduling request may be transmitted according to a code-division multiplexing scheme. In some aspects, receiving the scheduling indication may include receiving SCI including an indication of an upcoming scheduling indication transmission, the indication being different from the scheduling indication and receiving the scheduling indication corresponding to a MAC CE within a data portion of a sidelink transmission from the relay UE 464.);
wherein the SR sent by the remote UE is sent through a dedicated control channel of the sidelink interface;
the relay UE receives the Sidelink BSR MAC CE message sent by the remote UE through the sidelink interface;
the relay UE receives resource allocation mode configuration information for the remote UE sidelink interface, and the resource allocation mode configuration information indicates that the remote UE uses a network-scheduled resource allocation mode on the sidelink interface; or
the relay UE receives a preset instruction sent by the remote UE, the preset instruction is configured to instruct the relay UE to send an SR;
wherein the preset instruction is through at least one of a sidelink interface radio resource control (PC5-RRC) signaling, a sidelink interface Sidelink MAC CE information and sidelink interface Sidelink control information (SCI).
Regarding claim 7, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 2:
wherein the preset information comprises the scheduling signaling of the Uu interface received from the network-side device, or comprises the scheduling signaling of the sidelink interface received through the Uu interface, and the preset content comprises at least one of the following (Bag, [0085]-[0100]: [0085] FIG. 5 is a flowchart 500 of a method of relaying an RNTI at a relay UE. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 464). At block 502, the method may receive, on a downlink channel from a network entity, at least one message including a RNTI of a remote UE associated with the relay UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the RNTI component 412 may execute the RNTI component 412 to receive, on a downlink channel (e.g., Uu interface) from a network entity (e.g., base station 462), at least one message including a RNTI of a remote UE 466 associated with the relay UE 464. At block 504, method may transmit, on a sidelink channel 430, a sidelink grant associated with the RNTI to the remote UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the RNTI component 412 may execute the RNTI component 412 to transmit, on a sidelink channel 430, a sidelink grant associated with the RNTI to the remote UE 466.):
a Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) used for scheduling signaling (Bag, fig. 11, [0110]-[0117]: [0110] FIG. 11 is a conceptual data flow diagram 1100 illustrating the data flow between different means/components in an exemplary apparatus 1102. The apparatus may be a relay UE. The apparatus includes a reception component 1104, a transmission component 1106, an RNTI component 412, a resource allocation component 414, and a scheduling determination component 416. The apparatus 1102 may receive communication from a base station 1130 via the reception component 1104, and may transmit communication to the base station 1130 via the transmission component 1106. Further, the apparatus 1102 may receive communication from a remote UE 1140 via the reception component 1104, and may transmit communication to the remote UE 1140 via the transmission component 1106. The RNTI component 412, the resource allocation component 414, and the scheduling determination component 416 may facilitate D2D communication as described herein with respect to FIG. 4.) ;
wherein the scheduling signaling for the relay UE and the scheduling signaling for the remote UE use different RNTIs respectively;
indication information carried in the scheduling information, wherein the indication information is configured to indicate whether the preset information is intended for the relay UE or the remote UE, or the indication information is configured to indicate the UE identity for which the preset information is intended.
Regarding claim 8, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 7:
wherein when the preset content comprises the RNTI used for scheduling signaling, different RNTIs are used corresponding to the scheduling signalings of different remote UEs (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084], [0085]-[0088]: [0063] In the case where a single RNTI may be determined and forwarded to a corresponding remote UE 466, the relay UE 464 may obtain the single RNTI associated with the remote UE 466 for determining the sidelink grant allocated by the base station 462 for the remote UE 466. The relay UE 464 may perform such procedure for each distinct RNTI associated with different remote UEs. As such, in either case, the relay UE 464 receives an indication including one or more RNTIs of remote UEs 466, and based on the indication, the relay UE 464 may decode PDCCH from the base station 462 to obtain the grant, and passes the grant onto the remote UE 466.).
Regarding claim 9, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 7:
wherein when the preset information comprises the scheduling signaling of the sidelink interface transmitted through the Uu interface, after the relay device receives the scheduling signaling of the sidelink interface transmitted through the Uu interface, when the scheduling signaling of the sidelink interface is for the remote UE served by the relay UE, the method further comprises (Bag, [0085]-[0100]: See above for paragraph [0085].):
using at least one of the following methods to forward the received scheduling signaling to the remote UE through the sidelink interface (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0061] The relay UE 464 may receive the one or more RNTIs, which may include an RNTI of the relay UE 464 and an RNTI of the remote UE 466. The UE 464 may perform scheduling of resources for the remote UE 466 based on the base stations 462 command. Specifically, for the RNTI of the UE relay 464, the relay UE 464 may decode the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to determine whether there a downlink and/or uplink grant has been allocated by the base station 462. Similarly, for the RNTI of the remote UE 466, the relay UE 464 may decode the PDCCH to determine whether a grant of sidelink resources has been allocated for the remote UE 466. Based on determining that a grant of sidelink resources has been provided for the remote UE 466, the relay UE 464 may forward the grant or associated RNTI to the remote UE 466 to facilitate bi-directional communication on the sidelink.):
using sidelink interface SCI (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0076] Further, to address the timing variance, the remote UE 466 may apply a timing advance to sidelink transmissions. In one example, the relay UE 464 may inform the remote UE 466 of the timing advance to apply. The timing advance may be derived in at least two manners. First, the relay UE 464 may inform the remote UE 466 of the timing advance of the relay UE 464. Such information may be sent as MAC CE or SCI. Second, the relay UE 464 may inform the remote UE 466 of the timing advance. For example, the timing advance may be the relay UE's own TA in addition to a correction (e.g., correction may be within the autonomous correction limit. Further, the timing advance of the relay UE's 464 timing advance in addition to the correction (e.g., correction may be within some limits configured by the eNB). Additionally, the correction may be based on any sidelink transmission from the remote UE 466 and the relay UE 464.);
using a high-level signaling of sidelink interface;
wherein the SCI comprises at least one of the following:
an identity of the relay UE (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0056] In an aspect related to the RNTI component 412 at the UE 464 and the RNTI reception component 422 at the remote UE 466, one or more radio network temporary identifier (RNTIs) for D2D based bi-directional relating may be implemented. In some aspects, an RNTI is a physical layer identifier of the UE allocated by a base station (e.g., eNB). Specifically, a D2D relaying may provide efficiency in power and resource utilization. For instance, a remote UE such the remote UE 466 (e.g., smartwatch) may have limited batteries and/or power supply. When the remote UE 466 is communicating with the base station 462, the remote UE 466 may transmit at higher power (e.g., as opposed to communicating with the relay UE 464 on a sidelink). As such, when communicating with the relay UE such as the relay UE 464, the remote UE 466 may consume lower power for transmission and receptions. Hence, relaying assists with conserving power at the remote UE 466. Also, from a resource utilization point of view, the remote UE 466 may reuse at least some of the same resources between the relay UE 464 and the remote UE 466 by the base station 462, thereby increasing system capacity.);
an identity of the remote UE; or
resources for sending a remote UE sidelink interface data and/or control information forwarded by the relay UE, which is allocated by the network-side device.
Regarding claim 11, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 2:
wherein when the preset information comprises the Sidelink BSR MAC CE sent to the network-side device, the preset content comprises at least one of the following (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0073] The relay UE 464 may relay the DCI to the remote UE 466. In one instance, the DCI may be sent as sidelink control information (SCI) without any associated data. In another instance, the DCI may be sent as a MAC control element and part of sidelink link shared channel (SL-SCH) data. Additionally, a time ‘X’ after which the allocation applies may be determined such that n′+X=n+T, where n′ is the subframe on which the DCI is relayed to the remote UE 466.):
buffer status information of the relay UE sidelink interface and buffer status information of the remote UE sidelink interface are reported using different Sidelink BSR MAC CEs, and the reported Sidelink BSR MAC CE payload or Sidelink BSR MAC CE sub-header carries a UE identity corresponding to the buffer status information (Bag, fig. 4, [0046]-[0053], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0078] In an aspect related to the scheduling determination component 416 at the relay UE 464 and the scheduling component 426 at the remote UE 466, scheduling requests (SRs) and buffer status reports (BSRs) on PC5 sidelink interface between the remote UE 466 and the relay UE 464 may be provided. [0106] In some aspects, the scheduling request may be transmitted on a periodic resource. Further, for instance, the periodic resource may be allocated when the remote UE links to the relay UE. In some aspects, the method may further transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, SCI including a flag indicating an upcoming transmission of a buffer status report within a data portion of the upcoming transmission, and transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, a buffer status report as a MAC CE within the data portion.);
buffer status information of the relay UE sidelink interface and buffer status information of the remote UE sidelink interface are reported using the same Sidelink BSR MAC CE, and the Sidelink BSR MAC CE carries a UE identity corresponding to the buffer status information.
Regarding claim 12, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 2:
wherein when the preset information comprises the Sidelink BSR MAC CE sent to the network-side device, the method further comprises (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: See above for paragraph [0073]):
obtaining a sidelink BSR sent by the remote UE through the sidelink interface with the relay UE (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0083] For the remote UE 466 linked to the relay 464, the BSR may be similar to an RTS of the relay UE. For example, the BSR may be transmitted as a MAC CE over the sidelink, the remote UE 466 may generate BSR (e.g., for sidelink buffer) and include the BSR as part of the “DATA” transmitted to the relay UE 464. However, the relay UE 464 may extract this part of DATA and discern the contents represented by the BSR message and adjust the scheduling decisions accordingly. To provide the relay UE 464 an indication that there is a BSR MAC CE in the DATA portion of the transmission, the SCI (L1 Signaling) transmitted preceding the data may include a flag to indicate such.);
according to the sidelink BSR, sending the SR to the network-side device through the Uu interface (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0081] For example, the D2D UEs may perform synchronous resource allocation for SR (or RTS). Unlike asynchronous on-demand RTS operation, the resource to send SR may be short and periodic. The resource may be used to support code-division multiplexing (CDM) such that multiple remote UEs including remote UE 466 can transmit in the resource at the same time. The relay UE 464 may discern the transmitter(s) or distinct remote UEs by identifying different code(s) used in the CDM scheme. In this SR, 1-bit of information may be transmitted by each remote UE as a request for relay-allocated resource to be used for sidelink operation.); and
after obtaining uplink resources sent by the network-side device, sending the Sidelink BSR MAC CE to the network-side device, and indicating through the preset content whether the Sidelink BSR MAC CE is related to the relay UE or to the remote UE served by the relay UE (Bag, fig. 4, [0054]-[0084]: [0083] For the remote UE 466 linked to the relay 464, the BSR may be similar to an RTS of the relay UE. For example, the BSR may be transmitted as a MAC CE over the sidelink, the remote UE 466 may generate BSR (e.g., for sidelink buffer) and include the BSR as part of the “DATA” transmitted to the relay UE 464. However, the relay UE 464 may extract this part of DATA and discern the contents represented by the BSR message and adjust the scheduling decisions accordingly. To provide the relay UE 464 an indication that there is a BSR MAC CE in the DATA portion of the transmission, the SCI (L1 Signaling) transmitted preceding the data may include a flag to indicate such.).
Regarding claim 13, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 2:
wherein when the preset information comprises the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message transmitted through the Uu interface, the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message is sent to the network-side device through a sidelink configured grant confirmation MAC CE (Bag, fig. 4, [0046]-[0053], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]);
wherein the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation MAC CE comprises indication information for indicating whether the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message is related to the relay UE or to the remote UE served by the relay UE (Bag, fig. 4, [0046]-[0053], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0061] The relay UE 464 may receive the one or more RNTIs, which may include an RNTI of the relay UE 464 and an RNTI of the remote UE 466. The UE 464 may perform scheduling of resources for the remote UE 466 based on the base stations 462 command. Specifically, for the RNTI of the UE relay 464, the relay UE 464 may decode the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to determine whether there a downlink and/or uplink grant has been allocated by the base station 462. Similarly, for the RNTI of the remote UE 466, the relay UE 464 may decode the PDCCH to determine whether a grant of sidelink resources has been allocated for the remote UE 466. Based on determining that a grant of sidelink resources has been provided for the remote UE 466, the relay UE 464 may forward the grant or associated RNTI to the remote UE 466 to facilitate bi-directional communication on the sidelink.);
wherein the indication information comprises at least one of the following:
N-bit indication information, wherein a value of the N-bit indication information is used to identify whether the preset information is related to the relay UE or the remote UE (Bag, fig. 4, [0046]-[0053], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0081] For example, the D2D UEs may perform synchronous resource allocation for SR (or RTS). Unlike asynchronous on-demand RTS operation, the resource to send SR may be short and periodic. The resource may be used to support code-division multiplexing (CDM) such that multiple remote UEs including remote UE 466 can transmit in the resource at the same time. The relay UE 464 may discern the transmitter(s) or distinct remote UEs by identifying different code(s) used in the CDM scheme. In this SR, 1-bit of information may be transmitted by each remote UE as a request for relay-allocated resource to be used for sidelink operation.);
wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or
a UE identity, which is an identity of the relay UE or an identity of the remote UE.
Regarding claim 14, Bag teaches an information transmission method according to claim 2:
wherein when the preset information comprises a sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message transmitted through the Uu interface, the relay UE forwards an end-to-end RRC signaling between the remote UE and the network-side device, the end-to-end RRC signaling is configured to carry the configured grant confirmation message for the remote device (Bag, fig. 3, [0046]-[0053], [0054]-[0084]: [0046] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an eNB 310 in communication with a UE 350 in an access network. The UE 350 may include at least one of a relay component 410 configured to relay information from the eNB 310 to a remote UE and/or from the remote UE to the eNB 310, or a communication component 420 configured to facilitate sidelink communication with another UE. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller/processor 375. The controller/processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.).
Regarding claim 16, Bag teaches an information transmission method performed by a network- side device and comprising:
transmitting preset information to a relay UE, wherein the preset information indicates through a preset content whether the preset information is related to the relay UE or to a remote UE served by the relay UE (Bag, fig. 1, [0034]-[0042], [0054]-[0084]: [0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communications system and an access network 100. The wireless communications system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes base stations 102, UEs 104, and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160. For example, UE 104a and UE 104b may be communicating via a device-to-device (D2D). D2D communication may be used to provide direct communication between devices such as UEs. D2D communication enables one device to communicate with another device and transmit data to the other device over allocated resources. In an aspect, the UE 104a may include relay component 410 configured to relay information from the base station 102 to the UE 104b and/or from the UE 104b to the base station 102. Further, in an aspect, the UE 104b may include communication component 420 configured to facilitate sidelink communication with the UE 104a. In some aspects, one or both of the UE 104a and/or 104b may be in a connected state with base station 102. The base stations 102 may include macro cells (high power cellular base station) and/or small cells (low power cellular base station). The macro cells include eNBs. The small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.).
Regarding claim 17, Bag teaches the information transmission according to claim 16:
wherein the preset information comprises at least one of the following:
a Scheduling Request (SR) (Bag, fig. 2c-2D, fig. 9, [0045], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0103] FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 of a method of wireless communication at a remote UE. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 466). At block 902, the method may transmit, on at least one sidelink channel, a scheduling request to a relay UE connected with a network entity. For example, as described herein, the remote UE 466 and/or the communication component 420 may execute the scheduling component 426 to transmit, on at least one sidelink channel 430, a scheduling request to a relay UE 464 connected with a network entity (e.g., base station 462).);
a scheduling signaling of a Uu interface sent by the network-side device;
a Sidelink Buffer Status Reporting Medium Access Control Control Element (Sidelink BSR MAC CE) (Bag, fig. 2c-2D, fig. 9, [0045], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0106] In some aspects, the scheduling request may be transmitted on a periodic resource. Further, for instance, the periodic resource may be allocated when the remote UE links to the relay UE. In some aspects, the method may further transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, SCI including a flag indicating an upcoming transmission of a buffer status report within a data portion of the upcoming transmission, and transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, a buffer status report as a MAC CE within the data portion.);
a scheduling signaling of a sidelink interface transmitted through a Uu interface; or
a sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message transmitted through a Uu interface.
Regarding claim 18, Bag teaches the information transmission according to claim 17:
wherein when the preset information comprises the SR, the preset content comprises at least one of the following UE (Bag, fig. 2c-2D, fig. 9, [0045], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: See above for paragraph [0103].):
SR resources used by the SR, wherein different SR resources are configured corresponding to the relay UE and the remote; or
SR carrying indication information, wherein the indication information is configured to indicate whether the preset information is intended for the relay UE or the remote UE (Bag, fig. 7, [0091]-[0102], [0103]-[0106]: [0091] FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 of a method of resource allocation at a relay UE. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 464). At block 702, the method may receive, on a downlink channel from a network entity, at least one indication including resource allocation information for at least one of the relay UE or a remote UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the relay component 410 may execute the resource allocation component 414 to receive, on a downlink channel from a network entity (e.g., base station 462), at least one indication including resource allocation information for at least one of the relay UE 464 or a remote UE 466. At block 704, the method may transmit, on a sidelink channel to the remote UE, the resource allocation information of remote UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the relay component 410 may execute the resource allocation component 414 to transmit, on a sidelink channel 430, the resource allocation information to the remote UE 466.), or
the indication information is configured to indicate a UE identity for which the preset information is intended.
Regarding claim 19, Bag teaches the information transmission according to claim 17:
wherein the preset information comprises the scheduling signaling of the Uu interface received from the network-side device, or comprises the scheduling signaling of the sidelink interface received through the Uu interface, and the preset content comprises at least one of the following (Bag, [0085]-[0100]: [0085] FIG. 5 is a flowchart 500 of a method of relaying an RNTI at a relay UE. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 464). At block 502, the method may receive, on a downlink channel from a network entity, at least one message including a RNTI of a remote UE associated with the relay UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the RNTI component 412 may execute the RNTI component 412 to receive, on a downlink channel (e.g., Uu interface) from a network entity (e.g., base station 462), at least one message including a RNTI of a remote UE 466 associated with the relay UE 464. At block 504, method may transmit, on a sidelink channel 430, a sidelink grant associated with the RNTI to the remote UE. For example, as described herein, the relay UE 464 and/or the RNTI component 412 may execute the RNTI component 412 to transmit, on a sidelink channel 430, a sidelink grant associated with the RNTI to the remote UE 466.):
a Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) used for scheduling signaling (Bag, fig. 11, [0110]-[0117]: [0110] FIG. 11 is a conceptual data flow diagram 1100 illustrating the data flow between different means/components in an exemplary apparatus 1102. The apparatus may be a relay UE. The apparatus includes a reception component 1104, a transmission component 1106, an RNTI component 412, a resource allocation component 414, and a scheduling determination component 416. The apparatus 1102 may receive communication from a base station 1130 via the reception component 1104, and may transmit communication to the base station 1130 via the transmission component 1106. Further, the apparatus 1102 may receive communication from a remote UE 1140 via the reception component 1104, and may transmit communication to the remote UE 1140 via the transmission component 1106. The RNTI component 412, the resource allocation component 414, and the scheduling determination component 416 may facilitate D2D communication as described herein with respect to FIG. 4.);
wherein the scheduling signaling for the relay UE and the scheduling signaling for the remote UE use different RNTIs respectively;
indication information carried in the scheduling information, wherein the indication information is configured to indicate whether the preset information is intended for the relay UE or the remote UE, or the indication information is configured to indicate the UE identity for which the preset information is intended.
Regarding claim 20, Bag teaches the information transmission according to claim 19:
further comprising configuring the RNTI used by the remote UE in at least one of the following methods: through a RRC reconfiguration of the Uu interface, sending the RNTI configured for the remote UE to the remote UE (Bag, fig. 3, [0046]-[0053], [0054]-[0084]: [0062] In some aspects, the base station 462 may provide a single RNTI for each remote UE 466 that is connected with relay UE 464, or may provide a bulk RNTI for all remote UEs 466 connected with the relay UE 464. For example, the relay UE 464 may monitor PDCCH for RNTI's of remote UEs 466, in addition to the relay UE's 464 own RNTI. Specifically, a bulk RNTI may be received by the relay UE 464. In such instance, the downlink control information (DCI) may distinguish the remote UEs including the remote UE 466. Indexing may be performed using RRC connection setup of remote UEs. The bulk RNTI message may include an index to the remote UEs. In some aspects, the index may have been pre-negotiated between the base station 462 and the relay UE 464 in an RRC message. Further, for each remote UE identifier, there may be an index assigned to each remote UE. Based on the index, the relay UE 464 may determine the remote UE identifier for which the grant is allocated.);
sending the RNTI configured for the remote UE to the remote UE through an end-to-end RRC signaling, and the remote UE sending the RNTI to the relay UE through the sidelink interface.
Regarding claim 21, Bag teaches the information transmission according to claim 17:
wherein when the preset information comprises the Sidelink BSR MAC CE sent to the network-side device, the preset content comprises at least one of the following (Bag, [0085]-[0100]: See above for paragraph [0085].):
buffer status information of the relay UE sidelink interface and buffer status information of the remote UE sidelink interface are reported using different Sidelink BSR MAC CEs, and the reported Sidelink BSR MAC CE payload or Sidelink BSR MAC CE sub-header carries a UE identity corresponding to the buffer status information (Bag, fig. 4, [0046]-[0053], [0054]-[0084], [0103]-[0106]: [0078] In an aspect related to the scheduling determination component 416 at the relay UE 464 and the scheduling component 426 at the remote UE 466, scheduling requests (SRs) and buffer status reports (BSRs) on PC5 sidelink interface between the remote UE 466 and the relay UE 464 may be provided. [0106] In some aspects, the scheduling request may be transmitted on a periodic resource. Further, for instance, the periodic resource may be allocated when the remote UE links to the relay UE. In some aspects, the method may further transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, SCI including a flag indicating an upcoming transmission of a buffer status report within a data portion of the upcoming transmission, and transmit, on the at least one sidelink channel 430, a buffer status report as a MAC CE within the data portion.);
buffer status information of the relay UE sidelink interface and buffer status information of the remote UE sidelink interface are reported using the same Sidelink BSR MAC CE, and the Sidelink BSR MAC CE carries a UE identity corresponding to the buffer status information; or
when the preset information comprises the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message transmitted through the Uu interface, the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message is obtained through a sidelink configured grant confirmation MAC CE;
wherein the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation MAC CE comprises indication information for indicating whether the sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message is related to the relay UE or to the remote UE served by the relay UE; or
when the preset information comprises a sidelink interface configured grant confirmation message transmitted through the Uu interface, the relay UE forwards an end-to-end RRC signaling between the remote UE and the network-side device, the end-to-end RRC signaling is configured to carry the configured grant confirmation message for the remote device.
Regarding claim 39, Bag teaches a network-side device, comprising:
a memory, a transceiver, and a processor (Bag, fig. 3, [0046]-[0053]);
wherein a memory is configured to store a computer program (Bag, fig. 12, [0112]-[0117]: [0113] The processing system 1214 may be coupled to a transceiver 1210. The transceiver 1210 is coupled to one or more antennas 1220. The transceiver 1210 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1210 receives a signal from the one or more antennas 1220, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1214, specifically the reception component 1104 In addition, the transceiver 1210 receives information from the processing system 1214, specifically the transmission component 1106, and based on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1220. The processing system 1214 includes a processor 1204 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The processor 1204 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The software, when executed by the processor 1204, causes the processing system 1214 to perform the various functions described supra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1206 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 1204 when executing software. The processing system 1214 further includes at least one of the components 1104, 1106, 412, 414, and 416. The components may be software components running in the processor 1204, resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 1206, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1204, or some combination thereof. The processing system 1214 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and/or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359.);
a transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data under a control of the processor (Bag, fig. 12, [0112]-[0117]: [0113] The processing system 1214 may be coupled to a transceiver 1210. The transceiver 1210 is coupled to one or more antennas 1220. The transceiver 1210 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1210 receives a signal from the one or more antennas 1220, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1214, specifically the reception component 1104 In addition, the transceiver 1210 receives information from the processing system 1214, specifically the transmission component 1106, and based on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1220. The processing system 1214 includes a processor 1204 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The processor 1204 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The software, when executed by the processor 1204, causes the processing system 1214 to perform the various functions described supra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1206 may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor 1204 when executing software. The processing system 1214 further includes at least one of the components 1104, 1106, 412, 414, and 416. The components may be software components running in the processor 1204, resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 1206, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1204, or some combination thereof. The processing system 1214 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and/or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359.); and
the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory to perform the information transmission method according to claim 16 (Bag, fig. 12, [0112]-[0117]: See above for paragraph [0113].).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pan et al. (US 20170093541 A1), the abstract discusses a relay UE to receive packets from an eNB where the relay UE acts as a relay for forwarding the packets between a remote UE and the eNB. The method includes the relay UE receiving the SL grant from the eNB. Also, the method includes the relay UE using the SL grant to transmit the sidelink packet to the remote UE. (See fig. 17).
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/FRANCESCA LIMA SANTOS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468