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 .
Response to Amendment
Examiner acknowledges Applicant's amendment filed on June 11, 2026. Claims 50, 51, 55, and 56 are amended. Claims 53, 54, 58 and 59 have been canceled. Claims 60 and 61 are newly added.
Claims 50-52, 55-57, 60 and 61 are currently pending consideration.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s argument with respect to claims 50-59 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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.
Claims 50-52, 55-57, 60 and 61 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lei et al. (US 2023/0126864 A1) in view of Lai et al. (US 2023/0050524 A1).
4. Regarding claim 50, Lei teaches a method performed by a first terminal device communicating with a second terminal device via a sidelink channel (Fig. 3 and 6 UE 310a and 310b communicating; receiving sidelink control information and transmitting HARQ-ACK feedback), the method comprises:
receiving, from the second terminal device, a first sidelink transmission within a first resource block set (Paragraph [0113] UE receives sidelink control information on an interlace on a carrier; SCI schedules data transmission on the carrier);
determining a plurality of first resources for transmitting feedback
information in response to the first sidelink transmission, and the common resource being determined based on first information received from a network (Paragraphs [0033], [0034], [0051], [0113] and [0114] common resource block; interlaced resource block; RBs in frequency domain).
Lei does not explicitly disclose the plurality of first resources being within the first resource block set, the plurality of first resources comprising a common resource
and at least one dedicated resource, and the common resource being in a first interlace
and the at least one dedicated resource being in a second interlace and transmitting the feedback information on the common resource in the first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource in the second interlace.
Lai teaches the plurality of first resources being within the first resource block set, the plurality of first resources comprising a common resource
and at least one dedicated resource, and the common resource being in a first interlace
and the at least one dedicated resource being in a second interlace and transmitting the feedback information on the common resource in the first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource in the second interlace (Paragraph [0149] to [0155] transmits hARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI reports/feedback over both the first and second interlaces).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the plurality of first resources being within the first resource block set, the plurality of first resources comprising a common resourceand at least one dedicated resource, and the common resource being in a first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource being in a second interlace and transmitting the feedback information on the common resource in the first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource in the second interlace as taught by Lai in the system of Lei for logical channel based prioritization see abstract of Lai.
5. Regarding claim 55, Lei teaches a first terminal device communicating with a secondterminal device via a sidelink channel (Fig. 3 and 6, UE 310a and 310b communicating; receiving sidelink control information and transmitting HARQ-ACK feedback), the first terminal device comprises:
one or more memories storing instructions; and
one or more processors configured to process the instructions to control the first terminal device to:
receive, from the second terminal device, a first sidelink transmission within a first resource block set (Paragraph [0113] UE receives sidelink control information on an interlace on a carrier; SCI schedules data transmission on the carrier);
determine a plurality of first resources for transmitting feedback
information in response to the first sidelink transmission, and the common resource being determined based on first information received from a network (Paragraphs [0033], [0034], [0051], [0113] and [0114] common resource block; interlaced resource block; RBs in frequency domain).
Lei does not explicitly disclose the plurality of first resources being within the first resource block set, the plurality of first resources comprising a common resource
and at least one dedicated resource, and the common resource being in a first interlace
and the at least one dedicated resource being in a second interlace and transmit the feedback information on the common resource in the first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource in the second interlace.
Lai teaches the plurality of first resources being within the first resource block set, the plurality of first resources comprising a common resource
and at least one dedicated resource, and the common resource being in a first interlace
and the at least one dedicated resource being in a second interlace and transmit the feedback information on the common resource in the first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource in the second interlace (Paragraph [0149] to [0155] transmits hARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI reports/feedback over both the first and second interlaces).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the plurality of first resources being within the first resource block set, the plurality of first resources comprising a common resource and at least one dedicated resource, and the common resource being in a first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource being in a second interlace and transmit the feedback information on the common resource in the first interlace and the at least one dedicated resource in the second interlace as taught by Lai in the system of Lei for logical channel based prioritization see abstract of Lai.
6. Regarding claims 51 and 56, Lei in view of Lai teaches wherein
the first resource block set comprises a plurality of sets of interlaced resource blocks in frequency domain, and the common resource corresponds to one set of the plurality of sets of interlaced resource blocks (Lei, Paragraphs [0033], [0034], [0113], and [0114] common resource block; interlaced resource block; RBs in frequency domain).
7. Regarding claims 52 and 57, Lei in view of Lai teaches wherein
the sidelink transmission is an interlace-based sidelink transmission (Fig. 6 Paragraphs [0113] and [0114] SCI; interlace includes evenly spaced resource blocks in frequency domain).
8. Regarding claims 60 and 61, Lei in view of Lai teaches wherein the common resource is to meet occupied channel bandwidth (OCB) requirements (Lei, Paragraph [0055] interlace based; meet regulatory requirements of OCB).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANE LEE LO whose telephone number is (571)270-1952. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Faruk Hamza can be reached at (571)272-7969. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DIANE L LO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466
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