DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
2. Claims 17 and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 17, the claim contain the phrase "capable of”. It has been held that the recitation that an element is "capable of' performing a function is not a positive limitation but only requires the ability to so perform. It does not constitute a limitation in any patentable sense. In re Hutchison, 69 USPQ 138. Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding claim 18, the claim recites “apparatus,” in line 18. Examiner recommends changing the apparatus to “sidelink manager”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
4. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 requires “wherein the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment
coordination information originates from the sidelink manager, wherein the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information comprises an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another first module; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information comprises an indication that the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another second module..”
It is unclear how the control information does not comprise an indication that the information originates from the sidelink manager and comprise the indication that the information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another module.
Examiner assumed that the control information does not comprise an indication that the information originates from the sidelink manager or comprise the indication that the information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another module.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. 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, 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.
7. The factual inquiries 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.
8. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
9. Claims 1, 5, 12, 14-17, 24 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dutta et al. (US 2024/0121756 A1, hereinafter “Dutta”) in view of Nguyen et al. (US 2020/0146066 A1, hereinafter “Nguyen”).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Dutta teaches a sidelink manager (e.g., 515-a of fig. 5. ¶ [0166], the UE 515-a may be an example of a Type A UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via multiple RATs, such as LTE and NR. ¶ [0061]), comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (figs. 7-10), cause the sidelink manager at least to: determine a first resource allocation used by a first module part of a first apparatus (e.g., 515-b of fig. 5, ¶ [0169], UE 515-b being a Type C UE. Figs. 6, 11-16) configured to perform sidelink communications via a first radio access technology and not configured to perform sidelink communications via a second radio access technology (¶ [0169], ¶ [0190], The UE 615-b may be an example of a Type C UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via one RAT) that includes an LTE sidelink module and communicates according to LTE procedures (e.g., and is not capable of NR communications)); determine a second resource allocation used by a second module part of a second apparatus (e.g. 515-c of fig. 5,), not configured to perform sidelink communications via the first radio access technology and configured to perform sidelink communications via the second radio access technology (figs 5, ¶ [0178], ¶ [0190], The UE 615-c may be an example of a Type B UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via one RAT) that includes an NR module and is capable of communicating according to NR procedures (.e.g., and is not capable of LTE communications). Figs. 6, 11-16); determine a resource allocation conflict on a same carrier based on the first resource allocation and the second resource allocation (figs. 2-5, 11-16. ¶ [0061], the first UE may serve as an intermediary UE and perform inter-UE coordination between other UEs that support a single RAT. More specifically, the first UE may be capable of decoding resource reservation messages from both LTE UEs and NR UEs and, as such, may obtain resource information for a resource pool shared by the LTE UEs and the NR UEs. The first UE may transmit an inter-UE coordination (IUC) message to a second UE (e.g., an NR UE) that may indicate whether resources of the resource pool are available for NR transmissions by the second UE, are associated with or reserved for LTE communications, or the like. ¶ [0130], two or more UEs 215 may reserve overlapping communication resources, e.g., during the same time and/or over the same frequency range. ¶ [0168], The UE 515-a may determine that respective resources of the set of resources (e.g., respective subsets of resources of the set of resources) are associated with LTE or NR.); generating a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information having a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the second radio access technology, the first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or by generating a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information having a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the first radio access technology, the second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology (figs. 3A-3C, 5, 6, 11-16, ¶ [0170], ¶ [0171], The UE 515-a may determine resource information associated with the resource pool. The resource information may be for the UE 515-c, e.g., for NR transmissions by the UE 515-c. The resource information may include resource reservation information, resource partition information, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the resource reservation information may include one or more preferred resources of the set of resources, one or more non-preferred resources of the set of resources, or a combination thereof, for the UE 515-c (e.g., for the NR transmissions by the UE 515-c). In some examples, the one or more non-preferred resources may correspond to (e.g., include) the first one or more resources associated with LTE and reserved by the UE 515-b, while the one or more preferred resources may include the second one or more resources associated with NR and reserved by the UE 515-c. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 515-a may exclude the one or more non-preferred resources to determine the one or more preferred resources. In some cases, the resource partition information may include a transmission resource set, a fraction (e.g., a ratio, a percentage) of resources of the set of resources that are available for NR, a fraction (e.g., a ratio, a percentage) of resources of the set of resources that are available for LTE, or a combination thereof. ¶ [0172], At 520, the UE 515-a may transmit, and the UE 515-c may receive, a message (e.g., an IUC message) indicating the resource information determined at 510. The IUC message may include or be an example of a MAC-CE or SCI (e.g., SCI-2). In some examples, the UE 515-a may multiplex the IUC message with NR data for the UE 515-c. In some cases, the UE 515-a may transmit the IUC message at 515 based on receiving the request for resource information from the UE 515-c at 505. ¶ [0173], the UE 515-a may indicate that a first subset of resources of the set of resources are associated with NR and a second subset of resources of the set of resources are associated with LTE. In some cases, the IUC message may further include an indication that the resource information indicates the RAT associated with each resource. For instance, the IUC message may indicate that the resource information (e.g., the resource reservation information) indicates NR or LTE resources (e.g., potential NR or potential LTE resources). ¶ [0173]-¶ [0179]); and send by the sidelink manager, the converted first resource allocation to the second module or the converted second resource allocation to the first module (figs. 5, 6, 11-16. ¶ [0172], At 520, the UE 515-a may transmit, and the UE 515-c may receive, a message (e.g., an IUC message) indicating the resource information determined at 510).
Dutta does not explicitly teach convert, by generating a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information having a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the second radio access technology, the first resource allocation into a converted first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or by generating a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information having a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the first radio access technology, the second resource allocation into a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology.
Nguyen teaches converting the first resource allocation into a converted first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or the second resource allocation into a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology (fig. 5, 7-10, ¶ [0074], The LTE component 506 (of the UE 502) may forward the information on the resources for NR V2X transmission or information on potential or actual collisions to the first base/LTE station 504 at 524. In one aspect, the LTE component may perform the conversion at 526. The LTE component may transmit the converted information on the resources for NR V2X transmission to the base station 504/LTE at 528. The first base station 504 may determine if there are collisions between SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission and the high priority resources for the NR V2X transmission, and may trigger reselection of the SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission if there are collisions).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, convert the first resource allocation into a converted first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or the second resource allocation into a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology; and to include in a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information having a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the second radio access technology, a converted first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or include in a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information having a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the first radio access technology, a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology in the system of Dutta to further improve industrial applicability.
Regarding claims 12 and 15, Dutta teaches a first apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: send, from a first module part of the first apparatus configured to perform sidelink communications via a first radio access technology to a sidelink manager and not configured to perform sidelink communications via a second radio access technology (e.g., 515-b or 515-c of fig. 5. ¶ [0169], UE 515-b being a Type C UE. ¶ [0190], The UE 615-b may be an example of a Type C UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via one RAT) that includes an LTE sidelink module and communicates according to LTE procedures (e.g., and is not capable of NR communications). ¶ [0190], The UE 615-c may be an example of a Type B UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via one RAT) that includes an NR module and is capable of communicating according to NR procedures (.e.g., and is not capable of LTE communications). ¶ [0170], performing sensing may include the UE 515-a receiving, from the UE 515-c, a sidelink message (e.g., SCI) indicating a second resource reservation for a second one or more resources of the resource pool), a first resource allocation or first sensing results (figs. 5. 6, 11-16. ¶ [0166], the UE 515-a may be an example of a Type A UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via multiple RATs, such as LTE and NR. ¶ [0061]. ¶ [0170], performing sensing may include the UE 515-a receiving, from the UE 515-c, a sidelink message (e.g., SCI) indicating a second resource reservation for a second one or more resources of the resource pool); receive, by the first module from the sidelink manager, a pseudo sidelink control information or a pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information having a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the first radio access technology, the pseudo sidelink control information or the pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including a resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology (figs. 2-5, 11-16. ¶ [0061], The first UE may transmit an inter-UE coordination (IUC) message to a second UE (e.g., an NR UE) that may indicate whether resources of the resource pool are available for NR transmissions by the second UE, are associated with or reserved for LTE communications, or the like. ¶ [0130], two or more UEs 215 may reserve overlapping communication resources, e.g., during the same time and/or over the same frequency range. ¶ [0168], The UE 515-a may determine that respective resources of the set of resources (e.g., respective subsets of resources of the set of resources) are associated with LTE or NR. ¶ [0200], the UE 615-a may optionally transmit resource information for the resource pool to the UE 615-c) and determine, by the first module, to adjust the first resource allocation based on the second resource allocation by excluding resources from the first resource allocation that are included in the converted second resource allocation (figs. 5, 6, 11-16, ¶ [0201], the UE 615-c may modify or adjust the one or more resources reserved by the SCI transmitted at 610. For instance, the UE 615-c may exclude one or more resources from a set of available resources for the NR transmission based on the collision indication).
Dutta does not explicitly teach the pseudo sidelink control information or the pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology
Nguyen teaches converting the first resource allocation into a converted first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or the second resource allocation into a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology (fig. 5, 7-10, ¶ [0074], The LTE component 506 (of the UE 502) may forward the information on the resources for NR V2X transmission or information on potential or actual collisions to the first base/LTE station 504 at 524. In one aspect, the LTE component may perform the conversion at 526. The LTE component may transmit the converted information on the resources for NR V2X transmission to the base station 504/LTE at 528. The first base station 504 may determine if there are collisions between SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission and the high priority resources for the NR V2X transmission, and may trigger reselection of the SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission if there are collisions).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to include in the, the pseudo sidelink control information or the pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information, a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology
in the system of Dutta to further improve industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 5, Dutta in view of Nguyen teaches the sidelink manager of claim 1, wherein the first resource allocation is received from the first module in first sidelink control information or first inter-user equipment coordination information or derived from sensing results from the first module; and/or wherein the second resource allocation is received from the second module in second sidelink control information or second inter-user equipment coordination information or derived from sensing results from the second module (Dutta: figs. 5, 6, 11-16), and wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the sidelink manager to: generate, by the sidelink manager, a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the first resource allocation; or
generate, by the sidelink manager, a second pseudo sidelink control information
or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the
second resource allocation (Dutta: figs. 5, 6, 11-16).
Dutta does not explicitly teach a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted first resource allocation; or a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted second resource allocation.
Nguyen teaches a converted first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology (fig. 5, 7-10, ¶ [0074], The LTE component 506 (of the UE 502) may forward the information on the resources for NR V2X transmission or information on potential or actual collisions to the first base/LTE station 504 at 524. In one aspect, the LTE component may perform the conversion at 526. The LTE component may transmit the converted information on the resources for NR V2X transmission to the base station 504/LTE at 528. The first base station 504 may determine if there are collisions between SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission and the high priority resources for the NR V2X transmission, and may trigger reselection of the SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission if there are collisions).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to generate, by the sidelink manager, a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted first resource allocation; or generate, by the sidelink manager, a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted second resource allocation in the system of Dutta to further improve industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 16, Dutta in view of Nguyen teaches the method of claim 15, wherein adjusting, by the first module, the first resource allocation based on the received second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology; and using, by the first module, the adjusted first resource allocation (Dutta: figs. 5, 6, 11-16, ¶ [0201], the UE 615-c may modify or adjust the one or more resources reserved by the SCI transmitted at 610. For instance, the UE 615-c may exclude one or more resources from a set of available resources for the NR transmission based on the collision indication).
Dutta does not explicitly teach converted second resource allocation.
Nguyen teaches converted second resource allocation (fig. 5, 7-10, ¶ [0074], The LTE component 506 (of the UE 502) may forward the information on the resources for NR V2X transmission or information on potential or actual collisions to the first base/LTE station 504 at 524. In one aspect, the LTE component may perform the conversion at 526. The LTE component may transmit the converted information on the resources for NR V2X transmission to the base station 504/LTE at 528. The first base station 504 may determine if there are collisions between SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission and the high priority resources for the NR V2X transmission, and may trigger reselection of the SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission if there are collisions).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to include in the, the pseudo sidelink control information or the pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information, a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology and to adjust/use the first resource allocation based on the converted second resource allocation in the system of Dutta in view of Nguyen to further improve industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 17, Dutta in view of Nguyen teaches the method of claim 14, wherein the sidelink manager is a core network element; or wherein the sidelink manager is a user equipment capable of performing sidelink communications via the first radio access technology and capable of performing sidelink communications via the second radio access technology (Dutta: fig. 5, 515-a. ¶ [0166], the UE 515-a may be an example of a Type A UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via multiple RATs, such as LTE and NR. ¶ [0061]. Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 24, Dutta teaches the first apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the first apparatus is a user equipment configured to perform sidelink communications via the first radio access technology and not configured to perform sidelink communications via the second radio access technology (Dutta: e.g., 515-b or 515-c of fig. 5. figs. 5, 6, 11-16, ¶ [0169], The UE 615-c may be an example of a Type B UE. ¶ [0190], The UE 615-b may be an example of a Type C UE (e.g., a UE that supports wireless communications via one RAT) that includes an LTE sidelink module and communicates according to LTE procedures (e.g., and is not capable of NR communications)); and a physical layer of the first module receives the pseudo sidelink control information or the pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information from the sidelink manager and adjusts the first resource allocation based on the received second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology (Dutta: figs. 5, 6, 11-16, ¶ [0201], the UE 615-c may modify or adjust the one or more resources reserved by the SCI transmitted at 610. For instance, the UE 615-c may exclude one or more resources from a set of available resources for the NR transmission based on the collision indication).
Dutta does not explicitly teach converted second resource allocation.
Nguyen teaches converted second resource allocation (fig. 5, 7-10, ¶ [0074], The LTE component 506 (of the UE 502) may forward the information on the resources for NR V2X transmission or information on potential or actual collisions to the first base/LTE station 504 at 524. In one aspect, the LTE component may perform the conversion at 526. The LTE component may transmit the converted information on the resources for NR V2X transmission to the base station 504/LTE at 528. The first base station 504 may determine if there are collisions between SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission and the high priority resources for the NR V2X transmission, and may trigger reselection of the SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission if there are collisions).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to include in the, the pseudo sidelink control information or the pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information, a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology and to adjust/use the first resource allocation based on the converted second resource allocation in the system of Dutta in view of Nguyen to further improve industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 26, Dutta in view of Nguyen teaches the first apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sidelink manager is part of the first apparatus, and wherein the first apparatus further comprises a second module configured to perform sidelink communications via the second radio access technology and not configured to perform sidelink communications via the first radio access technology (Dutta: e.g., 515a of fig. 5, ¶ [0061]); and wherein adjusting the first resource allocation comprises performing
resource reselection triggered by an inter-user equipment coordination scheme indicating a presence of a resource conflict (Dutta: e.g., 515a of fig. 5, ¶ [0061], the first UE may be capable of decoding resource reservation messages from both LTE UEs and NR UEs and, as such, may obtain resource information for a resource pool shared by the LTE UEs and the NR UEs. When selecting sidelink resources (e.g., from a pool of sidelink resources) for its own sidelink transmission, the second UE may determine whether to exclude resources associated with LTE communications to avoid interference with or collisions with the LTE communications. ¶ [0063]. ¶ [0117], ¶ [0118]. ¶ [0162], ¶ [0163]).
Regarding claim 27, Dutta teaches the sidelink manager of claim 5, wherein the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information comprises a preferred or non-preferred sidelink resource allocation for the second module or the first module, respectively (Dutta: figs. 5, 6, ¶ [0171], ¶ [0175], ¶ [0183] and ¶ [0195]).
10. Claims 7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dutta in view of Nguyen as applied to claim 5 or 14 above, and further in view of Nguyen et al. (US 2024/0397529 A1, hereinafter “Nguyen’29”).
Regarding claim 7, Dutta in view of Ngyuen teaches the sidelink manager of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the sidelink manager to: send, by the sidelink manager, the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information to the second module; or send, by the sidelink manager, the second pseudo sidelink control information or
the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information to the first module (Dutta: figs. 5, 6).
Dutta does not explicitly teach wherein the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager, or
wherein the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user
equipment coordination information comprises an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another first module; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo
inter-user equipment coordination information comprises an indication that the second
pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment
coordination information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another
second module.
Ngugyen’29 teaches wherein the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager (figs. 10A, 10B,¶ [0140], The potential types of inter-UE coordination information may include a source ID indicated by another UE's SCI for a resource reservation. As an example, the inter-UE coordination information may indicate a source ID for the UE 1008 for resource reservation information about 1028) or the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information comprises an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another first module; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information comprises an indication that the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another second module ( figs. 11A, 11B, ¶ [0148], ¶ [0032], ¶ [0140], The periodic resource reservation may be for the UE 1002 or for a different UE, e.g., UE 1008 or 1012. ¶ [0143], ¶ [0188], The one or more types of inter-UE coordination information may include at least one of: a resource set type, a receiving UE identifier, a transmitting UE identifier, a resource reservation interval, a transmission priority level, a number of sub-channels, a length of time associated with a periodic resource, a resource selection window time, a source identifier of a reserving UE).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to not include an indication that the first/second pseudo sidelink control information or the first/second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager or include an indication that the first/second pseudo sidelink control information or the first/second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager rather than from another first/second module in the system of Dutta in view of Nguyen. The motivation for doing this is a matter of design choice.
Regarding claim 18, Dutta in view of Nguyen teaches the method of claim 14, wherein the first resource allocation is received from the first module in first sidelink control information or first inter-user equipment coordination information or derived from sensing results from the first module; and wherein the second resource allocation is received from the second module in second sidelink control information or second inter-user equipment coordination information or derived from sensing results from the second module (Dutta: figs. 5, 6), the method further comprising: generating, by the sidelink manager, a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the first resource allocation; or generating, by the sidelink manager, a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the second resource allocation (figs. 3a-6).
Dutta does not explicitly teach a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted first resource allocation; or a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted second resource allocation.
Nguyen teaches a converted first resource allocation compatible with the second radio access technology, or a converted second resource allocation compatible with the first radio access technology (fig. 5, 7-10, ¶ [0074], The LTE component 506 (of the UE 502) may forward the information on the resources for NR V2X transmission or information on potential or actual collisions to the first base/LTE station 504 at 524. In one aspect, the LTE component may perform the conversion at 526. The LTE component may transmit the converted information on the resources for NR V2X transmission to the base station 504/LTE at 528. The first base station 504 may determine if there are collisions between SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission and the high priority resources for the NR V2X transmission, and may trigger reselection of the SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission if there are collisions).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to generate, by the sidelink manager, a first pseudo sidelink control information or a first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted first resource allocation; or generate, by the sidelink manager, a second pseudo sidelink control information or a second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information including the converted second resource allocation in the system of Dutta to further improve industrial applicability.
Dutta in view of Nguyen does not explicitly teach wherein the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the apparatus; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager.
Ngugyen’29 teaches wherein the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the first pseudo sidelink control information or the first pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager; or wherein the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information does not comprise an indication that the second pseudo sidelink control information or the second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager (figs. 10A, 10B,¶ [0140], The potential types of inter-UE coordination information may include a source ID indicated by another UE's SCI for a resource reservation. As an example, the inter-UE coordination information may indicate a source ID for the UE 1008 for resource reservation information about 1028).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to not include an indication that the first/second pseudo sidelink control information or the first/second pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information originates from the sidelink manager in the system of Dutta in view of Nguyen. The motivation for doing this is a matter of design choice.
11. Claims 10, 11 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dutta in view of Nguyen as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 2025/0008549 A1, hereinafter “Lee”).
Regarding claim 10, Dutta in view of Nguyen teaches the sidelink manager of claim 1.
Dutta does not explicitly teach convert, by the sidelink manager, the first resource allocation or the second resource allocation in response to determining the need to address the resource allocation conflict.
Nguyen teaches convert, by the sidelink manager, the first resource allocation or the second resource allocation in response to determining the need to address the resource allocation conflict (fig. 5, 7-10, ¶ [0074], The LTE component 506 (of the UE 502) may forward the information on the resources for NR V2X transmission or information on potential or actual collisions to the first base/LTE station 504 at 524. In one aspect, the LTE component may perform the conversion at 526. The LTE component may transmit the converted information on the resources for NR V2X transmission to the base station 504/LTE at 528. The first base station 504 may determine if there are collisions between SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission and the high priority resources for the NR V2X transmission, and may trigger reselection of the SPS resources for the LTE V2X transmission if there are collisions).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to convert, by the sidelink manager, the first resource allocation or the second resource allocation in response to determining the need to address the resource allocation conflict in the system of Dutta to further improve industrial applicability.
Dutta does not explicitly teach wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the sidelink manager to: determine, by the sidelink manager, a need to address the resource allocation conflict based on at least one of: a distance between receivers associated with the first module and the second module, an interference level experienced by receivers associated with the first module and the second module or a probability of retransmission at the first module and the second module.
Lee teaches determine, by the sidelink manager, a need to address the resource allocation conflict based on at least one of: a distance between receivers associated with the first module and the second module, an interference level experienced by receivers associated with the first module and the second module or a probability of retransmission at the first module and the second module; (¶ [0170], when a distance between the UE-B and the UE-C determined based on SCIs of the UE-B and UE-C is within a predetermined distance, the UE-A may predict a collision for the corresponding resource. As another method, various criteria for determining a resource collision may be predefined, and at least some of them may be configured to terminals through system information or UE-specific RRC signaling, and may be configured for each resource pool).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to determine, by the sidelink manager, a need to address the resource allocation conflict based on at least one of: a distance between receivers associated with the first module and the second module, an interference level experienced by receivers associated with the first module and the second module or a probability of retransmission at the first module and the second module in the system of Dutta in view of Nguyen to utilize conventional techniques in the art.
Regarding claim 11, Dutta in view of Nguyen teaches the sidelink manager of claim 10.
Dutta does not explicitly teach wherein at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the sidelink manager at least to: determine whether to convert the first resource allocation or the second resource allocation in response to determining the need to address the resource allocation conflict based on a priority between the first module and the second module.
Nguyen teaches determine whether to convert the first resource allocation or the second resource allocation in response to determining the need to address the resource allocation conflict based on a priority between the first module and the second module (¶ [0092], The method improves performance of V2X transmission using two RATs coexisting on the UE by allocating or adjusting transmission resources for the V2X transmission using the RAT with a lower priority to avoid potential collisions between V2X transmission using the two RATs. ¶ [0064]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0095]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to determine whether to convert the first resource allocation or the second resource allocation in response to determining the need to address the resource allocation conflict based on a priority between the first module and the second module in the system of Dutta in view of Nguyen and Lee to further improve industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 22, Dutta in view of Nguyen and Lee teaches the sidelink manager of claim 10.
Dutta does not explicitly teach wherein the distance between receivers associated with the first module and the second module is determined based
on basic safety messages or cooperative awareness messages received from the first
module and the second module; or wherein the interference level is determined based on a reference signal received power measurement or a reference signal received quality measurement; or wherein the probability of retransmission is determined based on a channel busy ratio.
Lee teaches wherein the distance between receivers associated with the first module and the second module is determined based on basic safety messages or cooperative awareness messages received from the first module and the second module; or wherein the interference level is determined based on a reference signal received power measurement or a reference signal received quality measurement; or wherein the probability of retransmission is determined based on a channel busy ratio (¶ [0170], the UE-A may measure an RSRP for the corresponding resource (i.e., resource predicted to be used by the UE-B), and when the measured RSRP is greater than an RSRP threshold according to priority information of the UE-B, priority information in SCI of the another terminal (e.g., UE-C), or a preset RSRP threshold, the UE-A may predict a collision for the corresponding resource. As another method, when the RSRP measured for the corresponding resource (i.e., resource predicted to be used by the UE-B) is within a preset RSRP range, the UE-A may predict a collision for the corresponding resource).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to determine the distance between receivers associated with the first module and the second module based on basic safety messages or cooperative awareness messages received from the first
module and the second module; or determine the interference level based on a reference signal received power measurement or a reference signal received quality measurement; or determine the probability of retransmission based on a channel busy ratio in the system of Dutta in view of Nguyen to utilize conventional techniques in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
12. Claims 21, 23 and 25 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 21, prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest “wherein the sidelink manager is implemented at an application layer, and wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the sidelink manager to: receive module properties from the first module and the second module, the module properties comprising a presence, a version, a radio access technology, and capabilities” in combination with limitations specified in the base claim.
Regarding claim 23, prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest “ wherein the indication is conveyed via a flag comprising a single bit indicator” in combination with limitations specified in the base claim.
Regarding claim 25, prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest “
wherein: the first apparatus and a second apparatus operate on a same carrier, the second apparatus comprising a second module configured to perform sidelink communications via the second radio access technology and not configured to perform sidelink communications via the first radio access technology; the first apparatus sends module properties to the sidelink manager, the module properties comprising: a presence, a version, a radio access technology, and capabilities; the sidelink manager is implemented at an application layer of a third apparatus configured to perform sidelink communications via the first radio access technology and configured to perform sidelink communications via the second radio access technology; the pseudo sidelink control information or the pseudo inter-user equipment coordination information received by the first module has a same format as sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information of the first radio access technology and mimics sidelink control information or inter-user equipment coordination information sent from the second module; the sidelink manager determines a need to address a resource allocation conflict based on a distance between receivers associated with the first module and the second module being below a configurable threshold, the distance being determined based on basic safety messages or cooperative awareness messages; and a physical layer or a medium access control layer of the first module adjusts the first resource allocation by excluding resources that are included in the converted second resource allocation” in combination with limitations specified in the base claim.”
Conclusion
13. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/MANDISH K RANDHAWA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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