DETAILED ACTION
The action is responsive to claims filed on 07/22/2026. Claims 1-20 are pending for evaluation.
Note: The claims are presented with independent claims listed first in numerical order, followed by dependent claims also in numerical order; any dual or mirror claims are grouped with the lowest-numbered claim in their respective pairing.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of English-translated certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 07/22/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 16, and 20 are amended. Claims 1-20 remain pending for evaluation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s argument on pg. 8-9 of Applicant Remarks that, in substance, Ying’s network node does not perform the claimed determining step in the amended Claim 1, Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Applicant’s arguments rely on language solely recited in preamble recitations in amended Claim(s) 1. When reading the preamble in the context of the entire claim, the recitation “beam configuration method performed by a coordinating node at a network side, comprising” is not limiting because the body of the claim describes a complete invention and the language recited solely in the preamble does not provide any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention’s limitations. Thus, the preamble of the claim(s) is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. See Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 182 F.3d 1298, 1305, 51 USPQ2d 1161, 1165 (Fed. Cir. 1999). See MPEP § 2111.02.
In response to Applicant’s argument on pg. 9of Applicant Remarks that, in substance, Ying’s “beam pair information” is not “separate candidate-beam information” in Claim 1, Examiner respectfully disagrees.
During patent examination, the pending claims must be "given their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification." The Federal Circuit’s en banc decision in Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1316, 75 USPQ2d 1321, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2005) expressly recognized that the USPTO employs the "broadest reasonable interpretation" standard:
The Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") determines the scope of claims in patent applications not solely on the basis of the claim language, but upon giving claims their broadest reasonable construction "in light of the specification as it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art." In re Am. Acad. of Sci. Tech. Ctr., 367 F.3d 1359, 1364[, 70 USPQ2d 1827, 1830] (Fed. Cir. 2004). Indeed, the rules of the PTO require that application claims must "conform to the invention as set forth in the remainder of the specification and the terms and phrases used in the claims must find clear support or antecedent basis in the description so that the meaning of the terms in the claims may be ascertainable by reference to the description." 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1). See MPEP §2111.
See also In re Suitco Surface, Inc., 603 F.3d 1255, 1259, 94 USPQ2d 1640, 1643 (Fed. Cir. 2010); In re Hyatt, 211 F.3d 1367, 1372, 54 USPQ2d 1664, 1667 (Fed. Cir. 2000).
Under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI), Ying’s candidate beam-pair information constitutes information regarding a candidate beam for each node because the candidate beam pair identifies the respective beams used by the first and second UEs. In particular, Ying describes the beam pair as including a transmit beam for the first UE and receive beam of the second UE, and Fig. 5 further illustrates the first UE transmitting using transmit beam Tx1-Tx3 while the second UE listens using receive beams Rx1-Rx3. Thus, the candidate beam-pair information received at S105 reasonably constitutes information regarding a candidate beam for the first node and information regarding a candidate beam for the second node, as recited.
In response to Applicant’s argument on pg. 9 of Applicant Remarks that, in substance, the rejection improperly combines separate embodiments in Claim 1, Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Applicant’s argument that the rejection improperly combines separate embodiments is not persuasive. The rejection does not rely on Fig. 5 as an unrelated embodiment to supply a missing limitation from Fig. 2; rather, Fig. 5 provides further detail regarding the same sidelink beam-sweep and beam-pair procedure described from the network-node perspective in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 teaches receiving candidate beam-pair information at S105 and subsequently scheduling resources corresponding to the candidate beam pairs at S109, while Fig. 5 describes the corresponding UE-side beam operation and expressly identifies the relevant beams as transmit beam(s) of the first UE and receive beam(s) of the second UE. Accordingly, Figs. 2 and 5 are relied upon together to explain the disclosed beam-pair procedure, rather than to combine unrelated embodiments to reconstruct the claimed invention.
In conclusion, Ying teaches Claim 1. Accordingly, Ying anticipates the claimed subject matter, and the rejection under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(2) is upheld.
Applicant’s arguments presented with respect to independent Claim(s) 16 and 20 and the dependent claims are substantively the same as those set forth for Claim 1. Accordingly, the same reasoning and supporting explanation provided for Claim 1 are equally applicable to independent Claim(s) 16 and 20 and the dependent claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 9 is 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.
Claims 8 and 9 are allowable because the cited prior art, including, Ying, Venugopal, Luo, and Akkarakaran do not teach or suggest determining beam information using combined link-metric information for two separate links to a third node (direction and length of each link) together with location information of both the first node and second node, as recited. Nor does the art teach using such combined multi-link geometry/location information with candidate beam information to determine beam information of the first node or second node.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 13, 15-17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ying et al. (US 2022/0386319), Ying hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, Ying teaches a beam configuration method performed by a coordinating node at a network side, comprising (Fig. 2, Para. [0039-0053]; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]):
obtaining first information comprising information regarding a candidate beam for a first node and information regarding a candidate beam for a second node (Fig. 2, S105; Para. [0039-0053] - [0039] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method 100, performed by a network node, such as a radio network node (e.g. a gNB), for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE according to the disclosure, which disclosure relates to side-link beam transmissions… [0044] The method 100 comprises receiving S105, from the first and/or the second UE, beam pair information indicative of one or more beam pairs intended for side-link communication between the first and the second UE. The beam pairs intended for side-link communication are beam pairs which the first and/or the second UE has/have determined, based on measurements, to be the one or more beam pairs that are most suitable, from the UEs perspective, for the side-link. The beams intended for side-link communication by the UEs, must however not correspond to the actual beam pair selected for side-link communication after interference experienced by the other wireless nodes has been considered. The information indicative of the one or more beam pairs for side-link communication may comprise an indication of the beam pair, an amount of data transmitted over the side-link and/or a power request for the side-link; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]);
and determining, based on the first information, beam information of the first node and beam information of the second node, wherein the beam information of the first node indicates a transmit beam for the first node, and the beam information of the second node indicates a receive beam for the second node (Fig. 2, S109; Para. [0039-0053] - [0048] The method 100 comprises scheduling S109 resources for the side-link communication based on the monitored interference information. In other words, if the network node is informed of, e.g. by receiving a message from one or more of the other nodes, and/or determines that another wireless node is negatively affected, such as experiences interference, by the side-link beam sweep, the network node may adapt the scheduling of the side-link communication between the first and the second UEs, such that the interference is removed or mitigated. The scheduling may e.g. comprise allocating resources corresponding to the one or more candidate beam pairs indicated by the first and/or second UE with a limited transmit power for reducing the interference experienced by the other wireless nodes or allocating a different set of resources than the resources corresponding to the candidate beam pairs. The different set of resources may be resources for which the other wireless nodes have indicate that they experience less or no interference. The other wireless nodes may indicate no interference by e.g. not sending any interference information to the network node. If no other wireless nodes are affected by the side-link beam sweep, the network node may schedule the resources corresponding to the one or more candidate beam pairs as indicated by the first and/or second UE. In one or more example methods, upon determining that the interference experienced is below the threshold, the scheduling S109 may comprise allocating S109A resources to the first and second UE for side-link communication with the beam pairs intended for side-link communication; Fig. 5, S401 and S403; Para. [0072-0082] - [0072] FIG. 5 is a flow-chart illustrating an exemplary method 4000, performed in a second UE, for interference coordination for side-link communication between the second UE and a first UE according to this disclosure. The method 4000 comprises receiving S401, from a radio network node, information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing the side-link beam pair in certain resources. The information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing the side-link beam pair may comprise a set of resource elements that the first and the second UE may use to establish the beam pair, such as to perform the side-link beam sweep. The set of resources may comprise L sub-blocks each sub-block comprising K resource elements. In one example, the information allowing the first and the second UE to perform the side-link beam sweep may comprise information indicating that the number of sub-blocks is L=9, i.e. that nine sub-blocks have been granted for performing the side-link beam sweep for setting up the side-link communication between the first and the second UE. The UEs may receive information on how the UEs are to use the granted resources, e.g. how many transmit beams the UEs may use to transmit in the resources of the granted sub-blocks. This may however also be up to the UEs to decide. The UE transmitting the beam sweep, in this example the first UE, may e.g. determine to transmit using three transmit beams. In a scenario where nine resources are shared by three transmit beams, each transmit beam may be repeated N times, wherein in this example N=3. Consequently, in this example, there are three transmit beams (Tx1-Tx3). Since N=3, the receiving UE, in this example the second UE, may choose to listen with L/N=3 receive beams (Rx1-Rx3)… [0074] The method 4000 comprises listening S403, using one or more receive beams, to a side-link beam sweep from the first UE, based on the received information; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Examiner’s Note: Ying teaches a coordinating network node that receives candidate beam information from the first and/or second UE (Fig. 2, S105; Para. [0039-0044]) and determines beam pair information for communication by scheduling/selecting corresponding resources (Fig. 2, S109; Para. [0048-0053]). Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0074] continues the same process and expressly shows the first UE using transmit beams (Tx1 – Tx3) and the second UE using receive beams (Rx1 – Rx3), thereby teaching the claimed first node transmit beam and second-node receive beam information.
Regarding Claim 16, Ying teaches an apparatus at a network side comprising (Fig. 6, Para. [0083-0094]; See Also: Fig. 7, Para. [0095-0105]; Fig. 8, Para. [0106-0115]; Fig. 9, Para. [0116-0124]):
a processor configured to perform operations of (Fig. 6, Element 402, Para. [0083-0094]; See also Fig. 7, Para. [0095-0105]; Fig. 8, Para. [0106-0115]; Fig. 9, Para. [0116-0124]):
obtaining first information, wherein the first information comprises information regarding a candidate beam for a first node and information regarding a candidate beam for a second node (Fig. 2, S105; Para. [0039-0053]; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245] );
and determining beam information of the first node and beam information of the second node based on the first information, wherein the beam information of the first node indicates a transmit beam for the first node, and the beam information of the second node indicates a receive beam for the second node (Fig. 2, S109; Para. [0039-0053]; Fig. 5, S401 and S403; Para. [0072-0082]; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 20, Ying teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored computer-executable instruction that, when executed by a processor of a coordinating node at a network side, cause the coordinating node to perform operations of (Fig. 6, Element 401; Para. [0083-0094]; See Also: Fig. 7, Para. [0095-0105]; Fig. 8, Para. [0106-0115]; Fig. 9, Para. [0116-0124]):
obtain first information, wherein the first information comprises information regarding a candidate beam for a first node and information regarding a candidate beam for a second node (Fig. 2, S105; Para. [0039-0053]; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245] ();
and determine beam information of the first node and beam information of the second node based on the first information, wherein the beam information of the first node indicates a transmit beam for the first node, and the beam information of the second node indicates a receive beam for the second node (Fig. 2, S109; Para. [0039-0053]; Fig. 5, S401 and S403; Para. [0072-0082]; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 2, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Ying further teaches
receiving, from the first node, the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node; or receiving, from the second node, the information regarding the candidate beam for the second node (Fig. 2, S105; Para. [0039-0053] - [0044] The method 100 comprises receiving S105, from the first and/or the second UE, beam pair information indicative of one or more beam pairs intended for side-link communication between the first and the second UE; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 17, Ying teaches Claim 16.
Ying further teaches
receiving the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node from the first node; or receiving the information regarding the candidate beam for the second node and from the second node (Fig. 2, S105; Para. [0039-0053] - [0044] The method 100 comprises receiving S105, from the first and/or the second UE, beam pair information indicative of one or more beam pairs intended for side-link communication between the first and the second UE; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 6, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Ying further teaches
wherein the beam information of the first node comprises a transmit beam sequence of the first node (Fig. 5, S401 and S403; Para. [0072-0082] - [0072] FIG. 5 is a flow-chart illustrating an exemplary method 4000, performed in a second UE, for interference coordination for side-link communication between the second UE and a first UE according to this disclosure. The method 4000 comprises receiving S401, from a radio network node, information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing the side-link beam pair in certain resources. The information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing the side-link beam pair may comprise a set of resource elements that the first and the second UE may use to establish the beam pair, such as to perform the side-link beam sweep. The set of resources may comprise L sub-blocks each sub-block comprising K resource elements. In one example, the information allowing the first and the second UE to perform the side-link beam sweep may comprise information indicating that the number of sub-blocks is L=9, i.e. that nine sub-blocks have been granted for performing the side-link beam sweep for setting up the side-link communication between the first and the second UE. The UEs may receive information on how the UEs are to use the granted resources, e.g. how many transmit beams the UEs may use to transmit in the resources of the granted sub-blocks. This may however also be up to the UEs to decide. The UE transmitting the beam sweep, in this example the first UE, may e.g. determine to transmit using three transmit beams. In a scenario where nine resources are shared by three transmit beams, each transmit beam may be repeated N times, wherein in this example N=3. Consequently, in this example, there are three transmit beams (Tx1-Tx3). Since N=3, the receiving UE, in this example the second UE, may choose to listen with L/N=3 receive beams (Rx1-Rx3)… [0074] The method 4000 comprises listening S403, using one or more receive beams, to a side-link beam sweep from the first UE, based on the received information; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0039-0053]; Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 10, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Ying further teaches
sending transmission resource information of the first node to the first node (Fig. 5, S401 and S403; Para. [0072-0082] - [0072] FIG. 5 is a flow-chart illustrating an exemplary method 4000, performed in a second UE, for interference coordination for side-link communication between the second UE and a first UE according to this disclosure. The method 4000 comprises receiving S401, from a radio network node, information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing the side-link beam pair in certain resources. The information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing the side-link beam pair may comprise a set of resource elements that the first and the second UE may use to establish the beam pair, such as to perform the side-link beam sweep. The set of resources may comprise L sub-blocks each sub-block comprising K resource elements. In one example, the information allowing the first and the second UE to perform the side-link beam sweep may comprise information indicating that the number of sub-blocks is L=9, i.e. that nine sub-blocks have been granted for performing the side-link beam sweep for setting up the side-link communication between the first and the second UE. The UEs may receive information on how the UEs are to use the granted resources, e.g. how many transmit beams the UEs may use to transmit in the resources of the granted sub-blocks. This may however also be up to the UEs to decide. The UE transmitting the beam sweep, in this example the first UE, may e.g. determine to transmit using three transmit beams. In a scenario where nine resources are shared by three transmit beams, each transmit beam may be repeated N times, wherein in this example N=3. Consequently, in this example, there are three transmit beams (Tx1-Tx3). Since N=3, the receiving UE, in this example the second UE, may choose to listen with L/N=3 receive beams (Rx1-Rx3)… [0074] The method 4000 comprises listening S403, using one or more receive beams, to a side-link beam sweep from the first UE, based on the received information; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0039-0053]; Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
or sending reception resource information of the second node to the second node (Fig. 5, S401 and S403; Para. [0072-0082]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0039-0053]; Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]),
wherein the transmission resource information of the first node indicates a resource of the transmit beam for the first node, and the reception resource information of the second node indicates a resource of the receive beam for the second node (Fig. 5, S401 and S403; Para. [0072-0082]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0039-0053]; Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 11, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Ying further teaches
wherein the coordinating node is the second node or a third node, and the method further comprises: sending transmit power information of the first node to the first node, wherein the transmit power information of the first node indicates transmit power of the first node (Fig. 2, S109; Para. [0039-0053] - [0048] The method 100 comprises scheduling S109 resources for the side-link communication based on the monitored interference information…The scheduling may e.g. comprise allocating resources corresponding to the one or more candidate beam pairs indicated by the first and/or second UE with a limited transmit power for reducing the interference experienced by the other wireless nodes or allocating a different set of resources than the resources corresponding to the candidate beam pairs…In one or more example methods, upon determining that the interference experienced is below the threshold, the scheduling S109 may comprise allocating S109A resources to the first and second UE for side-link communication with the beam pairs intended for side-link communication… [0051] In one or more example methods, upon determining that the interference experienced is not below the threshold, the scheduling S109 comprises determining S109D, based on the interference information, a maximum transmit power allowable for the side-link. In one or more example methods, upon determining that the interference experienced is not below the threshold, the scheduling S109 comprises granting S109E resources for the side-link communication under the condition that the maximum transmit power is not exceeded. By limiting the maximum transmit power, e.g. by performing a power back-off, the resources where the other nodes experience interference can still be used for side-link transmission, since the experienced interference can be reduced by means of the transmit power so that the interference is below the threshold; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 13, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Ying further teaches
wherein the coordinating node is a third node, and the method further comprises: obtaining the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node from the first node; and obtaining the information regarding the candidate beam for the second node from the second node (Fig. 2, S105; Para. [0039-0053] - [0039] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method 100, performed by a network node, such as a radio network node (e.g. a gNB), for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE according to the disclosure, which disclosure relates to side-link beam transmissions… [0044] The method 100 comprises receiving S105, from the first and/or the second UE, beam pair information indicative of one or more beam pairs intended for side-link communication between the first and the second UE. The beam pairs intended for side-link communication are beam pairs which the first and/or the second UE has/have determined, based on measurements, to be the one or more beam pairs that are most suitable, from the UEs perspective, for the side-link. The beams intended for side-link communication by the UEs, must however not correspond to the actual beam pair selected for side-link communication after interference experienced by the other wireless nodes has been considered. The information indicative of the one or more beam pairs for side-link communication may comprise an indication of the beam pair, an amount of data transmitted over the side-link and/or a power request for the side-link; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
Regarding Claim 15, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Ying further teaches
sending first indication information to the first node, wherein the first indication information comprises the beam information of the first node; or sending second indication information to the second node, wherein the second indication information comprises the beam information of the second node (Fig. 2, S101; Para. [0039-0053] - [0039] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method 100, performed by a network node, such as a radio network node (e.g. a gNB), for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE according to the disclosure, which disclosure relates to side-link beam transmissions. The method 100 comprises sending S101, to the first and second UE, information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing a side-link beam pair in a set of resources. The information may be sent using control signalling. In some embodiments the control signalling may sent to the first and second UE using a Sidelink Control Information (SCI) message over e.g. a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), or via a DCI message sent over a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The resources for the side-link and/or the side-link beam sweep may typically be allocated by the radio network node. [0040] In one or more example methods, the information allowing the first and the second UE to perform a side-link beam sweep for establishing the side-link beam pair may comprise, such as may indicate, a set of resource elements (REs) that the first and the second UE may use to establish the beam pair, such as to perform the side-link beam sweep. The set of resources may comprise L sub-blocks each sub-block comprising K resource elements. In one example, the information allowing the first and the second UE to perform the side-link beam sweep may comprise information indicating that the number of sub-blocks is L=9, i.e. that nine sub-blocks have been granted for performing the side-link beam sweep for setting up the side-link communication between the first and the second UE. The information may further comprise an indication of a power and/or a beam space that may be used for the beam sweep. The resources may be defined in a time and frequency domain or in a doppler and delay domain. The network node may decide how the UEs are to use the granted resources, e.g. how many transmit beams the UEs may use to transmit in the resources of the granted sub-blocks. This may however also be up to UE implementation, e.g. the UE may determine to transmit using three transmit beams and thus that the nine granted sub-blocks shall be shared by the three beams. In a scenario where nine resources are shared by three transmit beams, each transmit beam may be repeated three times. If the first UE has chosen N=3 such that each transmit beam is repeated three times. Consequently, there are three transmit beams (Tx1-Tx3). Since N=3, the second UE choses to listen with L/N=3 beams (Rx1-Rx3) on each transmit beam.; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0054-0059]; Fig. 4, Para. [0060-0071]; Fig. 5, Para. [0072-0082]; Fig. 10, Para. [0125-0145]; Fig. 11, Para. [0146-0166]; Para. [0167-0245]).
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) 3-5, 18, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ying in view of Venugopal et al. (US 2020/0022000), Venugopal hereinafter.
Regarding Claims 3 and 18, Ying teaches Claims 1 and 16.
Yet, Ying does not expressly teach sending first request information to the first node, wherein the first request information requests the first node to report the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node; or sending second request information to the second node, wherein the second request information requests the second node to report the information regarding the candidate beam for the second node.
However, Venugopal teaches
sending first request information to the first node, wherein the first request/s information requests the first node to report the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node (Fig. 5, step 505; Para. [0079-0090] - [0080] At block 505, the method 500 may include receiving, at the UE, a beam diversity request from a base station. For example, in an aspect, transceiver 402 may receive the beam diversity request from the RF front end 488 and forward the received message to the modem 414 of the UE 104. In some examples, the beam diversity request triggers the UE to identify one or more beams that may provide robustness connectivity based on beam characteristic correlation information. In some examples, the beam diversity request from the base station may include information associated with one or more of RSRP-correlation threshold, AoA separation threshold, or spatial-correlation threshold that the beam measurements must satisfy to be included in the beam diversity response. The information associated with the one or more thresholds may be used to configure the UE to report beams that satisfy the thresholds configured by the base station. Aspects of block 505 may be performed by transceiver 402 described with reference to FIG. 4; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0052-0067]; Fig. 7, Para. [0102-0107]);
or sending second request information to the second node, wherein the second request/s information requests the second node to report the information regarding the candidate beam for the second node (Fig. 5, step 505; Para. [0079-0090]; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0052-0067]; Fig. 7, Para. [0102-0107]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ying’s invention of “a method, performed by a network node, for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE” (Ying Para. [0005]) with Venugopal’s invention of “techniques to improve reliability and robustness for mmW systems in 5GNR communications technology by allowing the base station to group a plurality of mmW beams for communication with the user equipment (UE) such that the selected beam(s) for communication are independent and uncorrelated” (Venugopal Para. [0006]) because Venugopal’s invention provides techniques which allow for “selection of beams that ensure macro-diversity in that the joint blocking probability of the selected beam(s) may be minimized and the susceptibility to blockage is reduced in comparison to the current systems” (Venugopal Para. [0006]).
Regarding Claim 4, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Yet, Ying does not expressly teach wherein the information regarding the candidate beam comprises information related to an angle range or a geographical range.
However, Venugopal teaches
wherein the information regarding the candidate beam comprises information related to an angle range or a geographical range (Fig. 5, step 520; Para. [0079-0090] - [0088] At block 520, the method 500 may include transmitting a beam diversity response based on the beam measurements. In some examples, the beam diversity response may include beam indices of the one or more beams selected from the plurality of directional candidate beams. In other examples, instead of beam indices, the beam diversity response may include a beam measurement report associated with one or more of the RSRP correlation, AoA separation, or the spatial correlation for the plurality of directional candidate beams. As such, the base station 102 may group one or more beams based on the beam measurement report. Aspects of block 420 may be performed by transceiver 402 in conjunction measurement reporting component 470 with described with reference to FIG. 4; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0052-0067]; Fig. 5, Para. [0079-0090]; Fig. 7, Para. [0102-0107]; Para. [0124, 0136, 0144, 0151]);
The Examiner interprets AoA (angle of arrival) separation as information related to an angle range and spatial correlation as information related to a geographical range.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ying’s invention of “a method, performed by a network node, for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE” (Ying Para. [0005]) with Venugopal’s invention of “techniques to improve reliability and robustness for mmW systems in 5GNR communications technology by allowing the base station to group a plurality of mmW beams for communication with the user equipment (UE) such that the selected beam(s) for communication are independent and uncorrelated” (Venugopal Para. [0006]) because Venugopal’s invention provides techniques which allow for “selection of beams that ensure macro-diversity in that the joint blocking probability of the selected beam(s) may be minimized and the susceptibility to blockage is reduced in comparison to the current systems” (Venugopal Para. [0006]).
Regarding Claim 5, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Yet, Ying does not expressly teach wherein the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node comprises an index of the candidate beam for the first node, an angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the first node, or a quantity of candidate beams for the first node.
However, Venugopal teaches
wherein the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node comprises an index of the candidate beam for the first node, an angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the first node, or a quantity of candidate beams for the first node (Fig. 5, step 520; Para. [0079-0090] - [0088] At block 520, the method 500 may include transmitting a beam diversity response based on the beam measurements. In some examples, the beam diversity response may include beam indices of the one or more beams selected from the plurality of directional candidate beams. In other examples, instead of beam indices, the beam diversity response may include a beam measurement report associated with one or more of the RSRP correlation, AoA separation, or the spatial correlation for the plurality of directional candidate beams. As such, the base station 102 may group one or more beams based on the beam measurement report. Aspects of block 420 may be performed by transceiver 402 in conjunction measurement reporting component 470 with described with reference to FIG. 4; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0052-0067]; Fig. 5, Para. [0079-0090]; Fig. 7, Para. [0102-0107]; Para. [0124, 0136, 0144, 0151]);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ying’s invention of “a method, performed by a network node, for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE” (Ying Para. [0005]) with Venugopal’s invention of “techniques to improve reliability and robustness for mmW systems in 5GNR communications technology by allowing the base station to group a plurality of mmW beams for communication with the user equipment (UE) such that the selected beam(s) for communication are independent and uncorrelated” (Venugopal Para. [0006]) because Venugopal’s invention provides techniques which allow for “selection of beams that ensure macro-diversity in that the joint blocking probability of the selected beam(s) may be minimized and the susceptibility to blockage is reduced in comparison to the current systems” (Venugopal Para. [0006]).
Regarding Claim 19, Ying teaches Claim 16.
Yet, Ying does not expressly teach wherein the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node comprises of an index of the candidate beam for the first node, an angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the first node, or a quantity of candidate beams for the first node; and the information regarding the candidate beam for the second node comprises an index of the candidate beam for the second node, an angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the second node, or a quantity of candidate beams for the second node.
However, Venugopal teaches
wherein the information regarding the candidate beam for the first node comprises of an index of the candidate beam for the first node, an angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the first node, or a quantity of candidate beams for the first node; and the information regarding the candidate beam for the second node comprises an index of the candidate beam for the second node, an angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the second node, or a quantity of candidate beams for the second node (Fig. 5, step 520; Para. [0079-0090]; See also Fig. 3, Para. [0052-0067]; Fig. 5, Para. [0079-0090]; Fig. 7, Para. [0102-0107]; Para. [0124, 0136, 0144, 0151]);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ying’s invention of “a method, performed by a network node, for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE” (Ying Para. [0005]) with Venugopal’s invention of “techniques to improve reliability and robustness for mmW systems in 5GNR communications technology by allowing the base station to group a plurality of mmW beams for communication with the user equipment (UE) such that the selected beam(s) for communication are independent and uncorrelated” (Venugopal Para. [0006]) because Venugopal’s invention provides techniques which allow for “selection of beams that ensure macro-diversity in that the joint blocking probability of the selected beam(s) may be minimized and the susceptibility to blockage is reduced in comparison to the current systems” (Venugopal Para. [0006]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ying in view of Venugopal, and in further view of Luo et al. (US 2019/0116605), Luo hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 7, Ying in view of Venugopal teaches Claim 5.
Yet, Ying nor Venugopal expressly teaches determining, based on the index of the candidate beam for the first node and the angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the first node, an index of the transmit beam for the first node and an angle corresponding to the index of the transmit beam for the first node; or determining, based on the index of the candidate beam for the second node and the angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the second node, an index of the receive beam for the second node and an angle corresponding to the index of the receive beam for the second node.
However, Luo teaches
determining, based on the index of the candidate beam for the first node and the angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the first node, an index of the transmit beam for the first node and an angle corresponding to the index of the transmit beam for the first node (Fig. 8, Para. [0126-0128] - [0127] The scheduled entity 802 may then generate a beam measurement report 860 including the set of candidate beams 823-826 and the beam angle information for transmission to the scheduling entity 804. In one example, the beam measurement report 860 may include a respective beam index, along with the BRSRP and/or RSSI, of each candidate beam in the set of candidate beams 823-826. In other examples, the beam measurement report 860 may include the respective beam index and BRSRP and/or RSSI of each reference beam. In this example, the scheduling entity 804 may determine the set of candidate beams 823-826. From the set of candidate beams 823-826 and the beam angle information, the scheduling entity 804 or scheduled entity 802 may select one or more serving downlink beams for the scheduling entity 804 to transmit downlink control information and/or downlink user data traffic to the scheduled entity 802; See also Figs. 9-10, Para. [01290134]; Figs. 11-16, Para. [0141-0171]; Figs. 19-30, Para. [0212-0263]);
or determining, based on the index of the candidate beam for the second node and the angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the second node, an index of the receive beam for the second node and an angle corresponding to the index of the receive beam for the second node (Fig. 8, Para. [0126-0128]; See also Figs. 9-10, Para. [01290134]; Figs. 11-16, Para. [0141-0171]; Figs. 19-30, Para. [0212-0263]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide determining, based on the index of the candidate beam for the first node and the angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the first node, an index of the transmit beam for the first node and an angle corresponding to the index of the transmit beam for the first node; or determining, based on the index of the candidate beam for the second node and the angle corresponding to the index of the candidate beam for the second node, an index of the receive beam for the second node and an angle corresponding to the index of the receive beam for the second node as taught by Luo, in the combined system of Ying/Venugopal, so that it would provide techniques such that “the scheduled entity may include beam angle information, such as the angles of arrival/departure, differences in the angles of arrival/departure or temporal information (e.g., time of arrival, time of departure, or time differences), of at least the candidate beams within the beam measurement report,” whereby the “scheduling entity may utilize the beam angle information, together with the measured beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) of each of the candidate beams to select the serving downlink beams for the scheduled entity” (Luo Para. [0048]).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ying in view of Luo.
Regarding Claim 12, Ying in view of Venugopal teaches Claim 1.
Yet, Ying does not expressly teach sending feedback resource information of the second node to the second node, wherein the feedback resource information of the second node indicates a feedback resource of the second node, and the feedback resource is for sending, to the coordinating node, a status of beam pairing between the first node and the second node, a status of data transmission between the first node and the second node, or quality of a channel between the first node and the second node.
However, Luo teaches
sending feedback resource information of the second node to the second node, wherein the feedback resource information of the second node indicates a feedback resource of the second node, (Fig. 4, Para. [0091-0102] - [0098] In a DL transmission, the transmitting device (e.g., the scheduling entity 108) may allocate one or more REs 406 (e.g., within a control region 412) to carry DL control information including one or more DL control channels, such as a PBCH; a PSS; a SSS; a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH); a physical hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH); and/or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), etc., to one or more scheduled entities 106. The PCFICH provides information to assist a receiving device in receiving and decoding the PDCCH. The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI) including but not limited to power control commands, scheduling information, a grant, and/or an assignment of REs for DL and UL transmissions. The PHICH carries HARQ feedback transmissions such as an acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK). HARQ is a technique well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, wherein the integrity of packet transmissions may be checked at the receiving side for accuracy, e.g., utilizing any suitable integrity checking mechanism, such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrity of the transmission confirmed, an ACK may be transmitted, whereas if not confirmed, a NACK may be transmitted. In response to a NACK, the transmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may implement chase combining, incremental redundancy, etc.; See also Figs. 9-10, Para. [01290134]; Figs. 11-16, Para. [0141-0171]; Figs. 19-30, Para. [0212-0263]);
and the feedback resource is for sending, to the coordinating node, a status of beam pairing between the first node and the second node, a status of data transmission between the first node and the second node, or quality of a channel between the first node and the second node (Fig. 4, Para. [0091-0102] - [0099] In an UL transmission, the transmitting device (e.g., the scheduled entity 106) may utilize one or more REs 406 to carry UL control information including one or more UL control channels, such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), to the scheduling entity 108. UL control information may include a variety of packet types and categories, including pilots, reference signals, and information configured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. In some examples, the control information may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., request for the scheduling entity 108 to schedule uplink transmissions. Here, in response to the SR transmitted on the control channel, the scheduling entity 108 may transmit downlink control information that may schedule resources for uplink packet transmissions. UL control information may also include HARQ feedback, channel state feedback (CSF), or any other suitable UL control information; See also Figs. 9-10, Para. [01290134]; Figs. 11-16, Para. [0141-0171]; Figs. 19-30, Para. [0212-0263]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ying’s invention of “a method, performed by a network node, for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE” (Ying Para. [0005]) with Luo’s invention of techniques such that “the scheduled entity may include beam angle information, such as the angles of arrival/departure, differences in the angles of arrival/departure or temporal information (e.g., time of arrival, time of departure, or time differences), of at least the candidate beams within the beam measurement report” (Luo Para. [0048]) because Luo’s invention provides techniques which allow for a scheduling entity to “utilize the beam angle information, together with the measured beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) of each of the candidate beams to select the serving downlink beams for the scheduled entity” (Luo Para. [0048]).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ying in view of Akkarakaran et al. (US 2021/0184747), Akkarakaran hereinafter; Akkarakaran was presented in the IDS submitted on 04/09/2025.
Regarding Claim 14, Ying teaches Claim 1.
Yet, Ying does not expressly teach wherein the coordinating node is either the first node or the second node, and the method further comprises: obtaining, via a third node, the information regarding the candidate beam for one of the first node and the second node that is not the coordinating node.
However, Akkarakaran teaches
wherein the coordinating node is either the first node or the second node, and the method further comprises: obtaining, via a third node, the information regarding the candidate beam for one of the first node and the second node that is not the coordinating node (Fig. 4, Para. [0086-0105] - [0087] At 402, method 400 includes determining, at the first node, first beam orientation information for a second node to select one or more beams for beam training with a third node. In an aspect, the UE 104 and/or the communication component 198/configuration component 240 may be configured to determine, at the first node, first beam orientation information for a second node to select one or more beams for beam training with a third node. As such, the UE 104 and/or the communication component 198/configuration component 240, e.g., in conjunction with controller/processor 359, which may include the memory 360, processor(s) 512, which may include the memory 516, modem 540, TX processor 368, and transceiver 502 may define a means for determining, at the first node, first beam orientation information for a second node to select one or more beams for beam training with a third node. [0088] At 404, method 400 includes determining, at the first node, second beam orientation information for the third node to select one or more of beams for beam training with the second node. In an aspect, the UE 104 and/or the communication component 198/configuration component 240 may be configured to determine, at the first node, second beam orientation information for the third node to select one or more of beams for beam training with the second node. As such, the UE 104 and/or the communication component 198/configuration component 240, e.g., in conjunction with controller/processor 359, which may include the memory 360, processor(s) 512, which may include the memory 516, modem 540, RX processor 356, and transceiver 502 may define a means for determining, at the first node, second beam orientation information for the third node to select one or more of beams for beam training with the second node. [0089] At 406, method 400 includes transmitting, to the second node, the first beam orientation information…. [0090] At 408, method 400 includes transmitting, to the third node, the second beam orientation information);
Akkarakaran teaches Claim 14 by disclosing a first node that determines beam orientation information for a second node to select beams with a third node, and transmits corresponding information among the second and third nodes, thereby teaching a coordinating node that is one of the nodes and obtaining beam information via a third node for the other node.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ying’s invention of “a method, performed by a network node, for interference coordination for side-link communication between a first and a second UE” (Ying Para. [0005]) with Akkarakaran’s invention of “spatial relation indication based on beam orientation” (Akkarakaran Para. [0002]) because Akkarakaran’s invention provides “inputs to the beam training procedure beam orientation information which includes a beam shape and a beam direction from one node to another node either during normal communication or prior to a RACH procedure between the two nodes” which can “reduce beam-training latency and resource overhead when side-information (e.g., UE/gNB 3D position or current orientation or the beam related information) is available” (Akkarakaran Para. [0038]).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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/R.A.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
