DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in reply communication filed on 11/03/2025.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 Argument
Applicant’s arguments filled on 08/06/2025 with respect to rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 of claims 1-10, 12, and 16-20 have been fully considered but not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, applicant argues that “… Although the cited portions of Yoshioka may disclose transmitting multiple SSBs corresponding to the same beam in a sinqle slot (e.g., SSBs of the same type arranged in a single slot), Yoshioka does not appear to teach or suggest transmitting SSBs corresponding to different beams, in multiple, different beam directions, within a single slot, in the same manner as independent claim 1. That is, Applicant respectfully asserts that transmitting SSBs corresponding to different beams within a single cycle or frame (e.g., a cycle includes a plurality of slots) cannot be construed as "transmitting, ... a first transmission portion... with a first beam direction and a second transmission portion...with a second beam direction" within "a single slot," as recited by independent claim 1. … However, Applicant respectfully submits that even if Astrom discloses the aforementioned limitations of independent claim 1 (which Applicant does not concede), the combination with Yoshioka would, at best, result in transmitting resources corresponding to different beam directions in a single cycle (e.g., multiple slots) and thus would still fail to disclose "transmitting, by the first UE, in a sinqle slot, a first transmission portion... with a first beam direction and a second transmission portion...with a second beam direction." For instance, as Yoshioka appears to disclose transmitting SSBs for multiple beams in a cycle (rather than a shared, single slot), the Office's purported combination may enable SSBs corresponding to a beam that is transmitted in "a first beam direction" (as allegedly disclosed by Astrom) to be transmitted in a first slot, and SSBs corresponding to a different beam that may be transmitted in "a second beam direction" (as allegedly disclosed by Astrom) would be transmitted in a separate, subsequent slot. Therefore, the cited portions of Astrom seemingly fail to cure the deficiencies of Yoshioka.” on page 8-9.
In response to applicant’s argument, the examiner respectfully disagrees with the argument above.
ÅSTRÖM Shown Fig. 3 below:
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ÅSTRÖM discloses partially in page 7 lines 38-48 as shown below:
…plurality of SSB transmission can be integrated together, that is transmitting in close sequence, this marking is synchronous signal burst (burst SS). may also be formed SS-burst collecting, wherein SS burst set is continuous SS SS burst, burst sends a group generally shown in FIG. 3 is provided with some non-zero interval. SS burst can, for example, include sending beam of full beam scanning. However, it is also possible with some reason, for example if the scanning beam number of fairly high and full beam scanning will take time allowed or desired ratio SS burst time is longer, then does not include full beam scanning in the SS burst. In this case, the beam can scan burst into several SS, such as SS formed burst set. In any case, whether SS burst set comprises a plurality of SS burst or burst from a single SS, a primary scanning in the same beam of the reproduction interval is fixed. the fixed reproduction interval may, for example, be 10ms or 20ms…
and page 10 lines 26-34 as shown below:
* other SSB configuration parameter.
* quasi co-located other portions of PSS and SSB (QCL) (or non-standard address) - for distinguishing the PSS of single frequency network (SFN) or regular transmission
* TSS configuration -TSS resource elements (RE) for the position of the PSS
* SSB is isotropic transmission and repeats over time, or performs beam forming and scanning in a plurality of directions
* SSB is beam in the beam having the first width and repetition in time of sending, or has the second width and scanning in a plurality of directions of transmission,
wherein the first width is wider than the second width
ÅSTRÖM shows in Fig. 3 a configuration SSB. The beam can scan/sweep burst into several SS, such as SS burst set; wherein the SS burst set comprises a plurality of SS burst or burst from a single SS. Providing a scanning in the same beam of the plurality of SS burst with the fixed reproduction interval, that is referred as a slot. Each slot/(fixed reproduction interval) could be 10ms or 20ms duration. Wherein each SS burst set is configured for transmitting of 3 SS burst. And each SS burst is comprising of 6 SSB transmissions. In which, the SSB is isotropic transmission and repeats over time to performs beam forming and scanning in a plurality of directions. That is, each of the SSB (6 total) of the SS burst is configured to transmit in the slot/(fixed reproduction interval) at different directions. Such as, a SSB is beam having the first width and the second width repetition in time for beam forming and scanning in a plurality of directions of transmission based on the configuration. More specifically, ÅSTRÖM teaches the transmitting SSBs for multiple beams SSB in a shared a single slot/(a fixed reproduction interval of 20 ms) consisted of 6 SSBs in the SS burst of the same slot.
In view of above response, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses all aspects of claim 1.
Claims 16 and 20 recited similar features as of claim 1; Thus, claims 16 and 20 would not allowable over the combination of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM as of same reason set forth of claim 1 above.
Claims 2-7, 8-10, and 12 depend, directly or indirectly, from independent claim 1. Thus, the rejection of claims 2-4 and 6 over the combination of Yoshioka and Astrom is sustained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4, 6 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over YOSHIOKA et al. (WO 2021/029076) in view of ÅSTRÖM et al. (CN 110637488).
Regarding claim 1, YOSHIOKA discloses a method [See Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, pages 2-3; a method to perform a wireless communication between terminals 20], comprising:
accessing, by a first User Equipment (UE), configuration data indicating a slot structure comprising a plurality of resources for transmissions in different directions [See page 3 lines 12-13; accessing by conceivable, by the terminal 20/first UE, a configuration of the SSB as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of SSBs having a configuration are arranged in one slot]; and
based on the configuration data [See Fig. 3, page 7 lines 38-48; based on the configuration (structure) of SL-SSB of LTE-SL], transmitting, by the first UE, a first transmission portion using a first resource of the plurality of resources and a second transmission portion using a second resource of the plurality of resources [See Fig. 4, page 3 lines 12-15; transmitting, by the terminal 20/first UE, a plurality of SSBs having such a configuration (two in the example of FIG. 4) are arranged in one slot, and a plurality of types of SSBs are arranged in one cycle; with such of the configuration, the SSBs corresponding to a plurality of beams can be transmitted in one cycle].
YOSHIOKA disclose all aspects of claim invention set forth above including “transmitting, by the first UE, a first transmission portion using a first resource of the plurality of resources and a second transmission portion using a second resource of the plurality of resources”, but does not explicitly disclose a first transmission portion using a first resource of the plurality of resources “with a first beam direction” and a second transmission portion using a second resource of the plurality of resources “with a second beam direction, different from the first beam direction””.
However, ÅSTRÖM discloses based on the configuration data [See Fig. 3; based on the configuration (structure) of SL-SSB of LTE-SL], transmitting, by the first UE, in a single slot, a first transmission portion using a first resource of the plurality of resources “with a first beam direction” and a second transmission portion using a second resource of the plurality of resources “with a second beam direction, different from the first beam direction [See Fig. 3, page 7 lines 38-48; each of the SSB (6 total) of the SS burst is configured to transmit in the slot/(fixed reproduction interval) at different directions. Such as, a first SSB of the SS burst in a SS burst set is a beam having a first width and a second SSB of the SS burst in the SS burst set is a beam having a second width repetition in time for beam forming and scanning in a plurality of directions of transmission based on the configuration (See page 10 lines 32-35). More specifically, the transmitting SSBs for multiple beams SSB in a shared a single slot/(a fixed reproduction interval of 20 ms) consisted of 6 SSBs in the SS burst of the same slot (See page 7 lines 45-48)].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “a first transmission portion using a first resource of the plurality of resources “with a first beam direction” and a second transmission portion using a second resource of the plurality of resources “with a second beam direction, different from the first beam direction”” as taught by ÅSTRÖM in the system of YOSHIOKA, so that it would to reducing the influence of the initial access process in such a flexible system [See ÅSTRÖM; page 3 lines 3-4].
Regarding claim 2, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1.
YOSHIOKA further discloses wherein the first transmission portion is a portion of a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), and the second transmission portion is a portion of a same SSB [See Fig. 3, page 3 lines 1-2; wherein the first transmission portion is the PSSS (Primary Sidelink Signalization Signal), the second transmission portion is the SSSS (Seconday Sidelink Synchronization Signal)].
Regarding claim 3, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1.
YOSHIOKA further discloses wherein the first transmission portion is a portion of a Synchronization Signal Block-like (SSB-like) transmission, and the second transmission portion is a portion of a same SSB-like transmission [See Fig. 6, page 4 lines 21-22; the two S-PSS in the SL-SSB, the sequence of the first S-PSS (sequence) and the sequence of the second S-PSS may be the same sequence].
Regarding claim 4, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1.
YOSHIOKA further discloses wherein the first transmission portion is transmitted in resources from a resource pool that is (pre)-configured by Radio Resource Control (RRC), the resource pool being separate from resources used for synchronization [See Fig. 6, page 4 lines 18-20; using the resource in the SSB frequency domain of NR-Uu and the resource in the frequency domain of SL-SSB of NR-SL as resources in different frequency domains, the SL of SSB of NR-Uu and the SL of NR-SL are used].
Regarding claim 6, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1.
YOSHIOKA further discloses wherein the first transmission portion comprises a Sidelink Primary Synchronization Signal (SPSS), a Sidelink Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSSS), and a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), the SSSS and the DMRS having different beam directions [See Fig. 4, page 3 lines 1-6; wherein the first transmission portion comprises a Sidelink Primary Synchronization Signal (SPSS), a Sidelink Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSSS), and a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), the SSSS and the DMRS having different beam directions (Fig. 4, pages 14-15; SSBs corresponding to a plurality of beams can be transmitted in one cycle)].
Regarding claims 16-19, the claims recite a first User Equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors; and a memory (Fig. 8; a terminal 20 has a transmission unit 210, a reception unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240) storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors recited as in claims 1-4 respectively; therefore, claims 16-19 are rejected along the same rationale that rejected in claims 1-4 respectively.
Regarding claim 20, the claims recite User Equipment (UE), comprising: means for processing; and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the means for processing (Fig. 8; a terminal 20 has a transmission unit 210, a reception unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240)to perform the method performed by a user equipment (UE) recited as in claim 1; therefore, claim 20 is rejected along the same rationale that rejected in claim 1.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over YOSHIOKA et al. (WO 2021/029076) in view of ÅSTRÖM et al. (CN 110637488), and further in view of KUSASHIMA et al. (WO 2020/066696).
Regarding claim 5, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the first transmission portion comprises a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH) comprising a UE identifier of the first UE or a beam identifier of the first transmission portion.
However, KUSASHIMA discloses wherein the first transmission portion comprises a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH) comprising a UE identifier of the first UE or a beam identifier of the first transmission portion [See page 16 lines 8-12; the identification information of the transmission source terminal device 2 (that is, the terminal ID and the ID of the terminal device) and the identification information of the beam (that is, the beam ID) are notified by PSSS / SSSS / PSBCH].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “wherein the first transmission portion comprises a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH) comprising a UE identifier of the first UE or a beam identifier of the first transmission portion” as taught by KUSASHIMA in the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM, so that it would to support these use cases, higher throughput and lower delay and higher reliability [See KUSASHIMA; page 2 lines 23-24].
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over YOSHIOKA et al. (WO 2021/029076) in view of ÅSTRÖM et al. (CN 110637488), and further in view of KESHAVAMURTHY et al. (US 2023/0115882).
Regarding claim 7, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 6, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the first transmission portion comprises a sequence selected based on a UE identifier of the first UE.
However, KESHAVAMURTHY discloses wherein the first transmission portion comprises a sequence selected based on a UE identifier of the first UE [See ¶ 26; S-PSS and S-SSS can be selected out of the candidate sequences based on an SLSS ID, which can represent an identifier of the SyncRef UE].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “wherein the first transmission portion comprises a sequence selected based on a UE identifier of the first UE” as taught by KESHAVAMURTHY in the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM, so that it would to perform a reduced synchronization search when determined not to act as the group synchronization reference user equipment [See KESHAVAMURTHY; ¶ 5].
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over YOSHIOKA et al. (WO 2021/029076) in view of ÅSTRÖM et al. (CN 110637488), and further in view of KIM et al. (WO 2022/039541).
Regarding claim 8, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the transmitting, by the first UE, of the first transmission portion comprises transmitting the first transmission portion in a resource selected based: on a hash function of a UE identifier of the first UE, or on a pseudorandom number, or on a priority of a Transport Block (TB), that triggered the transmitting of the first transmission portion, or on sensing information.
However, KIM discloses wherein the transmitting, by the first UE, of the first transmission portion comprises transmitting the first transmission portion in a resource selected based: on a hash function of a UE identifier of the first UE, or on a pseudorandom number, or on a priority of a Transport Block (TB), that triggered the transmitting of the first transmission portion, or on sensing information [See page 17 lines 21-23, page 18 S1703; select an SSB based on channel quality and priority of channel measurement and synchronization reference].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “wherein the transmitting, by the first UE, of the first transmission portion comprises transmitting the first transmission portion in a resource selected based: on a hash function of a UE identifier of the first UE, or on a pseudorandom number, or on a priority of a Transport Block (TB), that triggered the transmitting of the first transmission portion, or on sensing information” as taught by KIM in the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM, so that it would to improve mobile broadband communication, massive machine type communication (MTC), and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication) [See KIM; page 2 lines 28-30].
Regarding claim 9, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the transmitting, by the first UE, of the first transmission portion comprises transmitting the first transmission portion in a slot selected based on sensed availability of resources in a previous slot.
However, KIM discloses wherein the transmitting, by the first UE, of the first transmission portion comprises transmitting the first transmission portion in a slot selected based on sensed availability of resources in a previous slot [See Fig. 4B, page 9 lines 38-42; terminal may select a resource by itself within the selection window by performing a sensing (sensing) and resource (re)selection procedure. For example, the sensing may be performed in units of subchannels].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “wherein the transmitting, by the first UE, of the first transmission portion comprises transmitting the first transmission portion in a slot selected based on sensed availability of resources in a previous slot” as taught by KIM in the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM, so that it would to improve mobile broadband communication, massive machine type communication (MTC), and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication) [See KIM; page 2 lines 28-30].
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over YOSHIOKA et al. (WO 2021/029076) in view of ÅSTRÖM et al. (CN 110637488), and further in view of RAJAGOPAL et al. (EP 3843491).
Regarding claim 10, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein: a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) comprises the first transmission portion and the second transmission portion; the first transmission portion comprises a first reference signal; and the second transmission portion comprises a second reference signal.
However, RAJAGOPAL discloses wherein: a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) comprises the first transmission portion and the second transmission portion; the first transmission portion comprises a first reference signal; and the second transmission portion comprises a second reference signal [See Fig. 42, page 9 lines 38-42; PSSCH transmissions in the MIB-SL when PSBCH is transmitted using DMRSConfig field to indicate of either 2V DMRS structure or 4V DMRS structure as first reference signal and second reference signal].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “wherein: a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) comprises the first transmission portion and the second transmission portion; the first transmission portion comprises a first reference signal; and the second transmission portion comprises a second reference signal” as taught by RAJAGOPAL in the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM, so that it would to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques [See RAJAGOPAL; page 3 lines 48-51].
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 unpatentable over YOSHIOKA et al. (WO 2021/029076) in view of ÅSTRÖM et al. (CN 110637488), and further in view of ZENG et al. (US 2023/0354271).
Regarding claim 12, the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM discloses the method of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein: the first transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information, and the second transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information.
However, ZENG discloses wherein: the first transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information, and the second transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information [See ¶ 59; wherein: the first transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information, and the second transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to provide “wherein: the first transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information, and the second transmission portion comprises a reference signal and control information” as taught by ZENG in the combined system of YOSHIOKA and ÅSTRÖM, so that it would to provide a low reliability of sidelink services and high power consumption due to failure in processing transmissions or packets located at some specific times because DRX active times and sensing times are not aligned between terminals [See ZENG; ¶ 10].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11 and 13-15 are 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
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 extension fee 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.
In additional to references cited that are used for rejection as set forth above, KUSASHIMA et al. (WO 2020/066696) is also considered as relevant prior arts for rejection of in claims 1, 13, 23, and 27 for limitation “based on the configuration data, transmitting, by the first UE, in a single slot, a first transmission portion using a first resource of the plurality of resources with a first beam direction and a second transmission portion” (See KUSASHIMA, Fig. 13-17, terminal device 2 forms four beams (that is, beams # 0 to # 3) in different directions, as shown in FIG and transmitted in a slot.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHONG LA whose telephone number is (571)272-2588. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, IAN MOORE can be reached on 571-272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHONG LA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469