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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 17, and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: the term “PSFCH” should be spelled out in the claim.
Claims 2-16 and 18-29 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claims recite “The user device, UE, of claim xx,” or “The user device of claim xx”. The Examiner suggests amending these preamble part to “The UE of claim xx, …”.
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: the term “a past resource collision a future resource collision a certain location of a resource collision” should be amended to “a past resource collision, a future resource collision, and a certain location of a resource collision”.
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: the term “(PID+MID)mod R,o” should be amended to “(PID+MID)mod R, or”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1-4, 7-9, 11-12, 14, and 17-20, these claims recite non-limiting languages “like”, “for example”, or “e.g.,” such as:
“the SL comprising a SL feedback channel, like the PSFCH” and “like resources of a collision indicator channel” in claims 1, 17, and 20;
“like an acknowledgement, ACK,” and “like a non-acknowledgement, NACK” in claims 2, 3, 4;
“like an assistance information message, AIM,” in claim 7;
“for example per resource pool or system wide or for a specific network slice, like a Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication, URLLC, slice, or for a certain UE capability, like for a Pedestrian UE, P-UE, only, or for a certain Discontinuous Reception, DRX, pattern.” in claims 8 and 14;
“e.g., MID is set to a preconfigured or configured value or is signalled,” and “e.g., in the 2nd stage SCI” in claim 9;
“e.g., a latest slot comprising a PSFCH or a further SL feedback channel or a Cl channel at least the minimum gap ahead of the resource associated with the collision” in claim 11;
“for example by a Radio Resource Control, RRC,” and “like a SCI,” in claim 12;
“e.g., in the future or in the past,” in claim 18; and
“e.g., by including or excluding resources dependent on the content of the assistance information,” “e.g., for a configured back-off,” e.g., similar to a WiFi behavior,” and “like a gNB” in claim 19.
It renders the boundary of the claim unclear because it doesn’t positively define what the claimed element is, only what it resembles. The claim should use definitive language such as “the SL comprising a SL feedback channel comprising a physical sidelink feedback channels (PSFCH)”.
Regarding claims 1, 17, and 20, these claims recite the limitation “the PSFCH”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim.
Regarding claims 2-5, these claims recite “for signaling the resource collision.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim. It is unclear whether the limitation “signaling the resource collision” in claims 2-5 is the same as or different from the “to signal a collision indication, Cl,” in claim 1.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “like the PSFCH,” in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim. Claim 1 recites the limitation “a SL feedback for a transmission” in line 6 and the limitation “a SL feedback for the transmission” in lines 15, 19, and 22. It is unclear whether the limitation “a SL feedback for the transmission” in lines 15, 19, and 22 are the same as or different from the “a SL feedback for a transmission” in line 6. If so, the Examiner suggests amending these limitations to “a first SL feedback for a transmission” and “a second SL feedback for a transmission affected by the resource collision” respectively to distinguish between these SL feedbacks. The examiner also suggests amending other claims to distinguish said limitations to the “the first SL feedback for a transmission” and “the second SL feedback for a transmission affected by the resource collision” respectively to distinguish between these SL feedbacks.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “one of a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK,” in lines 5-6. The recited phrase is grammatically awkward and structurally confusing. The construction “one of A or B” is non-standard and unclear in English. As best understood by the examiner in light of the written description, the language “one of a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK,” should be “one of a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK,”.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the UE is to transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using two second resources of the SL feedback channel”. The limitation renders the claim indefinite as it is unclear whether the “a SL feedback for the transmission” in claim 3 is different from the “a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using one or more second resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision” in claim 1. Claim 3 recites the limitation “the first SL feedback message” in line 4, the limitation “the second SL feedback message” in lines 5-6, and the limitation "the two further resources” in lines 6-7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the UE is to transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using n second resources of the SL feedback channel”. The limitation renders the claim indefinite as it is unclear whether the “a SL feedback for the transmission” in claim 4 is different from the “a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using one or more second resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision” in claim 1. Claim 4 recites the limitation “the first SL feedback message” in lines 4-5 and the limitation “the second SL feedback message” in lines 5-6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision” in line 2. It is unclear whether the limitation is the same as or different from the “a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision” in claim 1. Claim 5 recites the limitation “using k messages of a collision indication channel resource, k>1, the SL feedback comprising for k=1,”. The limitation renders the claim indefinite because since k is already defined as k>1, howe can k=1.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “a certain location of a resource collision.” The limitation renders the claim indefinite as “certain location” is vague-time, frequency, or slot index?
Claims 6 and 7 recite the limitation “wherein a Cl message indicates one or a combination of following messages: …”, this appears indefinite for failing to specifically indicate what message it refers to by using 'wherein'. Specifically, it is not defined how said CI messages is generated or transmitted.
Claim 6, 10, 13, 18 rely on temporal concepts “a past” and “a future” without defining reference points.
Claim 7 omits the conjunctions (e.g., ‘and’ or ‘or’) between the elements “in the time domain, …” and “in the frequency domain, …”.
Claim 8 recites the limitation “the time gap” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 introduces the new element “2nd stage SCI associated with the transmission” without providing a clear definition. Specifically, it is not defined how said 2nd stage SCI is generated or transmitted. Claim 9 recites Mathematical Expressions with Undefined Variables. The limitation “R is the number feedback or collision indication channel resources,” is grammatically unclear and ambiguous. Further, it is unclear whether R is constant, configurable or dynamic and PID, MID, and CID are integers, bit fields, or identifier.
Claims 13 and 16 recite the term “the further UEs”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claims.
Claims 15 recites the limitation “in case a probability associated with the resource collision is above a preconfigured or configured threshold.” The limitation renders the claim indefinite as it is unclear how the probability is computed.
Claims 16 recites the limitation “in case the UE is not the intended recipient for the transmission by the further UEs, the UE is to transmit a second collision indication, the first and second collision indications being different.” The limitation renders the claim indefinite as it is unclear how the first and second collision indications differ from each other.
Claims 19 recites the limitation “switch from mode1 to mode2, or vice versa.” The limitation renders the claim indefinite as it is unclear what mode1 and mode2 are and how they differ from each other. Claim 19 recites the limitation “at least one of the following …sense one … use preferred … or vice versa.” The recited phrase is grammatically awkward and structurally confusing. The construction “one of A or B” is non-standard and unclear in English. As best understood by the examiner in light of the written description, the language “at least one of the following,” should be “at least one of the following … and switch from mode1 to mode2, or vice versa.”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6, 9-13, 17, and 20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Deng et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220030603, hereinafter “Deng”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Deng unless otherwise mentioned.
With respect to independent claims 1, 17, and 20:
Regarding claim 1, Deng teaches A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system,
wherein the UE is to transmit and/or receive over a sidelink, SL, in the wireless communication system, the SL comprising a SL feedback channel, like the PSFCH, for transmitting a SL feedback for a transmission over the SL using one or more first resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission (para [0070]: According to embodiments, a WTRU (interpreted as “the UE”) may transmit assistance information (e.g., may perform an assistance transmission), for example, to other WTRUs, or any other similar and/or suitable network node. According to embodiments, a WTRU may perform an assistance transmission, for example, to assist SL resource selection for transmissions by other WTRUs. According to embodiments, an assistance transmission may carry (e.g., include, assistance) information including a set of SL resources. According to embodiments, a WTRU may be an assistance WTRU (e.g., an assisting WTRU) (interpreted as “the UE”). That is, as discussed and/or referred to herein, a WTRU may be referred to as an assisting WTRU, for example, in a case of performing an assistance transmission. … According to embodiments, a WTRU(s) triggering and/or receiving an assistance transmission may be referred to as an assisted WTRU (interpreted as “a further UE”). [0129]: an assisting WTRU may perform an assistance transmission according to (e.g., based on) any of the following SL channels and/or signaling (e.g. via a channel) (interpreted as “a SL feedback for a transmission over the SL”): a PSCCH (e.g. a stand-alone PSCCH), a PSFCH, a Physical SL Collision Indication Channel, a PSSCH (e.g., MAC CE signaling, RRC signaling, etc.), and a Physical SL Assistance Indication Channel (interpreted as “the SL comprising a SL feedback channel, like the PSFCH,”).) (para [0130]: an assistance information transmission (interpreted as “a SL feedback for a transmission over the SL”) may be via (e.g., using, on, through, in, etc.) a (e.g., new) physical SL assistance indication channel (interpreted as “using one or more first resources of the SL feedback channel”).),
wherein, responsive to detecting one or more collisions on one or more resources used or reserved to be used by a further UE for one or more transmissions over the SL, the UE is to signal a collision indication, Cl (para [0131]: a collision indication may indicate detection of a collision (e.g., a detected collision) with a SP-based resource reservation, for example, detected by a WTRU for which the assistance information is intended (interpreted as “one or more collisions on one or more resources used or reserved to be used by a further UE for one or more transmissions over the SL”). … For example, according to embodiments, the indication may be one bit and may be transmitted in a resource associated with a reserved resource that is between a collision detection and a next transmission instance of the resource reservation. According to embodiments, an assisted WTRU (interpreted as “a further UE”) receiving such information (e.g., a collision indication) may trigger any of a pre-emption and resource reselection.),
wherein, for signaling the Cl, the UE is to
transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using one or more second resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision, the first and second resources being different (para [0159]: According to embodiments, a WTRU may send a collision indication in a SL PHY channel (e.g. a physical SL collision indication channel (interpreted as “using one or more second resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision”)), such that, for example, a physical SL collision indication channel may carry one-bit information (e.g., a collision indication). .. According to embodiments, a resource of a physical SL collision indication channel may be (e.g., implicitly) associated with a PSSCH resource, for example, a PSSCH resource in which the indicated collision is detected.)(Examiner’s note: The physical SL assistance indication channel (corresponding to “one or more first resources”) and the physical SL collision indication channel (corresponding to “one or more second resources”) are different, see para [0129]), or
transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using one or more resources of a further SL feedback channel before the transmission associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision,
(para [0131]: a collision indication (interpreted as “a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision”) may indicate detection of a collision (e.g., a detected collision) with a SP-based resource reservation … the indication … may be transmitted in a resource associated with a reserved resource that is between a collision detection and a next transmission instance of the resource reservation (interpreted as “one or more resources of a further SL feedback channel before the transmission associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision”).), or
transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using one or more configured or preconfigured resources separate from the SL feedback channel, like resources of a collision indicator channel (para [0160]:
the WTRU may send a collision indication indicating (e.g., conveying, informing, including, etc.) the information. According to embodiments, a collision indication may be included in a PHY control channel (interpreted as “using one or more configured or preconfigured resources separate from the SL feedback channel”)).
Regarding claim 17, Deng teaches A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system,
wherein the UE is to transmit and/or receive over a sidelink, SL in the wireless communication system, the SL comprising a SL feedback channel, like the PSFCH, for transmitting a SL feedback for a transmission over the SL using the one or more first resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission, and (para [0074]: a WTRU (interpreted as “the UE”) may any of determine to transmit an explicit assistance transmission request and become an assisted WTRU, (e.g., in addition and/or alternative to the case of a resource (re)selection of a TB being triggered by higher layers), according to (e.g., based on, satisfying, etc.) any of the following conditions (e.g., triggers): ….)(para [0075]: an assisted WTRU may include, for example, in an assistance transmission request (interpreted as “a SL feedback for a transmission”), any of the following (e.g., resource (re)selection) information: (1) a resource pool, ….) (para [0083]: an assistance request transmission may be (e.g., sent, transmitted, etc., by a WTRU via, using, included in, etc.) a new (e.g., different than those discussed hereinabove) SL physical signal and/or physical channel. That is, according to embodiments, a WTRU may send an assistance request (e.g., transmission) in a new SL PHY signal and/or PHY channel (interpreted as “one or more first resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission”).(para [0084]: such resources may be configured (e.g., preconfigured) for any of an assistance request transmission and an assistance information transmission (e.g., as discussed hereinabove). According to embodiments, there may be a case where such resources may not be used by/for other SL transmissions (e.g. V2X data transmissions). According to embodiments, such (e.g., set of) time and frequency resources may include (e.g., be, consist of, comprise, etc.) any of: a set of SL slots, a set of SL symbols, a set of sub-channels, a set of PRBs, and a set of sub-carriers. According to embodiments, such (e.g., set of) time and frequency resources may be configured (e.g., preconfigured) in/for a resource pool for SL data transmission.) (Fig. 2: The Assisted WTRU (interpreted as “the UE”), the Assistance Transmission Request (interpreted as “a SL feedback for a transmission”)). Fig. 2 of Deng is reproduced herein below.
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wherein the UE is to receive from one or more further UEs a collision indication (The Assisting WTRU in Fig. 2 is interpreted as “one or more further UEs” and the Assistance Transmission is interpreted as “a collision indication”), see Fig. 2) (para [0131]: a collision indication may indicate detection of a collision (e.g., a detected collision) with a SP-based resource reservation, for example, detected by a WTRU for which the assistance information is intended. … For example, according to embodiments, the indication may be one bit and may be transmitted in a resource associated with a reserved resource that is between a collision detection and a next transmission instance of the resource reservation. According to embodiments, an assisted WTRU (interpreted as “the UE”, see Fig. 2) receiving such information (e.g., a collision indication) may trigger any of a pre-emption and resource reselection.) on
one or more second resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision, the first and second resources being different (para [0159]: According to embodiments, a WTRU may send a collision indication in a SL PHY channel (e.g. a physical SL collision indication channel (interpreted as “on one or more second resources of the SL feedback channel associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision”)), … According to embodiments, a resource of a physical SL collision indication channel may be (e.g., implicitly) associated with a PSSCH resource, for example, a PSSCH resource in which the indicated collision is detected.) (Examiner’s note: The new SL PHY signal and/or PHY channel (corresponding to “one or more first resources”) and the physical SL collision indication channel (corresponding to “one or more second resources”) are different.), or
one or more resources of a further SL feedback channel before the transmission associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision (para [0131]: a collision indication may indicate detection of a collision (e.g., a detected collision) with a SP-based resource reservation … the indication … may be transmitted in a resource associated with a reserved resource that is between a collision detection and a next transmission instance of the resource reservation (interpreted as “… before the transmission (the next transmission discussed in para [0131]) associated with the transmission affected by the resource collision”).), or
one or more configured or preconfigured resources separate from the SL feedback channel, like resources of a collision indicator channel (para [0160]: the WTRU may send a collision indication indicating (e.g., conveying, informing, including, etc.) the information. According to embodiments, a collision indication may be included in a PHY control channel (interpreted as “one or more configured or preconfigured resources separate from the SL feedback channel, like resources of a collision indicator channel”)).
Regarding claim 20, it is a method claim corresponding to the method claim 1, and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claim 2, Deng teaches The user device, UE, of claim 1, wherein, for signaling the resource collision, the UE is to transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using one second resource of the SL feedback channel,
the SL feedback including
a single collision indication, Cl, message by transmitting on the second resource one of a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK (para [0158]: a WTRU may include collision information in a PSFCH transmission (interpreted as “a single collision indication, Cl, message by transmitting on the second resource”), for example, in a case where HARQ is enabled for transmission(s) corresponding to a resource reservation on which a collision is detected. According to embodiments, for example, a PSFCH format may include a bit field indicating a collision detected at a resource of a PSSCH associated with a HARQ ACK/NACK carried in a PSFCH (The HARQ ACK/NACK is interpreted as “one of a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK”).), or
a first Cl message by transmitting on the second resource a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second Cl message by transmitting on the second resource a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK (para [0158]: a WTRU may include collision information in a PSFCH transmission (interpreted as “on the second resource”), for example, in a case where HARQ is enabled for transmission(s) corresponding to a resource reservation on which a collision is detected. According to embodiments, for example, a PSFCH format may include a bit field indicating a collision detected at a resource of a PSSCH associated with a HARQ ACK/NACK carried in a PSFCH (The HARQ ACK/NACK is interpreted as “a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK,” or “a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK”).), or
a first Cl message by transmitting on the second resource a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second Cl message by transmitting on the second resource a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK (para [0158]: a WTRU may include collision information in a PSFCH transmission (interpreted as “on the second resource”), for example, in a case where HARQ is enabled for transmission(s) corresponding to a resource reservation on which a collision is detected. According to embodiments, for example, a PSFCH format may include a bit field indicating a collision detected at a resource of a PSSCH associated with a HARQ ACK/NACK carried in a PSFCH (The HARQ ACK/NACK is interpreted as “a first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK,” or “a second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK”).), …
Regarding claim 6, Deng teaches The user device of claim 1, wherein a Cl message indicates one or a combination of following messages:
an ACK, a NACK (para [0158]: a WTRU may include collision information in a PSFCH transmission (interpreted as “on the second resource”), for example, in a case where HARQ is enabled for transmission(s) corresponding to a resource reservation on which a collision is detected. According to embodiments, for example, a PSFCH format may include a bit field indicating a collision detected at a resource of a PSSCH associated with a HARQ ACK/NACK carried in a PSFCH.),
any collision (para [0158]: a WTRU may include collision information (interpreted as “any collision”) in a PSFCH transmission,), …
Regarding claim 9, Deng teaches The user device of claim 1, wherein the UE is to determine an index of the one or more second resources of the feedback channel according to (PID+MID)mod R, … where R is the number feedback or collision indication channel resources, PID is a source ID indicated, MID has a values different from the value used for signalling a SL feedback (para [0086]: a WTRU may select an index according to a modular function using a source ID (e.g., decimal format) and a total number of the indexed resource(s).)
Regarding claim 10, Deng teaches The user device, UE, of claim 1, wherein, in case the UE detects a resource collision associated with a future transmission to be performed by the further UE, the UE is to transmit the collision indication such that there is a minimum gap between a slot in which the collision indication is transmitted and a resource associated with the collision (para [0131]: a collision indication may indicate detection of a collision (e.g., a detected collision) with a SP-based resource reservation … the indication … may be transmitted in a resource associated with a reserved resource that is between a collision detection and a next transmission instance of the resource reservation (A gap between the resource for transmitting the collision indication and the next transmission instance is interpreted as “a minimum gap between a slot in which the collision indication is transmitted and a resource associated with the collision” and the next transmission is interpreted as “a future transmission”).
Regarding claim 11, Deng teaches The user device, UE, of claim 10, wherein the minimum gap indicates
in which slot the collision indication is to be transmitted (para [0131]: a collision indication may indicate detection of a collision (e.g., a detected collision) with a SP-based resource reservation … the indication … may be transmitted in a resource associated with a reserved resource that is between a collision detection and a next transmission instance of the resource reservation (A gap between the collision detection and the resource for transmitting the collision indication is interpreted as “the minimum gap”),
Regarding claim 12, Deng teaches The user device, UE, of claim 10, wherein the minimum gap is
preconfigured or configured, for example by a Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling or by a System Information Block, SIB, or by a Master Information Block, MIB, e.g., as part of a resource pool configuration, or indicated in a SL control message, like a SCI, or configured during the synchronization step between the two UEs (para [0105]: According to embodiments, such an indication (e.g., of information included in transmission in the reserved resource) may be conveyed using any of SCI, MAC CE, or RRC. (interpreted as “preconfigured or configured by RRC or SCI”))(para [0131]: the indication … may be transmitted in a resource associated with a reserved resource that is between a collision detection and a next transmission instance of the resource reservation.
Regarding claim 13, Deng teaches The user device, UE, of claim 1, wherein
the UE is to operate in a Discontinuous Reception, DRX, mode, the UE is the intended recipient for a transmission by the further UEs during an ON duration and one or more future transmissions after the ON duration, (para [0116]: According to embodiments, a resource pool, for example, that is used for any of V2X WTRUs during a DRX transition period and WTRUs with battery constraint, may be any of dedicated and (pre)configured for such WTRU groups (e.g., V2X WTRUs during a DRX transition period and WTRUs with battery constraint). (the DRX transition period corresponds to the “during an ON duration and one or more future transmissions after the ON duration”)).
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.
Claim(s) 5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng in view of Sarkis et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220030603, hereinafter “Sarkis”).
Regarding claim 5, Deng teaches The user device, UE, of claim 1, wherein, for signaling the resource collision, the UE is to transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision Deng fails to explicitly teaches
using k messages of a collision indication channel resource, k>1, the SL feedback comprising
for k=1, a single collision indication, Cl, message by transmitting a first signal on the collision indication channel resource, or
for k>1, k Cl messages, each Cl message being represented by a cyclic shifted signal on the collision indication channel resource, wherein the cyclic shifts are different for the k Cl messages.
In analogous art, Sarkis discloses that:
using k messages of a collision indication channel resource, k>1, the SL feedback comprising for k=1, a single collision indication, Cl, message by transmitting a first signal on the collision indication channel resource (para [0082] of Sarkis: The resource collision indication (interpreted as “for k=1, a single collision indication, Cl, message”) associated with the reservation or the victim resource may be transmitted using a sidelink resource of a PSFCH (interpreted as “by transmitting a first signal on the collision indication channel resource”). The UE may identify the sidelink resource for transmitting the resource collision indication using a PSSCH-to-PSFCH resource mapping technique. The sidelink resource may be one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the PSFCH.), or
for k>1, k Cl messages, each Cl message being represented by a cyclic shifted signal on the collision indication channel resource, wherein the cyclic shifts are different for the k Cl messages (para [0085] of Sarkis: The sidelink resource mapped to the PSFCH may use a cyclic shift to indicate a reservation index associated with the aggressor reservation. For example, the UE may transmit a first reservation (interpreted as a first “CI message”) that does not cause a resource conflict and a second reservation (interpreted as a second “CI message”) that does cause a resource conflict (e.g., a victim resource). In this case, a cyclic shift may be used to indicate the reservation index of the first reservation or the second reservation that will cause the resource conflict.(interpreted as “the cyclic shifts are different for the k Cl messages” because the cyclic shift indicating the reservation index of the first reservation and the cyclic shift indicating the reservation index of the second reservation should be different).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Deng's method by using the features of Sarkis in order to provide messages using a cyclic shift to indicate a collision on reserved resources. The rationale for doing so would have been to allow transmitting both the resource collision indication and the feedback regarding the aggressor reservation using a sidelink resource (see para [0095] of Sarkis).
Claim(s) 18 and 19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng in view of Sarkis et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220029756, hereinafter “Sarkis_756”).
Regarding claim 18, Deng teaches The user device, UE, of claim 17, wherein the collision indication indicates to the further UE: Deng fails to teach:
one or more resources on which the collision is to occur in the future or already occurred in the past, or
that a collision was detected, e.g., in the future or in the past, and that the UE is to expect receiving assistance information, the assistance information indicating one or more preferred and/or not preferred resources for a transmission, or
one or more resources on which the collision is to occur in the future or already occurred in the past and that the UE is to expect receiving UE assistance information, the assistance information indicating one or more preferred and/or not preferred resources for a transmission.
In analogous art, Sarkis_756 teaches:
one or more resources on which the collision is to occur in the future or already occurred in the past (para [0109] of Sarkis_756: At 420, the UE 415-a may identify, based on the SCI, a resource overlap (e.g., a time overlap, a frequency overlap, or both) between sidelink transmissions scheduled to occur in a sidelink resource of the set of sidelink resources. In some aspects, the resource overlap may be a resource collision between reserved resources of a sidelink channel. In some examples, the UE 415-a may determine, based at least in part on the SCI, that the resource overlap scheduled in the sidelink resource is occurring presently, has occurred in the past, or will occur in the future.) (para [0110] of Sarkis_756: At 425, the UE 415-a may transmit a message to UE 415-b (and/or other UEs in the wireless communications system) using the sidelink feedback channel and based on identifying the resource overlap.) teaches), ….
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Deng's method by using the features of Sarkis_756 in order to provide a collision indication messages indicating the occurred time point. The rationale for doing so would have been to allow retransmission from one or more UEs involved in the resource collision upon identifying the resource collision (see Abstract of Sarkis_756).
Regarding claim 19, Deng and Sarkis_756 teach The user device, UE, of claim 18, wherein, responsive to the collision indication, the UE is to perform at least one of the following Deng further teaches
…
reselect resources for a retransmission without using the assistance information (para [061]: According to embodiments, in a case where an assisted WTRU receives (e.g., such) a collision indication, the assisted WTRU may not consider the priority of the collided transmission .(interpreted as “without using the assistance information”) and may determine to perform any of pre-emption and resource reselection.), …
Tentative Indication of Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 7, 8, and 14-16 appear to contain allowable subject matters pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection.
As discussed above, the claim 3 appears to contain allowable subject matters underlined below pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection and would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the respective base claims and any intervening claims.
“the SL feedback comprising
a first Cl message by transmitting the first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a second Cl message by transmitting the second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK, on the first of the two further resources, and
a third Cl message by transmitting the first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or a fourth Cl message by transmitting the second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK, on the second of the two further resources.”
As discussed above, the claims 4 and 8 appear to contain allowable subject matters underlined below pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection and would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the respective base claims and any intervening claims.
“wherein, for signaling the resource collision, the UE is to transmit a SL feedback for the transmission affected by the resource collision using n second resources of the SL feedback channel, n>1, the SL feedback comprising
n Cl messages, each Cl message being represented by transmitting the first SL feedback message, like an acknowledgement, ACK, or by transmitting the second SL feedback message, like a non-acknowledgement, NACK, on the nth resource.”
As discussed above, the claim 7 appears to contain allowable subject matters underlined below pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection and would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the respective base claims and any intervening claims.
“wherein a Cl message indicates that the Cl and assistance information like an assistance information message, AIM, are transmitted, and wherein the UE is to transmit the Cl and the assistance information such that:
in the time domain,
the assistance information and the Cl are transmitted at the same time, or
the assistance information follows the Cl immediately or with a time gap therebetween, or
the Cl follows the assistance information immediately or with a time gap therebetween,
in the frequency domain,
the assistance information and the Cl are transmitted at the same frequencies, or
the assistance information and the Cl are transmitted at different continuous or separated frequencies.”
As discussed above, the claim 14 appears to contain allowable subject matters underlined below pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection and would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the respective base claims and any intervening claims.
“when entering the sleep mode, the UE is to start a collision indication timer, and, once the collision indication timer lapsed, the UE is to return to an active mode, and wherein the collision indication timer is configured or preconfigured, for example per resource pool or system wide or for a specific network slice, like a Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication, URLLC, slice, or for a certain UE capability, like for a Pedestrian UE, P-UE, only, or for a certain Discontinuous Reception, DRX, pattern.”
As discussed above, the claim 15 appears to contain allowable subject matters underlined below pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection and would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the respective base claims and any intervening claims.
“wherein the UE is to adapt the DRX cycle in case a probability associated with the resource collision is above a preconfigured or configured threshold.”
As discussed above, the claim 16 appear to contain allowable subject matters underlined below pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection and would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the respective base claims and any intervening claims.
“in case the UE is the intended recipient for the transmission by the further UEs, the UE is to transmit a first collision indication, and
in case the UE is not the intended recipient for the transmission by the further UEs, the UE is to transmit a second collision indication, the first and second collision indications being different.”
Conclusion
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/WON JUN CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411