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 Arguments
2. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-3, 5, 6, 11-13, 15, 16 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 § 103
3. 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.
4. Claim(s) 1, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge et al. (US 20180199306 A1) in view of 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16.
Edge et al. discloses a communication system comprising: regarding claim 1, a method of wireless communication, comprising: generating, by a first user device (FIG. 2, LS 205), an assistance information ([0059] At block 250, LS 205 may obtain the AD (e.g. from local storage or from a database or reference network) that was requested by UE 102 in the LPP RAD message 245), wherein the first user device (FIG. 2, LS 205) receives a first information from a second user device (FIG. 2, UE102) or a network device, wherein the first information (FIG. 2, 245 LPP Req AD) includes a maximum size of the assistance information, wherein a size of the assistance information is not larger than the maximum size ([0057], “UE 102 can then determine a “preferred subset of AD” … send an LPP Request Assistance Data (RAD), message 245, to request the preferred subset of AD”; [0059], “UE 102 may,…, restrict the types and amounts of AD requested in the LPP RAD message 245” ); and transmitting, by the first user device (FIG. 2, LS 205), the assistance information to the second user device (FIG. 2, UE102; [0059], “LS 205 may truncate the AD provided to UE 102 …which may be based on a priority of the types of AD as indicated in the LPP RAD message 245 …. The AD is then provided by LS 205 to UE 102 in an LPP Provide Assistance Data (PAD) message 255”); regarding claim 11, A first user device comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to implement a method that causes the first user device to ([0082] The UE 102 is shown comprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus 505 (or may otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processing unit(s) 510 which may comprise without limitation one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or the like), and/or other processing structure or means, which can be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein): generate an assistance information ([0059] At block 250, LS 205 may obtain the AD (e.g. from local storage or from a database or reference network) that was requested by UE 102 in the LPP RAD message 245), wherein the first user device receives a first information from a second user device or a network device, wherein the first information includes a maximum size of the assistance information, wherein a size of the assistance information is not larger than the maximum size ([0057], “UE 102 can then determine a “preferred subset of AD” … send an LPP Request Assistance Data (RAD), message 245, to request the preferred subset of AD”; [0059], “UE 102 may,…, restrict the types and amounts of AD requested in the LPP RAD message 245” ); and transmit the assistance information to the second user device (FIG. 2, UE102; [0059], “LS 205 may truncate the AD provided to UE 102 …which may be based on a priority of the types of AD as indicated in the LPP RAD message 245 …. The AD is then provided by LS 205 to UE 102 in an LPP Provide Assistance Data (PAD) message 255”).
Edge et al. does not disclose, but 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 discloses: regarding claims 1 and 11, wherein the first user device reports the size of the assistance information to the network device (page 305, “The UEAssistanceInformation message is used for the indication of UE assistance information to the network”; page 309, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes “messageSize-r16”).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Edge et al., by using the features as taught by 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16, in order to ensure the network can validate message size compliance and handle the assistance information appropriately.
5. Claims 2, 3, 12, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge et al. (US 20180199306 A1) in view of 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 as applied to claims 1, 11 above, and further in view of Wu et al. (US 20230199718 A1).
Edge et al. (US 20180199306 A1) in view of 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 disclose the claimed limitations above. Edge et al. (US 20180199306 A1) in view of 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 do not disclose, but Wu et al. discloses a communication system comprising: regarding claims 2, 12, wherein the first user device receives a first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of: a value N that indicates how many combinations to report, a value N that indicates how many resources to report ([0059] In some embodiments, the request/subscribe signaling covers the following aspects: … (2) instruct how many resources needs to be reported, e.g., min and max size limit), a maximum size of the assistance information, or a resource priority group; regarding claims 3, 13, wherein, in a case that the first information includes a value N that indicates how many combinations to report or a value N that indicates how many resources to report, at most N resources or combinations are included in the assistance information by the first user device, where N is a positive integer ([0059] In some embodiments, the request/subscribe signaling covers the following aspects: … (2) instruct how many resources needs to be reported, e.g., min and max size limit). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Edge et al. (US 20180199306 A1) and 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16, by using the features as taught by Wu et al., in order to improve efficiency by controlling the amount of reported data, and reducing signaling overhead.
6. Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge et al. (US 20180199306 A1), 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 and Wu et al. (US 20230199718 A1) as applied to claims 1, 2, 11, 12 above, and further in view of Farag (US 11917616 B2).
Edge et al., 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 and Wu et al. disclose the claimed limitations above. However, they do not teach, but Farag (US 11917616 B2) discloses a method of operating a user equipment (UE) comprising the following features: regarding claims 5 and 15, in a case that the first information includes the resource priority group, the first user device selects the resources included in the assistance information in the order of their sequence numbers (see paragraph 310 “The preferred resources (example 2.4) of the inter-UE co-ordination (e.g., RSAI) message may include preferred resources with different preference levels: (1) a first preferred resources, with highest preference level; (2) a second preferred resources (if any), with second highest preference level; and (3) A third preferred resources (if any), with third highest preference level. Where, the preferred resources are sequentially ordered with preference level as required”).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing
date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Edge et al., 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 and Wu et al. by using the features as taught by Farag (US 11917616 B2); this modification provides clear and deterministic resource selection, enhancing coordination and predictability in assistance information reporting between user devices.
7. Claims 6, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edge et al. (US 20180199306 A1), 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 and Wu et al. (US 20230199718 A1) as applied to claims 1, 2, 11, 12 above, and further in view of Li et al. (US 20230232428 A1).
Edge et al., 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 and Wu et al. disclose the claimed limitations above. However, they do not teach, but Li et al. discloses: regarding claims 6 and 16, wherein the resource priority group includes one or more resources excluding one or more slots where the first user device does not expect to perform a sidelink (SL) reception from the second user device, in a case that the first user device is an intended receiver of the second user device ([0548] Resource(s) excluding slot(s) where UE-A, when it is intended receiver of UE-B, does not expect to perform SL reception from UE-B).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Edge et al., 3GPP TS 38.331 version 16.5.0 Release 16 and Wu et al. by using the features as taught by Li et al., in order to avoid allocating unavailable resources and improve scheduling efficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 7-9, 17-19 are 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.
Conclusion
9. 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.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KWANG B YAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3182. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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