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 .
Remarks
The present Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 12/22/2025. Claims 1-6 remain pending in the present application. This Action is made FINAL.
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gulati et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0337954 A1) (hereinafter Gulati).
Regarding claim 1, Gulati discloses a terminal (Figure 1 and paragraph 0031 disclose UEs 104) comprising:
a processor coupled to a transceiver configured to perform transmission of a signal to and reception of a signal from a base station (Figures 9 and 10 and paragraphs 0092, 0098, 0101, and 0102 disclose an apparatus. The apparatus may be a UE. The apparatus includes a reception component, a transmission component, and a processing system 1014. The processing system 1014 may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus 1024. The bus 1024 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system 1014 and the overall design constraints. The bus 1024 links together various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware components, represented by the processor 1004, the components 904, 906, 908, 910, 912, 914, 916, 918, 920 and the computer-readable medium/memory 1006. The processing system 1014 may be coupled to a transceiver 1010. Figure 1 and paragraph 0031 disclose the base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104); and
the transceiver configured to transmit, to another terminal, information that is received from the base station based on the transmission and the reception, or information that is obtained from the signal transmitted to or received from the base station (Figures 9 and 10 and paragraphs 0092, 0098, 0101, and 0102 disclose an apparatus. The apparatus may be a UE. The apparatus includes a reception component, a transmission component, and a processing system 1014. The processing system 1014 may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus 1024. The bus 1024 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system 1014 and the overall design constraints. The bus 1024 links together various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware components, represented by the processor 1004, the components 904, 906, 908, 910, 912, 914, 916, 918, 920 and the computer-readable medium/memory 1006. The processing system 1014 may be coupled to a transceiver 1010. Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE. The second PC5 message may include information indicating a second link quality. The second link quality may indicate a link quality of a second link between the first potential relay UE and a first base station),
wherein the information that is received from the base station comprises a group switching instruction for the another terminal (Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE. The second PC5 message may include information indicating a second link quality. The second link quality may indicate a link quality of a second link between the first potential relay UE and a first base station. Since the claim only recites transmitting information and the contents of the information are not relied upon by any of the remainder of the claim, the contents of the information are considered as merely non-functional descriptive material and do not carry patentable weight. See MPEP 2111.05 and 2112.01(III)).
Regarding claim 4, as applied to claim 1 above, Gulati further discloses wherein the information obtained from the signal is a measurement result (Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE. The second PC5 message may include information indicating a second link quality. The second link quality may indicate a link quality of a second link between the first potential relay UE and a first base station).
Regarding claim 6, Gulati discloses a communication method executed by a terminal (Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE), the communication method comprising:
a communication step of performing transmission of a signal to and reception of a signal from a base station (Figure 1 and paragraph 0031 disclose the base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104); and
a control step of transmitting, to another terminal, information that is received from the base station based on the transmission and the reception, or information that is obtained from the signal transmitted to or received from the base station (Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE. The second PC5 message may include information indicating a second link quality. The second link quality may indicate a link quality of a second link between the first potential relay UE and a first base station),
wherein the information that is received from the base station comprises a group switching instruction for the another terminal (Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE. The second PC5 message may include information indicating a second link quality. The second link quality may indicate a link quality of a second link between the first potential relay UE and a first base station. Since the claim only recites transmitting information and the contents of the information are not relied upon by any of the remainder of the claim, the contents of the information are considered as merely non-functional descriptive material and do not carry patentable weight. See MPEP 2111.05 and 2112.01(III)).
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the Examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the Examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gulati in view of Sen et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0279110 A1) (hereinafter Sen).
Regarding claim 2, as applied to claim 1 above, Gulati discloses the claimed invention except explicitly disclosing wherein the signal is a signal for the another terminal.
In analogous art, Sen discloses wherein the signal is a signal for the another terminal (Figure 21 and paragraph 0127 disclose a schematic flow diagram 2100 illustrating use case of announcement of ETWS or CMAS information over PC5 LTE prose radio access technology, when UEs are in out of coverage conditions, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Consider in case of a natural disaster (e.g. Tsunami, Earthquake), 3GPP has standardized an Earthquake and Tsunami warning service (ETWS) or Commercial Mobile Alert system (CMAS) to immediately notify emergency information to users, in which the users (UEs) who are in the out of coverage conditions are not able to receive the ETWS/CMAS. At step 1, an evolved node B (enodeB) 2102 upon identification of the natural disaster (e.g. Tsunami, Earthquake) performs paging ETWS/CMAS and communicates to the relay UE 2104. At step 3, the relay UE 2104 further transmits side link master information block (SL-MIB) to a remote UE 2106, which is in the out of coverage condition, to indicate ETWS/CMAS information. At step 4, the relay UE 2104 broadcasts the SIB to the remote UE 2106).
It 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 to incorporate a relay UE forwarding an ETWS message to remote UEs, as described in Sen, with a relay UE sending messages to a remote UE, as described in Gulati, because doing so is simple substitution of one known element (message content) for another to obtain predictable results. Combining a relay UE forwarding an ETWS message to remote UEs of Sen with a relay UE sending messages to a remote UE of Gulati was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Sen.
Therefore, it 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 to combine the teachings of Gulati and Sen to obtain the invention as specified in claim 2.
Regarding claim 3, as applied to claim 2 above, Gulati discloses the claimed invention except explicitly disclosing wherein the signal is a paging message or a message related to an ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System).
In analogous art, Sen discloses wherein the signal is a paging message or a message related to an ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System) (Figure 21 and paragraph 0127 disclose a schematic flow diagram 2100 illustrating use case of announcement of ETWS or CMAS information over PC5 LTE prose radio access technology, when UEs are in out of coverage conditions, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Consider in case of a natural disaster (e.g. Tsunami, Earthquake), 3GPP has standardized an Earthquake and Tsunami warning service (ETWS) or Commercial Mobile Alert system (CMAS) to immediately notify emergency information to users, in which the users (UEs) who are in the out of coverage conditions are not able to receive the ETWS/CMAS. At step 1, an evolved node B (enodeB) 2102 upon identification of the natural disaster (e.g. Tsunami, Earthquake) performs paging ETWS/CMAS and communicates to the relay UE 2104. At step 3, the relay UE 2104 further transmits side link master information block (SL-MIB) to a remote UE 2106, which is in the out of coverage condition, to indicate ETWS/CMAS information. At step 4, the relay UE 2104 broadcasts the SIB to the remote UE 2106).
It 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 to incorporate a relay UE forwarding an ETWS message to remote UEs, as described in Sen, with a relay UE sending messages to a remote UE, as described in Gulati, because doing so is simple substitution of one known element (message content) for another to obtain predictable results. Combining a relay UE forwarding an ETWS message to remote UEs of Sen with a relay UE sending messages to a remote UE of Gulati was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Sen.
Therefore, it 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 to combine the teachings of Gulati and Sen to obtain the invention as specified in claim 3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Considering claim 5, the best prior art found during the prosecution of the present application, Gulati, fails to disclose, teach, or suggest the limitations of wherein: the terminal belongs to a group, and the transceiver is configured to broadcast group information for identifying the group and for causing the another terminal to enter the group in combination with and in the context of all of the other limitations in claim 5.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 11 in the Remarks, Applicant argues that Gulati does not disclose the information that is received from the base station comprises a group switching instruction for the another terminal.
Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 of Gulati disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE. The second PC5 message may include information indicating a second link quality. The second link quality may indicate a link quality of a second link between the first potential relay UE and a first base station. Since claims 1 and 6 recite only transmitting information and the contents of the information are not relied upon by any of the remainder of the claims, the contents of the information are considered as merely non-functional descriptive material and do not carry patentable weight. See MPEP 2111.05 and 2112.01(III). Therefore Gulati discloses wherein the information that is received from the base station comprises a group switching instruction for the another terminal (Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074 and 0076 disclose at 804, the remote UE may receive a second PC5 message from the first potential relay UE. The second PC5 message may include information indicating a second link quality. The second link quality may indicate a link quality of a second link between the first potential relay UE and a first base station. Since the claim only recites transmitting information and the contents of the information are not relied upon by any of the remainder of the claim, the contents of the information are considered as merely non-functional descriptive material and do not carry patentable weight. See MPEP 2111.05 and 2112.01(III)).
Consequently, in view of the above reasons and having addressed each of Applicant’s arguments, the previous rejection is maintained and made FINAL by the Examiner.
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 MARK G. PANNELL whose telephone number is (303) 297-4245. The Examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm (Mountain Time).
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, Rafael Perez-Gutierrez can be reached on (571) 272-7915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/Mark G. Pannell/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642