DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Withdrawal of Objections to Drawings and Specification
Applicant submitted substitute drawings on July 1, 2026, replacing the originally filed Figs. 6-8, and adding new Figs. 9 and 10, all of which substitute drawings being identical drawings of the PCT/CN2022/071000 (designating US with effect under 35 U.S.C. §363, and thus satisfying the requirements under 37 C.F.R. §1.57(a)(4)), of which the instant application is a continuation, and which PCT application was incorporated by reference as stated in the originally filed specification of the instant application. The substitute drawings are accepted and the submittal of the same has been entered.
In view of the submittal, all objections to the drawings and to the specification made in the previous Office Actions is withdrawn.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed July 1, 2026 has been entered. Prior to the Amendment, claims 1-20 were pending in the application. By the Amendment, claims 1, 4, 8-11, 14 and 17 were amended, claims 2, 3, 15 and 16 were cancelled, and no claim was newly added. Accordingly, claims 1, 4-14 and 17-20 remain pending and ready for examination.
Applicant’s claim amendment and remarks were carefully and fully considered, but they were unpersuasive. The same grounds of rejection presented in the previous Office Action is maintained. Accordingly, this Office Action is made Final.
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)(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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section151, 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
Claims 1, 4, 6-8 and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as being anticipated 3GPPTS38.331V161
Regarding claim 1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method of wireless communication (See, Page 21, §1 Scope, “protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN”), comprising:
receiving (See, Figures 5.8.5.1-1 (Page 212) showing a UE receiving “SIB12 acquisition,” and “RRCREconfiguration”), by a first user device (a “UE” in the above Figure), a first configuration,
wherein the first configuration is a synchronization configuration2 (See, Page 215, “sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message” or “sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12”),
wherein the synchronization configuration includes at least one of a synchronization priority (The “sl-SyncPriority,” which may be included in each of sl-FreqConfig (Page 789) and sl-FreqConfigCommon (Page 790), which may be in turn included in the sl-ConfigDedicatedNR and sl-ConfigCommonNR, respectively (See, Pages 272-274, 784 and 785 for the nested relationships of sl-ConfigDedicatedNR; and Pages 348, 789-790 for the nested relationship for the sl-ConfigCommonNR. See, also Page 789 and page 216 for the indication of priority by the sl-SyncPriority.), a network controlled synchronization transmission indication (See, Page 785, “networkControlledSyncTx,” “Value on indicates the UE to transmit synchronization information while value off indicates the UE to not transmit such information.” As shown in Page 785, this field may be included in the sl-ConfigDedicatedNR), or a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold (See, Pages 212 and 213, syncTxThreshIC or syncTxThreshOoC, “the RSRP measurement [the PSBCH-RSRP measurement ]…is below the value of syncTxThreshIC [syncTxThreshOoC]”), and
wherein the synchronization configuration is received from Uu radio resource control (RRC) or system information block (SIB) message (See, Fig. 5.8.5.1-1, showing a UE receiving “SIB12” and “RRCReconfiguration” directly from the “Network.” See, also Applicant’s disclosure at ¶s[0078]-[0083]); and
applying, by the first user device, the first configuration (See, e.g., Page 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines, “ The UE shall: 1> if …sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb, i.e., applying the sl-SyncPriority),
wherein the first user device selects a cell as a synchronization reference source in a first case that a frequency for sidelink communication is included in a Uu message and the synchronization priority is set to gNBeNB (See, Page 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines, “The UE shall: 1> if the frequency used for NR sidelink communication is included in sl-FreqInfoToAddModList in sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message or included in sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12, and sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb: 2> select a cell as the synchronization reference source,” Emphasis Added),
wherein the first user device selects the cell as the synchronization reference source in a second case that the frequency for the sidelink communication is included in a PC5 message3 (p. 214, Figure 5.8.5a.1-1 and Figure 5.8.5a.1-2, “SLSS&MasterInformationBlockSidelink”) and the synchronization priority is set to gNBeNB (See, Page 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines, “The UE shall: 1> if the frequency used for NR sidelink communication is included in sl-FreqInfoToAddModList in sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message or included in sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12, and sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb: 2> select a cell as the synchronization reference source,” Emphasis Added), and the first user device considers the first user device in an in-coverage (IC) state (See, Page 212, §5.8.5.2, first two “1>” conditional statements, “1> if in coverage….has selected GNSS or the cell as synchronization reference,” and “1> if out of coverage….has selected GNSS or the cell as synchronization reference…” Accordingly, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses when the UE is in coverage (or out of coverage), the UE shall select a cell as the synchronization reference source as long as the above other conditions are met).
Regarding claim 4/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that the first user device considers the first user device is in an in-coverage (IC) state (See, Page 212, §5.8.5.2, first 5 lines, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall….if in coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication,” and the first occurrence of “3>”, “transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS..,” Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 6/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that the first user device considers the first user device is out-of-coverage (OOC) (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall;” the second occurrence of “1>,” “if out of coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication;” and the first occurrence of “3>,”“transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS.”).
Regarding claim 7/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that the first user device considers the first user device is out-of-coverage (OOC) and at least one of conditions is met, and wherein the conditions include the network controlled synchronization transmission indication is configured and set to an activated state (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall;” the second occurrence of “1>,” “if out of coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication,…; the first occurrence of “2>,” “if networkControlledSyncTx is configured and set to on;” and the first occurrence of “3>,”“transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS,” Emphasis Added).
Regarding claim 8/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that, in the first case, the Uu message includes the Uu RRC message that is received from gNB or network or cell directly without a relay user device (See, Page 212, Figure 5.8.5.1-1, “RRCReconfiguration” received directly from the “Network.”).
Regarding claim 10/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that the first user device considers the first user device is in an in-coverage (IC) state in a case that an IC condition is met or an out-of-coverage (OOC) condition is not met (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall;” the first occurrence of “1>,” “if in coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication, as defined in TS 38.304 [20].” See, the definition provided in the TS 38.304 (3GPPTS38.304V164), reproduced below5. According to the definition provided, the UE is considered to be in IC state when the IC condition is met, i.e., when at least one cell that meets the S Criterion is detected. Note, also that the two states, i.e., IC and OoC states are defined to be mutually exclusive with respect to each other. Thus, when the UE is considered IC, the condition for OoC, i.e., no cell that meets the S Criterion being detected, would not be met.).
Regarding claim 11/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that the first user device considers the first user device is in an out-of-coverage (OOC) state in a case that an IC condition is not met or an OOC condition is met (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall;” the first occurrence of “1>,” “if in coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication, as defined in TS 38.304 [20];” and the second occurrence of “1>,” “if out of coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication,…” Because the two states, i.e., IC and OoC states are defined to be mutually exclusive with respect to each other, when the UE is considered OoC, the condition for IC, i.e., at least one cell that meets the S Criterion being detected, would not be met.).
Regarding claim 12/10, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 10 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that the IC condition is at least one frequency is IC (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall;” the first occurrence of “1>,” “if in coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication, as defined in TS 38.304 [20].” As discussed above in connection to claim 10, the “in coverage” as defined in the 3GPPTS38.331V16 requires that at least “the frequency which UE is configured to perform NR sidelink communication” is in IC with a cell, i.e., the cell meets the S Criterion.)
Regarding claim 13/10, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses a method comprising all elements recited in claim 10 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further discloses that wherein the OOC condition is no frequency is in the IC state6, and the first user device is configured to synchronize with a cell (See, Page 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines, “The UE shall: 1> if the frequency used for NR sidelink communication is included in sl-FreqInfoToAddModList in sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message or included in sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12, and sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb: 2> select a cell as the synchronization reference source”).
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 5 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over 3GPPTS38.331V16 in view of Cheng et al. (US Patent Publication No. US2022/0361076) (“Cheng”).
Regarding claim 5/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 teaches a method for wireless communication comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further teaches that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that an RSRP of a relay user device is lower than a configured threshold (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall,” last line “1> else:;” Page 213, the first occurrence of “2>,” …if syncTxThreshOoC is included in SidelinkPreconfigNR; and the UE is not directly synchronized to GNSS, and the PSBCH-RSRP measurement result of the selected SyncRef UE is below the value of syncTxThreshOoC;” and the first occurrence of “3>,”“transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS..,”).
3GPPTS38.331V16, however, fails to explicitly teach that the first user device considers the first user device is in-coverage (IC).
Cheng et al teaches a method for wireless communication between a remote UE and a relay UE via PC5 interface (See, Fig. 4) wherein the first user device (the Remote UE 401) considers the first user device is in-coverage (IC) (See, Figs. 1 and 4; ¶[0030] “A UE can become a Remote UE if its measured Uu signal is sufficiently bad (e.g., <=threshHighRemote). For in-coverage remote UE, because it is still in coverage of base station, remote UE 401 can measure Uu-RSRP, and can compare Uu-RSRP with PC5-RSRP directly or indirectly.” The UE 401, depending on the result of the comparison between Uu-RSRP and PC5-RSRP (i.e., the RSRP of the relay UE 402), may choose to become a remote UE for sidelink communication with the relay UE 402. Accordingly, Cheng teaches an in-coverage UE making a decision based on the RSRP measurement of a relay UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method taught by 3GPPTS38.331V16 to incorporate the above teaching of Cheng in order to allow a better service, throughput or latency by providing an opportunity to select a base station and/or relay UE with better signal strength or service (See, e.g., Cheng. ¶s[0021]).
Regarding claim 14, 3GPPTS38.331V16 teaches an apparatus of wireless communication (a “UE” in any of Figures 5.8.5.1-1 and 5.8.5.1-2) configured to
receive (See, Figures 5.8.5.1-1 (Page 212) showing a UE receiving “SIB12 acquisition,” and “RRCREconfiguration”), by a first user device (a “UE” in the above Figure), a first configuration,
wherein the first configuration is a synchronization configuration7 (See, Page 215, “sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message” or “sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12”),
wherein the synchronization configuration includes at least one of a synchronization priority (The “sl-SyncPriority,” which may be included in each of sl-FreqConfig (Page 789) and sl-FreqConfigCommon (Page 790), which may be in turn included in the sl-ConfigDedicatedNR and sl-ConfigCommonNR, respectively (See, Pages 272-274, 784 and 785 for the nested relationships of sl-ConfigDedicatedNR; and Pages 348, 789-790 for the nested relationship for the sl-ConfigCommonNR. See, also Page 789 and page 216 for the indication of priority by the sl-SyncPriority.), a network controlled synchronization transmission indication (See, Page 785, “networkControlledSyncTx,” “Value on indicates the UE to transmit synchronization information while value off indicates the UE to not transmit such information.” As shown in Page 785, this field may be included in the sl-ConfigDedicatedNR), or a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold (See, Pages 212 and 213, syncTxThreshIC or syncTxThreshOoC, “the RSRP measurement [the PSBCH-RSRP measurement ]…is below the value of syncTxThreshIC [syncTxThreshOoC]”), and
wherein the synchronization configuration is received from Uu radio resource control (RRC) or system information block (SIB) message (See, Fig. 5.8.5.1-1, showing a UE receiving “SIB12” and “RRCReconfiguration” directly from the “Network.” See, also Applicant’s disclosure at ¶s[0078]-[0083]); and
apply, by the first user device, the first configuration (See, e.g., Page 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines, “ The UE shall: 1> if …sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb, i.e., applying the sl-SyncPriority),
wherein the first user device selects a cell as a synchronization reference source in a first case that a frequency for sidelink communication is included in a Uu message and the synchronization priority is set to gNBeNB (See, Page 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines, “The UE shall: 1> if the frequency used for NR sidelink communication is included in sl-FreqInfoToAddModList in sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message or included in sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12, and sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb: 2> select a cell as the synchronization reference source,” Emphasis Added),
wherein the first user device selects the cell as the synchronization reference source in a second case that the frequency for the sidelink communication is included in a PC5 message8 (p. 214, Figure 5.8.5a.1-1 and Figure 5.8.5a.1-2, “SLSS&MasterInformationBlockSidelink”) and the synchronization priority is set to gNBeNB (See, Page 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines, “The UE shall: 1> if the frequency used for NR sidelink communication is included in sl-FreqInfoToAddModList in sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message or included in sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12, and sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb: 2> select a cell as the synchronization reference source,” Emphasis Added), and the first user device considers the first user device in an in-coverage (IC) state (See, Page 212, §5.8.5.2, first two “1>” conditional statements, “1> if in coverage….has selected GNSS or the cell as synchronization reference,” and “1> if out of coverage….has selected GNSS or the cell as synchronization reference…” Accordingly, 3GPPTS38.331V16 discloses when the UE is in coverage (or out of coverage), the UE shall select a cell as the synchronization reference source as long as the above other conditions are met).
3GPPTS38.331V16, however, fails to explicitly teach an apparatus comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to implement a method that causes the apparatus to perform the above recited functional steps.
Cheng teaches an apparatus comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to implement a method that causes the apparatus to perform functional steps (See, Cheng, Fig. 2, #s 201 and 203; and ¶[0024]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that it would be necessary to modify the above teachings of 3GPPTS38.331V16 to incorporate the UE structure taught by Cheng when implementing a UE in order for such UE to be compliant with the 5G NR standards (See, Cheng, ¶[0002]).
Regarding claim 17/14, 3GPPTS38.331V16 in view of Cheng teach an apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 14 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further teaches that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that the first user device considers the first user device is in an in-coverage (IC) state (See, Page 212, §5.8.5.2, first 5 lines, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall….if in coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication,” and the first occurrence of “3>”, “transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS..,” Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 18/14, 3GPPTS38.331V16 in view of Cheng teach an apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 14 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further teaches that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that an RSRP of a relay user device is lower than a configured threshold (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall,” last line “1> else:;” Page 213, the first occurrence of “2>,” …if syncTxThreshOoC is included in SidelinkPreconfigNR; and the UE is not directly synchronized to GNSS, and the PSBCH-RSRP measurement result of the selected SyncRef UE is below the value of syncTxThreshOoC;” and the first occurrence of “3>,”“transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS..,”).
Cheng further teaches that the first user device (Fig. 4, the Remote UE 401) considers the first user device is in-coverage (IC) (See, Figs. 1 and 4; ¶[0030] “A UE can become a Remote UE if its measured Uu signal is sufficiently bad (e.g., <=threshHighRemote). For in-coverage remote UE, because it is still in coverage of base station, remote UE 401 can measure Uu-RSRP, and can compare Uu-RSRP with PC5-RSRP directly or indirectly.” The UE 401, depending on the result of the comparison between Uu-RSRP and PC5-RSRP (i.e., the RSRP of the relay UE 402), may choose to become a remote UE for sidelink communication with the relay UE 402. Accordingly, Cheng et al. teaches an in-coverage UE making a decision based on the RSRP measurement of a relay UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus taught by 3GPPTS38.331V16 to incorporate the above teaching of Cheng in order to allow a better service, throughput or latency by providing an opportunity to select a base station and/or relay UE with better signal strength or service (See, e.g., Cheng, ¶s[0021]).
Regarding claim 19/14, 3GPPTS38.331V16 in view of Cheng teach an apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 14 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further teaches that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that the first user device considers the first user device is out-of-coverage (OOC) (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall;” the second occurrence of “1>,” “if out of coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication,…; and the first occurrence of “3>,”“transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS..”).
Regarding claim 20/14, 3GPPTS38.331V16 in view of Cheng teach an apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 14 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16 further teaches that the first user device is configured to transmit a synchronization signal in a case that the first user device considers the first user device is out-of-coverage (OOC) and at least one of conditions is met, and wherein the conditions include the network controlled synchronization transmission indication is configured and set to an activated state (See, Pages 212, §5.8.5.2, first line, “A UE capable of NR sidelink communication and SLSS/PSBCH transmission shall;” the second occurrence of “1>,” “if out of coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication,…; the first occurrence of “2>,” “if networkControlledSyncTx is configured and set to on;” and the first occurrence of “3>,”“transmit SSB…including the transmission of SLSS,” Emphasis Added).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over 3GPPTS38.331V16 view of Cheng et al (US Patent Publication No. US 2024/0015637) (“Cheng-1”).
Regarding claim 9/1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 teaches a method for wireless communication comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
3GPPTS38.331V16, however, fails to explicitly teach that, in the second case, the PC5 message includes the SIB message that is not received from a gNB or network or cell directly.
Cheng -1 teaches a sidelink wireless communication method (See, Figs. 2 and 6) in which a PC5 message includes the SIB message that is not received from a gNB or network or cell directly (See, Figs. 2, #655 and ¶[0143]; ¶[0106], “for a dedicated SIB update, such as SIB12, the UE 115-a may transmit the updated SIB to the UE 115-b with a dedicated PC5-RRC message”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method taught by 3GPPTS38.331V16 to incorporate the above teaching of Cheng -1 in order to achieve higher data rates, increased throughput, and greater spectral efficiency by providing greater connectivity, greater coverage, and shorter relay connection establishment (See, e.g., Cheng -1. ¶s[0051]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on July 1, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues, in a nutshell, that: the prior art references relied upon in support of the rejections in the previous Office Action, namely, 3GPPTS38.331V16, allegedly fails to teach the feature of claim 1 (and claim 14), " the frequency for the sidelink communication is included in a PC5 message," see, Amendment at Pp. 10-11.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with the above argument..
Applicant’s argument appears to be focused on the fact that the portion of 3GPPTS38.331V16 cited in support of the rejections of claims in the previous Office Action does not teach a PC-5 message, but only teaches either a RRCReconfiguration message or SIB12, both of which is transmitted over the Uu interface. This criticism is misplaced.
The relevant portion of the reference at issue is reproduced below:
“The UE shall:
if the frequency used for NR sidelink communication is included in sl-
FreqInfoToAddModList in sl-ConfigDedicatedNR within RRCReconfiguration message or included in sl-ConfigCommonNR within SIB12, and sl-SyncPriority is configured for the concerned frequency and set to gnbEnb:
2> select a cell as the synchronization reference source,” 3GPPTS38.331V16 at p. 215, §5.8.6.2, first 4 lines.
As an initial matter, the claim limitation in question does not positively recite “PC5 message” as a standalone element requirement, but rather requires “the frequency for the sidelink communication is included in a PC5 message”. That is, the pertinent question is not whether the above cited portion teach a PC5 message, but is whether “the frequency for the sidelink communication,” i.e., “the frequency used for NR sidelink communication” that is taught by the above cited portion is included in a PC5 message.
In the previous Office Action, in support of rejections of claim 1 and 149, Figure 5.8.5.1-1 was cited (See, previous Office Action at Pp. 4 and 10). The figure is reproduced below:
PNG
media_image1.png
367
1002
media_image1.png
Greyscale
The figure depicts a signal labeled “SLSS& MasterInformationBlockSidelink” transmitted by a UE. A person having ordinarily skilled in the art (PHOSITA) would recognize that this signal is sent over the PC5 interface, and that the Sidelink Synchronization Signal (SLSS), in particular, is a PC5 PHY layer signal. See, footnote 3 of the previous Office Action (and of this Office Action).
The SLSS indeed includes the same “frequency used for NR sidelink communication.” For example, with respect to the SLSS, 3GPPTS38.331V16 provides, in pertinent part:
5.8.5.3 Transmission of SLSS
The UE shall select the SLSSID and the slot in which to transmit SLSS as follows:
1> if triggered by NR sidelink communication and in coverage on the frequency used for NR sidelink communication, as defined in TS 38.304 [20]; or
…
2> if the UE has selected a cell as synchronization reference in accordance with 5.8.6.2:
3> select the SLSSID included in the entry of configured sl-SyncConfigList corresponding to the concerned frequency, that includes txParameters and does not include gnss-Sync;
3> select the slot(s) indicated by sl-SSB-TimeAllocation1, 3GPPTS38.331V16 at p. 213, §5.8.5.3.
Accordingly, Examiner respectfully submit that 3GPPTS38.331V16 teaches "the frequency for the sidelink communication” that “is included in a PC5 message," and the previous claim rejection satisfies the requirements of MPEP § 2131.
Therefore, for at least the above reasons, the Examiner remains unpersuaded by Applicant’s arguments, and thus maintains the same grounds of rejections of previous Office Action.
Conclusion
No new ground of rejection is 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KI S KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-9141. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:00AM - 5:30PM.
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, Moo R Jeong can be reached at (571) 272-9617. 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.
/K.S.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2418 August 18, 2026
/Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
1 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.6.0 (2021-09) Technical Specification “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 16);” published by 3GPP Organizational Partners, September 2021, Pp. 1-955. Previously made of record.
2 This claim recitation, “a first configuration wherein the first configuration is a synchronization configuration,” is given its plain and broadest reasonable interpretation, that is, the first configuration and the synchronization configuration have the same meaning.
3 This claim limitation “PC5 message” is construed to encompass the examples of such message provided in Applicant’s own disclosure. Accordingly, the “frequency…included in a PC5 message” is construed to include the frequency included in the RRC message and/or specified in SIB12. See, Applicant’s disclosure ¶s[0084]-[0089]:
“[0084] In this example, a PC5 message is at least one of the following: [0085] 6. Uu RRC message that is received from PC5 interface. [0086] 7. Uu RRC message that is not received from gNB directly. [0087] 8. SIB message that is received from PC5 interface. [0088] 9. SIB message that is not received from a gNB or network or cell directly (e.g., obtains the SIB with a relay UE). [0089] 10. PC5 RRC or MAC or PHY signaling.”
4 3GPP TS 38.304 V16.6.0 (2021-09) Technical Specification “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; User Equipment (UE) procedures in Idle mode and RRC Inactive state (Release 16);” published by 3GPP Organizational Partners, September 2021, Pp. 1-39. Previously made of record.
5 See, 3GPPTS38.304V16, at Page 36, third paragraph, “If the UE detects at least one cell on the frequency which UE is configured to perform NR sidelink communication on fulfilling the S criterion in accordance with clause 8.2.1, it shall consider itself to be in-coverage for NR sidelink communication on that frequency. If the UE cannot detect any cell on that frequency meeting the S criterion, it shall consider itself to be out-of-coverage for NR sidelink communication on that frequency,” Emphasis added.
6 Despite the modified or narrowed OoC condition, i.e., that there “no frequency [that] is in the IC state,” because claims 10 (from which this claim 13 depend) so recite, the first user device is still in the IC state. Accordingly, as discussed in connection to claim 10, there is at least one frequency, i.e., the Sl frequency being used is in IC state, not satisfying this modified requirement for the OoC condition. Accordingly, as discussed in connection with claim 1 above, and as those other conditions recited in claim 1 has not changed, the first user device shall select a cell as the synchronization reference source.
7 See footnote 2 above.
8 See footnote 3 above.
9 The limitation at issue was previously presented in the now canceled claims 3 and 16, which depended from claims 1 and 14, respectively.
Prosecution Insights