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 § 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 13-15, 20, 26, 28-29 and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. US 2022/0109527 to Hwang et al. (hereinafter Hwang) in view of U.S. Publication No. US 2024/0057121 to Ganesan et al. (hereinafter Ganesan) in view of U.S. Publication No. US 2021/0028910 to Cheng et al. (hereinafter Cheng)
As to claims 13, Hwang discloses a method, comprising:
determining that a first resource for sending to-be-sent first information and a second resource for receiving to-be-received second information overlap in time domain (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH); and
sending the first information on the first resource or receiving the second information on the second resource according to a first rule (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH);
wherein the first rule comprises:
determining, based on priorities of the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information, whether to send the first information on the first resource or receive the second information on the second resource (Hwang; [0282] discloses, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH. [0178] discloses UE1 may indicate the priority of SL transmission to UE2 by SCI and also discloses the SL RSRP threshold may be determined based on the priority of SL transmission indicated by the SCI received from UE1 by UE2 and the priority of SL transmission in the resources selected by UE2. The minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH and priority of SL transmission indicated by SCI corresponding to first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information);
Hwang discloses a UE that is transmitting HARQ, but fails to discloses of transmitting both resource conflict indication information and first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information. However, Ganesan discloses
wherein:
the first information comprises first resource conflict indication information and first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information, and the second information comprises second resource conflict indication information and second HARQ information (Ganesan; Fig.2:230; Fig.3A, 3B shows and discloses of sending feedback channel PSFC that indicates whether resource conflict (=overlap) exists and further includes HARQ-ACK).
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 receiving UE can reselect resources based on the resource conflict indication.
Hwang-Ganesan discloses a UE that is transmitting HARQ, but fails to discloses of prioritizing HARQ. However, Cheng discloses
wherein the first rule comprises:
based on priorities of the first HARQ information and the second HARQ information, whether to send the first information on the first resource or receive the second information on the second resource (Cheng; Abstract; [0040]; [0053]-[0055] discloses low priority HARQ feedback is dropped when two or more PSFCH resources are overlapped in time/frequency domain)
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 limited resources in an effective way by sending one HARQ when two or more PSFCH resources are overlapped in time/frequency domain.
As to claim 14, the rejection of claim 13 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Hwang-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein determining, based on the priorities of the first HARQ information and the second HARQ information and based on priorities of the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information, whether to send the first information on the first resource or receive the second information on the second resource comprises:
when a highest-priority information in the first HARQ information and the second HARQ information and the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information is a to-be-sent HARQ, sending the first information on the first resource (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH); or
when the highest-priority information in the first HARQ information and the second HARQ information and the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information is a to-be-received HARQ, receiving the second information on the second resource (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH)
As to claim 15, the rejection of claim 13 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Hwang-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein determining, based on the priorities of the first HARQ information and the second HARQ information and based on priorities of the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information, whether to send the first information on the first resource or receive the second information on the second resource comprises:
when a highest-priority information in the first HARQ information and the second HARQ information and the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information is a to-be-sent HARQ, preferentially sending a HARQ in the first information on the first resource (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH); or
when the highest-priority information in the first HARQ information and the second HARQ information and the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information is a to-be-received HARQ, preferentially receiving a HARQ in the second information on the second resource (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH)
As to claim 20, the rejection of claim 13 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Hwang-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein a priority of the resource conflict indication information corresponds to a priority field value comprised in sidelink control information (SCI) associated with the resource conflict indication information (Ganesan; Fig.4:405; [0100]-[0101] discloses the Rx UE (e.g., UE-A 205) receives SCI 405 carrying an initial transmission and two reservations of future resources, i.e., at slot 410 and slot 415. It is assumed here that the SCI 405 enables conflict indication for the reserved resources and also enables HARQ feedback for the initial transmission)
As to claims 26, Hwang discloses a method, comprising:
determining that a first resource for sending at least one piece of to-be-sent information and a second resource for sending a to-be-received hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information overlap in time domain (Hwang; [0282]-[0283]; discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSC. [0209] discloses of sidelink transmission overlapping in the time domain); and
when it is determined that the first resource and the second resource overlap in time domain, preferentially sending or receiving HARQ information, the HARQ information being comprised in the to-be-sent resource conflict indication information or the to-be-received HARQ information (Hwang; [0282]-[0283]; discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSC).
Hwang discloses of determining the priority of PSFCH for transmitting HARQ or PSFCH for reception HARQ and based on the determination transmitting or receiving PSFCH that includes HARQ. Hwang discloses of transmitting PSFCH, but fails to disclose of transmitting resource conflict indication information
determining that a first resource for sending at least one piece of to-be-sent resource conflict indication information (Ganesan; Fig.2:230; Fig.3A, 3B shows and discloses of sending feedback channel PSFC that indicates whether resource conflict (=overlap) exists and further includes HARQ-ACK)
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 receiving UE can reselect resources based on the resource conflict indication
Hwang-Ganesan discloses of sending SCI, but fails to disclose of including priority information in the SCI. However, Cheng discloses
wherein a priority of the resource conflict indication information corresponds to a priority field value comprised in sidelink control information (SCI) associated with the resource conflict indication information (Cheng; Abstract; [0040]; [0053]-[0055] discloses receiving a first SCI for scheduling a first PSSCH transmission, from a second UE, receiving a second SCI for scheduling a second PSSCH transmission, from the second UE, determining priorities of a first HARQ feedback corresponding to the first PSSCH transmission and a second HARQ feedback corresponding to the second PSSCH transmission according to the first SCI and the second SCI, and transmitting a PSFCH for at least one of the first HARQ feedback and the second HARQ feedback with a higher priority according to the determined priorities, to the second UE when a first PSFCH resource for the first HARQ feedback and a second PSFCH resource for the second HARQ feedback are at least overlapped in the time domain).
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 receiving UE can make a decision based on the information received in SCI.
As to claim 28, the rejection of claim 13 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Hwang-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein sending the first information on the first resource or receiving the second information on the second resource according to a first rule comprises:
sending the first information on the first resource and not receiving the second information on the second resource according to the first rule (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH)
As to claim 29, the rejection of claim 13 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Hwang-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein sending the first information on the first resource or receiving the second information on the second resource according to a first rule comprises:
receiving the second information on the second resource and not sending the first information on the first resource according to the first rule (Hwang; [0282] discloses when an HARQ feedback transmission of the UE on the PSFCH overlaps with an HARQ feedback reception of the UE on the PSFCH, the UE may select either the HARQ feedback transmission on the PSFCH or the HARQ feedback reception on the PSFCH based on a priority rule. For example, the priority rule may be based on a minimum priority indication of the related PSCCH/PSSCH)
As to claim 32, the rejection of claim 26 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Hwang-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein when it is determined that the first resource and the second resource overlap in time domain, preferentially sending or receiving the HARQ information comprises:
when it is determined that the first resource and the second resource overlap in time domain, preferentially sending the HARQ information based on the HARQ information being comprised in the to-be-sent resource conflict indication and not being comprised in the to-be- received HARQ information (Ganesan; Fig.4; [0100]-[0101] shows and discloses of sending HARQ feedback and two conflict indication as shown in step 420, 425 and 430, but sending one conflict indication at 430 and one HARQ feedback at 420 means a total quantity of pieces of resource conflict indication information and HARQ information that are sent is less than or equal to an upper limit of a total quantity of pieces of resource conflict indication information and HARQ information that are sent)
4. Claims 21-22, 25 and 30-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NPL 3GPP R1-1908772 to Sony et al. (hereinafter Sony) in view of U.S. Publication No. US 2024/0057121 to Ganesan et al. (hereinafter Ganesan) in view of U.S. Publication No. US 2021/0028910 to Cheng et al. (hereinafter Cheng)
As to claims 21, Sony discloses a method comprising:
determining that a first resource for sending to-be-sent first information and a second resource for receiving to-be-received second information overlap in time domain (Sony; Section 3, Case 1 shows and discloses of determining that the PSFCH resources corresponding to the two PSSCHs appear in the same slot. Section 3, Case 1-2 discloses PSFCH1 that is used to receive the feedback for PSSCH1 by the UE1 conflict or overlap with the PSFCH4 that is used to transmit the feedback for PSSCH4 by the UE1); and
where the first rule comprises:
determining, based on a priority of the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information, whether to send the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource or receive the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource (Sony; Section 3; discloses of determining the priority of PSFCH 1 and PSFCH4 and based on the priority detection the UE1 either transmitting information in the PSFCH4 or receiving information in the PSFCH1).
Sony at section 3 discloses a UE1 that is transmitting HARQ for PSSCH4 in the PSFCH4 and receive HARQ for PSSCH in the PSFCH1, but fails to discloses of transmitting or receiving resource conflict indication information in the PSFCH. However, Ganesan discloses
determining that a first resource for sending to-be-sent first resource conflict indication information and a second resource for receiving to-be-received second resource conflict indication information overlap in time domain (Ganesan; Fig.2:225, 230; Fig.3A, 3B shows and discloses of a UE-A determines resource conflict indication exists based on the SCI received from the UE-B and based on the determination sending resource conflict indication to UE-B in PSFCH);
sending the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource or receiving the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource according to a first rule (Ganesan; Fig.2:225, 230; Fig.3A, 3B shows and discloses of a UE-A determines resource conflict indication exists based on the SCI received from the UE-B and based on the determination sending resource conflict indication to UE-B in PSFCH)
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 receiving UE can reselect resources based on the resource conflict indication
Hwang-Ganesan discloses of sending SCI, but fails to disclose of including priority information in the SCI. However, Cheng discloses
where the first rule comprises:
wherein a priority of the first resource conflict indication information corresponds to a priority field value comprised in sidelink control information (SCI) associated with the first resource conflict indication information, and a priority of the second resource conflict indication information corresponds to a priority field value comprised in SCI associated with the second resource conflict indication information (Cheng; Abstract; [0040]; [0053]-[0055] discloses receiving a first SCI for scheduling a first PSSCH transmission, from a second UE, receiving a second SCI for scheduling a second PSSCH transmission, from the second UE, determining priorities of a first HARQ feedback corresponding to the first PSSCH transmission and a second HARQ feedback corresponding to the second PSSCH transmission according to the first SCI and the second SCI, and transmitting a PSFCH for at least one of the first HARQ feedback and the second HARQ feedback with a higher priority according to the determined priorities, to the second UE when a first PSFCH resource for the first HARQ feedback and a second PSFCH resource for the second HARQ feedback are at least overlapped in the time domain).
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 receiving UE can make a decision based on the information received in SCI.
As to claim 22, the rejection of claim 21 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Sony-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein:
determining, based on priorities of the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information, whether to send the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource or receive the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource comprises:
when a highest-priority resource conflict indication information in the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information is to-be-sent resource conflict indication information, sending the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource (Sony; Section 3 shows and discloses of transmitting or receiving information by the UE1 through PSFCH1 or PSFCH4 based on the priority of PSFCH. When PSFCH1 has higher priority than PSFCH4 and wherein PSFCH1 is used for transmission and PSFCH4 is used for reception, then in that case PSFCH1 would be used for transmitting information. Here Sony is applied for the 1st alternative) or
when the highest-priority resource conflict indication information in the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information is to-be-received resource conflict indication information, receiving the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource; and
wherein highest-priority resource conflict indication information in the first resource conflict indication information and the resource conflict indication information is a lowest- priority-value resource conflict indication information in the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information (Sony; Section 3 shows and discloses of transmitting or receiving information by the UE1 through PSFCH1 or PSFCH4 based on the priority of PSFCH. When PSFCH1 has higher priority than PSFCH4 and wherein PSFCH1 is used for transmission and PSFCH4 is used for reception, then in that case PSFCH1 would be used for transmitting information. Here Sony is applied for the 1st alternative)
As to claim 25, the rejection of claim 21 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Sony-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein when a highest-priority resource conflict indication information in the first resource conflict indication information and the second resource conflict indication information is to-be-sent resource conflict indication information, sending the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource comprises:
sending resource conflict indication information of the first resource conflict indication information in descending order of priorities of to-be-sent first resource conflict indication information of the first resource conflict indication information (Sony; Section 3; discloses of determining the priority of PSFCH 1 and PSFCH4 and based on the priority detection the UE1 either transmitting information in the PSFCH4 or receiving information in the PSFCH1).
As to claim 30, the rejection of claim 21 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Sony-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein sending the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource or receiving the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource according to the first rule comprises:
sending the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource and not receiving the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource according to the first rule (Sony; Section 3).
As to claim 31, the rejection of claim 21 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Sony-Ganesan-Cheng discloses wherein sending the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource or receiving the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource according to the first rule comprises:
receiving the second resource conflict indication information on the second resource and not sending the first resource conflict indication information on the first resource according to the first rule (Sony; Section 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-19, 27 and 33-34 are objected, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims
Conclusion
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/FAISAL CHOUDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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