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 .
Claim Status
This office action is in response to the communication(s) filed on 12/29/2025.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are currently presenting for examination.
Claim(s) 1, 15-16 is/are independent claim(s).
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected.
This action has been made FINAL.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 12/29/2025 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, and 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20230363052_A1_Lee in view of US_20240015838_A1_Ashraf.
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE) (Lee figures 24-25), the method comprising: determining time information of a sidelink (SL) Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration for SL data transmission (Lee figure 24 step S2420, paragraph 283, “… the MAC layer of the UE identifies the SL DRX configuration set in the UE (S2420)… the SL DRX configuration information may include at least one of the on-duration information of the receiving UE and the on-duration information of the transmitting UE…”); determining a resource set based on the time information and resources indicated by a physical layer (Lee figure 24 step S2430, paragraph 283, Also read figure 25, and paragraph 285); and selecting one or more resources from the resource set for SL data transmission (Lee figure 24, steps S2430, S2440), but does not explicitly disclose determining time information of the SL DRX configuration for SL data transmission based on one or more timers.
Ashraf discloses determining time information of the SL DRX configuration for SL data transmission based on one or more timers (Ashraf paragraph 9, “… a wireless communication device determines a DRX configuration for D2D communication. The DRX configuration is based on at least one timer maintained by the wireless communication device…”, and paragraphs 58-73, the SL DRX configuration include various timing parameters/information. Also see paragraphs 174, 208, 263).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Ashraf’s the DRX configuration is based on at least one timer maintained by the wireless communication device in Lee’s system to manage power consumption and align wake-up times for sidelink communication between peer UEs. This method for improving the system of Lee was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Ashraf. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Lee and Ashraf to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, and Lee further discloses wherein the SL DRX configuration is associated with a corresponding Quality of Service (QOS) related parameter, a corresponding destination, a corresponding source, or a corresponding logical channel (Lee paragraph160, “…the independent NR SL DRX configurations may be included for each or each set of QoS class, service type, and/or LCH. That is, a common NR SL DRX configuration may be provided to an NR SL DRX UE for at least one of the cast types, QoS classes, service types, and LCHs…”, and 231, “…a SL logical channel may be associated with a UE pair (e.g., source/destination pair)…”, and paragraphs 139, 270).
Regarding claim 3, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, and Lee further discloses wherein the time information includes one or more transmission durations for SL data transmission that associated with a logical channel (Lee paragraph 242, and table 20).
Regarding claim 4, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, and Lee further discloses wherein the time information includes one or more next transmission durations for a single Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) transmission (Lee paragraph 237, “That is, if the MAC layer of the transmitting UE performs a procedure for transmitting a SL grant associated with a plurality (or single) MAC PDU transmission to the receiving UE, the transmitting UE may select a time/frequency resource of the set of available resources (SA) indicated by the physical layer in consideration of the active time and on-duration of the transmitting UE as SL DRX configuration information of the receiving UE (or the destination UE) associated with the logical channel…”).
Regarding claim 5, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, and Lee further discloses wherein the time information includes one or more periodic transmission durations for multiple Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) transmissions (Lee paragraphs 271, 273, table 22).
Regarding claim 15, Lee and Ashraf disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 1, and Lee further discloses a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory (Lee figure 26).
Regarding claim 16, Lee and Ashraf disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 1, and Lee further discloses a processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory (Lee figure 26).
Regarding claim 17, Lee and Ashraf disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 2.
Regarding claim 18, Lee and Ashraf disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 3.
Regarding claim 19, Lee and Ashraf disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 4.
Regarding claim 20, Lee and Ashraf disclose the limitations as set forth in claim 5.
Claim(s) 6-7, 9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20230363052_A1_Lee in view of US_20240015838_A1_Ashraf and non-patent literature (3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #113bis electronic, R2-2103741), (hereinafter, " R2-2103741").
Regarding claim 6, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, but do not disclose further comprising: determining a logical channel for a SL process with no selected SL grant being created for the SL data transmission that associated with the logical channel.
R2-2103741 discloses determining a logical channel for a SL process with no selected SL grant being created for the SL data transmission that associated with the logical channel (R2-2103741 page 3, 1st – 3rd paragraphs, “For example, during destination and logical channel selection, SL DRX impact should be considered. If specific logical channel is not in the active time for the SL grant/PSSCH duration, e.g. SL grant provided by gNB, then such kind of logical channel should not be considered during Destination selection. Basically, during destination selection, only those destination which has the highest priority logical channel that is in the active time for the PSSCH duration can be selected. Similar behaviour may be applied for the selection of logical channels for the TB generation. Tx UE should only transmit data of sidelink logical channels which are in ActiveTime for the allocated SL resources. Data of those logical channels belonging to the selected Destination which are not in ActiveTime for the allocated SL resources are not considered for the TB generation, i.e. data of such LCHs cannot be multiplexed into a TB. For mode 2 resource allocation mode, Tx UE also needs to consider the DRX configurations of the LCH(s) in a TB during the SL resources (re)selection procedure. Basically, Tx UE should exclude all candidate SL resources, e.g. within the selection window, which are not part of the ActiveTime of the DRX configuration(s) associated with the Logical channels included in a TB. Proposal 3: During LCP, only those logical channels should be considered for Destination selection and TB generation procedure that are in ActievTime for a corresponding SL grant.”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of R2-2103741’s if specific logical channel is not in the active time for the SL grant/PSSCH duration, e.g. SL grant provided by gNB, then such kind of logical channel should not be considered during Destination selection in Lee and Ashraf’s system to select a LCH for SL transmission properly. This method for improving the system of Lee and Ashraf was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of R2-2103741. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Lee, Ashraf and R2-2103741 to obtain the invention as specified in claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, but do not disclose further comprising: determining a logical channel for a SL process with no selected SL grant being created for SL data transmission in a transmission duration of the logical channel.
R2-2103741 discloses determining a logical channel for a SL process with no selected SL grant being created for SL data transmission in a transmission duration of the logical channel (R2-2103741 page 3, 1st – 3rd paragraphs, “For example, during destination and logical channel selection, SL DRX impact should be considered. If specific logical channel is not in the active time for the SL grant/PSSCH duration, e.g. SL grant provided by gNB, then such kind of logical channel should not be considered during Destination selection. Basically, during destination selection, only those destination which has the highest priority logical channel that is in the active time for the PSSCH duration can be selected. Similar behaviour may be applied for the selection of logical channels for the TB generation. Tx UE should only transmit data of sidelink logical channels which are in ActiveTime for the allocated SL resources. Data of those logical channels belonging to the selected Destination which are not in ActiveTime for the allocated SL resources are not considered for the TB generation, i.e. data of such LCHs cannot be multiplexed into a TB. For mode 2 resource allocation mode, Tx UE also needs to consider the DRX configurations of the LCH(s) in a TB during the SL resources (re)selection procedure. Basically, Tx UE should exclude all candidate SL resources, e.g. within the selection window, which are not part of the ActiveTime of the DRX configuration(s) associated with the Logical channels included in a TB. Proposal 3: During LCP, only those logical channels should be considered for Destination selection and TB generation procedure that are in ActievTime for a corresponding SL grant.”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of R2-2103741’s if specific logical channel is not in the active time for the SL grant/PSSCH duration, e.g. SL grant provided by gNB, then such kind of logical channel should not be considered during Destination selection in Lee and Ashraf’s system to select a LCH for SL transmission properly. This method for improving the system of Lee and Ashraf was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of R2-2103741. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Lee, Ashraf and R2-2103741 to obtain the invention as specified in claim 7.
Regarding claim 9, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, but do not disclose further comprising: determining a logical channel for a SL process with no selected SL grant being created for SL data transmission of an associated destination of the logical channel.
R2-2103741 discloses determining a logical channel for a SL process with no selected SL grant being created for SL data transmission of an associated destination of the logical channel (R2-2103741 page 3, 1st – 3rd paragraphs, “For example, during destination and logical channel selection, SL DRX impact should be considered. If specific logical channel is not in the active time for the SL grant/PSSCH duration, e.g. SL grant provided by gNB, then such kind of logical channel should not be considered during Destination selection. Basically, during destination selection, only those destination which has the highest priority logical channel that is in the active time for the PSSCH duration can be selected. Similar behaviour may be applied for the selection of logical channels for the TB generation. Tx UE should only transmit data of sidelink logical channels which are in ActiveTime for the allocated SL resources. Data of those logical channels belonging to the selected Destination which are not in ActiveTime for the allocated SL resources are not considered for the TB generation, i.e. data of such LCHs cannot be multiplexed into a TB. For mode 2 resource allocation mode, Tx UE also needs to consider the DRX configurations of the LCH(s) in a TB during the SL resources (re)selection procedure. Basically, Tx UE should exclude all candidate SL resources, e.g. within the selection window, which are not part of the ActiveTime of the DRX configuration(s) associated with the Logical channels included in a TB. Proposal 3: During LCP, only those logical channels should be considered for Destination selection and TB generation procedure that are in ActievTime for a corresponding SL grant.”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of R2-2103741’s if specific logical channel is not in the active time for the SL grant/PSSCH duration, e.g. SL grant provided by gNB, then such kind of logical channel should not be considered during Destination selection in Lee and Ashraf’s system to select a LCH for SL transmission properly. This method for improving the system of Lee and Ashraf was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of R2-2103741. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Lee, Ashraf and R2-2103741 to obtain the invention as specified in claim 9.
Regarding claim 11, Lee, Ashraf and R2-2103741 disclose the method of claim 6, and Lee further discloses further comprising: performing resource selection check or resource selection for a determined logical channel (Lee paragraph 232, “…the transmitting UE may randomly select a time/frequency resource from the set of available resources (SA) indicated by the physical layer in consideration of SL DRX configuration information of the receiving UE ( or the destination UE) associated with the logical channel...”).
Claim(s) 8, 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20230363052_A1_Lee in view of US_20240015838_A1_Ashraf and US_20210227465_A1_Kung.
Regarding claim 8, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, but do not disclose further comprising: determining a logical channel for a SL process with a highest priority among multiple logical channels that has data and starved, and optionally wherein the logical channel has no SL grant being created for SL data transmission in a transmission duration of the logical channel.
Kung discloses determining a logical channel for a SL process with a highest priority among multiple logical channels that has data and starved (Kung paragraph 270, “…select a Destination associated to one of unicast, groupcast and broadcast, having the logical channel with the highest priority, among the logical channels having data available for transmission”), and optionally wherein the logical channel has no SL grant being created for SL data transmission in a transmission duration of the logical channel (Kung paragraph 176-180, “if there is no configured sidelink grant”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Kung’s select a Destination associated to one of unicast, groupcast and broadcast, having the logical channel with the highest priority, among the logical channels having data available for transmission in Lee and Ashraf’s system to ensure that the most critical data is sent first. This method for improving the system of Lee and Ashraf was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Kung. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Lee, Ashraf and Kung to obtain the invention as specified in claim 8.
Regarding claim 12, Lee and Ashraf disclose the method of claim 1, and Lee further discloses further comprising: determining a SL DRX configuration whose associated logical channels has data for transmission (Lee paragraph 232, “…the transmitting UE may randomly select a time/frequency resource from the set of available resources (SA) indicated by the physical layer in consideration of SL DRX configuration information of the receiving UE ( or the destination UE) associated with the logical channel...”); but does not disclose determining a first logical channel which is selected from multiple logical channels associated with the SL DRX configuration and has the highest priority and with data to be transmitted.
Kung discloses determining a first logical channel which is selected from multiple logical channels associated with the SL DRX configuration and has the highest priority and with data to be transmitted (Kung paragraph 270, “…select a Destination associated to one of unicast, groupcast and broadcast, having the logical channel with the highest priority, among the logical channels having data available for transmission”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Kung’s select a Destination associated to one of unicast, groupcast and broadcast, having the logical channel with the highest priority, among the logical channels having data available for transmission in Lee and Ashraf’s system to ensure that the most critical data is sent first. This method for improving the system of Lee and Ashraf was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Kung. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Lee, Ashraf and Kung to obtain the invention as specified in claim 12.
Regarding claim 13, Lee, Ashraf and Kung disclose the method of claim 12, and Kung further discloses further comprising: performing resource selection check for the SL DRX configuration and the determined logical channel (Kung paragraph 146-147, 162-163, 176).
Regarding claim 14, Lee, Ashraf and Kung disclose the method of claim 13, and Kung further discloses further comprising: selecting resource for the SL DRX configuration and the determined logical channel when a created SL grant is not suitable for the SL DRX configuration, or no SL grant is created for the SL DRX configuration (Kung paragraph 176-180, “if there is no configured sidelink grant”).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US_20230363052_A1_Lee in view of US_20240015838_A1_Ashraf and non-patent literature (3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #113bis electronic, R2-2103741), (hereinafter, " R2-2103741") and US_20200413443_A1_Xing.
Regarding claim 10, Lee, Ashraf and R2-2103741 disclose the method of claim 6, but do not disclose further comprising: associating one or more logical channels having a same destination and/or SL DRX configuration with determined logical channel.
Xing discloses associating one or more logical channels having a same destination and/or SL DRX configuration with determined logical channel (Xing figure 3, and paragraph 29, “n step S302, a first carrier set corresponding to a predetermined logical channel group for a UE performing a sidelink transmission is determined, where the predetermined logical channel group includes one or more logical channels, and the logical channels in the predetermined logical channel group correspond to a same destination ID”).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the teachings of Xing’s the logical channels in the predetermined logical channel group correspond to a same destination ID in Lee, Ashraf and R2-2103741’s system to support sidelink carrier aggregation. This method for improving the system of Lee, Ashraf and R2-2103741 was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Xing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Lee, Ashraf, R2-2103741, and Xing to obtain the invention as specified in claim 10.
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 WEIBIN HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3695. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30AM - 6:00PM.
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, Sujoy Kundu can be reached at (571)272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/W.H/Examiner, Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471