DETAILED ACTION
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 .
DETAILED ACTION
In the amendment filed February 5, 2026, claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18 and 20 have been amended, claims 2, 9 and 16 cancelled, claims 1, 3-8, 10-15 and 17-20 are currently pending for examination.
Regarding 35 U.S.C. 103 applicant’s arguments, see page 10 paragraphs 5 - page 14 paragraphs 2, filed February 5, 2026, with respect to claims 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, and 20 have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, and 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Hence a new ground of rejection is further made in view of Ko et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0131803).
Notice re prior art available under both pre-AIA and AIA
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 5-8, 13-15 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang et al. (KR1020210061845A), and further in view of Ko et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0131803).
As per claim 1, Kang disclose A method for vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), comprising:
determining, by a processor, a service priority group corresponding to a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) service (see para. 19, 102-110, 115-121, in operation 909, a UE determines whether the priority of the sidelink flow and/or sidelink logical channel and/or sidelink packet satisfies a priority threshold, the threshold condition is determined to be met if the priority of the sidelink flow and/or sidelink logical channel and/or sidelink packet is above a priority threshold. When the priority of the sidelink flow and/or sidelink logical channel and/or sidelink packet is below the priority threshold, it is determined that the threshold condition is not met /determining the service priority group corresponding to vehicleto-everything V2X) from among a plurality of service priority groups according to a priority level value in quality of service (QoS) parameters of the V2X service and configuration information of the plurality of service priority groups, wherein the plurality of service priority groups comprises a first priority service group, a second priority service group and a third priority service group (see para. 19, 102-110, 115-121, operation 909, the UE determines whether the priority of the sidelink flow and/or sidelink
logical channel ,and/or sidelink packet satisfies a priority threshold, the threshold condition is determined to be met if the priority of the sidelink low and/or sidelink logical channel and/or
sidelink packet is above a priority threshold. The threshold condition is determined not to be
met when the priority of the sidelink flow and/or sidelink logical channel and/or sidelink packet
is below a priority threshold, as can be seen, the UE adopts priority values in the QoS parameters as a plurality of service priority components into groups with priority above a threshold value and combined priority below a threshold value, on this basis, setting up the first priority service group, the second priority service group, and the third priority service group); and
determining, by the processor, whether to use resources in exceptional resource pools for the V2X service based on the service priority group (see para. 19, 102-110, 115-121, when it is determined in step909 that the priority of the sidelink flow and/or the sidelink logical channel and/or the sidelink packet fulfills a priority threshold condition, then the UE randomly selects a transmission resource from the exceptional transmission resource pool and transmit the sidelink data through the transmission resource / the service priority group being a service group satisfying the priority, the data of the V2X service is transmitted using the resources in the exceptional resource pool based on the random selection, see also step 915, random selection. As another embodiment in which the UE determining that the priority threshold condition is not met proceeds to operation 2 at step 915, the UE may wait until the priority threshold of the exceptional transmission resource pool is met. In another embodiment, the UE may acquire the transmission resource by configuring the normal transmission resource pool while waiting until the priority threshold of the exceptional transmission resource pool is satisfied, or if the eNB allocates the transmission resource, the UE may stop using the exceptional transmission resource pool / determining whether to use resources in the exceptional resource pool for V2X service based on service priority group).
Examiner Note: Baek (US Pub. No.:2021/0258830), Fig.8 para. 0134-0136, Fig.9(a-d), para. 0138 teaches a plurality of service priority groups comprises a first priority service group, a second priority service group and a third priority service group (FIG. 9(b) illustrates an embodiment of a channel candidate group classification method for a high priority (HP) service. FIG. 9(c) illustrates an embodiment of a channel candidate group classification method for a medium priority-1 (MP-1) service. FIG. 9(d) illustrates an embodiment of a channel candidate group classification method for a medium priority-2 (MP-2) service. FIG. 9(e) illustrates an embodiment of a channel candidate group classification method for a low priority (LP) service.
Although Kang disclose the method being performed by a UE and determining, by the processor, whether to use resources in exceptional resource pools for the V2X service based on the service priority group;
Kang however does not explicitly disclose the method is applied to cellular car networking and wherein the determining whether to use the resources in the exceptional resource pools for the V2X service comprises, based on the service priority group being determined as the second priority service group, determining whether to use the resources in the exceptional resource pools for the V2X service based on a channel busy ratio.
Ko however disclose a method is applied to cellular car networking (see Fig.1, Fig.19, see para. 0048, 0196, 0197, the wireless devices 100a to 100f perform direct communication (e.g., sidelink communication) with each other without passing through the BSs/network, the vehicles 100b-1 and 100b-2 perform direct communication (e.g. Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V)/Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication/ to “cellular” car networking) and wherein determining whether to use resources in exceptional resource pools for a V2X service comprises, based on a service priority group being determined as a second priority service group, determining whether to use the resources in the exceptional resource pools for the V2X service based on a channel busy ratio (see para. 0165-0171, member UE(s) { the second priority service group } perform message transmission based on a channel congestion level {channel busy ratio, the congestion level is channel busy ratio (CBR) } and a priority configured by an application layer according to QoS of service(s), using resources in the exceptional resource pools for the V2X service based on a channel busy ratio, para. 0096, 0100, 0127, also para. 0070, when a delay requirement for message(s) / determining to be transmitted by the leader UE is high, the leader UE may pre-empt message transmission of other UE(s), and the leader UE may preferentially transmit urgent message(s) of the leader UE with a higher delay requirement, see also para. 0110. 0118-0121, 0150).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of a method is applied to “cellular” car networking and performing the method by a processor, as taught by Ko, in the system of Kang, so as to enable a method for performing wireless communication by a first device, by measuring a congestion level for at least one resource related to a sidelink (SL); determining a priority of a service based on quality of service (QoS) of the service and a state of the first device; and determining a transmission parameter based on the congestion level and the priority of the service, resulting in a user equipment (UE)/V2X efficiently perform SL communication, see Ko, paragraphs 0015-0016.
As per claim 6, the combination of Kang and Wang disclose the method of claim 1.
Kang further disclose further comprising receiving the configuration information of the plurality of service priority groups (see para. 19, 102-110, 115-121 a priority threshold can be set for the exceptional resource pool. If there are one or more exceptional resource pools, a priority threshold may be configured
for all pools or each pool. If a priority threshold is configured for each pool, the UE may select
an exceptional pool by determining whether u priority threshold condition for each pool is met, und
may transmit sidelink data by selecting a resource from the selected pool / receiving configuration information for the plurality of service priority groups).
As per claim 7, the combination of Kang and Wang disclose the method of claim 1.
Kang further disclose the method further comprising: determining whether resources in normal resource pools are available based on a data transmission request of the V2X service; and performing the determining of the service priority group based on the resources in the normal resource pools being unavailable (see para. 11, 102, when normal resources for transmitting data cannot be obtained through the direct communication, the quality of service degradation caused by the service interruption can be resolved by using the special transmission resource. and transmission collision and packet reception rate degradation caused by congestion due to excessive use of the special transmission resource pool can
Be efficiently resolved. The exceptional resource pool is a transmission resource configured to be temporarily used when it is determined that the UE cannot use the normal resource pool).
Claims 5, 12 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang et al. (KR1020210061845A), in view of Ko et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0131803) and further in view of Hassan (EP3900429B1).
As per claim 5, the combination of Kang and Ko disclose the method of claim 3.
The combination of Kang and Ko however does not explicitly disclose further comprising determining the channel busy ratio based on an amount of time that a received signal strength indicator exceeds a second threshold over a first time period.
Hassan however disclose a method comprising determining a channel busy ratio based on an amount of time that a received signal strength indicator exceeds a second threshold over a first time period (see para. 0006, 0007, 0033, 0034, the CBR is thus calculated by sensing over a fixed period of 100 ms. CR: (Channel occupancy Ratio) is evaluated at sub-frame n and is defined as the total number of sub-channels used by the UE for its transmissions divided by the total number of configured sub-channels in the transmission pool. In short, CR defines for the UE the percentage of time/frequency the UE may be able to transmit, and per para. 0053, the high QoS data packet is assigned to the first available resource pool with the lowest CBR/CR value, where the CR is selected based on the QoS and the CBR. A mapping is required, which can be either defined by the upper layers or it can be pre-configured. As an example, a CBR value less than or equal to a threshold, denoted CBR_high_priority, may be assigned to the resource pool. CBR_high_priority may be set to larger than or equal to 65%. Hence, according to an embodiment, if the data packet has a high QoS, the resource pool having a CBR/CR value below a certain threshold is selected).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of a method comprising determining a channel busy ratio based on an amount of time that a received signal strength indicator exceeds a second threshold over a first time period, as taught by Hassan, in the system of Kang and Wang, so as to provide a congestion resolution mechanism and to ensure reliability at the UE side experiencing lower SI NR reception, see Hassan, paragraph 0089.
As per claim 8, claim 8 is rejected the same way as claim 1. Ko also disclose A device (see Fig.20, a wireless device 100) for cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), comprising: one or more memories storing instructions (see Fig. 19, Fig.20, a memory 104, the memory store information, see para. 0201); and one or more processors configured to execute the instructions (see Fig.10, a processor 102, the processor is configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory, see para, 0214, 0220).
As per claim 12, claim 12 is rejected the same way as claim 5.
As per claim 13, claim 13 is rejected the same way as claim 6.
As per claim 14, claim 14 is rejected the same way as claim 7.
As per claim 15, claim 15 is rejected the same way as claim 1. Ko also disclose A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a program, which when executed by a processor (see Fig. 19, Fig.20-23, a memory 104, the memory unit store programs/code executed by a processor, see para, 0214, 0220).
As per claim 19, claim 19 is rejected the same way as claim 5.
As per claim 20, claim 20 is rejected the same way as claim 6.
As per claim 14, claim 14 is rejected the same way as claim 7.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wu (WO 2024/039699A1) – see para. 0033. 0038. “The V2X communications may, for example, adhere to 3GPP Cellular V2X (C-V2X) specifications, or to one or more other or subsequent standards whereby vehicles and other devices and network entities may communicate. V2X communications may utilize both long-range (e.g., cellular) and an exceptional resource pool may be configured for the UEs 105, perhaps by the base stations 110. The exceptional resource pool includes resources that the UEs 105 can use in exceptional cases, such as Radio Link Failure (RLF). The exceptional resource pool may include resources selected based on a random allocation of resources”.
Xue (US 2023/0131862A1) – see para. 0004, “the LTE sidelink technology had been extended to provision for device-to-device (D2D) communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, and cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communications” and para. 0076, 0107, “The sidelink resources 306 in a transmit resource pool may be used by the S/A UE 206 to transmit a sidelink communication (e.g., PSCCH 310, a PSSCH 320) to the PLC UE 204. The sidelink resources 306 in a receive resource pool may be used by the S/A UEs 206 to receive a sidelink transmission (e.g., PSCCH 310, a PSSCH 320) from a PLC UE 204. Additionally, the PLC UE 204 can configure additional transmit resource pools (e.g., with different CBRs/CRs for different QoS levels) and/or an exceptional transmit resource pool via sidelink RMSI. The additional transmit resource pools and/or the exceptional transmit resource pool may also be similar to the resource pool 308”.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAKERAM JANGBAHADUR whose telephone number is (571)272-1335. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 7 am - 4 pm.
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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/LAKERAM JANGBAHADUR/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469