DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 8, 14, 15, 18, 21, 27, 28 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (US 2021/0203456, hereinafter “Zhao”) in view of Lin et al. (US 2021/0392639, hereinafter “Lin”).
For claims 1 and 27, Zhao discloses An apparatus for wireless communication at a first user equipment (UE) (First Terminal Device, Fig. 6; electronic device 700, see Zhao Fig. 8), comprising:
a processor;
memory coupled with the processor; and
instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to (a terminal device, including a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program which is runnable on the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the acts of the above information transmission method performed by the first terminal device when running the computer program; see Zhao par. 0142, 0144 and Fig. 8):
transmit a first sidelink message via a sidelink channel using a first set of one or more communication parameters, the first sidelink message comprising data (S201, a first terminal device sends first indication information to a network device. In some implementations, the first indication information carries first information, wherein the first information at least includes at least one of the following: 1) ACK/NACK information, which is used for indicating whether sidelink data sent by the first terminal device to a second terminal device is correctly received by the second terminal device;… 4) CSI information, which is used for indicating a channel state between the first terminal device and the second terminal device;… 8) a candidate resource set, which is a set of available transmission resources obtained by the first terminal device through sensing on the sidelink. For example, the network device allocates to the first terminal device a sidelink transmission resource from a first resource pool, and before the network device allocates the transmission resource to the first terminal device, the first terminal device determines the candidate resource set from the first resource pool by sensing, and each resource in the candidate resource set is a transmission resource that can be used by the first terminal device for transmitting sidelink data; see Zhao par. 0045-0054) and a reservation for a retransmission resource of the sidelink channel for retransmission of the first sidelink message (The terminal will carry information of a resource reserved for next transmission in the control information of a current transmission… The network device determines whether the data on the sidelink is correctly received by the terminal device for data receiving according to the feedback information from the terminal device for data sending, so as to allocate resources to the terminal device for data sending for new data transmission or retransmission, or the terminal device for data sending sends the CSI/CQI and other information to the network device to assist the network device in the transmission parameter configuration; see Zhao par. 0040-0043);
receive, from a second UE, a feedback message (S200, a first terminal device receives a first sidelink channel sent by a second terminal device, wherein the first sidelink channel carries first indication information; see Zhao par. 0074) comprising a feedback sequence that indicates a negative acknowledgement for the first sidelink message and channel state information associated with the sidelink channel (the second terminal device receives sidelink data sent by the first terminal device and sends feedback information, such as ACK/NACK information or CSI/CQI information, to the first terminal device; see Zhao par. 0076); and
transmit a second sidelink message comprising the data of the first sidelink message based at least in part on the feedback message (S200', the first terminal device receives a second sidelink channel and/or measurement signal sent by the second terminal device, and the first terminal device obtains the first indication information according to the second sidelink channel and/or measurement signal; see Zhao par. 0079), wherein the second sidelink message is transmitted using a second set of one or more communication parameters different from the first set of one or more communication parameters, or via at least a second resource different from the retransmission resource, or both (the second sidelink channel may be PSCCH, PSSCH, sidelink feedback channel, Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), or reference signal, wherein the reference signal may be a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), etc…. In a specific implementation, the first terminal device obtains information such as CSI, CQI, RI, PMI in the first indication information according to the second sidelink channel and/or measurement signal sent by the second terminal device; or the first terminal device obtains information such as RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, path loss information, interference information included in the first indication information according to the second side channel and/or measurement signal sent by the second terminal device; see Zhao par. 0080-0082).
Zhao does not explicitly disclose a feedback sequence. Lin discloses a feedback sequence (before the operation that the terminal transmits the uplink control signal to the network device on the physical resource for transmitting the uplink control signal, the method further includes that: the terminal extends the multiple ACK/NACK signals by use of different orthogonal or pseudo-orthogonal sequences with a same length and maps and superposes the extended sequences into the resource group. Alternatively, as an embodiment, the uplink control signal further includes a CSI feedback signal, in the second physical resource transmission region, a physical resource for transmitting the CSI feedback signal and physical resources for transmitting the reference signals are not overlapped, and the physical resources in the resource group for transmitting the reference signals are continuous in the time domain; see Lin par. 0207-0208). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Lin's arrangement in Zhao's invention to improve the flexibility of configuring a physical resource for an uplink control signal (see Lin Abstract).
For claims 2 and 28, Zhao does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, via the feedback message, the feedback sequence that is a superposition of a negative acknowledgment sequence and a channel state information sequence selected from a plurality of channel state information sequences, wherein the channel state information sequence indicates the channel state information. Lin discloses The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, via the feedback message, the feedback sequence that is a superposition of a negative acknowledgment sequence and a channel state information sequence selected from a plurality of channel state information sequences, wherein the channel state information sequence indicates the channel state information (the multiple ACK/NACK signals are superposed and mapped onto the resource group for transmitting the multiple ACK/NACK signals after being extended by use of different orthogonal or pseudo-orthogonal sequences with a same length respectively. Alternatively, as an embodiment, the uplink control signal further includes a CSI feedback signal, a physical resource for transmitting the CSI feedback signal and physical resources for transmitting the reference signals in the second physical resource transmission region are not overlapped, and the physical resources in the resource group for transmitting the reference signals are continuous in the time domain; see Lin par. 0233-0234). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Lin's arrangement in Zhao's invention to improve the flexibility of configuring a physical resource for an uplink control signal (see Lin Abstract).
For claims 5 and 18, Zhao does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the feedback sequence jointly indicates the negative acknowledgement and the channel state information, or wherein the feedback sequence comprises a superposition of a negative acknowledgement sequence and a channel state information sequence. Lin discloses The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the feedback sequence jointly indicates the negative acknowledgement and the channel state information, or wherein the feedback sequence comprises a superposition of a negative acknowledgement sequence and a channel state information sequence (the multiple ACK/NACK signals are superposed and mapped onto the resource group for transmitting the multiple ACK/NACK signals after being extended by use of different orthogonal or pseudo-orthogonal sequences with a same length respectively. Alternatively, as an embodiment, the uplink control signal further includes a CSI feedback signal, a physical resource for transmitting the CSI feedback signal and physical resources for transmitting the reference signals in the second physical resource transmission region are not overlapped, and the physical resources in the resource group for transmitting the reference signals are continuous in the time domain; see Lin par. 0290-0291). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Lin's arrangement in Zhao's invention to improve the flexibility of configuring a physical resource for an uplink control signal (see Lin Abstract).
For claim 8, Zhao discloses The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or more communication parameters comprises a first modulation and coding scheme (According to the feedback information of the terminal device for data receiving, the terminal device for data sending can adjust a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) level and determine whether a retransmission is needed; see Zhao par. 0042), and the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
transmit the second sidelink message using a second modulation and coding scheme which is different from the first modulation and coding scheme, wherein the second set of one or more communication parameters comprises the second modulation and coding scheme (the terminal device for data sending sends the CSI/CQI and other information to the network device to assist the network device in the transmission parameter configuration, for example, configuring MCS used by the sidelink; see Zhao par. 0043; the terminal device determines the number of resources occupied by the information to be fed back according to parameter configuration (such as MCS, etc.), then maps encoded feedback information to corresponding transmission resources, and maps PUSCH data and reference signals to other resources; see Zhao par. 0064).
For claims 14 and 30, Zhao discloses An apparatus for wireless communication at a second user equipment (UE) (second terminal device, see Zhao par. 0047, 0067, 0074, 0076; electronic device 700, see Zhao Fig. 8), comprising:
a processor;
memory coupled with the processor; and
instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to (a terminal device, including a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program which is runnable on the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the acts of the above information transmission method performed by the first terminal device when running the computer program; see Zhao par. 0142, 0144 and Fig. 8):
receive, from a first UE, a first sidelink message via a sidelink channel using a first set of one or more communication parameters, the first sidelink message comprising data (S201, a first terminal device sends first indication information to a network device. In some implementations, the first indication information carries first information, wherein the first information at least includes at least one of the following: 1) ACK/NACK information, which is used for indicating whether sidelink data sent by the first terminal device to a second terminal device is correctly received by the second terminal device;… 4) CSI information, which is used for indicating a channel state between the first terminal device and the second terminal device;… 8) a candidate resource set, which is a set of available transmission resources obtained by the first terminal device through sensing on the sidelink. For example, the network device allocates to the first terminal device a sidelink transmission resource from a first resource pool, and before the network device allocates the transmission resource to the first terminal device, the first terminal device determines the candidate resource set from the first resource pool by sensing, and each resource in the candidate resource set is a transmission resource that can be used by the first terminal device for transmitting sidelink data; see Zhao par. 0045-0054) and a reservation for a retransmission resource of the sidelink channel for retransmission of the first sidelink message (The terminal will carry information of a resource reserved for next transmission in the control information of a current transmission… The network device determines whether the data on the sidelink is correctly received by the terminal device for data receiving according to the feedback information from the terminal device for data sending, so as to allocate resources to the terminal device for data sending for new data transmission or retransmission, or the terminal device for data sending sends the CSI/CQI and other information to the network device to assist the network device in the transmission parameter configuration; see Zhao par. 0040-0043);
transmit, to the first UE, a feedback message comprising a feedback sequence (S200, a first terminal device receives a first sidelink channel sent by a second terminal device, wherein the first sidelink channel carries first indication information; see Zhao par. 0074) comprising a feedback sequence that indicates a negative acknowledgement for the first sidelink message and channel state information associated with the sidelink channel (the second terminal device receives sidelink data sent by the first terminal device and sends feedback information, such as ACK/NACK information or CSI/CQI information, to the first terminal device; see Zhao par. 0076); and
receive, from the first UE, a second sidelink message comprising the data of the first sidelink message based at least in part on the feedback message (S200', the first terminal device receives a second sidelink channel and/or measurement signal sent by the second terminal device, and the first terminal device obtains the first indication information according to the second sidelink channel and/or measurement signal; see Zhao par. 0079),wherein the second sidelink message is received using a second set of one or more communication parameters different from the first set of one or more communication parameters, or via at least a second resource different from the retransmission resource, or both (the second sidelink channel may be PSCCH, PSSCH, sidelink feedback channel, Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), or reference signal, wherein the reference signal may be a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), etc…. In a specific implementation, the first terminal device obtains information such as CSI, CQI, RI, PMI in the first indication information according to the second sidelink channel and/or measurement signal sent by the second terminal device; or the first terminal device obtains information such as RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, path loss information, interference information included in the first indication information according to the second side channel and/or measurement signal sent by the second terminal device; see Zhao par. 0080-0082).
Zhao does not explicitly disclose a feedback sequence. Lin discloses a feedback sequence (before the operation that the terminal transmits the uplink control signal to the network device on the physical resource for transmitting the uplink control signal, the method further includes that: the terminal extends the multiple ACK/NACK signals by use of different orthogonal or pseudo-orthogonal sequences with a same length and maps and superposes the extended sequences into the resource group. Alternatively, as an embodiment, the uplink control signal further includes a CSI feedback signal, in the second physical resource transmission region, a physical resource for transmitting the CSI feedback signal and physical resources for transmitting the reference signals are not overlapped, and the physical resources in the resource group for transmitting the reference signals are continuous in the time domain; see Lin par. 0207-0208). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Lin's arrangement in Zhao's invention to improve the flexibility of configuring a physical resource for an uplink control signal (see Lin Abstract).
For claim 15, Zhao does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, via the feedback message, the feedback sequence that is a superposition of a negative acknowledgement sequence and a channel state information sequence selected from a plurality of channel state information sequences, wherein the channel state information sequence indicates the channel state information. Lin discloses The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, via the feedback message, the feedback sequence that is a superposition of a negative acknowledgement sequence and a channel state information sequence selected from a plurality of channel state information sequences, wherein the channel state information sequence indicates the channel state information (the multiple ACK/NACK signals are superposed and mapped onto the resource group for transmitting the multiple ACK/NACK signals after being extended by use of different orthogonal or pseudo-orthogonal sequences with a same length respectively. Alternatively, as an embodiment, the uplink control signal further includes a CSI feedback signal, a physical resource for transmitting the CSI feedback signal and physical resources for transmitting the reference signals in the second physical resource transmission region are not overlapped, and the physical resources in the resource group for transmitting the reference signals are continuous in the time domain; see Lin par. 0233-0234). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Lin's arrangement in Zhao's invention to improve the flexibility of configuring a physical resource for an uplink control signal (see Lin Abstract).
For claim 21, Zhao discloses The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first set of one or more communication parameters comprises a first modulation and coding scheme (According to the feedback information of the terminal device for data receiving, the terminal device for data sending can adjust a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) level and determine whether a retransmission is needed; see Zhao par. 0042), and the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
receive the second sidelink message using a second modulation and coding scheme which is different from the first modulation and coding scheme, wherein the second set of one or more communication parameters comprises the second modulation and coding scheme (the terminal device for data sending sends the CSI/CQI and other information to the network device to assist the network device in the transmission parameter configuration, for example, configuring MCS used by the sidelink; see Zhao par. 0043; the terminal device determines the number of resources occupied by the information to be fed back according to parameter configuration (such as MCS, etc.), then maps encoded feedback information to corresponding transmission resources, and maps PUSCH data and reference signals to other resources; see Zhao par. 0064).
Claim(s) 6, 7, 13, 19, 20, 26, 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao and Lin, and further in view of Xu et al. (US 2022/0369346, hereinafter “Xu”).
For claims 6 and 29, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the second UE, an indication of a capability of the first UE to receive feedback messages including both feedback and channel state information, wherein receiving the feedback message is based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the capability. Xu discloses The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the second UE, an indication of a capability of the first UE to receive feedback messages including both feedback and channel state information, wherein receiving the feedback message is based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the capability (Step 703: The first terminal 20 sends a sidelink capability message to the second terminal 30, so that the second terminal 30 receives the sidelink capability message. If the first terminal 20 supports sidelink CSI feedback to the second terminal, the first terminal 20 adds the following capability information to the sidelink capability message: The first terminal 20 supports sidelink CSI feedback. Alternatively, only if the second terminal 30 indicates, in the sidelink capability inquiry message, that the second terminal 30 supports CSI-RS sending, the first terminal 20 adds a first indication to the sidelink capability message, where the first indication indicates that the first terminal 20 supports sidelink CSI feedback; see Xu par. 0206-0207). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Xu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to send a sidelink channel state information report, to avoid a case in which a terminal has no available sidelink resource used for CSI feedback (see Xu par. 0009).
For claim 7, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the indication of the capability via a sidelink control information portion of the first sidelink message, a medium access control-control element message, or any combination thereof. Xu discloses The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the indication of the capability via a sidelink control information portion of the first sidelink message (the first terminal 20 autonomously selects a sidelink resource from a resource pool that is configured or preconfigured by the network device 10 by using a system message or dedicated signaling, to transmit sidelink data or sidelink control information on the autonomously selected sidelink resource; see Xu par. 0150, 0128), a medium access control-control element message, or any combination thereof (the first terminal 20 transmits the CSI to the second terminal 30 by using media access control layer control information (Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE); see Xu par. 0152, 0166-0167). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Xu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to send a sidelink channel state information report, to avoid a case in which a terminal has no available sidelink resource used for CSI feedback (see Xu par. 0009).
For claim 13, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first sidelink message, the second sidelink message, or both, comprises a sidelink groupcast message which is transmitted to a plurality of UEs including the second UE. Xu discloses The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first sidelink message, the second sidelink message, or both, comprises a sidelink groupcast message which is transmitted to a plurality of UEs including the second UE (When the first terminal 20 needs to transmit sidelink data and is in an RRC connected mode, to obtain a sidelink resource, the first terminal 20 may report, to the network device 10 by using an RRC message, a destination identifier of a communication peer terminal (for example, the second terminal 30), a communication transmission manner (one of broadcast, multicast, and unicast), and quality of service (quality of service, QoS) information of the to-be-transmitted sidelink data; see Xu par. 0151). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Xu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to send a sidelink channel state information report, to avoid a case in which a terminal has no available sidelink resource used for CSI feedback (see Xu par. 0009).
For claim 19, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the first UE, an indication of a capability of the first UE to receive feedback messages including both feedback and channel state information, wherein transmitting the feedback message is based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the capability. Xu discloses The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the first UE, an indication of a capability of the first UE to receive feedback messages including both feedback and channel state information, wherein transmitting the feedback message is based at least in part on transmitting the indication of the capability (Step 703: The first terminal 20 sends a sidelink capability message to the second terminal 30, so that the second terminal 30 receives the sidelink capability message. If the first terminal 20 supports sidelink CSI feedback to the second terminal, the first terminal 20 adds the following capability information to the sidelink capability message: The first terminal 20 supports sidelink CSI feedback. Alternatively, only if the second terminal 30 indicates, in the sidelink capability inquiry message, that the second terminal 30 supports CSI-RS sending, the first terminal 20 adds a first indication to the sidelink capability message, where the first indication indicates that the first terminal 20 supports sidelink CSI feedback; see Xu par. 0206-0207). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Xu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to send a sidelink channel state information report, to avoid a case in which a terminal has no available sidelink resource used for CSI feedback (see Xu par. 0009).
For claim 20, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the indication of the capability via a sidelink control information portion of the first sidelink message, a medium access control-control element message, or any combination thereof. Xu discloses The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the indication of the capability via a sidelink control information portion of the first sidelink message, a medium access control-control element message, or any combination thereof (the first terminal 20 autonomously selects a sidelink resource from a resource pool that is configured or preconfigured by the network device 10 by using a system message or dedicated signaling, to transmit sidelink data or sidelink control information on the autonomously selected sidelink resource; see Xu par. 0150, 0128), a medium access control-control element message, or any combination thereof (the first terminal 20 transmits the CSI to the second terminal 30 by using media access control layer control information (Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE); see Xu par. 0152, 0166-0167). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Xu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to send a sidelink channel state information report, to avoid a case in which a terminal has no available sidelink resource used for CSI feedback (see Xu par. 0009).
For claim 26, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first sidelink message, the second sidelink message, or both, comprises a sidelink groupcast message which is transmitted by the first UE to a plurality of UEs including the second UE. Xu discloses The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first sidelink message, the second sidelink message, or both, comprises a sidelink groupcast message which is transmitted by the first UE to a plurality of UEs including the second UE (When the first terminal 20 needs to transmit sidelink data and is in an RRC connected mode, to obtain a sidelink resource, the first terminal 20 may report, to the network device 10 by using an RRC message, a destination identifier of a communication peer terminal (for example, the second terminal 30), a communication transmission manner (one of broadcast, multicast, and unicast), and quality of service (quality of service, QoS) information of the to-be-transmitted sidelink data; see Xu par. 0151). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Xu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to send a sidelink channel state information report, to avoid a case in which a terminal has no available sidelink resource used for CSI feedback (see Xu par. 0009).
Claim(s) 10 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao and Lin, and further in view of Lu et al. (US 2023/0421297, hereinafter “Lu”).
For claim 10, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the second sidelink message within at least a portion of the retransmission resource and at least a portion of the second resource, wherein the second resource is adjacent to a boundary of the retransmission resource in a frequency domain. Lu discloses The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the second sidelink message within at least a portion of the retransmission resource and at least a portion of the second resource, wherein the second resource is adjacent to a boundary of the retransmission resource in a frequency domain (In operation S301, the first terminal device selects at least two sidelink retransmission grant resources from the resource pool, a first resource of the at least two sidelink retransmission grant resources is adjacent to a second resource of the at least two sidelink retransmission grant resources (or the first resource and second resource are consecutive resources), where a time gap between the first resource and the second resource is greater than or equal to a first duration, and the time gap between the first resource and the second resource is less than or equal to a second duration; see Lu par. 0115; By reallocating the retransmission resource by the network or re-selecting the retransmission resource by the sending UE, it may be ensured that the sending UE sends retransmission information to the receiving UE in the duration when the receiving UE is in the DRX wake-up state; see Lu par. 0129, 0198). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Lu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to provide a method to process a sidelink retransmission resource, which can optimize a processing flow of the sidelink retransmission resource after the DRX mechanism is introduced into the sidelink communication (see Lu par. 0004).
For claim 23, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the second sidelink message within at least a portion of the retransmission resource and at least a portion of the second resource, wherein the second resource is adjacent to a boundary of the retransmission resource in a frequency domain. Lu discloses The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the second sidelink message within at least a portion of the retransmission resource and at least a portion of the second resource, wherein the second resource is adjacent to a boundary of the retransmission resource in a frequency domain (In operation S301, the first terminal device selects at least two sidelink retransmission grant resources from the resource pool, a first resource of the at least two sidelink retransmission grant resources is adjacent to a second resource of the at least two sidelink retransmission grant resources (or the first resource and second resource are consecutive resources), where a time gap between the first resource and the second resource is greater than or equal to a first duration, and the time gap between the first resource and the second resource is less than or equal to a second duration; see Lu par. 0115; By reallocating the retransmission resource by the network or re-selecting the retransmission resource by the sending UE, it may be ensured that the sending UE sends retransmission information to the receiving UE in the duration when the receiving UE is in the DRX wake-up state; see Lu par. 0129, 0198). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Lu's arrangement in Zhao's invention to provide a method to process a sidelink retransmission resource, which can optimize a processing flow of the sidelink retransmission resource after the DRX mechanism is introduced into the sidelink communication (see Lu par. 0004).
Claim(s) 11 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao and Lin, and further in view of Yoshioka et al. (US 2022/0322365, hereinafter “Yoshioka”).
For claim 11, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the second sidelink message via the second resource based at least in part on identifying that one or more resources which are adjacent to the retransmission resource in a frequency domain have been reserved by another UE. Yoshioka discloses The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the second sidelink message via the second resource based at least in part on identifying that one or more resources which are adjacent to the retransmission resource in a frequency domain have been reserved by another UE (Before the pre-reserved resource is activated, a resource for a retransmission that has been reserved by the terminal 20 may be available for pre-reservation by another terminal 20, or may be unavailable for pre-reservation by another terminal 20…Thereafter, when the terminal 20 receives NACK via a Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), the pre-reserved resources for retransmissions of the transport block associated with the PSFCH are activated. The time interval between two adjacent pre-reserved resources in the time domain (Retransmission #1 and Retransmission #2) may be different from the time interval between the resource for the initial transmission of the transport block (Initial transmission) and a resource (Retransmission #1) that is pre-reserved for the first retransmission of the transport block. Furthermore, in the example in FIG. 11, in the frequency domain, multiple frequency resources (Retransmission #1 and Retransmission #2) for multiple retransmissions to be pre-reserved are the same as the frequency resource for the initial transmission of the transport block (Initial transmission); see Yoshioka par. 0115-0118). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Yoshioka's arrangement in Zhao's invention to avoid reserving a resource that is unlikely to be used, accordingly, it is possible to enhance the utilization efficiency of resources (see Yoshioka par. 0124).
For claim 24, the combination of Zhao and Lin does not explicitly disclose The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the second sidelink message via the second resource based at least in part on identifying that one or more resources which are adjacent to the retransmission resource in a frequency domain have been reserved by another UE. Yoshioka discloses The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the second sidelink message via the second resource based at least in part on identifying that one or more resources which are adjacent to the retransmission resource in a frequency domain have been reserved by another UE (Before the pre-reserved resource is activated, a resource for a retransmission that has been reserved by the terminal 20 may be available for pre-reservation by another terminal 20, or may be unavailable for pre-reservation by another terminal 20…Thereafter, when the terminal 20 receives NACK via a Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), the pre-reserved resources for retransmissions of the transport block associated with the PSFCH are activated. The time interval between two adjacent pre-reserved resources in the time domain (Retransmission #1 and Retransmission #2) may be different from the time interval between the resource for the initial transmission of the transport block (Initial transmission) and a resource (Retransmission #1) that is pre-reserved for the first retransmission of the transport block. Furthermore, in the example in FIG. 11, in the frequency domain, multiple frequency resources (Retransmission #1 and Retransmission #2) for multiple retransmissions to be pre-reserved are the same as the frequency resource for the initial transmission of the transport block (Initial transmission); see Yoshioka par. 0115-0118). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Yoshioka's arrangement in Zhao's invention to avoid reserving a resource that is unlikely to be used, accordingly, it is possible to enhance the utilization efficiency of resources (see Yoshioka par. 0124).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 9, 12, 16, 17, 22 and 25 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claims 3, 4, 9, 12, 16, 17, 22 and 25 would be allowable because the closest prior arts listed above either alone or in combination, fail to anticipate or render obvious, the claimed invention of “receive, from a base station, control signaling indicating a set of feedback sequences for feedback messages associated with sidelink communications, wherein the set of feedback sequences includes the feedback sequence, and wherein each feedback sequence in the set of feedback sequences indicates the negative acknowledgement and a different channel state information report from a plurality of channel state information reports”, in combination with all other limitations in the claim(s) as defined by applicant.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
-Chae et al. (US 2021/0051594);
-Lee et al. (US 2022/0167312);
-Wang et al. (US 2020/0092692).
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/CHAE S LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415