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 .
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. For example, title “Detection of Consistent Listen Before Talk Failure” enables reader to better grasp the purpose of the invention.
Examiner acknowledges receipt of preliminary amendment dated 18 April 2024.
Claim Objections
Claims 6 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 6 and 10, limitation “a carrier” is confusing, as respective base claims 1 and 10 each recite “a first carrier”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 6-13 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Du (US 2023/0209599).
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Due describes A sidelink communication method/apparatus (abstract, transmission resources for sidelink transmission), comprising:
[at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute instructions to cause the apparatus to perform:] (fig. 7 & para. 155-156, processor 610 coupled with memory 620 comprising program to execute the method)
receiving, by a first communication device, configuration information from a network, wherein the configuration information is used by the first communication device to detect consistent listen before talk (LBT) failures that occur in a first resource pool, the configuration information is associated with a first carrier or the first resource pool (fig. 2 step S201 & para. 60 in view of 53, terminal (first communication) device receives from network device configuration information comprising timer & count/counter threshold for detecting LBT failure event on the first resource pool), and the first resource pool belongs to the first carrier (para. 44, on a basis of per carrier, detection of persistent (consistent) LBT failure event on the first resource pool).
sending, by the first communication device, first indication information to the network device, wherein the first indication information indicates the first resource pool in which the consistent LBT failures occur (fig. 2 step 203 & para. 69, terminal device sends to network device first message regarding persistent (consistent) LBT failures).
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Du describes:
the configuration information comprises a maximum quantity of times of the consistent LBT failures and a timer length (Du, fig. 2 step S201 & para. 60 in view of 53, configuration information comprising timer [length] & count/counter threshold (maximum quantity of times) for detecting LBT failure event);
a physical (PHY) entity of the first communication device indicates, to a media access control (MAC) entity of the first communication device, the LBT failure that occurs in the first resource pool (Du, para. 62-63, physical layer (PHY entity) detects LBT failure event on the first resource pool & reported to the MAC layer (entity), then
para. 64, determination of whether the persistent LBT failure event occurs on the first resource pool may be performed by a MAC layer, where MAC entity starts a timer corresponding to the first resource pool, and increases a count value of a counter corresponding to the first resource pool based on the LBT failures that occur in the first resource pool; and when the count value of the counter reaches the maximum, the MAC entity determines that the consistent LBT failures occur in the first resource).
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Du describes:
stopping, by the first communication device, resource selection in the first resource pool within predetermined time (Du para. 60-62, after timer (time) & count used to detect LBT failure using first resource pool, terminal device switches to second resource pool (stopping first resource pool), para. 83).
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Du describes:
wherein when the sidelink comprises a plurality of carriers, the first indication information further indicates a carrier to which the first resource pool belongs (para. 32, network uses 1+ frequencies, where a frequency is also referred to as a carrier, where transmitted message (first indication) indicates detection of persistent (consistent) LBT failure event on the first resource pool is on a basis of per carrier para. 44).
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Du describes a sidelink communication method, comprising:
[at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute instructions to cause the apparatus to perform:] (fig. 7 & para. 155-156, processor 610 coupled with memory 620 comprising program to execute the method)
sending, by a network device, configuration information to a first communication device, wherein the configuration information is associated with a first carrier or a first resource pool, and the first resource pool belongs to the first carrier (fig. 2 step S201 & para. 60 in view of 53, network device sends to terminal (first communication) device configuration information comprising timer & count/counter threshold for detecting LBT failure event on the first resource pool), and the first resource pool belongs to the first carrier (para. 44, on a basis of per carrier, detection of persistent (consistent) LBT failure event on the first resource pool),
receiving, by the network device, first indication information from the first communication device, wherein the first indication information indicates the first resource pool in which consistent LBT failures occur (fig. 2 step 203 & para. 69 network device sends receives from terminal (first communication) device first message regarding persistent (consistent) LBT failures).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Du describes:
wherein the configuration information comprises a maximum quantity of times of the LBT failures and a timer length (fig. 2 step S201 & para. 60 in view of 53, configuration information comprising timer [length] & count/counter threshold (maximum quantity of times) for detecting LBT failure event).
Regarding claims 9 and 19, Du describes:
wherein the first indication information further indicates a unicast connection between the first communication device and a second communication device (fig. 2 & para, 68-69, network device receives in step S203 first message (indication information) comprising failure event occurs on first resource pool, the first resource pool being transmission resource used by terminal (first communication) device for sidelink transmission (unicast connection with second communication device), para. 6 & fig. 1. See also abstract).
Regarding claims 10 and 20, Du describes:
wherein when the sidelink comprises a plurality of carriers, the first indication information further indicates a carrier to which the first resource pool belongs (para. 32, network uses 1+ frequencies, where a frequency is also referred to as a carrier, where transmitted message (first indication) indicates detection of persistent (consistent) LBT failure event on the first resource pool is on a basis of per carrier para. 44).
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.
Claims 4-5 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Du as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xue (US 2021/0410113).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Du already describes using second resource pool on which the consistent LBT failures occur (para. 83, terminal device uses second resource pool where consistent LBT failures occur), but fails to further explicitly describe:
receiving, by the first communication device, second indication information from a second communication device, wherein the second indication information indicates a such second resource pool that is on the sidelink.
Xue also describes transmission of control information for sidelink communications (title & fig. 4), further describing:
receiving, by the first communication device, a second indication information from a second communication device, wherein the second indication information indicates a such second resource pool that is on the sidelink (fig. 5 & 6 and para. 74, UE receiving from WCD, which can be another UE (second communication device), a subsequent SCI message (second indication) comprising plural resource pools (second resource pool) via sidelink for target UEs to use in sidelink communication).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to specify that the first communication device in Du to receive a second indication information from a second communication device indicating a second resource pool on the sidelink as in Xue.
The motivation for combining the teachings is that this improves the LTE, NR & other radio access technologies which demand for mobile broadband access increases (Xue, para. 5).
Regarding claims 5 and 15, Du already describes using second resource pool on which the consistent LBT failures occur (para. 83, terminal device uses second resource pool where consistent LBT failures occur), but fails to further explicitly describe:
sending, by the first communication device, fourth indication information to a second communication device, wherein the fourth indication information indicates the first resource pool or the first carrier in or on which the consistent LBT failures occur.
Xue also describes transmission of control information for sidelink communications (title & fig. 4), further describing:
sending, by the first communication device, fourth indication information to a second communication device, wherein the fourth indication information indicates the first resource pool or the first carrier in or on which the consistent LBT failures occur (fig. 5 & 6 and para. 74, WCD, which can be the UE (first communication device), sends to another UE (second communication device) a subsequent SCI message (fourth indication) comprising plural resource pools (second resource pool) via sidelink for target UEs to use in sidelink communication).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to specify that the first communication device in Du to transmit a second indication information to a second communication device indicating a second resource pool on the sidelink as in Xue.
The motivation for combining the teachings is that this improves the LTE, NR & other radio access technologies which demand for mobile broadband access increases (Xue, para. 5).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Liu (US 2023/0015997) describing UE receiving DCI scheduling sidelink TTIs and then perform a LBT for the TTIs and the UE may transmit, to a base station, an indication of results of the LBT performed for the one or more TTIs (abstract), Lee (US 2022/0022252) describing LBT handling by use of LBT failure count (fig. 10), Deogun (US 2020/0267763) describing identification of 1+ RA occasions & perform LBT procedure to determine RA failure based on set of consecutive LBT failures (fig. 4), Chen (US 2020/0221495) describing LBT failure detection performed by a UE (abstract), and Tsai (US 2021/0144762) describing LBT failure detection and recovery by UE (abstract).
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WARNER WONG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2469
/WARNER WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469