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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in this application, filed on 02/01/2024. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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, 2, 5, 8, 9, 14, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (“Lee”) [PGPUB 2022/0190984] in view of Wang et al. (“Wang”) [PGPUB 2025/0164599].
Regarding claim 1, the Lee reference discloses a first node for wireless communications, comprising: a first receiver, receiving a first information block, the first information block being used to determine a first resource pool [Lee; figures 1, 6, and 9; para 0102-0105];
a first transmitter, transmitting a first signaling, the first signaling being used to determine a first time-domain resource block from the first resource pool [Lee; figures 6 and 9; para 0075, 0086, and 0106-0107]; and
wherein the first resource pool comprises multiple time-domain resource blocks, the first time-domain resource block is one of the multiple time-domain resource blocks comprised in the first resource pool [ie. resource blocks in frequency and time domain in the resource pool; Lee; fig 6 and 7; para 0075, 0087, 0165, 0169, and 0195],
and the first reference signal resource belongs to the first time-domain resource block in time domain; the first reference signal resource comprises at least one multicarrier symbol in time domain [Lee; fig 15-17; para 0125-0126 and 0157-0161],
a configuration of the first reference signal resource is related to a locational relation between the first time-domain resource block and time-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in time domain [ie. reference signal resource location is “related to” (or belongs in) locations of resource block and resources; Lee; fig 15 and 17; para 0087, 0125-0126 and 0157-0161],
and the configuration of the first reference signal resource comprises at least one of a number of symbol(s) for the first reference signal resource and a time-domain location of the first reference signal resource in the first time-domain resource block [ie. reference signal resource comprises symbols and time-domain location in the block; Lee; fig 6 and 7; para 0015-0016, 0124-0125, and 0131-0132].
The Lee reference does not specifically disclose transmitting a first positioning reference signal on a first reference signal resource. However, in the same field of endeavor, the Wang reference discloses a first transmitter, transmitting a first positioning reference signal on a first reference signal resource [Wang; para 0070-0075 and 0096]. The Lee and Wang references are analogous art, since they have similar problem solving area in being able to communicate with vehicle to everything (V2X). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to combine the teaching of positioning reference signal, taught by Wang, into the system, taught by Lee. The motivation for doing so would have been to advance sidelink transmissions for V2X [Wang; para 0003].
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Lee-Wang further discloses time-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in time domain belong to one of the multiple time-domain resource blocks comprised in the first resource pool, and whether the time-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in time domain belong to the first time-domain resource block is used to determine the configuration of the first reference signal resource [Lee; fig 7; para 0086-0087, 0090, 0103, and 0105-0107] [Wang; para 0245-0246].
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Lee-Wang further discloses the first resource pool comprises multiple frequency-domain resource blocks, and frequency-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in frequency domain belong to one of the multiple frequency-domain resource blocks comprised in the first resource pool; the configuration of the first reference signal resource is related to the frequency-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in frequency domain [Lee; para 0065, 0075-0078, and 0087] [Wang; para 0096-0098].
Regarding claim 8, the Lee reference discloses a second node for wireless communications, comprising: a second receiver, receiving a second information block, the second information block being used to determine a first resource pool [Lee; figures 4, 6, and 9; para 0065, 0102-0106];
a third receiver, receiving a first signaling, the first signaling being used to determine a first time-domain resource block from the first resource pool [Lee; figures 6 and 9; para 0075, 0086, and 0105-0107]; and
wherein the first resource pool comprises multiple time-domain resource blocks, the first time-domain resource block is one of the multiple time-domain resource blocks comprised in the first resource pool [ie. resource blocks in frequency and time domain in the resource pool; Lee; fig 6 and 7; para 0075, 0087, 0165, 0169, and 0195],
and the first reference signal resource belongs to the first time-domain resource block in time domain; the first reference signal resource comprises at least one multicarrier symbol in time domain [Lee; fig 15-17; para 0125-0126 and 0157-0161],
a configuration of the first reference signal resource is related to a locational relation between the first time-domain resource block and time-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in time-domain [ie. reference signal resource location is “related to” (or belongs in) locations of resource block and resources; Lee; fig 15 and 17; para 0087, 0125-0126 and 0157-0161], and
the configuration of the first reference signal resource comprises at least one of a number of symbol(s) for the first reference signal resource and a time-domain location of the first reference signal resource in the first time-domain resource block [ie. reference signal resource comprises symbols and time-domain location in the block; Lee; fig 6 and 7; para 0015-0016, 0124-0125, and 0131-0132].
The Lee reference does not specifically disclose the third receiver, receiving a first positioning reference signal on a first reference signal resource. However, in the same field of endeavor, the Wang reference discloses a the third receiver, receiving a first positioning reference signal on a first reference signal resource [Wang; fig 3B and 5; para 0070-0075 and 0096]. The Lee and Wang references are analogous art, since they have similar problem solving area in being able to communicate with vehicle to everything (V2X). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to combine the teaching of positioning reference signal, taught by Wang, into the system, taught by Lee. The motivation for doing so would have been to advance sidelink transmissions for V2X [Wang; para 0003].
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Lee-Wang further discloses time-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in time domain belong to one of the multiple time-domain resource blocks comprised in the first resource pool, and whether the time-domain resources occupied by the first signaling in time domain belong to the first time-domain resource block is used to determine the configuration of the first reference signal resource [Lee; fig 7; para 0086-0087, 0090, 0103, and 0105-0107] [Wang; para 0245-0246].
Regarding claims 14, 15, and 18, the method of claims 14, 15, and 18 perform the similar steps as the apparatus of claims 1, 2, and 5. The combination of Lee-Wang teaches the apparatus of claims 1, 2, and 5, as referenced above. Therefore, claims 14, 15, and 18 are rejected using the same art and rationale set forth above in the rejection of claims 1, 2, and 5, by the teachings of Lee-Wang.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 10-13, 16, 17, 19, and 20 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.
Lei et al. [PGPUB 2025/0330954] describes a terminal device determining unoccupied candidate resource within a resource sensing window.
Yoon et al. [PGPUB 2024/0340208] describes PSCCH DMRS allocation within a resource pool, in a V2X system.
Chae et al. [USPAT 12,388,591] describes bandwidth parts (BWP) and time domain resource assignments within a resource pool.
Manolakos et al. [PGPUB 2025/0374222] describes a sidelink discontinuous reception (SL-DRX) configuration with automatic gain control (AGC).
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/JASON D CARDONE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458