DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 6/5/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Back et al. (US 20240414601 A1).
Considering claim 1, Back teaches a method comprising:
establishing, by a TX user equipment (UE), PC5 connection with an RX UE [0030]);
determining, by the TX UE in radio resource control (RRC) IDLE or RRC INACTIVE or out of coverage (table 12, [0103], [0127]), a sidelink (SL) discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for the RX UE ([0030] sidelink DRX configuration to the RX UE by the TX UE); and
reporting, to a base station (BS) by the TX UE in RRC CONNECTED, information related to the SL DRX configuration and SL assistant information received from the RX UE (Fig.11, [0031] transmitting a measurement report to a source base station (BS) by the TX UE, [0183] TX UE may report SL DRX-related information received from the RX UE to a serving BS…).
Considering claim 3, Back teaches wherein the TX UE receives a new SL DRX configuration, configured based on at least one of the information related to the SL DRX configuration or the SL assistant information, from the BS, and the TX UE transfers the new SL DRX configuration to the RX UE ([0182]-[0183] TX UE may report SL DRX-related information received from the RX UE to a serving BS…).
Considering claim 4, Back teaches wherein the new SL DRX configuration is transferred through an RRCReconfigurationSidelink message ([0043], [0182]).
Considering claim 5, Back teaches wherein the information related to the SL DRX configuration and the SL assistant information received from the RX UE are transferred through SidelinkUEInformation ([0182]-[0183], [0207].
Considering claim 6, Back teaches wherein the TX UE receives information (transmit an SL DRX configuration based on the assistance information to the TX UE) about whether the BS supports SL DRX ([0041]-[0042], [0114]).
Considering claim 7, Back teaches wherein based on handover of the TX UE to the BS supporting SL DRX, the TX UE transmits information notifying the RX UE of handover to the BS supporting SL DRX, to the RX UE (abstract, [0029]-[0030]).
Considering claim 8, Back teaches wherein the SL assistant information is received as a response to the information notifying that the handover is performed to the BS ([0029]-[0030], [0041]).
Considering claim 9, Back teaches a TX user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operatively connected to the at least one processor and configured to store instructions that cause the at least one processor to perform operations when being executed, the operations including:
establishing PC5 connection with an RX UE ([0030]);
determining, by the TX UE in radio resource control (RRC) IDLE or RRC INACTIVE or out of coverage (table 12, [0103], [0127]), a sidelink (SL) discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for the RX UE ([0030] sidelink DRX configuration to the RX UE by the TX UE); and
reporting, to a base station (BS) by the TX UE in RRC CONNECTED, information related to the SL DRX configuration and SL assistant information received from the RX UE (Fig.11, [0031] transmitting a measurement report to a source base station (BS) by the TX UE, [0183] TX UE may report SL DRX-related information received from the RX UE to a serving BS…).
Considering claim 11, Back teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing at least one computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations for a TX user equipment (UE), wherein the operations include:
establishing PC5 connection with an RX UE ([0030]);
determining, by the TX UE in radio resource control (RRC) IDLE or RRC INACTIVE or out of coverage (table 12, [0103], [0127]), a sidelink (SL) discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for the RX UE ([0030] sidelink DRX configuration to the RX UE by the TX UE); and
reporting, to a base station (BS) by the TX UE in RRC CONNECTED, information related to the SL DRX configuration and SL assistant information received from the RX UE (Fig.11, [0031] transmitting a measurement report to a source base station (BS) by the TX UE, [0183] TX UE may report SL DRX-related information received from the RX UE to a serving BS…).
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 KHAI MINH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7923. The examiner can normally be reached 6-3.
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, Charles Appiah can be reached at 571-272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KHAI M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641
Prosecution Insights