DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-19 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/4/2024 was filed. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/14/2025 was filed. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
NPL Reference #1 from this IDS does not appear in the file wrapper, so the examiner has crossed out the reference on the IDS. See MPEP 609.05(b). The examiner obtained a copy of the reference and has attached it to this correspondence and cited it on the PTO-892.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 7/8/2024. These drawings are accepted.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 1-6, 9-16, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (US PG Pub 2021/0037601).
As per claim 1, Xu et al. teach a communication method, comprising:
receiving first indication information from an access network device [Xu, ¶ 0077, “FIG. 6A is described first. FIG. 6A illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the BS 170. The BS 170 transmits a signal 605 (e.g., control signal, such as a radio resource control (RRC) signal and/or a downlink control information (DCI) message) to the assisted ED 110a, and optionally to the cooperating ED 110b, to indicate the mode of cooperation (e.g., relay mode or joint communication mode) to be used”, Fig. 6 shows a message flow for setup of a joint communication mode (see also fig. 5A, ¶ 0071). Message 605 is received from the BS (see element 170, or network access device).],
wherein the first indication information indicates to enable or disable aggregated transmission [Xu, ¶ 0077, “If the joint communication mode is indicated, the signal 605 may further indicate whether data duplication or data splitting should be used. The BS 170 may, for example, determine which mode of cooperation to be used based on detected channel conditions (e.g., measured channel quality between the BS 170 and the assisted ED 110a and/or feedback information received from the EDs 110), detected mobility of the assisted ED 110a, or other factors. The BS 170 may further indicate which ED should be used as the cooperating ED 110b (e.g., based on which ED has better channel conditions) and may include indication of one or more preferred cooperating EDs 110b in the signal 605”, Messaging to indicate the cooperation mode may be seen as enabling/disabling (see ¶ 0049) the cooperation (aggregated) transmission.],
the aggregated transmission comprises first data transmission performed with the access network device through a first terminal and a second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0081, “In joint communication mode, the shared data (either duplicated data or a portion of the split data) is transmitted UL, over the Uu interface, from the cooperating ED 110b to the BS 170 (620). A joint UL transmission of data (625) (either the duplicated data or another portion of the split data) is performed by the assisted ED 110a and/or optionally by another cooperating ED 110b (not shown). The BS 170 receives the jointly transmitted data and processes the data accordingly. For example, if data splitting was performed, the BS 170 may identify the portions of data (e.g., using information contained in headers associated with the data) and reassemble the portions in order to recover the complete data”, Messages 620 and 625 represent the split data used in joint communication mode. The assisted ED (first terminal) and the cooperating ED (second terminal) jointly perform data transmission (see also ¶s 0046 and 0071).],
the first data comprises first sub-data and second sub-data [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071).],
the first sub-data is transmitted to the access network device through the first terminal [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071).], and
the second sub-data is transmitted to the access network device through the second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071).]; and
enabling or disabling the aggregated transmission based on the first indication information [Xu, ¶ 0049, “the coordination of ED cooperation (e.g., enabling/disabling of cooperation mode and/or selection of the type of cooperation) may be via a control signal from the BS and/or the assisted ED. The control signal may be a lower layer signal (e.g., a physical layer or L1 signal) and/or a higher layer signal (e.g., a logical link control (LLC) signal)”, Control signalling is used to enable/disable cooperation mode signalling.].
As per claim 2, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 1. Xu et al. also teach wherein the first indication information further comprises first sub-indication information indicating a manner of distributing the first data into the first sub-data and/or the second sub-data [Xu, ¶ 0139, “FIG. 12A shows an example in which data is split into two portions at the PDCP layer. Each portion is then separately processed in the radio link control (RLC), MAC and PHY layers. FIG. 12B shows an example in which data is split into two portions at the MAC layer. FIG. 12C shows an example in which data is split into two portions at the PHY layer. The method in which data is split may impact the ease of reassembling the data at the destination (e.g., at the BS 170). In some examples, the method for splitting data may be specified when the mode of cooperation is indicated (e.g., as part of the signal 605 or 655 described above), may be preconfigured (e.g., using RRC signaling, or defined in standards), may be selected by the data source (e.g., at the assisted ED 110a), may be selected dynamically”, Data splitting information used for cooperation mode be indicated in the network signal.].
As per claim 3, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 1. Xu et al. also teach wherein the first indication information comprises at least one of: aggregated-transmission enabling indication information, aggregated-transmission disabling indication information, information indicating to enable or disable the aggregated transmission [Xu, ¶ 0106, “If 815 is performed and the joint communication mode is determined, then optionally 820 may be performed to label the data that is to be forwarded as part of a joint communication (and, if the data has been split, which portion of the split data is being forwarded by the cooperating ED 110b). Such labeling of the forwarded data may help the BS 170 to reassemble the data from the multiple joint communications. The ability of the cooperating ED 110b to label the data in this manner may require the cooperating ED 110b to be provided with information about the type of data in the joint communication (e.g., duplicated data or split data). Such information may be provided to the cooperating ED 110b by a control signal received from the BS 170 (e.g., the signal 605 in the data flow of FIG. 6A) or a signal received from the assisted ED 110a (e.g., the signal 655 in the data flow of FIG. 6B)”, Message 605 may include information to label (or indicate) that split data transmission occurs.], transmission proportion information, and transmitted data volume distribution information.
As per claim 4, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 1. Xu et al. also teach further comprising:
sending the second sub-data to the second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071).].
As per claim 5, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 1. Xu et al. also teach further comprising: sending response information of the first indication information to the access network device [Xu, ¶ 0077, “FIG. 6A illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the BS 170. The BS 170 transmits a signal 605 (e.g., control signal, such as a radio resource control (RRC) signal and/or a downlink control information (DCI) message) to the assisted ED 110a”, RRC messages work on a request-response basis, so the BS would receive a response from the UE.].
As per claim 6, Xu et al. teach a communication method, comprising:
sending first indication information to a first terminal, wherein the first indication information indicates to enable or disable aggregated transmission [Xu, ¶ 0077, “FIG. 6A is described first. FIG. 6A illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the BS 170. The BS 170 transmits a signal 605 (e.g., control signal, such as a radio resource control (RRC) signal and/or a downlink control information (DCI) message) to the assisted ED 110a, and optionally to the cooperating ED 110b, to indicate the mode of cooperation (e.g., relay mode or joint communication mode) to be used”, Fig. 6 shows a message flow for setup of a joint communication mode (see also fig. 5A, ¶ 0071). Message 605 is received from the BS (see element 170, or network access device).],
the aggregated transmission comprises first data transmission performed with an access network device through the first terminal and a second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0077, “If the joint communication mode is indicated, the signal 605 may further indicate whether data duplication or data splitting should be used. The BS 170 may, for example, determine which mode of cooperation to be used based on detected channel conditions (e.g., measured channel quality between the BS 170 and the assisted ED 110a and/or feedback information received from the EDs 110), detected mobility of the assisted ED 110a, or other factors. The BS 170 may further indicate which ED should be used as the cooperating ED 110b (e.g., based on which ED has better channel conditions) and may include indication of one or more preferred cooperating EDs 110b in the signal 605”, Messaging to indicate the cooperation mode may be seen as enabling/disabling (see ¶ 0049) the cooperation (aggregated) transmission.],
the first data comprises first sub-data and second sub-data [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071).],
the first sub-data is transmitted to the access network device through the first terminal [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071).], and
the second sub-data is transmitted to the access network device through the second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071).]; and
receiving response information associated with the first indication information from the first terminal [Xu, ¶ 0049, “the coordination of ED cooperation (e.g., enabling/disabling of cooperation mode and/or selection of the type of cooperation) may be via a control signal from the BS and/or the assisted ED. The control signal may be a lower layer signal (e.g., a physical layer or L1 signal) and/or a higher layer signal (e.g., a logical link control (LLC) signal)”, Control signalling is used to enable/disable cooperation mode signalling.].
As per claim 9, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 6. Xu et al. also teach further comprising: receiving second indication information from a core network device [Xu, ¶ 0077, “If the joint communication mode is indicated, the signal 605 may further indicate whether data duplication or data splitting should be used. The BS 170 may, for example, determine which mode of cooperation to be used based on detected channel conditions (e.g., measured channel quality between the BS 170 and the assisted ED 110a and/or feedback information received from the EDs 110), detected mobility of the assisted ED 110a, or other factors. The BS 170 may further indicate which ED should be used as the cooperating ED 110b (e.g., based on which ED has better channel conditions) and may include indication of one or more preferred cooperating EDs 110b in the signal 605”, Messaging to indicate the cooperation mode may be seen as enabling/disabling (see ¶ 0049) the cooperation (aggregated) transmission. Enabling messaging is coupled with disabling messaging. The core network provides the EDs with services (see ¶ 0058).], wherein the second indication information indicates to enable or disable the aggregated transmission; and determining the first indication information based on the second indication information [Xu, ¶ 0077, “If the joint communication mode is indicated, the signal 605 may further indicate whether data duplication or data splitting should be used. The BS 170 may, for example, determine which mode of cooperation to be used based on detected channel conditions (e.g., measured channel quality between the BS 170 and the assisted ED 110a and/or feedback information received from the EDs 110), detected mobility of the assisted ED 110a, or other factors. The BS 170 may further indicate which ED should be used as the cooperating ED 110b (e.g., based on which ED has better channel conditions) and may include indication of one or more preferred cooperating EDs 110b in the signal 605”, Messaging to indicate the cooperation mode may be seen as enabling/disabling (see ¶ 0049) the cooperation (aggregated) transmission.].
As per claim 10, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 6. Xu et al. also teach wherein the first indication information further comprises first sub-indication information indicating a manner of distributing the first data into the first sub-data and the second sub-data [Xu, ¶ 0139, “FIG. 12A shows an example in which data is split into two portions at the PDCP layer. Each portion is then separately processed in the radio link control (RLC), MAC and PHY layers. FIG. 12B shows an example in which data is split into two portions at the MAC layer. FIG. 12C shows an example in which data is split into two portions at the PHY layer. The method in which data is split may impact the ease of reassembling the data at the destination (e.g., at the BS 170). In some examples, the method for splitting data may be specified when the mode of cooperation is indicated (e.g., as part of the signal 605 or 655 described above), may be preconfigured (e.g., using RRC signaling, or defined in standards), may be selected by the data source (e.g., at the assisted ED 110a), may be selected dynamically”, Data splitting information used for cooperation mode be indicated in the network signal.].
As per claim 11, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 6. Xu et al. also teach further comprising: sending third indication information to the second terminal, wherein the third indication information indicates to enable or disable the aggregated transmission [Xu, ¶ 0077, “FIG. 6A is described first. FIG. 6A illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the BS 170. The BS 170 transmits a signal 605 (e.g., control signal, such as a radio resource control (RRC) signal and/or a downlink control information (DCI) message) to the assisted ED 110a, and optionally to the cooperating ED 110b, to indicate the mode of cooperation (e.g., relay mode or joint communication mode) to be used”, Fig. 6 shows a message flow for setup of a joint communication mode (see also fig. 5A, ¶ 0071). Message 605 is received from the BS (see element 170, or network access device). The third indication is message 605 to the cooperating ED (element 110b), where the first indication is to the assisted ED (element 110a).].
As per claim 12, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 11. Xu et al. also teach wherein the third indication information further comprises third sub-indication information indicating a manner of distributing the first data into the first sub-data and/or the second sub-data [Xu, ¶ 0106, “If 815 is performed and the joint communication mode is determined, then optionally 820 may be performed to label the data that is to be forwarded as part of a joint communication (and, if the data has been split, which portion of the split data is being forwarded by the cooperating ED 110b). Such labeling of the forwarded data may help the BS 170 to reassemble the data from the multiple joint communications. The ability of the cooperating ED 110b to label the data in this manner may require the cooperating ED 110b to be provided with information about the type of data in the joint communication (e.g., duplicated data or split data). Such information may be provided to the cooperating ED 110b by a control signal received from the BS 170 (e.g., the signal 605 in the data flow of FIG. 6A) or a signal received from the assisted ED 110a (e.g., the signal 655 in the data flow of FIG. 6B)”, Message 605 may include information to label (or indicate) that split data transmission occurs. The third information to the cooperating ED informs it how to handle the split data from a PDCP perspective.].
As per claim 13, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 11. Xu et al. also teach wherein the third indication information comprises at least one of: aggregated-transmission enabling indication information, aggregated-transmission disabling indication information, information indicating to enable or disable the aggregated transmission [Xu, ¶ 0106, “If 815 is performed and the joint communication mode is determined, then optionally 820 may be performed to label the data that is to be forwarded as part of a joint communication (and, if the data has been split, which portion of the split data is being forwarded by the cooperating ED 110b). Such labeling of the forwarded data may help the BS 170 to reassemble the data from the multiple joint communications. The ability of the cooperating ED 110b to label the data in this manner may require the cooperating ED 110b to be provided with information about the type of data in the joint communication (e.g., duplicated data or split data). Such information may be provided to the cooperating ED 110b by a control signal received from the BS 170 (e.g., the signal 605 in the data flow of FIG. 6A) or a signal received from the assisted ED 110a (e.g., the signal 655 in the data flow of FIG. 6B)”, Message 605 may include information to label (or indicate) that split data transmission occurs.], transmission proportion information, and transmitted data volume distribution information.
As per claim 14, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 11. Xu et al. also teach wherein determining the first indication information comprises: determining the first indication information and the third indication information [Xu, ¶ 0077, “FIG. 6A is described first. FIG. 6A illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the BS 170. The BS 170 transmits a signal 605 (e.g., control signal, such as a radio resource control (RRC) signal and/or a downlink control information (DCI) message) to the assisted ED 110a, and optionally to the cooperating ED 110b, to indicate the mode of cooperation (e.g., relay mode or joint communication mode) to be used”, Fig. 6 shows a message flow for setup of a joint communication mode (see also fig. 5A, ¶ 0071). Message 605 is received from the BS (see element 170, or network access device). The third indication is message 605 to the cooperating ED (element 110b), where the first indication is to the assisted ED (element 110a). Message 605 is determined by the BS to include the first and third information.].
As per claim 15, Xu et al. teach a communication method, comprising:
sending second indication information to an access network device [Xu, ¶ 0084, “FIG. 6B is now described. FIG. 6B illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the assisted ED 110a. FIG. 6B is similar to FIG. 6A, with the difference that instead of the BS 170 transmitting the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a instead transmits a signal 655 to indicate the mode of cooperation to the BS 170 and optionally to the cooperating ED 110b. The signal 655 to the cooperating ED 110b may be, for example, a sidelink control information (SCI) message and/or a sidelink physical layer (PC5) RRC signal, and/or in the form of a packet over the SL interface. The signal 655 to the BS 170 may be, for example, over a direct link to the BS 170 such as in a Uu RRC, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), over the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or over the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)”, Fig. 6B shows a message flow for setup of a joint communication mode (see also fig. 5A, ¶ 0071). Message 655 is received by the BS (see element 170, or network access device) and the cooperating ED (see element 110b). SCI includes the sub-information needed.],
wherein the second indication information indicates to enable or disable aggregated transmission [Xu, ¶ 0087, “Other signals shown in FIG. 6B are similar to those discussed with respect to FIG. 6A, and will not be repeated here. Similar to the example of FIG. 6A, in the example of FIG. 6B the scheduling signal 610 may be optional. If the scheduling signal 610 is not sent, the assisted ED 110a and the cooperating ED 110b may use a pre-configured grant (e.g., pre-configured scheduling information) to enable cooperation mode, including both the relay and joint communication modes. Similar to the data flow of FIG. 6A, the signal 655 may only need to be transmitted to enable and/or switch the mode of cooperation”, The access device (BS 170) responds with a schedule for UL transmission (see message 610). As noted, Fig. 6B may carry similar messaging as Fig. 6A. In addition, enabling/disabling messaging is used (see also ¶ 0049).],
the aggregated transmission comprises first data transmission performed with the access network device through a first terminal and a second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0081, “In joint communication mode, the shared data (either duplicated data or a portion of the split data) is transmitted UL, over the Uu interface, from the cooperating ED 110b to the BS 170 (620). A joint UL transmission of data (625) (either the duplicated data or another portion of the split data) is performed by the assisted ED 110a and/or optionally by another cooperating ED 110b (not shown). The BS 170 receives the jointly transmitted data and processes the data accordingly. For example, if data splitting was performed, the BS 170 may identify the portions of data (e.g., using information contained in headers associated with the data) and reassemble the portions in order to recover the complete data”, Messages 620 and 625 represent the split data used in joint communication mode. The assisted ED (first terminal) and the cooperating ED (second terminal) jointly perform data transmission (see also ¶s 0046 and 0071). Paragraph [0087] notes that joint transmission messaging/procedures may be borrowed from Fig. 6A and used in Fig. 6B.],
the first data comprises first sub-data and second sub-data [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071). Paragraph [0087] notes that joint transmission messaging/procedures may be borrowed from Fig. 6A and used in Fig. 6B.],
the first sub-data is transmitted to the access network device through the first terminal [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071). Paragraph [0087] notes that joint transmission messaging/procedures may be borrowed from Fig. 6A and used in Fig. 6B.], and
the second sub-data is transmitted to the access network device through the second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0080, “Receipt of the signal 605 by the assisted ED 110a causes the assisted ED 110a to perform operations in accordance with the indicated mode of cooperation. If the joint communication mode is indicated by the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a may perform data duplication or data splitting, and share the duplicated or a portion of the split data with the cooperating ED 110b over a SL (615)”, Data splitting indication means that the assisted ED (first terminal) splits the first data into first sub-data and second sub-data. The first sub-data is transmitted through (from) the assisted ED over the Uu interface (message 625). The second sub-data is transmitted from the assisted ED to the cooperating ED via the SL interface, and the cooperating ED then sends the second sub-data to the BS via its own Uu interface (message 620). See also fig. 5A, ¶s 0046 and 0071). Paragraph [0087] notes that joint transmission messaging/procedures may be borrowed from Fig. 6A and used in Fig. 6B.]; and
receiving response information of the second indication information from the access network device [Xu, ¶ 0087, “Other signals shown in FIG. 6B are similar to those discussed with respect to FIG. 6A, and will not be repeated here. Similar to the example of FIG. 6A, in the example of FIG. 6B the scheduling signal 610 may be optional. If the scheduling signal 610 is not sent, the assisted ED 110a and the cooperating ED 110b may use a pre-configured grant (e.g., pre-configured scheduling information) to enable cooperation mode, including both the relay and joint communication modes. Similar to the data flow of FIG. 6A, the signal 655 may only need to be transmitted to enable and/or switch the mode of cooperation”, The access device (BS 170) responds with a schedule for UL transmission (see message 610). As noted, Fig. 6B may carry similar messaging as Fig. 6A. In addition, enabling/disabling messaging is used (see also ¶ 0049).].
As per claim 16, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 15. Xu et al. also teach wherein the second indication information comprises at least one of: aggregated-transmission enabling indication information, aggregated-transmission disabling indication information, information indicating to enable or disable the aggregated transmission [Xu, ¶ 0106, “If 815 is performed and the joint communication mode is determined, then optionally 820 may be performed to label the data that is to be forwarded as part of a joint communication (and, if the data has been split, which portion of the split data is being forwarded by the cooperating ED 110b). Such labeling of the forwarded data may help the BS 170 to reassemble the data from the multiple joint communications. The ability of the cooperating ED 110b to label the data in this manner may require the cooperating ED 110b to be provided with information about the type of data in the joint communication (e.g., duplicated data or split data). Such information may be provided to the cooperating ED 110b by a control signal received from the BS 170 (e.g., the signal 605 in the data flow of FIG. 6A) or a signal received from the assisted ED 110a (e.g., the signal 655 in the data flow of FIG. 6B)”, Message 605 may include information to label (or indicate) that split data transmission occurs.], transmission proportion information, and transmitted data volume distribution information.
As per claim 19, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 15. Xu et al. also teach wherein the second indication information further comprises second sub-indication information used to determine the first terminal and/or the second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0084, “FIG. 6B is now described. FIG. 6B illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the assisted ED 110a. FIG. 6B is similar to FIG. 6A, with the difference that instead of the BS 170 transmitting the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a instead transmits a signal 655 to indicate the mode of cooperation to the BS 170 and optionally to the cooperating ED 110b. The signal 655 to the cooperating ED 110b may be, for example, a sidelink control information (SCI) message and/or a sidelink physical layer (PC5) RRC signal, and/or in the form of a packet over the SL interface. The signal 655 to the BS 170 may be, for example, over a direct link to the BS 170 such as in a Uu RRC, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), over the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or over the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)”, Fig. 6B shows a message flow for setup of a joint communication mode (see also fig. 5A, ¶ 0071). Message 655 is received by the BS (see element 170, or network access device) and the cooperating ED (see element 110b). SCI includes the sub-information needed.], and the second sub-indication information comprises a correspondence between the first terminal and the second terminal [Xu, ¶ 0084, “FIG. 6B is now described. FIG. 6B illustrates a set of data flows in which a mode of cooperation is initiated by the assisted ED 110a. FIG. 6B is similar to FIG. 6A, with the difference that instead of the BS 170 transmitting the signal 605, the assisted ED 110a instead transmits a signal 655 to indicate the mode of cooperation to the BS 170 and optionally to the cooperating ED 110b. The signal 655 to the cooperating ED 110b may be, for example, a sidelink control information (SCI) message and/or a sidelink physical layer (PC5) RRC signal, and/or in the form of a packet over the SL interface. The signal 655 to the BS 170 may be, for example, over a direct link to the BS 170 such as in a Uu RRC, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), over the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or over the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)”, Fig. 6B shows a message flow for setup of a joint communication mode (see also fig. 5A, ¶ 0071). Message 655 is received by the BS (see element 170, or network access device) and the cooperating ED (see element 110b). SCI includes the sub-information needed.].
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 7, 8, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US PG Pub 2021/0037601) in view of Huawei (NPL, RWS-210451, see PTO-892).
As per claim 7, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 6. Xu et al. do not explicitly teach further comprising: determining the first indication information based on first information, wherein the first information comprises one or more of: quality of service information, data transmission rate information, buffer status information, channel quality information, or terminal capability information.
However, in an analogous art, Huawei teaches further comprising: determining the first indication information based on first information, wherein the first information comprises one or more of: quality of service information, data transmission rate information, buffer status information, channel quality information, or terminal capability information [Huawei, section 2, Observation 1, “Observation 1：One of the key factors for uplink performance is the transmit power limitation of the terminal. There could be different approaches to resolve the uplink power limitation problem. One way is to increase the max transmit power in uplink, for example from 23 dBm to 26 dBm. However that will bring more cost for the terminals. Another alternative would be to aggregate more terminals (UEs) together to harvest the aggregated capability including transmit power, MIMO, CA etc. The benefit for this approach as compared with the previous one is not only the cost, but also the flexibility, as the terminals could be aggregated on need basis. In normal circumstance”, Ther aggregation method is determined based on terminal power capability (or a threshold limitation to terminal capabilities). The aggregation method configures UE aggregation at the SUE and CUE (see fig. 1) using criteria and parameters (see pg. 3, Observation 3). The method further uses L2 functions to enable the data splitting for the Uu and SL paths (see pg. 3, Observation 3).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include elements of the UE aggregation method of Huawei into Xu et al. One would have been motivated to do this because enabling UE aggregation based on terminal capabilities as taught by Huawei allows for improvement of aggregation and data splitting parameters (see Huawei, Proposal 1) with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 8, Xu et al. in view of Huawei teach the method according to claim 7. Xu et al. do not explicitly teach wherein determining the first indication information based on the first information comprises: determining the first indication information based on the first information and threshold information corresponding to the first information.
However, in an analogous art, Huawei teaches wherein determining the first indication information based on the first information comprises: determining the first indication information based on the first information and threshold information corresponding to the first information [Huawei, section 2, Observation 1, “Observation 1：One of the key factors for uplink performance is the transmit power limitation of the terminal. There could be different approaches to resolve the uplink power limitation problem. One way is to increase the max transmit power in uplink, for example from 23 dBm to 26 dBm. However that will bring more cost for the terminals. Another alternative would be to aggregate more terminals (UEs) together to harvest the aggregated capability including transmit power, MIMO, CA etc. The benefit for this approach as compared with the previous one is not only the cost, but also the flexibility, as the terminals could be aggregated on need basis. In normal circumstance”, Ther aggregation method is determined based on terminal power capability (or a threshold limitation to terminal capabilities). The aggregation method configures UE aggregation at the SUE and CUE (see fig. 1) using criteria and parameters (see pg. 3, Observation 3). The method further uses L2 functions to enable the data splitting for the Uu and SL paths (see pg. 3, Observation 3).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include elements of the UE aggregation method of Huawei into Xu et al. One would have been motivated to do this because enabling UE aggregation based on terminal capabilities as taught by Huawei allows for improvement of aggregation and data splitting parameters (see Huawei, Proposal 1) with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 17, Xu et al. teach the method according to claim 15. Xu et al. do not explicitly teach further comprising: determining the second indication information based on second information, wherein the second information comprises one or more of: quality of service information, data transmission rate information, buffer status information, channel quality information, application layer feedback information, or terminal capability information.
However, in an analogous art, Huawei teaches further comprising: determining the second indication information based on second information, wherein the second information comprises one or more of: quality of service information, data transmission rate information, buffer status information, channel quality information, application layer feedback information, or terminal capability information [Huawei, section 2, Observation 1, “Observation 1：One of the key factors for uplink performance is the transmit power limitation of the terminal. There could be different approaches to resolve the uplink power limitation problem. One way is to increase the max transmit power in uplink, for example from 23 dBm to 26 dBm. However that will bring more cost for the terminals. Another alternative would be to aggregate more terminals (UEs) together to harvest the aggregated capability including transmit power, MIMO, CA etc. The benefit for this approach as compared with the previous one is not only the cost, but also the flexibility, as the terminals could be aggregated on need basis. In normal circumstance”, Ther aggregation method is determined based on terminal power capability (or a threshold limitation to terminal capabilities). The aggregation method configures UE aggregation at the SUE and CUE (see fig. 1) using criteria and parameters (see pg. 3, Observation 3). The method further uses L2 functions to enable the data splitting for the Uu and SL paths (see pg. 3, Observation 3).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include elements of the UE aggregation method of Huawei into Xu et al. One would have been motivated to do this because enabling UE aggregation based on terminal capabilities as taught by Huawei allows for improvement of aggregation and data splitting parameters (see Huawei, Proposal 1) with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 18, Xu et al. in view of Huawei teach the method according to claim 17. Xu et al. do not explicitly teach wherein determining the second indication information based on the second information comprises: determining the second indication information based on the second information and threshold information, wherein the threshold information comprises a threshold corresponding to the second information.
However, in an analogous art, Huawei teaches wherein determining the first indication information based on the first information comprises: determining the first indication information based on the first information and threshold information corresponding to the first information [Huawei, section 2, Observation 1, “Observation 1：One of the key factors for uplink performance is the transmit power limitation of the terminal. There could be different approaches to resolve the uplink power limitation problem. One way is to increase the max transmit power in uplink, for example from 23 dBm to 26 dBm. However that will bring more cost for the terminals. Another alternative would be to aggregate more terminals (UEs) together to harvest the aggregated capability including transmit power, MIMO, CA etc. The benefit for this approach as compared with the previous one is not only the cost, but also the flexibility, as the terminals could be aggregated on need basis. In normal circumstance”, Ther aggregation method is determined based on terminal power capability (or a threshold limitation to terminal capabilities). The aggregation method configures UE aggregation at the SUE and CUE (see fig. 1) using criteria and parameters (see pg. 3, Observation 3). The method further uses L2 functions to enable the data splitting for the Uu and SL paths (see pg. 3, Observation 3).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include elements of the UE aggregation method of Huawei into Xu et al. One would have been motivated to do this because enabling UE aggregation based on terminal capabilities as taught by Huawei allows for improvement of aggregation and data splitting parameters (see Huawei, Proposal 1) with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The reference, Huawei et al. (NPL, RP-191011, see PTO-892), teaches NR SL assisted Uu communications/data transmission (see section 2.2).
The reference, CMCC (NPL, RWS-210354, see PTO-892), outlines the goals of a UE aggregation study.
The reference, CMCC (NPL, RWS-210355, see PTO-892), outlines the goals of a UE aggregation study.
The reference, Cao et al. (US 20230164772), teaches joint scheduling of sidelink and a Uu link (see figs. 6 and 7).
The reference, Xie et al. (WO 2023020378), teaches multi-UE data aggregation (see fig. 2).
The reference, Liu (WO 2022057825), teaches an aggregation method using a sidelink (see fig. 2).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Paul H. Masur whose telephone number is (571)270-7297. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 4:30 AM to 5PM.
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/Paul H. Masur/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2417
Prosecution Insights