DEATAILED 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 .
This communication is response to claims filed on 01/29/26.
Claims 21-40 are presented for examination.
Claims 21, 29 & 35 are amended.
Claims 1-20 are canceled.
Drawing
The drawings filed on 10/27/23 are accepted by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's amendment filed on 03/12/26, regarding a specification objection (title) has been considered and is persuasive . Therefore, the specification objection is withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments/remarks filed on 03/12/26, regarding a 112, 2nd paragraph rejection (21-40) has been considered and is persuasive . Therefore, the 112, 2nd paragraph rejection is withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments and amendment filed on 03/12/26, regarding to a 103 rejection have been fully considered but they are moot with the new ground of rejection necessitated by applicant’s amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
10. 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 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.
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.
11. Claims 21-25 & 27-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bin et al. (hereinafter referred as Bin) European Patent Application No. EP 3 393 055 A1, in view of SU et al. (hereinafter referred as SU) U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2021/0127396 A1.
Regarding claims 21 & 35: Bin discloses an apparatus (See FIG. 7; a remote UE)/a method, comprising:
at least one processor (See FIG. 15; a device (i.e., remote UE) includes a processor); and
a memory (See FIG. 15; a device (i.e., remote UE) includes a memory) storing programming, the programming including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform:
sending first configuration information to a second communication device (See FIG. 7; a relay UE), wherein the first configuration information comprises identifier information used by the first communication device (See FIG. 7 & Para. 0142-0145; the remote terminal encapsulates data into a MAC PDU which contains layer-2 identifier of the remote terminal and sends to the relay UE), and wherein the first configuration information is configured to be used for communication between the second communication device and an access network device (See FIG. 7; eNB) (See Para. 0145-0150; the relay terminal receives the MAC PDU which contains layer-2 identifier from the remote UE and sends the MAC PDU to eNB); and
sending first information to the second communication device, wherein the first information comprises one or more of the following: uplink transmission data, and wherein the first information is configured to be used for the communication between the second communication device and the access network device (See FIG. 3 & Para. remote terminal equipment transmits the uplink data to network equipment through relay terminal equipment); and wherein the first communication device is a remote user equipment (UE) (See FIG. 7; a remote UE), and the second communication device is a relay UE (See FIG. 7; a relay UE).
Bin does not explicitly discloses sending a configuration of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a second communication device (See FIG. 24 & Para. 0409-0410; a remote UE transmits a first PUSCH to the relay UE and the relay UE transmits the PUSCH to a base station).
However, SU from the same field of endeavor discloses sending a configuration of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a configuration of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a second communication device (See FIG. 24 & Para. 0409-0410; a remote UE transmits a first PUSCH to the relay UE and the relay UE transmits the PUSCH to a base station).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include sending a configuration of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a configuration of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a second communication device as taught by SU in the system of Bin to reduce processing complexity in relay transmission and reduce a data delay (See Para. 0005; lines 2-4).
Regarding claims 22 & 36: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method/an apparatus.
Furthermore, Bin discloses a method/an apparatus, wherein the identifier information used by the apparatus comprises a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) used by the apparatus/first communication device (See Para. 0140; layer-2 identifier with the RNTI of the remote UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the identifier information used by the apparatus comprises a cell radio network temporary identifier as taught by SU in the system of Bin to reduce processing complexity in relay transmission and reduce a data delay (See Para. 0005; lines 2-4).
Regarding claims 23 & 37: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method/an apparatus.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method/an apparatus, wherein the uplink transmission data comes from a media access control (MAC) layer of the apparatus/first communication device, and is sent to the second communication device via a coordinating link between the apparatus/ first communication device and the second communication device (See FIG. 18 & Para. 0340-0342; The remote UE transmits the first PUSCH to the relay UE, the PUSCH carries the uplink data of the remote UE) OR (See Bin; claim 4; layer 2 of each of the remote terminal equipment and the network equipment comprises an Adaptation (ADP) layer, the ADP layer is located between the MAC layer and the PDCP layer, and the layer-2 identifier of the remote terminal equipment is configured in the ADP layer).
Regarding claims 24 & 38: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method/an apparatus.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method/an apparatus, receiving information about a first frequency band of the second communication device, wherein the information about the first frequency band is uplink transmission frequency band information supported by the second communication device (See Para. 0310 & ; the first PDCCH may use the information of PDCCH configuration for the relay UE itself, and may also use the information of PDCCH configuration for the remote UE, the information of configuration includes information such as search space configuration, maximum number of repetitions, and time-frequency domain resource configuration where the search space is located. The second PDCCH can only use the information of PDCCH configuration for the remote UE); and
sending second information to the access network device, wherein the second information comprises the information about the first frequency band of the second communication device and information about a second frequency band of the apparatus, and the information about the second frequency band is uplink transmission frequency band information supported by the apparatus (See FIG. 18 & Para. 0310 & 0337-0341; relay UE transmits a second PUSCH to the base station, and the PUSCH forwards the uplink data of the remote UE carried by the first PUSCH. the information of configuration includes information such as search space configuration, maximum number of repetitions, and time-frequency domain resource configuration).
Regarding claims 25 & 39: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method/an apparatus.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method/an apparatus, wherein the second information further indicates that the second frequency band is a primary component carrier (See Para. 0310; the information of configuration includes information such as search space configuration, maximum number of repetitions, and time-frequency domain resource configuration).
Regarding claim 27: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method, receiving second configuration information from the access network device, wherein the second configuration information comprises one or more of the following: a bearer configuration, a configuration of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), the configuration of the PUSCH, or the configuration of the PDCCH (See FIG. 12 & Para. 0271 & 0311-0312; the relay UE not only forwards the PUCCH/PUSCH to the remote UE but also forwards the PDCCH/PDSCH to the remote UE).
Regarding claim 28: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method, receiving first scheduling information from the access network device, wherein the first scheduling information comprises the uplink scheduling information and the assistance information required for the uplink transmission data (See FIG. 16 & Para. 0321-0323; the base station transmits a first PDCCH to the relay UE, the PDCCH signaling scheduling information of the first PDSCH).
Regarding claim 29: Bin discloses a method, applied to a second communication device (See FIG. 7; a relay UE), the method comprising:
receiving first configuration information from a first communication device (See FIG. 7; a remote UE), wherein the first configuration information comprises identifier information used by the first communication device (See FIG. 7 & Para. 0142-0145; the remote terminal encapsulates data into a MAC PDU which contains layer-2 identifier of the remote terminal and sends to the relay UE), and the first configuration information is configured to be used for communication between the second communication device and an access network device (See FIG. 7; eNB) (See Para. 0145-0150; the relay terminal receives the MAC PDU which contains layer-2 identifier from the remote UE and sends the MAC PDU to eNB);; and
receiving first information from the first communication device, wherein the first information comprises one or more of the following: uplink transmission data device and the first information is configured to be used for the communication between the second communication device and the access network device (See FIG. 3 & Para. remote terminal equipment transmits the uplink data to network equipment through relay terminal equipment; and
communicating with the access network device based on the first configuration information and the first information (See FIG. 10; The radio bearer may include a cellular data transmission channel between access network equipment and the relay terminal equipment and a D2D data transmission channel between the relay terminal equipment and the remote terminal equipment); and
wherein the first communication device is a remote user equipment (UE) (See FIG. 7; a remote UE), and the second communication device is a relay UE (See FIG. 7; a relay UE).
Bin does not explicitly discloses receiving a configuration of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a second communication device.
However, SU from the same field of endeavor discloses receiving a configuration of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a second communication device (See FIG. 24 & Para. 0409-0410; a remote UE transmits a first PUSCH to the relay UE and the relay UE transmits the PUSCH to a base station).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving a configuration of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a second communication device as taught by SU in the system of Bin to reduce processing complexity in relay transmission and reduce a data delay (See Para. 0005; lines 2-4).
Regarding claim 30: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method.
Furthermore, Bin discloses a method, wherein the identifier information used by the apparatus comprises a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) used by the apparatus/first communication device (See Para. 0140; layer-2 identifier with the RNTI of the remote UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the identifier information used by the apparatus comprises a cell radio network temporary identifier as taught by SU in the system of Bin to reduce processing complexity in relay transmission and reduce a data delay (See Para. 0005; lines 2-4).
Regarding claim 31: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method.
Furthermore, Bin discloses a method, wherein the uplink transmission data comes from a media access control (MAC) layer of the apparatus/first communication device, and is sent to the second communication device via a coordinating link between the apparatus/ first communication device and the second communication device (See FIG. 18 & Para. 0340-0342; The remote UE transmits the first PUSCH to the relay UE, the PUSCH carries the uplink data of the remote UE) OR (See Bin; claim 4; layer 2 of each of the remote terminal equipment and the network equipment comprises an Adaptation (ADP) layer, the ADP layer is located between the MAC layer and the PDCP layer, and the layer-2 identifier of the remote terminal equipment is configured in the ADP layer).
Regarding claim 32: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method, wherein the uplink transmission data in the first information is obtained by the second communication device through physical layer processing (See Para. 0532-0534; PDCCH).
Regarding claim 33: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method, sending information about a first frequency band to the first communication device, wherein the information about the first frequency band is uplink transmission frequency band information supported by the second communication device, and is configured to be used for transmitting the uplink transmission data (See Para. 0310; the information of configuration includes information such as search space configuration, maximum number of repetitions, and time-frequency domain resource configuration).
Regarding claim 34: The combination of SU and Bin disclose a method.
Furthermore, SU discloses a method, further comprising: receiving first scheduling information from the access network device, wherein the first scheduling information comprises the uplink scheduling information and the assistance information required for the uplink transmission data (See FIG. 16, Para. 0115 & 0321-0323; the base station transmits a first PDCCH to the relay UE, the PDCCH signaling time/scheduling information of the first PDSCH).
12. Claims 26 & 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bin, in view of SU, further in view Wang et al. (hereinafter referred as Wang) US Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0351918 A1.
Regarding claims 26 & 40: The combination of SU and Bin disclose all the limitations of the claimed invention with an exception of wherein the second information further comprises a transmission latency between the apparatus and the second communication device.
However, Wang from the same field of endeavor discloses wherein the second information further comprises a transmission latency between the apparatus and the second communication device (See Para. 0006; receiving information indicating scheduling information related to one or more variable delays for an uplink transmission between devices).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the second information further comprises a transmission latency between the apparatus and the second communication device as taught by Wang in the combined system of Bin and SU in order to schedule delays for non-terrestrial networks (See Para. 0002; lines 1-2).
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.
14. The prior art of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
A. Shrestha et al. 2022/0321206 A1 (Title: Preconfigured uplink resource validation…) (See Abstract, Para. 0012 & 0037-0038).
B. Wang et al. 2022/0264593 A1 (Title: Method, system and device of wireless communication) (See abstract, Para. 0006 & 00813-0016).
C. Shrestha et al. 2021/0360469 A1 (Title: Buffer status report transmission..) (See FIG. 1, Para. 0046, 0050 & 0160).
15. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEWALE A AMBAYE whose telephone number is (571)270-1076. The examiner can normally be reached on M.F 6a.m.-2p.m..
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MEWALE A AMBAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
Prosecution Insights