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 with respect to claims 1-6 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The amendments submitted on 11/25/2025 change the scope of the claim. For example, the amendment to the system claim, the limitation “wherein the processor is configured to uniquely determine resources for the data signal based on resources of a received control signal or a preamble signal.” changes the scope of the claim.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (US 2022/0232547).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a communication device comprising: a processor ([0141], “The processing system 1502 includes a processor 1504 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1512 via a bus 1506.”) configured to autonomously select resources for use for transmission ([0073], “According to a second mode, Mode 2, as shown in FIG. 5B, UEs may determine the SL resources (the BS does not schedule SL transmission resources within SL resources configured by BS/network). In this case, UEs may autonomously select SL resources for transmission (following some rules in the NR standard). A UE may assist in SL resource selection for other UEs.”); and a transmitter ([0140], “The communications device 1500 includes a processing system 1502 coupled to a transceiver 1508 (e.g., a transmitter and/or a receiver).”) configured to transmit a data signal in the selected resources ([0093], “The transmission may include data and control information that may be sent in a PSCCH, for example. The control information that the UE includes in transmission i may reserve transmission resources on subchannels z during slot i+x where 0<x≤31, as shown at 810.”), and information that indicates the selected resources ([0093], “The control information in transmission i may also reserve transmission resources on subchannels z during slot slot i+y where x<y≤31, as shown at 815. The transmission resources may be reserved for retransmissions of the data in the SL transmission i, for example.”), to another communication device ([0093], “In the exemplary transmission timeline, a UE (e.g., UE 120a, shown in FIG. 1) that is a CV2X device may transmit a SL transmission 815 during a slot i on the subchannels z.”), wherein the processor is configured to uniquely determine resources ([0058], “In some examples, a UE 120 may function as a scheduling entity and may schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs 120), and the other UEs 120 may utilize the resources scheduled by the UE 120 for wireless communication.”) for the data signal based on resources of a received control signal or a preamble signal ([0078], “PSCCH may be defined to carry a scheduling assignment (SA), which may be required by a UE to properly detect and decode the corresponding PSSCH. For example, sidelink control information (SCI) may be transmitted over the PSCCH, which carries the information related to the transmission of data over the PSSCH.”).
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses the communication device according to claim 1, wherein the information that indicates the selected resources indicates frequency domain resources that are allocated per first unit of measurement , in a quantity measured in a second unit of measurement ([0110], “Additionally, the resource pool for S-UCI and/or S-DCI transmission may be partitioned into a variable number of RBs or resource elements (REs) (e.g., at the resource element group (REG)/control channel element (CCE) level) for frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA).”).
Regarding claim 3, Wang discloses the communication device according to claim 1, wherein the information that indicates the selected resources is information that indicates that same frequency domain resources are used for a preamble or a control signal ([0089], “Additionally for C-V2X, resource allocation may be in the frequency domain or the time domain. Frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) or time domain resource allocation (TDRA) may be indicated in SCI 0_1 of the PSCCH.”).
Regarding claim 5, Wang discloses the communication device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter transmits information that indicates the selected resources ([0093], “The control information in transmission i may also reserve transmission resources on subchannels z during slot slot i+y where x<y≤31, as shown at 815. The transmission resources may be reserved for retransmissions of the data in the SL transmission i, for example.”), to the another communication device ([0093], “The transmission may include data and control information that may be sent in a PSCCH, for example. The control information that the UE includes in transmission i may reserve transmission resources on subchannels z during slot i+x where 0<x≤31, as shown at 810.”), via a preamble or a dedicated signal ([0078], “PSCCH may be defined to carry a scheduling assignment (SA), which may be required by a UE to properly detect and decode the corresponding PSSCH. For example, sidelink control information (SCI) may be transmitted over the PSCCH, which carries the information related to the transmission of data over the PSSCH.”).
Regarding claim 6, Wang discloses a communication method to be performed by a communication device, the method comprising: autonomously selecting resources for use for transmission ([0073], “According to a second mode, Mode 2, as shown in FIG. 5B, UEs may determine the SL resources (the BS does not schedule SL transmission resources within SL resources configured by BS/network). In this case, UEs may autonomously select SL resources for transmission (following some rules in the NR standard). A UE may assist in SL resource selection for other UEs.”); and transmitting a data signal in the selected resources ([0093], “The transmission may include data and control information that may be sent in a PSCCH, for example. The control information that the UE includes in transmission i may reserve transmission resources on subchannels z during slot i+x where 0<x≤31, as shown at 810.”), and information that indicates the selected resources ([0093], “The control information in transmission i may also reserve transmission resources on subchannels z during slot slot i+y where x<y≤31, as shown at 815. The transmission resources may be reserved for retransmissions of the data in the SL transmission i, for example.”), to another communication device ([0093], “In the exemplary transmission timeline, a UE (e.g., UE 120a, shown in FIG. 1) that is a CV2X device may transmit a SL transmission 815 during a slot i on the subchannels z.”), wherein resources for the data signal are uniquely determined based on resources ([0058], “In some examples, a UE 120 may function as a scheduling entity and may schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs 120), and the other UEs 120 may utilize the resources scheduled by the UE 120 for wireless communication.”) of a received control signal or a preamble signal ([0078], “PSCCH may be defined to carry a scheduling assignment (SA), which may be required by a UE to properly detect and decode the corresponding PSSCH. For example, sidelink control information (SCI) may be transmitted over the PSCCH, which carries the information related to the transmission of data over the PSSCH.”).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2022/0232547) in view of Hui et al. (US 2021/0314966; citing US Provisional 63007730).
Regarding claim 4, Wang does not disclose the time domain resource indication in the last symbol. Hui discloses the communication device according to claim 1, wherein, in the selected resources, a starting point of resources in a time domain ([0216], "In the time domain, each resource unit may comprise, for example, one or more slots, one or more subframes, and/or one or more OFDM symbols.”) is indicated based on a last symbol of a preamble or a control signal ([0168], "The UE may determine when to start the time window based on a PRACH occasion that the UE uses to transmit the preamble. For example, the UE may start the time window one or more symbols after a last symbol of the preamble (e.g., at a first PDCCH occasion from an end of a preamble transmission)."). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wang in view of Hui to have the time domain resource indication in the last symbol. The motivation would have been to avoid collisions (e.g., Hui [0216]).
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 Nick A Sundara whose telephone number is (571)272-6749. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7:30-5:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jae Y. Lee can be reached at (571) 270-3936. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICK ANON SUNDARA/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479