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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 13, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Argument
Applicant’s arguments see pages 12-13 filed on May 13, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding amended independent claims 1, 6, 21, applicant argued that “Kung fails to teach obtaining sidelink logical channels which are in active time of a sidelink discontinuous transmission on a time domain resource corresponding to a sidelink grant as well as the first condition related to the sidelink logical channel in the active time, as recited in amended claim 1 of the present application”. (remarks page 13).
Examiner respectfully disagrees, this argument is not persuasive because it focuses on a narrower alternative limitation within the claims. The amended independent claims are drafted with alternative paths(e.g. reciting a “first method” involving DRX configuration lookups, OR a “first condition” relying merely on the destination identity or logical channel being in the active time).
Under the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI), a claim reciting alternative claim limitations is anticipated if the prior art reads on a single one of the alternatives. The current 35. U.S.C 102 rejection of Kung ‘465 is mapped specifically to the broadest alternative path (the “first condition”). Kung ‘465 explicitly teaches selecting a destination based on the condition that the destination (or its associated UEs) is in an active timing of the sidelink grant which fully discloses the broader alternative. Because Kung ‘465 anticipates at least one alternative path of the independent claims, the independent claims are anticipated, and Applicant’s arguments directed to the not-relied-upon “first method” path are moot.
Regarding the dependent claims, the Examiner has introduced a new prior art reference Loehr et al, to address the argued specific limitations on the dependent claims. As detailed in the current Office Action. Loehr explicitly teaches a logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) procedure that evaluates whether the specific sidelink resources allocated by the sidelink grant fall within or overlap the DRX active time associated with the sidelink logical channel, as detailed in the body of this action.
Claim Rejections – 35 USC§ 102
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)(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 1, 6 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kung et al(US 2021/0227465 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 6 and 21, Kung ‘465 teaches, a terminal, comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor( [0034], [0035] and Fig. 3-7, UE 300 comprising memory 310, CPU 308 and transceiver 314 )wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program; the transceiver is configured to send and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations of( [0034], [0035] and Fig. 3-7, UE 300 comprising memory 310 comprising program code 312 , CPU 308 and transceiver 314 for processing and transmitting messages): obtaining a sidelink destination identity and/or one or more sidelink logical channels ([0400], [0435]-[0438] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE selecting destination identity and one or more sidelink logical channels for sidelink transmission )which are in active time of a sidelink discontinuous transmission on a time domain resource corresponding to a sidelink grant([0400] [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE selecting destination identity and one or more sidelink logical channels for sidelink transmission based on whether the RxUE associated with the destination identity is active during the sidelink grant( transmit opportunity));
performing resource allocation according to the sidelink destination identity and/or the one or more sidelink logical channels ([0273]-[0275], [0400], [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the Tx UE allocating the sidelink grant based on destination identity and associated logical channels priority), wherein the active time of sidelink discontinuous transmission comprises: an active time of a sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) and/or an active time of a sidelink discontinuous transmission (DTX) ([0405], [0407], [0423]-[0427] and Figs. 5-7, the Tx UE determining active time based on DRX configuration, notice the claim limitation is written in alternative claim limitations thus examiner is required to show only one of the claim limitations).
wherein the obtaining the sidelink destination identity in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant ([0400] [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE selecting destination identity and one or more sidelink logical channels for sidelink transmission based on whether the RxUE associated with the destination identity is active during the sidelink grant (transmit opportunity)) comprises:
obtaining the sidelink destination identity in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to a second method([0400] [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE selecting destination identity and one or more sidelink logical channels for sidelink transmission based on whether the RxUE associated with the destination identity is active during the sidelink grant(first condition)); wherein the second method comprises: determining DRX configuration information corresponding to the sidelink destination identity according to a first address([0400] [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE obtaining DRX configuration associated with the destination identity);
determining whether the sidelink destination identity is in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to the DRX configuration information ([0400] [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE selecting destination identity for sidelink transmission based on whether the RxUE associated with the destination identity is active during the sidelink grant);
or
notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations),
or,
wherein the obtaining the sidelink destination identity in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant([0404], [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE selecting destination identity and one or more sidelink logical channels for sidelink transmission based on whether the RxUE associated with the destination identity is active during the sidelink grant (transmit opportunity)) comprises:
obtaining the sidelink destination identity in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to a first condition ([0404], [0405], [0462] and Figs. 5-7, evaluating a specific condition to select the destination, the specific condition including selecting a destination based on a determination that the destination (or its associated UEs) is in active time at the specific timing of the sidelink transmission),
wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following:
the sidelink destination identity is in the active time of sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant([0404], [0405], [0462] and Figs. 5-7, a destination for the sidelink transmission is selected based on a determination that the destination meets a condition that one or more UEs associated with the destination address are in active time at the timing(side link grant)); or
(notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations).
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 3, 4, 8, 9, 18, 20, 23, 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kung et al(US 2021/0227465 A1) in view of Loehr et al(US 2023/0262738 A1).
Regarding claims 3, 8 and 23, the combination of Kung ‘465 and Cai ‘005 teaches all of the claim limitations Kung ‘465 further teaches, wherein after the obtaining the sidelink destination identity in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant, further comprising: selecting a target sidelink logical channel out of the sidelink logical channels corresponding to the sidelink destination identity according to a second condition([0400], [0405], [0407] and Figs. 5-7, the TX UE selecting destination identity and one or more sidelink logical channels for sidelink transmission based on whether the RxUE associated with the destination identity is active during the sidelink grant(first condition))
Kung ‘465 does not explicitly teach, wherein the second condition comprises: the sidelink logical channel is in the active time of sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant.
Loehr ‘738 teaches, wherein the second condition comprises: the sidelink logical channel is in the active time of sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant([0074], [0093]-[0095], a logical channel is selected for data transmission if its DRX active time overlaps with the specific resources allocated by the sidelink grant(the time domain resource)) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system of Kung ‘465, by incorporating the teaching of Loehr ‘738, since such modification would enable efficient use of sidelink resources and power, as suggested by Loehr ‘738([0003], [0004]).
Regarding claims 4, 9 and 24, Kung ‘465 teaches all of the claim limitations, Kung ‘465 further teaches, wherein the obtaining the sidelink logical channel in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant comprises: obtaining the sidelink logical channel in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to a first method( [0400], [0405] and Figs. 5-7, obtaining logical channels based on priority and destination identity associated with the logical channel); wherein the first method comprises:
determining DRX configuration information corresponding to the sidelink logical channel according to the sidelink destination identity corresponding to the sidelink logical channel ([0400], [0405] and Figs. 5-7, obtaining logical channels based on priority and destination identity associated with the logical channel, and determining DRX configuration for the logical channel based on the associated destination identity);
or
determining the DRX configuration information corresponding to the sidelink logical channel according to a quality of service (QoS) parameter corresponding to the sidelink logical channel( [0400], [0404], [0405] and Figs. 5-7, obtaining logical channels based on priority and destination identity associated with the logical channel, and determining DRX configuration for the logical channel based on the associated destination identity, the DRX configuration indicating whether the logical channel associated with the destination identity is active or not, notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations).
Kung ‘465 does not explicitly teach, determining whether the sidelink logical channel is in the active time of sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to the DRX configuration information.
Loehr ‘738 teaches, determining whether the sidelink logical channel is in the active time of sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to the DRX configuration information ([0074], [0093]-[0095], a logical channel is selected for data transmission if its DRX active time overlaps with the specific resources allocated by the sidelink grant(the time domain resource)) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system of Kung ‘465, by incorporating the teaching of Loehr ‘738, since such modification would enable efficient use of sidelink resources and power, as suggested by Loehr ‘738([0003], [0004]).
Regarding claims 18 and 20, the combination of Kung ‘465 and Loehr ‘738 teaches all of the claim limitations Kung ‘465 further teaches, wherein the obtaining the sidelink logical channel in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant comprises: obtaining the sidelink logical channel in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to a first method( [0400], [0405] and Figs. 5-7, obtaining logical channels based on priority and destination identity associated with the logical channel).
; or,
determining the DRX configuration information corresponding to the sidelink logical channel according to a quality of service (QoS) parameter corresponding to the sidelink logical channel ( [0400], [0405] and Figs. 5-7, obtaining logical channels based on priority and destination identity associated with the logical channel, and determining DRX configuration for the logical channel based on the associated destination identity, the DRX configuration indicating whether the logical channel associated with the destination identity is active or not, notice the claim limitation is written in alternative form thus examiner is required to show only one of the alternative claim limitations).
Loehr ‘738 teaches, wherein the first method comprises: determining DRX configuration information corresponding to the sidelink logical channel according to the sidelink destination identity corresponding to the sidelink logical channel ([0074], [0093]-[0095], a logical channel is selected for data transmission if its DRX active time overlaps with the specific resources allocated by the sidelink grant(the time domain resource)),
determining whether the sidelink logical channel is in the active time of the sidelink discontinuous transmission on the time domain resource corresponding to the sidelink grant according to the DRX configuration information ([0074], [0093]-[0095], a logical channel is selected for data transmission if its DRX active time overlaps with the specific resources allocated by the sidelink grant(the time domain resource)) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system of Kung ‘465, by incorporating the teaching of Loehr ‘738, since such modification would enable efficient use of sidelink resources and power, as suggested by Loehr ‘738([0003], [0004]).
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/AWET HAILE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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