DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/4/2026 has been entered. Claims 15, 19, 23, 27 are amended, claims 1- 14, 20- 22 and 28- 30 are cancelled. Claims 15- 19, 23- 27 are pending for examinations.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) filed on 5/4/2026 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 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.
Claim(s) 15- 17, 19, 23- 25 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US Pub. No. 2020/0059944 A1) in view of Ericsson ,“remaining aspects for discovery”, R2-2009228 see IDS filed on 10/16/2024 page 3 cite#2 .
Regarding claim 15, Lee teaches a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system ( a method and a device for performing sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission in wireless communication system; here device as a UE; further see claim 1), the method comprising:
obtaining configuration information including a resource pool dedicated to transmission of sidelink discovery information, wherein the resource pool is configured for scheduling by a base station or selection by the UE (see [0056] regarding Sidelink comprises sidelink discovery; now refer to [0078].. various transmission modes for Sidelink. As shown in FIG. 8, the 3GPP sidelink communication supports a total of four transmission modes (TM). Here, TM1 is a base station scheduling mode in D2D/eD2D, and TM2 is a terminal autonomous scheduling mode in D2D/eD2D. Meanwhile, TM 3 is a base station scheduling mode in V2X, and TM 4 is a terminal autonomous scheduling mode in V2X; further see [0079- 0080].);
obtaining priority information of a sidelink logical channel associated with the sidelink discovery information, wherein priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with the sidelink discovery information is set to 1 corresponding to a highest priority (see [0056] regarding Sidelink comprises sidelink discovery; further see [0083].. transmission of a MAC PDU, the UE selects a transmission pool in which one of the associated PPPP is equal to the PPPP of a logical channel with highest PPPP among the logical channel identified in the MAC PDU; further see [0106]; now in context with [0107- 0108] and claim 1 refer to claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority..);
determine to transmit a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU) including the sidelink discovery information, based on (i) determining that there is no MAC PDU of a MSGA buffer, no MAC PDU of a Msg3 buffer and no uplink MAC PDU having a high priority to be transmitted via uplink and (ii) determining that the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with the sidelink discovery information is higher than a priority of the uplink MAC PDU and transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information (see claim 1 generating uplink data and sidelink data to be transmitted in a subframe; determining that uplink transmission is denied in the subframe if sidelink transmission is prioritized over the uplink transmission; and transmitting the sidelink data in the subframe (i.e. here there is no MAC PDU of a MSGA buffer, no MAC PDU of a Msg3 buffer and no uplink MAC PDU having a high priority to be transmitted via uplink) ..,further see claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority..; further refer to claim 6..transmitting the sidelink data using grant corresponding to transmission of a single MAC PDU); further see Fig. 11 and [0101- 0102, 0126, 0134- 0136].
Here Lee is discussed about highest priority but silent about it is set to “1”.
However Ericsson teaches in section 2.2 page 5 first four lines regarding LCH priority as 1 as a highest priority. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Ericsson with the teachings of Lee to make system more standardized. Having a mechanism of setting highest priority as “1”; greater way more standardized approach can be carried out in the communication system.
Regarding claim 16, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 15, further comprising: based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, configuring the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; Lee already discussed above see [0056] regarding Sidelink comprises sidelink discovery; now in context with [0107- 0108] and claim 1 refer to claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority.. further see claim 1 generating uplink data and sidelink data to be transmitted in a subframe; determining that uplink transmission is denied in the subframe if sidelink transmission is prioritized over the uplink transmission; and transmitting the sidelink data in the subframe (i.e. here there is no MAC PDU of a MSGA buffer, no MAC PDU of a Msg3 buffer and no uplink MAC PDU having a high priority to be transmitted via uplink) ..,further see claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority..; further refer to claim 6..transmitting the sidelink data using grant corresponding to transmission of a single MAC PDU; further see Fig. 11 and [0101- 0102, 0126, 0134- 0136].
Regarding claim 17, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 15, wherein the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information is configured not to include sidelink data for non-discovery (Lee see claim 1 does not have sidelink data for non-discovery).
Regarding claim 19, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 15, wherein transmitting the MAC PDU comprises at least one of:
determining that there is no uplink message transmission;
determining that an uplink message transmission and the transmission of the sidelink discovery information can be simultaneously performed; Lee teaches in abstract about no uplink message transmission.
Regarding claim 23, Lee teaches a user equipment (UE) operating as a sidelink relay UE or a sidelink remote UE in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the UE to ( a method and a device for performing sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission in wireless communication system; here device as a UE; further see claim 1):
obtain configuration information including a resource pool dedicated to transmission of sidelink discovery information, wherein the resource pool is configured for scheduling by a base station or selection by the UE (see [0056] regarding Sidelink comprises sidelink discovery; now refer to [0078].. various transmission modes for Sidelink. As shown in FIG. 8, the 3GPP sidelink communication supports a total of four transmission modes (TM). Here, TM1 is a base station scheduling mode in D2D/eD2D, and TM2 is a terminal autonomous scheduling mode in D2D/eD2D. Meanwhile, TM 3 is a base station scheduling mode in V2X, and TM 4 is a terminal autonomous scheduling mode in V2X; further see [0079- 0080].);
obtain priority information of a sidelink logical channel associated with the sidelink discovery information, wherein priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with the sidelink discovery information is set to 1 corresponding to a highest priority (see [0056] regarding Sidelink comprises sidelink discovery; further see [0083].. transmission of a MAC PDU, the UE selects a transmission pool in which one of the associated PPPP is equal to the PPPP of a logical channel with highest PPPP among the logical channel identified in the MAC PDU; further see [0106]; now in context with [0107- 0108] and claim 1 refer to claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority..);
determine to transmit a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU) including the sidelink discovery information, based on (i) determining that there is no MAC PDU of a MSGA buffer, no MAC PDU of a Msg3 buffer and no uplink MAC PDU having a high priority to be transmitted via uplink and (ii) determining that the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with the sidelink discovery information is higher than a priority of the uplink MAC PDU and transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information (see claim 1 generating uplink data and sidelink data to be transmitted in a subframe; determining that uplink transmission is denied in the subframe if sidelink transmission is prioritized over the uplink transmission; and transmitting the sidelink data in the subframe (i.e. here there is no MAC PDU of a MSGA buffer, no MAC PDU of a Msg3 buffer and no uplink MAC PDU having a high priority to be transmitted via uplink) ..,further see claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority..; further refer to claim 6..transmitting the sidelink data using grant corresponding to transmission of a single MAC PDU); further see Fig. 11 and [0101- 0102, 0126, 0134- 0136].
Here Lee is discussed about highest priority but silent about it is set to “1”.
However Ericsson teaches in section 2.2 page 5 first four lines regarding LCH priority as 1 as a highest priority. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Ericsson with the teachings of Lee to make system more standardized. Having a mechanism of setting highest priority as “1”; greater way more standardized approach can be carried out in the communication system.
Regarding claim 24, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 23, wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor further cause the UE: based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, configuring the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; Lee already discussed above see [0056] regarding Sidelink comprises sidelink discovery; now in context with [0107- 0108] and claim 1 refer to claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority.. further see claim 1 generating uplink data and sidelink data to be transmitted in a subframe; determining that uplink transmission is denied in the subframe if sidelink transmission is prioritized over the uplink transmission; and transmitting the sidelink data in the subframe (i.e. here there is no MAC PDU of a MSGA buffer, no MAC PDU of a Msg3 buffer and no uplink MAC PDU having a high priority to be transmitted via uplink) ..,further see claim 3.. wherein the sidelink transmission prioritized over the uplink transmission includes transmission of: sidelink data of which a priority is higher than a threshold, or sidelink data of which a priority is a certain priority..; further refer to claim 6..transmitting the sidelink data using grant corresponding to transmission of a single MAC PDU; further see Fig. 11 and [0101- 0102, 0126, 0134- 0136].
Regarding claim 25, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 23, wherein the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information is configured not to include sidelink data for non-discovery (Lee see claim 1 does not have sidelink data for non-discovery).
Regarding claim 27, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 23, wherein transmitting the MAC PDU comprises at least one of:
determining that there is no uplink message transmission;
determining that an uplink message transmission and the transmission of the sidelink discovery information can be simultaneously performed; Lee teaches in abstract about no uplink message transmission.
Claim(s) 18 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US Pub. No. 2020/0059944 A1) in view of Ericsson ,“remaining aspects for discovery”, R2-2009228 see IDS filed on 10/16/2024 page 3 cite#2 and in further view of Cheng et al. (US Pub. No. 2023/0217232 A1) .
Regarding claim 18, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 15, but Lee fails to state about based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, determining a priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; and based on the priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information, transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; however Cheng teaches based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, determining a priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information (Cheng see [0129] wherein second UE (here 1004) obtains a PC5 Discovery Message 1040 transported on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), as described herein, may have a lower priority than another message transmitted on a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). According to one example, the PC5 Discovery Message transported on an PSSCH has a lowest priority among messages transmitted on an PSCCH. According to another example, a PC5 Discovery Message transported on a sidelink transport channel (STCH) has a lower priority than another message transmitted on a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). According to another example, messages among sidelink traffic channels (STCHs) may be prioritized in at least one of two alternatives. According to a first alternative, prioritization may be performed in accordance with the priority of the logical channel (LCH) transporting the discovery message, for example as configured in RRC. According to a second alternative, the priority of the discovery message may be a highest priority among messages transported on the STCH. In some examples, the priority of the discovery message may be fixed as being a highest priority among messages transported on the STCH. In other words, the priority of a PC5 Discovery Message is at least one of: based on a logical channel (LCH) priority of a logical channel transporting the discovery message, or fixed to be a highest priority among messages transported on the STCH. In all examples and alternatives, the discovery message may be a PC5 Discovery Message..; further in same above context see #1602 regarding second UE receives over a user plane a discovery message…..including parameter indicative of the discovery message); and
based on the priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information, transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information (Cheng see #1604… At block 1604, the first UE may establish a one-to-one connection with a second UE that responds to the discovery message; see [0179]; further in context with [0138] (..A unique index number 1134 and LCID value 1136 are depicted in the seventh row of the table 1132; namely, the LCID value 1136 that may correspond to PC5 Discovery Message 1138 may be indexed to index number “61.” Accordingly, a transmission over the user plane of a MAC PDU having a MAC subheader with an index number “61” in the LCID field 1130 may be used to indicate that a PC5 Discovery Message (e.g., an announcement and/or a solicitation discovery message) is being transmitted from a remote UE to neighboring UEs. Furthermore, a transmission over the user plane of a MAC PDU having a MAC subheader with an index number “61” in the LCID field 1130 may be used to indicate that a response PC5 Discovery Message 1138 is being transmitted from a relay UE to a soliciting remote UE…) pls refer to [0180]…a response discovery message as a unicast message that may be in response to a solicitation discovery message from the second UE; further see Fig. 10 #1032 (i.e. responsive to #1028 of Fig. 10) as a unicast response discovery message in response to a broadcast and/or groupcast solicitation discovery message of the Model B type; see [0123]; further see Fig. 10 based on #1028 message; transmitting responsive message 1030 having MAC PDU for sidelink discovery; further see [0149].).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Cheng with the teachings of Lee in view of Ericsson to make system more effective. Having a mechanism wherein based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, determining a priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; and based on the priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information, transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; greater way resources can be utilized/managed in the communication system.
Regarding claim 26, Lee in view of Ericsson teaches as per claim 23, but Lee fails to state about based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, determining a priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; and based on the priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information, transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; however Cheng teaches based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, determining a priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information (Cheng see [0129] wherein second UE (here 1004) obtains a PC5 Discovery Message 1040 transported on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), as described herein, may have a lower priority than another message transmitted on a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). According to one example, the PC5 Discovery Message transported on an PSSCH has a lowest priority among messages transmitted on an PSCCH. According to another example, a PC5 Discovery Message transported on a sidelink transport channel (STCH) has a lower priority than another message transmitted on a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). According to another example, messages among sidelink traffic channels (STCHs) may be prioritized in at least one of two alternatives. According to a first alternative, prioritization may be performed in accordance with the priority of the logical channel (LCH) transporting the discovery message, for example as configured in RRC. According to a second alternative, the priority of the discovery message may be a highest priority among messages transported on the STCH. In some examples, the priority of the discovery message may be fixed as being a highest priority among messages transported on the STCH. In other words, the priority of a PC5 Discovery Message is at least one of: based on a logical channel (LCH) priority of a logical channel transporting the discovery message, or fixed to be a highest priority among messages transported on the STCH. In all examples and alternatives, the discovery message may be a PC5 Discovery Message..; further in same above context see #1602 regarding second UE receives over a user plane a discovery message…..including parameter indicative of the discovery message); and
based on the priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information, transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information (Cheng see #1604… At block 1604, the first UE may establish a one-to-one connection with a second UE that responds to the discovery message; see [0179]; further in context with [0138] (..A unique index number 1134 and LCID value 1136 are depicted in the seventh row of the table 1132; namely, the LCID value 1136 that may correspond to PC5 Discovery Message 1138 may be indexed to index number “61.” Accordingly, a transmission over the user plane of a MAC PDU having a MAC subheader with an index number “61” in the LCID field 1130 may be used to indicate that a PC5 Discovery Message (e.g., an announcement and/or a solicitation discovery message) is being transmitted from a remote UE to neighboring UEs. Furthermore, a transmission over the user plane of a MAC PDU having a MAC subheader with an index number “61” in the LCID field 1130 may be used to indicate that a response PC5 Discovery Message 1138 is being transmitted from a relay UE to a soliciting remote UE…) pls refer to [0180]…a response discovery message as a unicast message that may be in response to a solicitation discovery message from the second UE; further see Fig. 10 #1032 (i.e. responsive to #1028 of Fig. 10) as a unicast response discovery message in response to a broadcast and/or groupcast solicitation discovery message of the Model B type; see [0123]; further see Fig. 10 based on #1028 message; transmitting responsive message 1030 having MAC PDU for sidelink discovery; further see [0149].).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Cheng with the teachings of Lee in view of Ericsson to make system more effective. Having a mechanism wherein based on the priority of the sidelink logical channel associated with sidelink discovery information, determining a priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; and based on the priority of the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information, transmitting the MAC PDU including the sidelink discovery information; greater way resources can be utilized/managed in the communication system.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see PTO-892 form for considered prior arts for record.
Seo et al. (US Pub. No. 2020/0127768 A1) teaches regarding In order to perform the operation of FIG. 18, the remote UE 1210 preferably appropriately switch transmission through the uplink and transmission through the sidelink to each other. When both transmissions are simultaneously configured at the same time, it is possible to select only a path having a higher priority between the uplink and the sidelink. The priority for the uplink or the sidelink may be fixedly configured and may be configured variably according to a channel environment for the sidelink and/or the uplink measured by the remote UE 1210 or the signal received from the eNB 1230; see Fig. 18 and [0195].
Hoang et al. (US Pub. No. 2023/0284206 A1) teaches in [0143] regarding WTRU may perform prioritization between discovery transmission/reception and other sidelink and/or uplink transmission/reception. A WTRU may perform prioritization between discovery transmission/reception and other sidelink and/or uplink transmission/reception, for example, based on one or more (e.g., any combination) of the following: the priority of discovery transmission/reception and/or the priority of other data transmission/reception; a sidelink condition; a coverage status of the WTRU; the availability of a relay; a characteristic of the discovery data (e.g., as described herein); and/or the like.
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PARTH PATEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2479
/PARTH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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