Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 16, 2026
Application No. 18/576,508

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PARTIAL SENSING BASED ON SL HARQ FEEDBACK IN NR V2X

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jan 04, 2024
Examiner
ZAIDI, IQBAL
Art Unit
2464
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Lg Electronics INC.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allow Rate
1090 granted / 1207 resolved
+32.3% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+3.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
1239
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.9%
-33.1% vs TC avg
§103
49.9%
+9.9% vs TC avg
§102
11.8%
-28.2% vs TC avg
§112
14.5%
-25.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1207 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION The instant application having application No 18/576,508 filed on 01/04/2024 is presented for examination by the examiner. Examiner Notice Claim 1 would be allowable if (i) claims 6 or 7 or 9 or 10 or 13 are incorporated into the independent claim 1. Claim 14 would be allowable if (i) claims 6 or 7 or 9 or 10 or 13 incorporated into the independent claim 14. Claim 15 would be allowable if (i) claims 6 or 7 or 9 or 10 or 13 incorporated into the independent claim 15. Claim 16 would be allowable if (i) claims 6 or 7 or 9 or 10 or 13 incorporated into the independent claim 16. Claim 17 would be allowable if (i) claims 6 or 7 or 9 or 10 or 13 incorporated into the independent claim 17. Claim 19 would be allowable if (i) claims 6 or 7 or 9 or 10 or 13 incorporated into the independent claim 19. The claim 16, have the limitation “when executed, cause a first device”, please clarify the conditional language features from the limitations of the claims. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: (a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-5, 8, 11-12, and 14-20 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Ericson et al. (U.S 20240430937, Dec. 26, 2024) in view of Pan et al. (US 20240172235, May 23, 2024). Regarding Claim 1, Ericson discloses a method for performing, by a first device, wireless communication, the method comprising obtaining information related to a set of resource blocks (RBs) for a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the PSFCH is used to transmit acknowledgements by a SL receiving UE for unicast and groupcast. The transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB(resource block) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(sidelink feedback) and the negative ACK (NACK)); selecting an initial transmission resource and at least one retransmission resource (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB (resource block transmission resource) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(retransmission resource) and the negative ACK (NACK)); transmitting, to a second device, sidelink control information (SCI) for scheduling of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, Channel state information (CSI) is carried in the medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) over the PSSCH, Before transmitting data, a transmitting UE should first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes), based on the initial transmission resource (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, a transmitting UE first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes, including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern and antenna port, etc. (based on the transmission resource)). Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except transmitting, to the second device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource; allocating at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH; determining an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device; receiving, from the second device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource; and performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches transmitting, to the second device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource(Page 12, par (0146-0147), line 1-10, the UE transmits or receives a MAC PDU on a configured resource, a UE have capability of receiving PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP and transmits PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP); allocating at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH(Page 4, par (0059), line 1-5, the first-stage SCI is carried on PSCCH and contains information to enable sensing operations, as well as information about the resource allocation of the PSSCH); determining an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); receiving, from the second device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission. PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); and performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge (NACK) information (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Ericson and Pan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information the teaching of Ericson to include the UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only the teaching of Pan because it is providing resources for one or multiple transmissions of a transport block, in order to allow control of reliability subject to the side link HARQ procedure. Regarding Claim 2, Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the partial sensing is not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches the partial sensing is not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Regarding Claim 3, Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the resource re-evaluation or the pre-emption is not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches the resource re-evaluation or the pre-emption is not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only, with nothing transmitted in case of successful decoding). Regarding Claim 4, Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except resource reselection for the at least one retransmission resource 1s not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches resource reselection for the at least one retransmission resource 1s not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only, with nothing transmitted in case of successful decoding). Regarding Claim 5, Ericson discloses performing a retransmission related to the MAC PDU, based on the at least one retransmission resource (Page 2, par (0009), line 1-5, Upon a successful MsgA reception, the gNB include a success RAR MAC subPDU as a response for the concerned UE, the UE use the UL grant to retransmit MsgA PUSCH in the form of Msg3). Regarding Claim 8, Ericson discloses the resource re-evaluation or the pre-emption is not allowed from a time point of receiving the HARQ feedback, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB (resource block transmission resource) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(retransmission resource) and the negative ACK (NACK)). Regarding Claim 11, Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except obtaining information related to a resource pool, wherein the initial transmission resource and the at least one retransmission resource is selected from the resource pool, and wherein random resource selection and a HARQ feedback is allowed on the resource pool. Pan is the same field of invention teaches obtaining information related to a resource pool, wherein the initial transmission resource and the at least one retransmission resource is selected from the resource pool, and wherein random resource selection and a HARQ feedback is allowed on the resource pool (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission. PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot). Regarding Claim 12, Ericson discloses the initial transmission resource and the at least one retransmission resource is randomly selected (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB (resource block transmission resource) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(retransmission resource) and the negative ACK (NACK)). Regarding Claim 14, Ericson discloses a first device for performing wireless communication, the first device comprising one or more memories storing instructions; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors connected to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to obtain information related to a set of resource blocks (RBs) for a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the PSFCH is used to transmit acknowledgements by a SL receiving UE for unicast and groupcast. The transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB(resource block) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(sidelink feedback) and the negative ACK (NACK)); select an initial transmission resource and at least one retransmission resource (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB (resource block transmission resource) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(retransmission resource) and the negative ACK (NACK)); transmit, to a second device, sidelink control information (SCI) for scheduling of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, Channel state information (CSI) is carried in the medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) over the PSSCH, Before transmitting data, a transmitting UE should first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes), based on the initial transmission resource (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, a transmitting UE first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes, including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern and antenna port, etc. (based on the transmission resource)). Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except transmit, to the second device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource; allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH; determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device; receiving, from the second device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource; performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches transmit, to the second device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource(Page 12, par (0146-0147), line 1-10, the UE transmits or receives a MAC PDU on a configured resource, a UE have capability of receiving PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP and transmits PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP); allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH (Page 4, par (0059), line 1-5, the first-stage SCI is carried on PSCCH and contains information to enable sensing operations, as well as information about the resource allocation of the PSSCH); determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); receiving, from the second device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission. PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); and performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Ericson and Pan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information the teaching of Ericson to include the UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only the teaching of Pan because it is providing resources for one or multiple transmissions of a transport block, in order to allow control of reliability subject to the side link HARQ procedure. Regarding Claim 15, Ericson discloses a device adapted to control a first user equipment (UE), the device comprising one or more processors; and one or more memories operably connectable to the one or more processors and storing instructions, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to obtain information related to a set of resource blocks (RBs) for a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission(Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the PSFCH is used to transmit acknowledgements by a SL receiving UE for unicast and groupcast. The transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB(resource block) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(sidelink feedback) and the negative ACK (NACK)); select an initial transmission resource and at least one retransmission resource (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB (resource block transmission resource) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(retransmission resource) and the negative ACK (NACK)); transmit, to a second UE, sidelink control information (SCI) for scheduling of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, Channel state information (CSI) is carried in the medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) over the PSSCH, Before transmitting data, a transmitting UE should first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes), based on the initial transmission resource (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, a transmitting UE first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes, including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern and antenna port, etc. (based on the transmission resource)). Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except transmit, to the second UE, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource; allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH; determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first UE; receiving, from the second UE, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource; performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches transmit, to the second UE, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource (Page 12, par (0146-0147), line 1-10, the UE transmits or receives a MAC PDU on a configured resource, a UE have capability of receiving PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP and transmits PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP); allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH (Page 4, par (0059), line 1-5, the first-stage SCI is carried on PSCCH and contains information to enable sensing operations, as well as information about the resource allocation of the PSSCH); determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first UE(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); receiving, from the second UE, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission. PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); and performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Ericson and Pan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information the teaching of Ericson to include the UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only the teaching of Pan because it is providing resources for one or multiple transmissions of a transport block, in order to allow control of reliability subject to the side link HARQ procedure. Regarding Claim 16, Ericson discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a first device to obtain information related to a set of resource blocks (RBs) for a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the PSFCH is used to transmit acknowledgements by a SL receiving UE for unicast and groupcast. The transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB(resource block) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(sidelink feedback) and the negative ACK (NACK)); select an initial transmission resource and at least one retransmission resource(Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB (resource block transmission resource) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(retransmission resource) and the negative ACK (NACK)); transmit, to a second device, sidelink control information (SCI) for scheduling of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, Channel state information (CSI) is carried in the medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) over the PSSCH, Before transmitting data, a transmitting UE should first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes), based on the initial transmission resource (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, a transmitting UE first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes, including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern and antenna port, etc. (based on the transmission resource)). Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except transmit, to the second device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource; allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH; determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device; receiving, from the second device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource; and performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches transmit, to the second device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource (Page 12, par (0146-0147), line 1-10, the UE transmits or receives a MAC PDU on a configured resource, a UE have capability of receiving PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP and transmits PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP); allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH (Page 4, par (0059), line 1-5, the first-stage SCI is carried on PSCCH and contains information to enable sensing operations, as well as information about the resource allocation of the PSSCH); determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); receiving, from the second device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission. PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); and performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Ericson and Pan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information the teaching of Ericson to include the UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only the teaching of Pan because it is providing resources for one or multiple transmissions of a transport block, in order to allow control of reliability subject to the side link HARQ procedure. Regarding Claim 17, Ericson discloses a method for performing, by a second device, wireless communication, the method comprising obtaining information related to a set of resource blocks (RBs) for a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission (Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the PSFCH is used to transmit acknowledgements by a SL receiving UE for unicast and groupcast. The transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB(resource block) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(sidelink feedback) and the negative ACK (NACK)); receiving, from a first device, sidelink control information (SCI) for scheduling of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, Channel state information (CSI) is carried in the medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) over the PSSCH, Before transmitting data, a transmitting UE should first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes), based on an initial transmission resource (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, a transmitting UE first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes, including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern and antenna port, etc. (based on the transmission resource)). Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except receiving, from the first device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource; allocating at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH; determining an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device; and transmitting, to the first device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource; wherein partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for at least one retransmission resource is performed, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge (NACK) information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches receiving, from the first device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource(Page 12, par (0146-0147), line 1-10, the UE transmits or receives a MAC PDU on a configured resource, a UE have capability of receiving PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP and transmits PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP); allocating at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH(Page 4, par (0059), line 1-5, the first-stage SCI is carried on PSCCH and contains information to enable sensing operations, as well as information about the resource allocation of the PSSCH); determining an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); and transmitting, to the first device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission. PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot), wherein partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for at least one retransmission resource is performed, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge (NACK) information(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Ericson and Pan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information the teaching of Ericson to include the UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only the teaching of Pan because it is providing resources for one or multiple transmissions of a transport block, in order to allow control of reliability subject to the side link HARQ procedure. Regarding Claim 18, Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the partial sensing is not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches the partial sensing is not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Regarding Claim 19, Ericson discloses a second device for performing wireless communication, the second device comprising one or more memories storing instructions; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors connected to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to obtain information related to a set of resource blocks (RBs) for a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission(Page 4, par (0046), line 1-5, the PSFCH is used to transmit acknowledgements by a SL receiving UE for unicast and groupcast. The transmission conveys 1 bit information over 1 RB(resource block) for the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)(sidelink feedback) and the negative ACK (NACK)); receive, from a first device, sidelink control information (SCI) for scheduling of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) through a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, Channel state information (CSI) is carried in the medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) over the PSSCH, Before transmitting data, a transmitting UE should first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes), based on an initial transmission resource(Page 4, par (0046-0047), line 1-10, a transmitting UE first send (over PSCCH) a part of SCI (Sidelink Control information) to be decoded by any UE for channel sensing purposes, including the reserved time-frequency resources for transmissions, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern and antenna port, etc. (based on the transmission resource)). Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except receive, from the first device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource; allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH; determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device; and transmit, to the first device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource; wherein partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for at least one retransmission resource is performed, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge (NACK) information. Pan is the same field of invention teaches receive, from the first device, a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) through the PSSCH, based on the initial transmission resource(Page 12, par (0146-0147), line 1-10, the UE transmits or receives a MAC PDU on a configured resource, a UE have capability of receiving PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP and transmits PSCCH and PSSCH in an active SL BWP); allocate at least one RB from the set of RBs to the PSSCH(Page 4, par (0059), line 1-5, the first-stage SCI is carried on PSCCH and contains information to enable sensing operations, as well as information about the resource allocation of the PSSCH); determine an index of a PSFCH resource for a PSFCH reception among the at least one RB, based on a source ID of the first device(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot); and transmit, to the first device, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback related to the PSSCH through the PSFCH resource(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission. PSFCH transmits a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one PRB repeated over two OFDM symbols, the first of which can be used for AGC, near the end of the sidelink resource in a slot), wherein partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for at least one retransmission resource is performed, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge (NACK) information(Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Ericson and Pan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor of access to a service device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the performing partial sensing for resource re-evaluation or pre-emption for the at least one retransmission resource, based on the HARQ feedback being HARQ negative acknowledge(NACK) information the teaching of Ericson to include the UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only the teaching of Pan because it is providing resources for one or multiple transmissions of a transport block, in order to allow control of reliability subject to the side link HARQ procedure. Regarding Claim 20, Ericson discloses all aspects of the claimed invention, except the partial sensing is not allowed, based on the HARQ feedback information being HARQ ACK information’ Pan is the same field of invention teaches (Page 4, par (0062), line 1-10, PSFCH carries HARQ feedback over the sidelink from a UE which is an intended recipient of a PSSCH transmission to the UE which performed the transmission, Sidelink HARQ feedback in the form of conventional ACK/ NACK, or NACK-only). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure are: Gerami et al. (US 20250185029, Jun. 5, 2025) teaches Sidelink communication using shared channel occupancy in unlicensed spectrum. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IQBAL ZAIDI whose telephone number is (571)270-3943. The examiner can normally be reached on M to Thu 8.a.m to 6.p.m.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NGO RICKY can be reached on 571-272-3139. 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). /IQBAL ZAIDI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 04, 2024
Application Filed
Dec 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Mar 23, 2026
Response Filed

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+3.5%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
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