DETAILED ACTION
Claims status
In response to the application filed on 03/19/2026, claims 21-40 are currently pending for the examination. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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.
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.
Claims 21-29, 31-37, and 39-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE et al. (US 2022/0279527 A1) in view of LI (US 2022/0007370 A1).
Regarding claim 21; Lee teaches a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), comprising a transceiver and one or more processors, configured to:
receive coordination information via a sidelink control information (SCI) (See Fig. 12: receiving and decoding Sidelink Control Information (SCI). ¶ [0149] and ¶ [0271]), information for a plurality of sidelink (SL) bandwidth parts (BWPs) (See Fig. 12: the wireless device to receive multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs) for at least one active SL BWP for SL transmission. ¶ [0213]);
determine, based on the information for the plurality of SL BWPs, one active BWP and one inactive BWP (See Fig. 14: In step 1401, UE may activates SL BWP#1 for sidelink transmission for a destination (or a service). UE may consider the SL BWP#1 as an initial SL BWP for the destination. UE may perform SL transmission and reception on the SL BWP#1. ¶ [0270]);
transmit data via the one active BWP, data using a first resource type (See Fig. 14: In step 1402…For RRC establishment, UE may activate UL BWP#1 (i.e., the resource type) which is the initial UL BWP. The UE may establish or resume a connection with the gNB and enters RRC_CONNECTED. ¶ [0272]); and
perform to switch the one inactive BWP (See Fig. 14: The BWP switching may be used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at a time. For example, a wireless device could perform UL BWP switching to activate an inactive UL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. For example, a wireless device could perform SL BWP switching to activate an inactive SL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. ¶ [0204]).
Even though, Lee teaches the method of activating SL BWPs and deactivating SL BWPs, Lee doesn’t explicitly provide an indication of active or inactive BWP(s) and sensing a resource type.
However, Li discloses an indication of active and/or inactive BWP(s) (Li: See Fig. 9; the second indication information indicates a third BWP which is an activated (i.e., active BWP) and idle BWP (i.e., inactive BWP) of the second serving cell... ¶ [0116]-[0117]), and performing measurement on the inactive BWP resource type (Li: (See Figs. 1 and 3: determining whether the BWP configured by the base station for the user equipment is idle may be determined in such a way that, the base station may monitor, on the channel of the BWP, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) of signals sent by other devices around the base station; if the RSSI is greater than a pre-set threshold, it may be determined that the other devices are occupying the channel on the BWP, i.e., the BWP is not idle; if the RSSI is less than or equal to a pre-set threshold, it may be determined that the BWP is idle (i.e., performing measurement the inactive BWP. ¶ [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide an indication of active or inactive BWP(s) and sensing a resource type as taught by Li to have incorporated in the system of Lee, so that it would provide that the utilization ratio of the carrier of the target serving cell is improved, and the delay of service processing is reduced. Li: ¶ [0054].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “one or more of…”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 22; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the processor is configured to: determine, based on the information for the plurality of SL BWPs, an indication to switch to a different active BWP (Lee: a wireless device could perform UL BWP switching to activate an inactive UL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. For example, a wireless device could perform SL BWP switching to activate an inactive SL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. ¶ [0204]); and perform, based on the switch to the different active BWP, transmission of additional data (Lee: The BWP switching may be used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at a time. For example, a wireless device could perform UL BWP switching to activate an inactive UL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. For example, a wireless device could perform SL BWP switching to activate an inactive SL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. ¶ [0204]).
Regarding claim 23; Lee in view of LI discloses the WTRU wherein the determination of the active BWP, the indication of the one inactive BWP (Li: detecting whether the activated BWP and the inactive BWP configured for the user equipment in the second serving cell are idle or not. ¶ [0069]), and the switch to the different active BWP are based on an SL BWP indicator (Lee: ¶ [0248]).
Regarding claim 24; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the processor is configured to transmit a priority order, wherein the information for the SL BWPs is based on the priority order (Lee: (i) if a UL priority has a high priority, or (ii) if the UL priority is higher than or equal to the SL priority, the wireless device may determine to switch to the specific UL BWP. ¶ [0247]).
Regarding claim 25; Lee teaches the WTRU of claim 24, wherein the priority order is carried by the MAC CE or the SCI (Lee: ¶ [0122-0123] for MAC layer functions and V2V functions).
Regarding claim 26; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the priority order is based at least in part on decreasing latency (Lee: a category of ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC). ¶ [0044]).
Regarding claim 27; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the processor is configured to select, based on the information for the plurality of SL BWPs, the first resource type from a type of resources set (Lee: SL resource allocation Mode 2 covers: a) UE autonomously selects SL resource for transmission b) UE assists SL resource selection for other UE(s) c) UE is configured with NR configured grant (Type-1 like) for SL transmission. ¶ [0144]-¶ [0147]).
Regarding claim 28; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the type of resources set comprises one or more of a preferred resource type (Lee: when a SL priority value is higher than the SL threshold, the SL priority may be determined as a low priority. For example, when a SL priority value is lower than or equal to the SL threshold, the SL priority may be determined as a high priority. Note: the SL resource with higher priority is considered as a preferred resource type under the BRI. ¶ [0238]).
Regarding claim 29; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the processor is configured to determine a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSSCH) payload size, wherein the type of resources set is based at least in part on the PSSCH payload size (Lee: the transmission UE (TX UE) may activate the SL BWP #1 (for example, an initial SL BWP. the TX UE may perform the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) and/or Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) transmission to the reception UE (RX UE) on the SL BWP #1. ¶ [0271]).
Regarding claim 31; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the information comprises an indicator for sensing and resource allocation type and the WTRU is further configured to determine, based on the indicator, one or more sensing operations, and the type of resources set is based at least in part on the one or more sensing operations (Lee: Extended Sensors enables the exchange of raw or processed data gathered through local sensors or live video images among vehicles, road site units, devices of pedestrian and V2X application servers. The vehicles can increase the perception of their environment beyond of what their own sensors can detect and have a more broad and holistic view of the local situation. ¶ [0126]).
Regarding claim 32; Lee teaches the WTRU wherein the information comprises an indicator and wherein the indicator comprises information associated with power status (Lee: The power management module 110 manages power for the processor 102 and/or the transceiver 106. The battery 112 supplies power to the power management module 110. ¶ [0098]).
Regarding claim 33; Lee teaches a method performed by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:
receiving coordination information via a sidelink control information (SCI) (See Fig. 12: receiving and decoding Sidelink Control Information (SCI). ¶ [0149] and ¶ [0271]), information for a plurality of sidelink (SL) bandwidth parts (BWPs) (See Fig. 12: the wireless device to receive multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs) for at least one active SL BWP for SL transmission. ¶ [0213]);
determining, based on the information for the plurality of SL BWPs, one active BWP and one inactive BWP (See Fig. 14: In step 1401, UE may activates SL BWP#1 for sidelink transmission for a destination (or a service). UE may consider the SL BWP#1 as an initial SL BWP for the destination. UE may perform SL transmission and reception on the SL BWP#1. ¶ [0270]);
transmitting data via the one active BWP, data using a first resource type (See Fig. 14: In step 1402…For RRC establishment, UE may activate UL BWP#1 (i.e., the resource type) which is the initial UL BWP. The UE may establish or resume a connection with the gNB and enters RRC_CONNECTED. ¶ [0272]); and
performing to switch the one inactive BWP (See Fig. 14: The BWP switching may be used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at a time. For example, a wireless device could perform UL BWP switching to activate an inactive UL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. For example, a wireless device could perform SL BWP switching to activate an inactive SL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. ¶ [0204]).
Even though, Lee teaches the method of activating SL BWPs and deactivating SL BWPs, Lee doesn’t explicitly provide an indication of active or inactive BWP(s) and sensing a resource type.
However, Li discloses an indication of active and/or inactive BWP(s) (Li: See Fig. 9; the second indication information indicates a third BWP which is an activated (i.e., active BWP) and idle BWP (i.e., inactive BWP) of the second serving cell... ¶ [0116]-[0117]), and performing measurement on the inactive BWP resource type (Li: (See Figs. 1 and 3: determining whether the BWP configured by the base station for the user equipment is idle may be determined in such a way that, the base station may monitor, on the channel of the BWP, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) of signals sent by other devices around the base station; if the RSSI is greater than a pre-set threshold, it may be determined that the other devices are occupying the channel on the BWP, i.e., the BWP is not idle; if the RSSI is less than or equal to a pre-set threshold, it may be determined that the BWP is idle (i.e., performing measurement the inactive BWP. ¶ [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide an indication of active or inactive BWP(s) and sensing a resource type as taught by Li to have incorporated in the system of Lee, so that it would provide that the utilization ratio of the carrier of the target serving cell is improved, and the delay of service processing is reduced. Li: ¶ [0054].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “one or more of…”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 34; Lee teaches the method further comprising: determining, based on the information for the plurality of SL BWPs, an indication to switch to a different active BWP; and performing, based on the switch to the different active BWP, transmission of additional data (Lee: The BWP switching may be used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at a time. For example, a wireless device could perform UL BWP switching to activate an inactive UL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. For example, a wireless device could perform SL BWP switching to activate an inactive SL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. ¶ [0204]).
Regarding claim 35; Lee in view of LI discloses the method of claim 34, wherein the indication of the active one or more BWPs, the indication of the one inactive BWP (Li: detecting whether the activated BWP and the inactive BWP configured for the user equipment in the second serving cell are idle or not. ¶ [0069]), and the switch to the different active BWP are based on an SL BWP indicator (Lee: ¶ [0248]).
Regarding claim 36; Lee teaches the method further comprising transmitting a priority order, wherein the information is based on the priority order (Lee: (i) if a UL priority has a high priority, or (ii) if the UL priority is higher than or equal to the SL priority, the wireless device may determine to switch to the specific UL BWP. ¶ [0247]).
Regarding claim 37; Lee teaches the method of claim 33, further comprising selecting, based on the information for the plurality of SL BWPs, the first resource type from a type of resources set (Lee: SL resource allocation Mode 2 covers: a) UE autonomously selects SL resource for transmission b) UE assists SL resource selection for other UE(s) c) UE is configured with NR configured grant (Type-1 like) for SL transmission. ¶ [0144]-¶ [0147]).
Regarding claim 39; Lee teaches the method of claim 37, wherein the information comprises an indicator for sensing and resource allocation type and the WTRU is further configured to determine, based on the indicator, one or more sensing operations, and the type of resources set is based at least in part on the one or more sensing operations (Lee: Extended Sensors enables the exchange of raw or processed data gathered through local sensors or live video images among vehicles, road site units, devices of pedestrian and V2X application servers. The vehicles can increase the perception of their environment beyond of what their own sensors can detect and have a more broad and holistic view of the local situation. ¶ [0126]).
Regarding claim 40, Lee teaches a system comprising: one or more processors; and memory coupled with the one or more processors, the memory storing executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to effectuate operations comprising:
receiving coordination information via a sidelink control information (SCI) (See Fig. 12: receiving and decoding Sidelink Control Information (SCI). ¶ [0149] and ¶ [0271]), information for a plurality of sidelink (SL) bandwidth parts (BWPs) (See Fig. 12: the wireless device to receive multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs) for at least one active SL BWP for SL transmission. ¶ [0213]);
determining, based on the information for the plurality of SL BWPs, one active BWP and one inactive BWP (See Fig. 14: In step 1401, UE may activates SL BWP#1 for sidelink transmission for a destination (or a service). UE may consider the SL BWP#1 as an initial SL BWP for the destination. UE may perform SL transmission and reception on the SL BWP#1. ¶ [0270]);
transmitting data via the one active BWP, data using a first resource type (See Fig. 14: In step 1402…For RRC establishment, UE may activate UL BWP#1 (i.e., the resource type) which is the initial UL BWP. The UE may establish or resume a connection with the gNB and enters RRC_CONNECTED. ¶ [0272]); and
performing to switch the one inactive BWP (See Fig. 14: The BWP switching may be used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at a time. For example, a wireless device could perform UL BWP switching to activate an inactive UL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. For example, a wireless device could perform SL BWP switching to activate an inactive SL BWP and deactivate an active SL BWP. ¶ [0204]).
Even though, Lee teaches the method of activating SL BWPs and deactivating SL BWPs, Lee doesn’t explicitly provide an indication of active or inactive BWP(s) and sensing a resource type.
However, Li discloses an indication of active and/or inactive BWP(s) (Li: See Fig. 9; the second indication information indicates a third BWP which is an activated (i.e., active BWP) and idle BWP (i.e., inactive BWP) of the second serving cell... ¶ [0116]-[0117]), and performing measurement on the inactive BWP resource type (Li: (See Figs. 1 and 3: determining whether the BWP configured by the base station for the user equipment is idle may be determined in such a way that, the base station may monitor, on the channel of the BWP, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) of signals sent by other devices around the base station; if the RSSI is greater than a pre-set threshold, it may be determined that the other devices are occupying the channel on the BWP, i.e., the BWP is not idle; if the RSSI is less than or equal to a pre-set threshold, it may be determined that the BWP is idle (i.e., performing measurement the inactive BWP. ¶ [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide an indication of active or inactive BWP(s) and sensing a resource type as taught by Li to have incorporated in the system of Lee, so that it would provide that the utilization ratio of the carrier of the target serving cell is improved, and the delay of service processing is reduced. Li: ¶ [0054].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “one or more of…”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 30 and 38 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claims but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Applicant’s Argument
Applicant argues that the Office Action does not disclose performing measurements on one or more inactive BWPs.
Applicant’s argument has been fully considered but is not persuasive. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As set forth in the Office Action, Lee et al. (US 2022/0279527 A1) teaches a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) configured to:
receive coordination information via sidelink control information (SCI) (see Fig. 12; ¶¶ [0149], [0271]);
receive information for a plurality of sidelink (SL) bandwidth parts (BWPs) (see ¶ [0213]);
determine active and inactive BWPs for sidelink communication (see Fig. 14; ¶ [0270]);
transmit data via an active BWP using a first resource type (see ¶ [0272]); and
perform BWP switching that activates an inactive BWP and deactivates an active BWP (see ¶ [0204]).
Thus, Lee teaches management of active and inactive BWPs, including activation and deactivation of BWPs used for communication.
Applicant argues that the cited references fail to teach performing measurements on one or more inactive BWPs. However, Applicant's argument does not adequately address the teachings of Li, which expressly disclose both inactive BWPs and measurements performed with respect to such BWPs.
Specifically, Li teaches that indication information may identify BWPs that are activated and BWPs that are idle. For example, Li discloses that second indication information indicates a third BWP that may be an activated BWP or an idle BWP of a serving cell. See Fig. 9 and ¶¶ [0116]-[0117]. An idle BWP corresponds to an inactive BWP under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language. Furthermore, Li expressly teaches performing measurements on a BWP to determine whether the BWP is idle. In particular, Li discloses that a base station may monitor the RSSI of signals on a channel of a BWP and determine whether the BWP is occupied or idle based on the measured RSSI value. See ¶ [0075]. More specifically, Li teaches:
monitoring signals on the channel associated with the BWP;
measuring RSSI associated with that BWP;
determining whether the BWP is occupied when the RSSI exceeds a threshold; and
determining whether the BWP is idle when the RSSI is less than or equal to the threshold.
Accordingly, Li does not merely identify an inactive or idle BWP; rather, Li performs measurements on the BWP itself to determine whether the BWP is idle. Such RSSI monitoring constitutes a measurement operation performed with respect to the inactive BWP resource.
Applicant appears to interpret Li as requiring that the BWP first be known to be inactive before any measurement can occur. However, the claims do not require such a temporal restriction. The claim merely recites performing measurements based on one or more inactive BWPs. Li's determination of whether a BWP is idle through RSSI measurements directly teaches and suggests performing measurements associated with BWPs that are identified as idle (inactive).
Therefore, when considered together:
Lee teaches active and inactive BWPs and switching between them; and
Li teaches identifying inactive (idle) BWPs and performing RSSI measurements on those BWPs to determine their occupancy status.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate Li's BWP measurement techniques into Lee's multi-BWP sidelink framework in order to improve carrier utilization, facilitate BWP selection, and reduce service processing delay, as expressly taught by Li (¶ [0054]).
Accordingly, the combination of Lee and Li teaches or at least renders obvious the claimed limitation of performing measurements on one or more inactive BWPs, and Applicant's argument is therefore not persuasive. The rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAI AUNG whose telephone number is (571)272-3507. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, Alt Fridays, 7:30 AM- 5:00 PM (EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAI AUNG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
Prosecution Insights