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 .
Status of the Claims
This office action considers amended claims 21, 23-28, 30-34, 36-38, and 40 filed on 02/24/2026 are pending for prosecution.
Claims 1-20, 22, 29, 35, and 39 have been canceled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments and remarks, filed 02/24/2026, with respect to amended claims 21, 23-28, 30-34, 36-38, and 40 has been fully considered, but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant presented argument that Apple fails to disclose or suggest at least the features of "wherein, based on that information for monitoring an additional sensing occasion is not configured for the first device, the at least one slot monitored by the first device is included in a most recent sensing occasion, from a slot of the Y candidate slots, for the at least one resource reservation period," and "wherein, based on that the information for monitoring the additional sensing occasion is configured for the first device, the at least one slot monitored by the first device is included in (i) the most recent sensing occasion and (ii) a last sensing occasion prior to the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period," as recited in amended claim 21. (REMARKS, Page 9 of 12)
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Examiner presents that Apple discloses (Page 3)-
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots. This alternative provides the flexibility on the number sensing occasions for a given
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
.
That is the number sensing occasions can be flexibly configured with or without additional sensing or monitoring occasions slots related Y candidate slots.
Apple further discloses (Pages 5-7 Section 2.2 Contiguous partial sensing) that sensing occasions can be –
(A) without additional sensing occasion including only Contiguous partial sensing, or
(B) with additional sensing occasions including both Contiguous partial sensing and Periodic-based partial sensing, or without additional sensing occasion including only Contiguous partial sensing.
If (A) then see Figures 2 and 3, and
Proposal 6: If a UE performs contiguous partial sensing and does not perform periodic-based partial sensing, then
T
A
=
1
and
T
B
=
32
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
for aperiodic traffic, or
T
A
=
-
31
and
T
B
=
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
for periodic traffic.
If (B) then see Figures 4 and 5, and
Proposal 7: If a UE performs both contiguous partial sensing and periodic-based partial sensing, then
T
A
=
m
a
x
{
1
,
t
y
-
31
}
and
T
B
=
m
a
x
{
T
A
,
t
y
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
1
}
for aperiodic traffic, or
T
A
=
t
y
-
31
and
T
B
=
m
a
x
{
T
A
,
t
y
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
1
}
for periodic traffic, where
t
y
is the time gap between the resource selection trigger and the first candidate resource slot based on periodic-based partial sensing.
Please see further detail presented below in Section 6.
Therefore, claim 21 and similarly, claims 34 and 38 are rejected.
Dependent claims 23-28, 30-33, 36-37, and 40, being dependent on claim 21, 34 and 38, are also rejected for same reason as above.
NOTICE for all US Patent Applications filed on or after March 16, 2013
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 § 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 person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claims 21, 23-28, 30-34, 36-38, and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as anticipated by Apple (R1-2105126 “On Sidelink Resource Allocation for Power Saving”, of IDS, hereinafter ‘APPLE’).
Regarding claim 21, APPLE teaches a method for performing wireless communication by a first device (Pages 2-3 Section 2.1 Periodic-based partial sensing, Paragraph 1: UE,
Figure 1: Exemplary initial candidate slot determination), the method comprising:
triggering resource selection in a first slot (Figure 1, resource selection trigger in slot n before Initial candidate slots,
Page 3: In the first alternative, UE monitors only the most recent sensing occasion before resource selection trigger or before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots.);
selecting Y candidate slots within a selection window determined based on the first slot (
See Figure 1: Exemplary initial candidate slot determination, resource selection window including candidate slots Y,
Page 3: In the first alternative, UE monitors only the most recent sensing occasion before resource selection trigger or before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots…..
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion before resource selection trigger or before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots…..);
monitoring at least one slot related to the Y candidate slots, based on at least one resource reservation period for periodic-based partial sensing (PBPS) (
Page 3:
Consider a UE performs periodic-based partial sensing for a resource reservation period (i.e.,
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
). ……
In the first alternative, UE monitors only the most recent sensing occasion …… before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots….
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots…..); and
selecting at least one candidate resource within the Y candidate slots based on the monitoring (
Page 5:
Proposal 5: When a UE performs periodic-based partial sensing and has a resource selection trigger for aperiodic traffic, if the candidate slots resulting from the periodic-based partial sensing are within the resource selection window, then the resource selection is from the candidate slots resulting from the periodic-based partial sensing.),
wherein, based on that the information for monitoring the additional sensing occasion is not configured for the first device, the at least one slot is at least one slot included in a most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots (
Page 3:
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots.
See also, Pages 5-6 Section 2.2 Contiguous partial sensing:
when a resource selection is triggered in slot n, UE monitors slots
[
n
+
T
A
,
n
+
T
B
]
and performs candidate resource identification in or after slot
n
+
T
B
. The values of
T
A
and
T
B
are open.
Overall, in our view, the values of
T
A
and
T
B
depend on the sidelink traffic to be transmitted, as well as depend on whether periodic-based partial sensing is (additionally) performed.
Let us first consider the scenario where the periodic-based partial sensing is not performed by UE.
If a UE has aperiodic traffic where the resource selection trigger time is unpredictable, then the contiguous partial sensing has to occur after the resource selection trigger. In this case,
T
A
can be set as 1. In other words, the contiguous partial sensing occurs immediately after the resource selection trigger. The value of
T
B
is set as
32
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
slots, where 32 reflects the maximum resource reservation window and
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
is the processing time of sensing results. The actual resource selection procedure occurs at slot
n
+
32
. This is illustrated in Figure 1.
PNG
media_image1.png
277
1474
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Figure 1: Contiguous partial sensing window for aperiodic traffic, without periodic-based partial sensing
On the other hand, if a UE has periodic traffic where the resource selection trigger time is predictable at slot
n
, then it is preferrable that the contiguous partial sensing finishes immediately before the resource selection trigger time
n
. Specifically, the value of
T
B
is set as
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
to allow the processing of sensing results before the resource selection trigger time. Accordingly, the value of
T
A
is set as
-
31
, which reflects the resource reservation window. This is illustrated in Figure 2.
PNG
media_image2.png
271
1474
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Figure 2: Contiguous partial sensing window for periodic traffic, without periodic-based partial sensing
Proposal 6: If a UE performs contiguous partial sensing and does not perform periodic-based partial sensing, then
T
A
=
1
and
T
B
=
32
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
for aperiodic traffic, or
T
A
=
-
31
and
T
B
=
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
for periodic traffic.
(Construed that when additional sensing occasion of periodic-based partial sensing is not configured and only contiguous based partial sensing is configured, then the one sensing occasion is the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots)), and
wherein, based on that the information for monitoring the additional sensing occasion is configured for the first device, the at least one slot is at least one slot included in a most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots and a last sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the most recent sensing occasion (
Page 3:
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots. This alternative provides the flexibility on the number sensing occasions for a given
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
.
See also Pages 6-7 Section 2.2 Contiguous partial sensing:
Let us consider the scenario where the periodic-based partial sensing is also performed by the UE.
If a UE has aperiodic traffic where the resource selection trigger time is unpredictable, then the contiguous partial sensing has to occur after the resource selection trigger. If the candidate slots resulting from the periodic-based partial sensing are within the resource selection window, then the resource selection is from the candidate slots resulting from the periodic-based partial sensing, as per Proposal 5. In this case,
T
A
can be set as
m
a
x
{
1
,
t
y
-
31
}
, where
t
y
is the time gap between the resource selection trigger and the first candidate resource slot based on periodic-based partial sensing. This is because any contiguous partial sensing before
t
y
-
31
does not provide useful information on the reservation of candidate resource slots, due to the size limitation of resource reservation window. Correspondingly, the value of
T
B
can be set as
m
a
x
{
T
A
,
t
y
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
1
}
, where
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
is the sensing results processing time and
T
p
r
o
c
,
1
is the sidelink transmissions preparation time. This is illustrated in Figure 3.
PNG
media_image3.png
248
1474
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Figure 3: Contiguous partial sensing window for aperiodic traffic, with periodic-based partial sensing
On the other hand, if a UE has periodic traffic where the resource selection trigger time is predictable at slot
n
, then it is possible that the contiguous partial sensing starts before the resource selection trigger time
n
. Specifically, the value of
T
A
is set as
t
y
-
31
so that the sensing in contiguous partial window could provide useful information on the reservation of candidate resource slots. Similarly, the value of
T
B
can be set as
m
a
x
{
T
A
,
t
y
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
1
}
. This is illustrated in Figure 4
PNG
media_image4.png
287
1474
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Figure 4: Contiguous partial sensing window for periodic traffic, with periodic-based partial sensing
Proposal 7: If a UE performs both contiguous partial sensing and periodic-based partial sensing, then
T
A
=
m
a
x
{
1
,
t
y
-
31
}
and
T
B
=
m
a
x
{
T
A
,
t
y
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
1
}
for aperiodic traffic, or
T
A
=
t
y
-
31
and
T
B
=
m
a
x
{
T
A
,
t
y
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
0
-
T
p
r
o
c
,
1
}
for periodic traffic, where
t
y
is the time gap between the resource selection trigger and the first candidate resource slot based on periodic-based partial sensing.
(Construed when additional sensing occasions including both contiguous partial sensing and periodic-based partial sensing are configured at least one sensing or monitoring slots included in a most recent sensing occasion including contiguous partial sensing and periodic-based partial sensing for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots, where periodic-based partial sensing may include more than one sensing occasions as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6)).
Regarding claim 23, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein, among the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots, a sensing occasion earlier than a second slot determined by a length of a sensing window is not monitored by the first device (
Pages 3-4:
Figure 1: Exemplary initial candidate slot determination,
Proposal 2: In periodic-based partial sensing, k is (pre)configured per resource pool, where the product of a given resource reservation period
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
and its corresponding largest k value is upper bounded by a threshold.
(Construed from Figure 1 and Proposal 2, that since k value is upper bounded by threshold, a sensing occasion earlier than a second slot determined by a length of a sensing window is not monitored by the first device/UE performing PBPS)).
Regarding claim 24, APPLE teaches the method of claim 23, wherein the length of the sensing window is 100 milliseconds or 1100 milliseconds (
Page 2:
…. most of the configured resource reservation periods in LTE FDD V2X is an integer multiple of 100 ms.
In NR V2X, up to 16 resource reservation periods can be configured by a resource pool, where the set of possible resource reservation periods can be 1:99 ms and 100:100:1000 ms.).
Regarding claim 25, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein the at least one slot is at least one sensing occasion not earlier than a second slot determined by a length of a sensing window, among the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots (
Pages 3-4:
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots.
See also Proposal 2 cited above.).
Regarding claim 26, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein the at least one slot is at least one sensing occasion prior to a first one of the Y candidate slots, among the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots (
Page 3:
Figure 1: Exemplary initial candidate slot determination,
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots.).
Regarding claim 27, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein the at least one slot is at least one sensing occasion prior to a processing time from a first one of the Y candidate slots, among the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots (
Page 3-4:
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots.
Proposal 3: In periodic-based partial sensing, the most recent sensing occasion for a given reservation periodicity is defined as
before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction, if contiguous partial sensing is enabled and its window ends before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction).
Regarding claim 28, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein, based on that the information for monitoring the additional sensing occasion is not configured for the first device, a last sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the most recent sensing occasion is not monitored by the first device (
Page 4:
Proposal 3: In periodic-based partial sensing, the most recent sensing occasion for a given reservation periodicity is defined as
before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction, if contiguous partial sensing is enabled and its window ends before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction
(Construed if the last sensing occasion falls within the processing time for candidate slots, than the last sensing occasion is not monitored by the first device/UE)).
Regarding claim 30, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein a sensing occasion, among the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots and the last sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the most recent sensing occasion, earlier than a second slot determined by a length of a sensing window is not monitored by the first device (
Page 3-4:
Figure 1: Exemplary initial candidate slot determination,
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots.
In Release 16 NR V2X with full sensing, only the sensing before the resource selection trigger is used in resource selection procedure. In Release 17 sidelink enhancement, we introduced the contiguous partial sensing, which may occur after the resource selection trigger. If contiguous partial sensing is enabled and its sensing window ends before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction, then the most recent sensing occasion is defined before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction.
(Construed that slot outside the sensing window is not monitored and the last sensing slot before Y candidate slots is also not monitored if it falls during processing time before Y candidate slots)).
Regarding claim 31, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein the at least one slot is at least one sensing occasion not earlier than a second slot determined by a length of a sensing window, among the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots and the last sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the most recent sensing occasion (
Page 3-4:
Figure 1: Exemplary initial candidate slot determination,
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots.
In Release 16 NR V2X with full sensing, only the sensing before the resource selection trigger is used in resource selection procedure. In Release 17 sidelink enhancement, we introduced the contiguous partial sensing, which may occur after the resource selection trigger. If contiguous partial sensing is enabled and its sensing window ends before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction, then the most recent sensing occasion is defined before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots subject to processing time restriction.
(Construed that configured sensing slots are monitored withing the sensing window before Y candidate slots).
Regarding claim 32, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, wherein the at least one slot is at least one sensing occasion prior to a first one of the Y candidate slots, among the most recent sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the Y candidate slots and the last sensing occasion for the at least one resource reservation period from the most recent sensing occasion (
See citation for claim 31).
Regarding claim 33, APPLE teaches the method of claim 21, further comprising:
obtaining at least one resource reservation period for the PBPS,
wherein the at least one resource reservation period for the PBPS is a subset of one or more resource reservation periods configured for a resource pool (
Page 3:
Proposal 1: In periodic-based partial sensing, two sets of
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
values are supported, where the first set of
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
values corresponds to all values from sl-ResourceReservePeriodList, and the second set of
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
values is (pre)configured per resource pool and includes a subset of values from sl-ResourceReservePeriodList.
Consider a UE performs periodic-based partial sensing for a resource reservation period (i.e.,
P
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
). ……
In the second alternative, the number of sensing occasions for each resource reservation period is (pre)configured, but includes at least the most recent sensing occasion ….. before the first slot of the set of
Y
candidate slots…..).
Regarding claim 34, APPLE teaches a first device adapted to perform wireless communication (
Pages 2-3 Section 2.1 Periodic-based partial sensing, Paragraphs 1-2: LTE V2X, NR V2X, UE), the first device comprising:
at least one transceiver, at least one processor, and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed (
Page 2: UE as known in the art).
Further, claim 34 is interpreted mutatis mutandis of claim 21, and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 21.
Regarding claim 36, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 23.
Regarding claim 37, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 24.
Regarding claim 38, APPLE teaches a processing device adapted to control a first device (
Pages 2-3 Section 2.1 Periodic-based partial sensing, Paragraphs 1-2: LTE V2X, NR V2X, UE), the processing device comprising:
at least one processor, and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed (
Page 2: UE as known in the art).
Further, claim 38 is interpreted mutatis mutandis of claim 21, and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 21.
Regarding claim 40, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 23.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Farag; Emad N. (US 20220312479 A1), describing SENSING OPERATIONS FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATIONS
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 SHAH M RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8951. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30AM-5:30PM PST.
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, UN C CHO can be reached at 571-272-7919. 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.
/SHAH M RAHMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413
Prosecution Insights