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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “based on a comparison between a first threshold value and a total number of first physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) with Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request- ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information and second PSFCH with conflict information, and a comparison between a second threshold value and a total power of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information: determine whether to use a first priority related to the first PSFCH with the HARQ- ACK information and a second priority related to the second PSFCH with the conflict information for determining a number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information,” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to because fig. 1, fig. 2A-2B, fig. 3, fig. 4, fig. 5A-5B, fig. 6, and fig. 7A-7B do not have descriptive legends. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 41 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for “a first physical resource block (PRB) for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information is configured by a first radio resource control (RRC) parameter, and a second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information is configured by a second radio resource control (RRC) parameter,” does not reasonably provide enablement for “the first PRB for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information are different.” The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
As indicated by the disclosure in par. 76 of specification, “different PRBs in the same set of PRBs 611 may be determined for respective CI transmissions to the second and third devices 120 and 130”, which indicating different PRBs for CI transmissions but not different PRBs for the first PRB for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information.
Claim 42 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for “…Information related with reconfiguration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device…if a UE detects potential/expected resource conflict on the resources indicated by UE-B's SCI and the inter-UE coordination scheme 2 is requested/indicated by UE-B/higher layer, the UE provides the conflict information in a CI transmission in the resource pool” as disclosed by par. 28, 61 of the specification, does not reasonably provide enablement for “transmit, to a network, the first information related to inter-UE coordination scheme 2.” The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
As indicated by par. 28, 61, the network device configured or transmits to the terminal device and the inter-UE coordination scheme 2 is requested/indicated by higher layer but does not indicate the terminal device transmits the first information related to inter-UE coordination scheme 2.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 32-40, 43-51 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140 with foreign app. CN 202110507886.9 filed on 05/10/2021).
Regarding claims 32, 43, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches a first user equipment (UE) (fig. 10, par. 200, user equipment) comprising:
one or more memories storing instructions (fig. 10, par. 200, user equipment); and
one or more processors configured to process the instructions to control the first UE (fig. 10, par. 200, user equipment) to:
based on a comparison between a first threshold value and a total number of first physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) with Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request- ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information and second PSFCH with conflict information, and a comparison between a second threshold value and a total power of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 159, 200, 201, if a sum of a quantity of pieces of coordination information and a quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information that need to be sent is less than or equal to a sum x (x is greater than or equal to 1) of a maximum quantity of pieces of coordination information and a maximum quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information that can be sent by the first user equipment, and a sum of a power for transmitting the coordination information and a power for transmitting the HARQ feedback information does not exceed a maximum transmit power supported by the first user equipment):
determine whether to use a first priority related to the first PSFCH with the HARQ- ACK information and a second priority related to the second PSFCH with the conflict information for determining a number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 200, 203-208, the first user equipment selects, based on a priority, to send NTX pieces of coordination information and/or HARQ feedback information, N.sub.Tx≥max(1,Σ.sub.i=1.sup.KM.sub.i); where M.sub.i denotes a sum of a quantity of pieces of coordination information and/or a quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information corresponding to priority value i, and K denotes a maximum value).
Regarding claims 33, 44, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 32, wherein
based on a determination that the total number of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is smaller than or equal to the first threshold, and a determination that the total power of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is smaller than or equal to the second threshold (par. 200, 201, if a sum of a quantity of pieces of coordination information and a quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information that need to be sent is less than or equal to a sum x (x is greater than or equal to 1) of a maximum quantity of pieces of coordination information and a maximum quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information that can be sent by the first user equipment, and a sum of a power for transmitting the coordination information and a power for transmitting the HARQ feedback information does not exceed a maximum transmit power supported by the first user equipment):
the one or more processors is configured to process the instructions to control the first UE to:
determine the number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 200, 203-208, the first user equipment selects, based on a priority, to send NTX pieces of coordination information and/or HARQ feedback information, N.sub.Tx≥max(1,Σ.sub.i=1.sup.KM.sub.i); where M.sub.i denotes a sum of a quantity of pieces of coordination information and/or a quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information corresponding to priority value i, and K denotes a maximum value).
Regarding claims 34, 45, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 32, wherein
based on a determination that the total number of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is smaller than or equal to the first threshold, and a determination that the total power of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is greater than the second threshold (par. 201, 202, 207, if a sum of a quantity of pieces of coordination information and a quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information that need to be sent is less than or equal to a sum x (x is greater than or equal to 1) of a maximum quantity of pieces of coordination information and a maximum quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information that can be sent by the first user equipment…if a power for transmitting the coordination information and a power for transmitting the HARQ feedback information exceeds a maximum transmit power supported by the first user equipment), or
based on a determination that the total number of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is greater than the first threshold, and a determination that the total power of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is smaller than or equal to the second threshold (par. 207, if a sum of a quantity of pieces of coordination information that needs to be sent and a quantity of HARQ feedback information that needs to be sent is greater than a maximum quantity y of transmissions of the first user equipment, y pieces of coordination information…then if a total power for transmitting y pieces of information according to a transmit power requirement does not exceed a maximum transmit power of the first user equipment), or
based on a determination that the total number of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is greater than the first threshold, and a determination that the total power of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information is greater than the second threshold (par. 207, if a sum of a quantity of pieces of coordination information that needs to be sent and a quantity of HARQ feedback information that needs to be sent is greater than a maximum quantity y of transmissions of the first user equipment, y pieces of coordination information… if a total power for transmitting y pieces of information according to a transmit power requirement exceeds a maximum transmit power of the first user equipment):
the one or more processors is configured to process the instructions to control the first UE to:
determine, based on an ascending order of the first priority related to the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and an ascending order of the second priority related to the second PSFCH with the conflict information, the number of simultaneous PSFCH transmissions of the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 200, 203-208, service priorities of HARQ feedback information to be sent and service priorities corresponding to coordination information to be sent are sorted, y service priorities with the highest service priority are selected in a descending order of service priorities, and y pieces of information corresponding to the y highest service priorities are transmitted, where y is greater than or equal to 1… in a case that the first user equipment needs to simultaneously transmit the coordination information and HARQ feedback…comparing a priority corresponding to the HARQ feedback with a priority corresponding to transmission of the coordination information).
Regarding claim 35, 46, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 32, wherein
based on simultaneous transmission and reception of the first PSFCH with the HARQ- ACK information and the second PSFCH with the conflict information in a PUSCH transmission occasion (par. 203-206, in a case that the first user equipment needs to simultaneously transmit the coordination information and HARQ feedback):
the first priority related to the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information is always higher than the second priority related to the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 203-207, preferentially ensuring the HARQ feedback).
Regarding claim 36, 47, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 32, wherein
the second priority, related to the second PSFCH with the conflict information, corresponds to a priority value determined by a corresponding Sidelink Control Information (SCI) (par. 91, 159, 172, 203-206, 233, the SCI includes a priority and indication information for triggering resource coordination).
Regarding claim 37, 48, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 32, wherein
the one or more processors is configured to process the instructions to control the first UE to:
communicate with a second UE via sidelink channel (par. 231, a frequency domain sub-channel index j (0<=j<S) occupied by a target second user equipment, an index i (0<=i<N) of a slot occupied by a target second user equipment in N PSSCH slot sets), and
determine, based on an identity of the second UE and a number of at least one first PSFCH resource available for multiplexing the conflict information in the second PSFCH, an index of one of the at least one first PSFCH resource for the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 231-234, where PSFCH_index denotes a resource location at which a PSFCH is transmitted, K denotes a truncated Layer-2 source ID (or a priority) carried in SCI associated with a PSSCH sent by the target second user equipment, M=0, Z denotes a quantity of PRBs included in a candidate subset of coordination information).
Regarding claim 38, 49, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 37, wherein
the index of one of the at least one first PSFCH resource for the second PSFCH with the conflict information is represented by a formula:
R= BID mod R_CI (par. 122, 234, PSFCH_index=(K+M)Mod(Z*Y*N type)), wherein
R denotes the index of one of the at least one first PSFCH resource for the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 122, 234, PSFCH_index=(K+M)Mod(Z*Y*N type)),
B_ID denotes the identity of the second UE (par. 122, 234, PSFCH_index=(K+M)Mod(Z*Y*N type), K denotes a truncated Layer-2 source ID (or a priority) carried in SCI associated with a PSSCH sent by the target second user equipment), and
R_CI denotes the number of the at least one first PSFCH resource available for multiplexing the conflict information in the second PSFCH (par. 122,233, 234, PSFCH_index=(K+M)Mod(Z*Y*N type), a quantity Z of cyclic shifts pairs available in a resource pool… Z denotes a quantity of PRBs included in a candidate subset of coordination information, Y denotes a quantity of cyclic shift pairs fed back through ACK/NACK that can be carried in one PRB, and a value of N_type has two possibilities: N_type=1 or N_type=N, which depends on higher layer configuration, where N is a quantity of sub-channels occupied by data of the target second user equipment).
Regarding claims 39, 50, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 37, wherein
the one or more processors is configured to process the instructions to control the first UE to:
transmit the second PSFCH with the conflict information in a first slot (par. 231, 232, N_F RBs that may be used to transmit coordination information), wherein
the first slot includes the at least one first PSFCH resource (fig. 7, par. 200, 201, 213, simultaneously transmit a quantity of pieces of coordination information and/or a quantity of pieces of HARQ feedback information), and
the first slot is at least one slots of a resource pool before a resource associated with the conflict information (par. 139, 224, 231, 232, an index i (0<=i<N) of a slot occupied by a target second user equipment in N PSSCH slot sets that are associated with coordination information).
Regarding claim 40, 51, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 37, wherein
for a case of the second PSFCH with the conflict information (par. 134, 135, 200, 203-208, coordination information),
the one or more processors is configured to process the instructions to control the first UE to:
transmit a sequence related to NACK (par. 134, 135, 159, 174, 234, there are two types of feedback modes: one is NACK-based HARQ, which is only for a multicast mode, and all UEs share one PSFCH (only NACK is fed back)…The PSFCH mainly uses a sequence-based channel…the coordination information is a sequence-based indication, which is similar to a PSFCH, or may be a PSFCH…Z denotes a quantity of PRBs included in a candidate subset of coordination information, Y denotes a quantity of cyclic shift pairs fed back through ACK/NACK that can be carried in one PRB).
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 for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 41, 52 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140 with foreign app. CN 202110507886.9 filed on 05/10/2021) in view of GANESAN et al. (US 20240057121 supported by provisional app. 63121814 filed on 12/04/2020).
Regarding claim 41, 52, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to Claim 37, wherein
a physical resource block (PRB) is configured (par. 139, a PSFCH candidate set is determined according to a PSSCH number. Referring to FIG. 4);
However, ZHENG does not teach a first physical resource block (PRB) for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information is configured by a first radio resource control (RRC) parameter, and
a second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information is configured by a second radio resource control (RRC) parameter, and
the first PRB for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information are different.
But, GANESAN et al. (US 20240057121) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches a first physical resource block (PRB) for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information is configured by a first radio resource control (RRC) parameter (par. 96, 99, a separate PSFCH format may be defined for the purpose of multi-bit feedback and this format to be used for the transmission of PSFCH 320 can be indicated dynamically in the SCI 305. PSFCH formats to be used for the feedback transmission/conflict indication/transmitting a set of resource could be pre)-configured per resource pool or per UE by gNB using RRC signaling), and
a second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information is configured by a second radio resource control (RRC) parameter (par. 96, 99), and
the first PRB for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information are different (par. 96, 99, separate PSFCH resources may be configured for HARQ-ACK report(s) 335 and the conflict indication 330, where resources could be frequency-domain multiplexed in the same PSFCH symbol with separate PRBs or time-domain multiplexed in different PSFCH symbols in the same slot).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system or method as taught by GANESAN in the system of ZHENG to assign resource blocks.
The motivation to improve the resource reselection with reduce conflict.
Claim(s) 42, 53 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140 with foreign app. CN 202110507886.9 filed on 05/10/2021) in view of YOSHIOKA et al. (US 20240292385).
Regarding claim 42, 53, ZHENG et al. (US 20240023140) teaches the first UE according to claim 32,
the one or more processors is configured to process the instructions to control the first UE to:
transmit, to a second UE, a first information related to inter-UE coordination (fig. 6, par. 237, 247, the second user equipment, after receiving the coordination information, the second user equipment may determine, in combination with a sensing result of the second user equipment itself and the coordination information, whether to perform reselection if a preemption pre-emption function is not configured in a current resource pool), and
However, ZHENG does not teach inter-UE coordination scheme 2, and transmit, to a network, the first information related to inter-UE coordination scheme 2.
But, YOSHIOKA et al. (US 20240292385) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches transmit, to a second UE, a first information related to inter-UE coordination scheme 2 (par. 139, 165, Inter-terminal coordination method 2) The UE-A transmits, to the UE-B, information indicating that there is an expected collision, a possibility of a collision, or a fact of a detected collision, for a resource received from the UE-B or a resource indicated by SCI received from the UE-B), and
transmit, to a network, the first information related to inter-UE coordination scheme 2 (par. 160, 168, In a case where the collision indication is received, the terminal 20 that is the resource allocation mode 1 UE may transmit NACK when there is a PUCCH resource corresponding to the SL resource. For example, in a case where the SL-HARQ feedback to the gNB is requested, the terminal 20 that is the resource allocation mode 1 UE may transmit NACK… the UE can report the necessity of a resource for retransmission to the gNB).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system or method as taught by YOSHIOKA in the system of ZHENG to inform gNB of inter-UE coordination information.
The motivation to provide reliability transmission of data.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
HUANG et al. (US 20230361933) teaches the first PRB for the first PSFCH with the HARQ-ACK information and the second PRB for the second PSFCH with the conflict information are different (par. 212, In some embodiments, a channel for carrying the resource conflict indication information and a channel for carrying the HARQ may be distinguished by using a frequency domain resource or a code domain resource. For example, different PRBs are used for differentiation).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THINH D TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3934. The examiner can normally be reached mon-fri 9-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FARUK HAMZA can be reached at 5712727969. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THINH D TRAN/for /Thinh Tran/, Patent Examiner of Art Unit 2466 03/28/2026
/FARUK HAMZA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2466
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