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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments on 35 USC § 103 rejection filed 3/30/26 have been fully considered but they are moot due to the fact that all independent claims have been significantly amended and in light of newly submitted IDS, to which new ground rejections are made below.
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, 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, 3-8, 17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 (3GPP R1-2210790, NPL dated 3/24/26, 75 pages) in view of D2 (3GPP R1-2210709, NPL dated 3/24/26, 151 pages).
For claim 1, D1 discloses a method of a first device (Section 8.1.4, UE), comprising:
triggering or requesting sensing-based resource selection or re-selection for performing one or more Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) or Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) transmissions in a sidelink resource pool in unlicensed or shared spectrum (Section 8.1.4, 1st para, p68 “In resource allocation mode 2, the higher layer can request the UE to determine a subset of resources from which the higher layer will select resources for PSSCH/PSCCH transmission. To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: … the indication of resource selection mechanism(s), as sl-AllowedResourceSelectionConfig, which may comprise of full sensing only, partial sensing only, random resource selection only, or any combination(s) thereof.”);
determining a first parameter for determining or initializing candidate multi-slot resources with same frequency resources (Section 8.1.4, p68, 2nd para, 8th item “Optionally, minimum number of Y slots as
Y
m
i
n
(sl-MinNumCandidateSlotsPeriodic), which indicates the minimum number of Y slots that are included in the candidate resources corresponding to periodic-based partial sensing operation.” and Section 5.1.6.1.1, p38, 2nd para, 2nd item “… the UE may be configured with one or more NZP CSI-RS set(s), where a NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet consists of two periodic CSI-RS resources in one slot or with a NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet of four periodic NZP CSI-RS resources in two consecutive slots with two periodic NZP CSI-RS resources in each slot.”), wherein one candidate multi-slot resource comprises a set of single-slot resources of the candidate multi-slot resource with same frequency resources, and wherein each single-slot resource of the set of single-slot resources for the one candidate multi-slot resource corresponds to a same starting sub-channel, a same number of sub-channels, a same starting Resource Block (RB) set, and a same number of RB sets (Section 8.1.4, first para, such as “… the higher layer can request the UE to determine a subset of resources from which the higher layer will select resources for PSSCH/PSCCH transmission. To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: … - the resource pool from which the resources are to be reported; … - the number of sub-channels to be used for the PSSCH/PSCCH transmission in a slot,
L
subCH
; …”); note that the same frequency resources are available for each slot);
receiving a Sidelink Control Information (SCI) for reserving one or more sidelink resources, wherein the first device excludes some candidate resources based on the reserved one or more sidelink resources (Section 8.1.4, p70, items 6 and 7, such as “6) The UE shall exclude any candidate single-slot resource
R
x,y
from the set
S
A
if it meets all the following conditions: a) the UE receives an SCI format 1-A in slot
t
'
m
S
L
, and 'Resource reservation period' field, if present …”);
selecting a number of sidelink resources from valid, identified, or remaining candidate multi-slot ”); resources after exclusion (Section 8.1.4, p70, items 6 and 7, such as “6) The UE shall exclude any candidate single-slot resource
R
x,y
from the set
S
A
if it meets all the following conditions: a) the UE receives an SCI format 1-A in slot
t
'
m
S
L
, and 'Resource reservation period' field, if present …”) and
performing the one or more PSSCH or PSCCH transmissions on at least one of the selected number of sidelink resources each PSSCH transmission is associated with an PSCCH transmission (Section 8.1 in p65-66, such as 1st para, “Each PSSCH transmission is associated with an PSCCH transmission.”).
D1 is silent but D2, in the same field of endeavor of sidelink communication, discloses: in a multi-consecutive slot transmission (MCSt) operation (Section 3.7.1, p114, last 3 lines “When L1 reports a subset of candidate resources for MCSt, … o Option A: L1 reports candidate multi-slot resources in SA where a candidate multi-slot resource consists of a set of single-slot resources that are consecutive in time”; and p115, Comments of Company IDCC, 1st para “… We think in addition the input parameters can include number of consecutive slots.”; note that the same frequency resources are available for each slot), OOSA would have been motivated to apply the teaching D2 above to the time-slots by to yield a predictable result of selecting frequency resources for each slot in sidelink communication.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to OOSA before the effective filing date of the application to combine D1 and D2 for the benefit of selecting frequency resources in sidelink communication (D2).
Independent claim 17 is rejected because it is a claim of a generic device that performs the method of claim 1 and has the same subject matter.
As to claims 3 and 19, D1 in view of D2 discloses claims 1 and 17, further discloses: wherein:
the first parameter is configured in a configuration of the sidelink resource pool (D1: Section 8.1.4, 1st para, p68 “In resource allocation mode 2, the higher layer can request the UE to determine a subset of resources from which the higher layer will select resources for PSSCH/PSCCH transmission. To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: - the resource pool from which the resources are to be reported … the number of sub-channels to be used for the PSSCH/PSCCH transmission in a slot,
L
subCH
; ...”);
the first parameter is determined or derived based on a priority (D1: Section 8.1.4, p68, 2nd para, such as 2nd sub item “- sl-Thres-RSRP-List: this higher layer parameter provides an RSRP threshold for each combination
p
i
,
p
j
, where
p
i
is the value of the priority field in a received SCI format 1-A and
p
j
is the priority of the transmission of the UE selecting resources;”) and/or a remaining Packet Delay Budget (PDB) associated with sidelink data of the one or more PSSCH or PSCCH transmissions (D2: p2, 1st “Agreement” 1st bullet, “… o Option 1: Only one set of parameters (
p
r
i
o
T
X
, remaining PDB,
L
subCH
and
P
rsvp_TX
) is provided for the resource selection procedure …“); or
the first parameter is determined or derived based on a Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) associated with sidelink data of the one or more PSSCH or PSCCH transmissions (D2: p1, Section 2, 2nd bullet, “A UE shall use a channel access priority class applicable to the sidelink user plane data multiplexed in PSSCH for performing the procedures above to transmit transmission(s) including PSSCH with user plane data and its associated PSCCH. …”); or
the first parameter is determined or derived based on a Channel Occupancy Time (COT) duration (D2: p2, 1st bullet, “A UE shall not transmit on a channel for a Channel Occupancy Time that exceeds the maximum COT duration where the channel access procedures are performed based on a channel access priority class p
p
associated with the UE transmissions, as given in CAPC table for SL.”); or
the first parameter is determined or derived based on a Channel Busy Rate (CBR) of the sidelink resource pool (D2: p23, Panasonic, “We think for other case than SL-HARQ feedback is enabled in SCI for unicast, CR/CBR based CW adjustment could be used. CR/CBR is reflecting the resource occupancy. …”).
The motivation of combining D1 and D2 is the same as stated in the parent claims.
As to claim 4, D1 in view of D2 discloses claims 1 and 17, D1 further discloses: wherein the first device excluding the some candidate resources based on the reserved one or more sidelink resources comprises the first device excluding any candidate multi-slot resources which at least partially overlaps with the reserved one or more sidelink resources (Section 8.1.4C, p73, 1st para, “the UE excludes in Step 6b) of clause 8.1.4 resource(s) overlapping with the non-preferred resource set.”).
As to claims 5 and 20, D1 in view of D2 discloses claims 1 and 17, D1 further discloses: wherein:
the first device determines or initializes candidate single-slot resources (Section 8.1.4, p68, 1st para, “… To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: - the resource pool from which the resources are to be reported; … - Optionally, the indication of resource selection mechanism(s), as sl-AllowedResourceSelectionConfig, which may comprise of full sensing only, partial sensing only, random resource selection only, or any combination(s) thereof.”).
the first device determines or initializes candidate single-slot resources (Section 8.1.4, p68, 1st para, “… To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: …”); and/or
the first device excludes any candidate single-slot resources which at least partially overlaps with the reserved one or more sidelink resources (Section 8.1.4C, p73, 1st para, “the UE excludes in Step 6b) of clause 8.1.4 resource(s) overlapping with the non-preferred resource set.”); and/or
the first device determines or derives valid, identified, or remaining candidate single-slot resources after performing the exclusion (Section 8.1.4, p71, items 6 and 7, such as “6) The UE shall exclude any candidate single-slot resource …”); and/or
the first device determines or initializes the candidate multi-slot resources, based on the first parameter, from the valid, identified, or remaining candidate single-slot resources (as disclosed by the parent claims).
As to claim 6, D1 in view of D2 discloses claim 1, D1 further discloses: if the first parameter is larger than a value of one, the first device determines or initializes the candidate multi-slot resources for performing the triggered or requested sensing-based resource selection or re-selection; and/or if the first parameter is a value of one, the first device determines or initializes candidate single-slot resources for performing the triggered or requested sensing-based resource selection or re-selection (as disclosed by the parent claim “… triggering or requesting sensing-based resource selection or re-selection … ” note that the parameter for multi-slot resource is greater than one by definition).
As to claim 7, D1 in view of D2 discloses claim 1, D1 further discloses: wherein each candidate multi-slot resource of the valid, identified, or remaining candidate multi-slot resources is in a same one or more RB sets in the sidelink resource pool (suggested by the parent claim: “… a sidelink resource pool … a same number of RB sets …”).
As to claim 8, D1 in view of D2 discloses claim 1, D1 further discloses: the sidelink resource pool comprises one or more RB sets (suggested by the parent claim: “… a same number of RB sets …”); and/or
the triggered or requested sensing-based resource selection or re-selection are performed on part of the one or more of RB sets in the sidelink resource pool (as disclosed by the parent claim); and/or
the first device checks or ensures that the number of the valid, identified, or remaining candidate multi-slot resources is larger than or equal to X·Mtotal, wherein:X is a configured value or ratio, and
M total is a total number of initialized candidate multi-slot resources in the part of the one or more RB sets or total number of initialized candidate single-slot resources in the part of the one or more RB sets (as disclosed by the parent claim).
Claims 9-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of Zhao (WO 2023133834 A1).
For claim 9, D1 discloses a method of a first device, comprising:
triggering or requesting sensing-based resource selection or re-selection for performing one or more Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) or Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) transmissions in a sidelink resource pool in unlicensed or shared spectrum (Section 8.1.4, 1st para, p68 “In resource allocation mode 2, the higher layer can request the UE to determine a subset of resources from which the higher layer will select resources for PSSCH/PSCCH transmission. To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: … the indication of resource selection mechanism(s), as sl-AllowedResourceSelectionConfig, which may comprise of full sensing only, partial sensing only, random resource selection only, or any combination(s) thereof.”);
determining, in a multi-consecutive slot transmission (MCSt) operation (Section 5.1.6.1.1, p38, 2nd para, 2nd item “… the UE may be configured with one or more NZP CSI-RS set(s), where a NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet consists of two periodic CSI-RS resources in one slot or with a NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet of four periodic NZP CSI-RS resources in two consecutive slots with two periodic NZP CSI-RS resources in each slot.”), whether to identify candidate resource comprising sub-channels in more than one Resource Block (RB) set (Section 5.1.2.2.1, p21, 1-3 paras “In downlink resource allocation of type 0, the resource block assignment information includes a bitmap indicating the Resource Block Groups (RBGs) that are allocated to the scheduled UE where a RBG is a set of consecutive virtual resource blocks … In downlink resource allocation of type 0 scheduled using a DCI with CRC scrambled by G-RNTI or G-CS-RNTI, the resource block assignment information bitmap is calculated based on the description above …” note that the Resource Block (RB) set comprises sub-channels)
D1 is silent but Zhao, in the same filed of endeavor of sidelink communication, discloses identify candidate resource is based on at least whether a first number of sub-channels for sidelink data transmission is larger than a threshold (p31, the last para extending to p32, “… the communication device may determine the resource block sets where all sidelink transmissions detected within [n-c,n-1] are located, and then, the communication device may, for each comb (or subchannel) in these resource block sets ) respectively perform SLRSSI measurement to obtain the first CBR, wherein the first CBR represents the number of comb teeth (or sub-channels) whose measured SLRSSI exceeds the first threshold value, and in [n-c, n-1] The ratio of the number of comb teeth (or sub-channels) measured in all resource block sets in the resource pool.”). OOSA would have been motivated to apply the teaching of Zhao above to the candidate resource determination by D1 to yield a predictable result of allocating resources for sidelink communication.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to OOSA before the effective filing date of the application to combine D1 and Zhao for the benefit of allocating resources for sidelink communication (las para of p31 of Zhao).
As to claim 10, D1 in view of Zhao discloses claim 9, Zhao further discloses:
when the first number of sub-channels for sidelink data transmission is larger than the threshold, the first device identifies the candidate resource comprising sub-channels in more than one RB set; and/or when the first number of sub-channels for sidelink data transmission is not larger than the threshold, the first device identifies the candidate resource comprising sub-channels in one RB set (p31, the last para extending to p32, “… the communication device may determine the resource block sets where all sidelink transmissions detected within [n-c,n-1] are located, and then, the communication device may, for each comb (or subchannel) in these resource block sets ) respectively perform SLRSSI measurement to obtain the first CBR, wherein the first CBR represents the number of comb teeth (or sub-channels) whose measured SLRSSI exceeds the first threshold value, and in [n-c, n-1] The ratio of the number of comb teeth (or sub-channels) measured in all resource block sets in the resource pool.”, which also suggests the candidate resource comprising sub-channels in one RB set if sidelink data transmission is less than the threshold).
The motivation of combining D1 and Zhao is the same as stated in the parent claim.
As to claim 11, D1 in view of Zhao discloses claim 9, Zhao further discloses: wherein the threshold corresponds to a number of sub-channels in one RB set (p21, the last para extending to p22, such as “Channel Busy Ratio (Channel Busy Ratio, CBR) and Channel Occupancy Ratio (Channel Occupancy Ratio, CR) are two basic measurement quantities used to support congestion control. … The sum accounts for the proportion of the total number of sub-channels belonging to the transmission resource pool in the range [na,n+b] (Sidelink Channel Occupancy Ratio (SL CR) evaluated at slot n is defined as the total number of sub-channels used for its transmissions in slots[na,n-1] and granted in slots[n,n+b]divided by the total number of configured sub-channels in the transmission pool over[na,n+b]). …”).
The motivation of combining D1 and Zhao is the same as stated in the parent claim.
As to claim 12, D1 in view of Zhao discloses claim 9, further discloses: wherein when identifying a candidate resource comprising sub-channels in more than one RB set (Zhao: p21, the last para extending to p22, such as “Channel Busy Ratio (Channel Busy Ratio, CBR) and Channel Occupancy Ratio (Channel Occupancy Ratio, CR) are two basic measurement quantities used to support congestion control. … The sum accounts for the proportion of the total number of sub-channels belonging to the transmission resource pool …), each of the sub-channels in the more than one RB set are associated with a same set of sub-channel indexes (D1: Section 8.1.4, 1st para, “… To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: - the resource pool from which the resources are to be reported; … - Optionally, the indication of resource selection mechanism(s), as sl-AllowedResourceSelectionConfig, which may comprise of full sensing only, partial sensing only, random resource selection only, or any combination(s) thereof.” and; note that the same frequency resources are available for each slot with a same set of sub-channel indexes).
The motivation of combining D1 and Zhao is the same as stated in the parent claim.
As to claim 13, D1 in view of Zhao discloses claim 9, D1 further discloses:
the sidelink resource pool comprises more than one RB set (Section 5.1.6.1.1, p38, 2nd para, 2nd item “… the UE may be configured with one or more NZP CSI-RS set(s) …”); and/or
the triggered or requested sensing-based resource selection or re-selection is performed on part of the more than one RB sets in the sidelink resource pool (FIGs. 7-9, 18-19 and 28-36 and the associated text; e.g., FIGs. 28-29); and/or
the first device checks or ensures that a number of valid, identified, or remaining candidate resources is larger than or equal to X·Mtotal, wherein: X is a configured value or ratio (Section 8.1.4, 1st para, “… To trigger this procedure, in slot n, the higher layer provides the following parameters for this PSSCH/PSCCH transmission: - the resource pool from which the resources are to be reported; …), and
M total is a total number of initialized candidate resources in the part of the more than one RB sets (Section 8.1.4, p68, 2nd full para “… the resource pool is (pre-)configured with sl-AllowedResourceSelectionConfig …”; note that the parameter sl-AllowedResourceSelectionConfig includes a number of configured allowed resources, which reads on M).
As to claim 14, D1 in view of Zhao discloses claim 9, Zhao further discloses: wherein the first number of sub-channels for sidelink data transmission is determined based on at least a maximum number of sub-channels for PSSCH, a minimum number of sub-channels for PSSCH, and/or a Channel Busy Rate (CBR) (p21, the last para extending to p22, such as “Channel Busy Ratio (Channel Busy Ratio, CBR) and Channel Occupancy Ratio (Channel Occupancy Ratio, CR) are two basic measurement quantities used to support congestion control. … The proportion of the total number of sub-channels measured in the measurement window, where c is equal to 100 or 100*2 .sup.μ slots (SL Channel Busy Ratio (SL CBR) measured in slot n is defined as the portion of sub-channels in the resource pool whose SL RSSI measured by the UE exceeded a(pre-)configured threshold …”).
The motivation of combining D1 and Zhao is the same as stated in the parent claim.
As to claim 15, D1 in view of Zhao discloses claim 9, Zhao further discloses: wherein the first number of sub-channels for sidelink data transmission is a multiple integer number of at least one of two, three, or a further number of the more than one RB sets in the sidelink resource pool (FIGs. 7-9, 18-19 and 28-36 and the associated text; e.g., FIGs. 28-29).
The motivation of combining D1 and Zhao is the same as stated in the parent claim.
As to claim 16, D1 in view of Zhao discloses claim 9, Zhao further discloses: wherein when the first number of sub-channels for sidelink data transmission is larger than the threshold (“[0166] … The wireless device may measure an RSRP of one or more reference signals (e.g., SSBs and/or CSI-RSs) and determine at least one reference signal having an RSRP above an RSRP threshold (e.g., rsrp-ThresholdSSB and/or rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS) …”), the first device is not allowed to determine the first number of sub-channels such that the first number of sub-channels is not divisible by any of two, three, or a further number of the more than one RB sets in the sidelink resource pool (FIGs. 7-9, 18-19 and 28-36 and the associated text; e.g., FIGs. 28-29).
The motivation of combining D1 and Zhao is the same as stated in the parent claim.
Conclusion
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 JIANYE WU whose telephone number is (571)270-1665. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 8am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yemane Mesfin can be reached at (571) 272-3927. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIANYE WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
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