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 .
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi et al. (US 20250193874 A1) in view of Hui et al. (US 20240284483 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yi et al. teaches a method for a first User Equipment (UE) performing sidelink transmission in a sidelink resource pool, comprising: performing one or more unicast sidelink transmissions with one or more destinations comprising a second destination associated with a second UE (Paragraph 241, 245, 246, These passages disclose a first UE transmitting sidelink data to a specific second UE and expressly describe unicast transmission identified by a destination UE ID); and transmitting information indicating a set of Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) to a network node (Paragraph 246, 280, These passages disclose sidelink resources scheduled at specific slot indices (time intervals) and further disclose the UE transmitting control information (e.g., MAC CE/UCI) to the base station).
Yi et al. does not explicitly teach wherein the set of TTIs corresponds to the second UE monitoring or receiving Sidelink Control Information (SCI) in the sidelink resource pool via a second beam associated with the first UE.
However, Hui et al. teaches wherein the set of TTIs corresponds to the second UE monitoring or receiving Sidelink Control Information (SCI) in the sidelink resource pool via a second beam associated with the first UE (Paragraph 377, 383, 409, 417, The passage teaches SCI being received by a second UE during sidelink transmissions in a sidelink resource pool and further teaches configured time intervals/reservation intervals governing when such transmissions (and thus SCI monitoring/receiving) occur).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the set of TTIs corresponds to the second UE monitoring or receiving Sidelink Control Information (SCI) in the sidelink resource pool via a second beam associated with the first UE as taught by Hui et al. in the system of Yi et al., so that it would enable the network node and participating UEs to coordinate beam-based sidelink SCI monitoring and reception during configured sidelink transmission intervals, thereby improving reliability, scheduling awareness, and resource coordination for unicast sidelink communications in the sidelink resource pool.
Regarding claim 2, Yi et al. teaches the first UE has sidelink data available associated with the second UE, and/or the first UE transmits a first Buffer Status Report (BSR) to the network node comprising another information of the sidelink data (Paragraph 281–284, 294, Together, these passages teach that the UE maintains sidelink buffer state reflecting available sidelink data (e.g., arrival of new sidelink data and high/low buffer levels) associated with sidelink communication toward another UE, and conveys buffer-related information for that sidelink data to the network node via SR and/or MAC CE in lieu of or analogous to a BSR).
Regarding claim 3, Yi et al. teaches the UE transmits the information along with the first BSR in one time instance, wherein the first BSR corresponds to a regular BSR, or the UE transmits the information and the first BSR in different time instances, or the UE transmits a second BSR comprising the information, wherein the second BSR is different than a regular BSR, or the UE transmits a third BSR comprising the information, wherein the third BSR corresponds to a regular BSR and/or a periodic BSR and/or a padding BSR (Paragraph 281, 282, 294, These passages expressly disclose (i) transmission of a regular BSR in a UL grant context, (ii) transmission of buffer-related information via SR bits or MAC CE in the same UL transmission opportunity, (iii) separate SR and MAC CE transmissions in different time instances, and (iv) replacing or supplementing a regular BSR with MAC CE–based buffer reporting).
Regarding claim 4, Yi et al. teaches the first UE triggers to transmit the information in response to one or more of: receiving an indication from the second UE indicating that the second beam is applied or used or changed or updated from a previous beam, or a beam used to monitor or receive SCI on the sidelink resource pool is changed or the set of TTIs is changed or updated or applied or used, and/or determining that a first beam for sidelink transmission to the second UE is changed or updated or applied or used, and/or a third destination associated with a third UE is added as a destination of the first UE, and/or having pending sidelink data associated with the second UE to be transmitted (Paragraph 241, 246, 277, 283, 287, 292, 295, The passage teaches that the UE triggers transmission of sidelink signaling (e.g., SL SR, BFR, MAC CE–based indications) in response to (i) new/pending sidelink data, (ii) changes in scheduling cell/search space/monitoring configuration (analogous to beam/SCI monitoring or resource/TTI updates), (iii) beam failure or beam condition changes affecting sidelink transmission, and (iv) dynamic identification or modification of destination UE IDs).
Regarding claim 5, Yi et al. teaches the UE transmits the information on a periodic resource or a semi- persistently scheduled resource (Paragraph 293, 295, These passages expressly disclose that the UE is configured with semi-persistent scheduling, semi-periodic resources, periodic resources, or configured grant resources and, when applicable, transmits sidelink data (information) using those preconfigured periodic or semi-persistent resources).
Regarding claim 6, Yi et al. teaches transmitting a second BSR comprising data volume associated with the one or more destinations, wherein the first UE transmits the second BSR comprising information associated with one or more sets of TTIs for the one or more destinations (Paragraph 239, 246, 281–282, These passages collectively teach that the UE transmits control signaling (in lieu of or analogous to a BSR) conveying sidelink buffer/data volume information associated with specific destination identifiers, and that the sidelink transmissions to those destinations are scheduled over specific time units (slots/TTIs), including sets of scheduled resources across multiple time instances, thereby disclosing a second BSR comprising data volume associated with one or more destinations and information associated with one or more sets of TTIs for those destinations).
Regarding claim 7, Yi et al. teaches after establishing a link with the second UE, or after an initial beam pair procedure, or after a beam failure recovery procedure: determining a first beam for sidelink transmission to the second UE, or receiving a message from the second UE indicating a monitoring pattern associated with the second beam, or determining the set of TTIs based on the received message (Paragraph 234, 246, 291–293, 305–306, These passages collectively teach sidelink transmission behavior occurring after a beam failure recovery procedure, including determining sidelink transmission resources toward a specific second UE based on received control signaling and selecting periodic resource units corresponding to time instances (TTIs) for transmission).
Regarding claim 8, Yi et al. teaches the information further comprises information of the first beam, and/or the first UE provides information to the network node about the set of TTIs being associated with the first beam (Paragraph 280, 283, 300, 302, These passages collectively teach that sidelink scheduling and synchronization are tied to a specific scheduling cell (which inherently corresponds to a particular transmission configuration/beam of that cell) and that the UE explicitly reports to the network the selected cell/search space used for sidelink scheduling).
Regarding claim 9, Yi et al. teaches after the first UE transmits the information, the first UE expects to receive a sidelink grant scheduling resource associated with at least one TTI that the destination monitors via the first beam, or the first UE expects to receive a sidelink grant scheduling resource on at least one TTI in the set of TTIs being associated with the first beam (Paragraph 241, 245, 283, 295, 298, These passages teach that after the UE transmits sidelink-related information (e.g., a SL SR indicating need for sidelink resources), the UE anticipates reception of a sidelink DCI (grant) that schedules specific sidelink resources at defined time instances).
Regarding claim 10, Yi et al. teaches receiving one or more messages from the one or more destinations, wherein each of the one or more messages indicates a monitoring pattern associated with one transmitted beam and information of TTIs that one of the one or more destinations monitors sidelink transmission via a received beam associated with the one transmitted beam of the first UE (Paragraph 239, 245, 246, 296, 298, Taken together, these passages teach that the UE receives one or more sidelink control messages (SL DCIs) associated with sidelink transmissions to destination UEs, where each message includes explicit time-domain resource assignments (e.g., time n, slots/frames) corresponding to TTIs and defines monitoring behavior over specific cells/search spaces).
Regarding claim 11, Yi et al. teaches the first UE has sidelink data available associated with a subset of the one or more destinations, and/or the first UE receives a sidelink grant from the network node scheduling one or more sidelink resources in one or more TTIs, and/or the first UE selects or determines a destination from the subset of the one or more destinations, wherein the selection or the determination is based on the one or more received messages (Paragraph 230, 236, 239, 241, 245, 246, 280, 305, The passage teaches that the first UE has sidelink data tied to specific destination UE IDs (subset of destinations), receives sidelink DCIs from the network scheduling sidelink resources at particular times, and determines communication link parameters and associated targets based on received control signaling).
Regarding claim 12, Yi et al. teaches the TTI among the one or more TTIs corresponds to an earliest TTI or any TTI among the one or more TTIs (Paragraph 238, 246, 296, These passages teach that sidelink resources are scheduled for specific time instances (e.g., time n), that multiple time instances (e.g., n and n+1) may correspond to the same scheduled resource, and that scheduling and monitoring may occur at different designated times).
Regarding claim 13, Yi et al. teaches a method for a first User Equipment (UE) performing sidelink transmission in a sidelink resource pool, comprising: performing one or more unicast sidelink transmissions with one or more destinations, wherein the first UE determines to apply one transmitted beam for sidelink transmission to each of the one or more destinations (Paragraph 241, 246, 295, These passages explicitly teach unicast sidelink transmissions to a specific destination UE (via destination UE ID), and since transmissions are scheduled and performed via a selected scheduling cell/search space, the UE applies one transmission beam/configuration per transmission to the destination); having sidelink data available associated with a subset of the one or more destinations (Paragraph 241, 282, 294, These passages explicitly teach that the UE has new sidelink data available for transmission, and because sidelink transmissions are associated with specific destination UE IDs (0246), the available data inherently corresponds to a subset of intended destination UEs); receiving a sidelink grant from a network node scheduling one or more sidelink resources in one or more TTIs (Paragraph 236, 239, 295, These passages explicitly teach receiving a sidelink DCI (grant) from a base station that schedules sidelink resources at specific time instances); and selecting or determining a destination from the subset of the one or more destination, wherein the first UE selects or determines the destination based on at least the received one or more messages that the destination monitors via a received beam associated with the one transmitted beam in a TTI among the one or more TTIs (Paragraph 239, 246, 283, 306, These passages teach that sidelink transmissions are explicitly tied to a specific destination UE ID (unicast link), that resources are scheduled in specific time instances, and that monitoring/scheduling cells (which correspond to transmission configuration/beam context) are indicated and used to control when transmissions occur).
Yi et al. does not explicitly teach receiving one or more messages from the one or more destinations, wherein each message of the one or more messages indicates a monitoring pattern associated with the one transmitted beam and information of Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) that one of the one or more destinations monitors sidelink transmission via a received beam associated with the one transmitted beam.
However, Hui et al. teaches receiving one or more messages from the one or more destinations, wherein each message of the one or more messages indicates a monitoring pattern associated with the one transmitted beam and information of Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) that one of the one or more destinations monitors sidelink transmission via a received beam associated with the one transmitted beam (Paragraph 381, 407, 408, 409, These passages teach that destinations send periodic coordination messages to the transmitting UE that convey time-interval-based resource information defining when transmissions are monitored, corresponding to a monitoring pattern tied to the transmission configuration (including beam use)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving one or more messages from the one or more destinations, wherein each message of the one or more messages indicates a monitoring pattern associated with the one transmitted beam and information of Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) that one of the one or more destinations monitors sidelink transmission via a received beam associated with the one transmitted beam as taught by Hui et al. in the system of Yi et al., so that it would enable the transmitting UE to coordinate beam-based sidelink unicast transmissions with destination UEs based on destination-specific monitoring timing and beam reception behavior, thereby improving scheduling accuracy, transmission reliability, and efficient utilization of sidelink resources across multiple destination UEs.
Regarding claim 14, Yi et al. teaches the TTI among the one or more TTIs corresponds to an earliest TTI or any TTI among the one or more TTIs (Paragraph 238, 246, 296, These passages teach that sidelink resources are scheduled for specific time instances (e.g., time n), that multiple time instances (e.g., n and n+1) may correspond to the same scheduled resource, and that scheduling and monitoring may occur at different designated times).
Regarding claim 15, Yi et al. teaches if the first UE selects or determines that a second destination is not monitoring via the received beam associated with the one transmitted beam in the TTI, the first UE does not or is not allowed to select the second destination (Paragraph 269, 277, 296, 305, These passages teach that when a UE determines a cell (corresponding to a transmission beam/TTI scheduling context) is not being monitored or is unavailable for receiving control information, the UE skips or refrains from selecting that cell for sidelink transmissions and instead switches to another eligible cell).
Regarding claim 16, Yi et al. teaches the destination is selected or determined further based on priority of the sidelink data available (Paragraph 235, 266, 299, These passages teach that sidelink transmissions and their associated resource/search space selections are determined based on QoS or logical channel priority of the available sidelink data).
Regarding claim 17, Yi et al. teaches the sidelink grant does not provide information associated with which beam for sidelink transmission on the one or more sidelink resources, and/or the first UE determines transmitted beam for sidelink transmission on the one or more sidelink resources based on the selected or determined destination, and/or when the selected or determined destination is associated with a first transmitted beam, the first UE performs sidelink transmission on the one or more sidelink resources via the first transmitted beam (Paragraph 239, 246, 295, These passages collectively teach that the sidelink grant (SL DCI) schedules sidelink resources without indicating any beam information, that sidelink transmissions are associated with a specific destination UE ID defining the communication link, and that the transmitting UE performs the sidelink transmission on the scheduled resources for that destination).
Regarding claim 18, Yi et al. teaches when the sidelink grant provides information associated with a specific beam for sidelink transmission on the one or more sidelink resources, the destination is selected or determined further based on paired transmitted beams being as or corresponding to the specific beam, and/or when the sidelink grant provides information associated with the specific beam for sidelink transmission on the one or more sidelink resources, the destination is selected or determined as being limited to paired transmitted beams being as or corresponding to the specific beam, and/or if the first UE determines that the one transmitted beam associated with sidelink transmission for a third destination, and the one transmitted beam is not or does not correspond to the specific beam, the first UE does not or is not allowed to select the third destination (Paragraph 239, 246, 306, The passage teaches that a sidelink DCI (grant) provides resource assignments tied to a specific sidelink communication link identified by a {source, destination} pair, and that the UE validates consistency of scheduling information (e.g., same link ID and equivalent resource indications) and ignores inconsistent grants).
Regarding claim 19, Yi et al. teaches if the first UE selects or determines no destination as monitoring via the received beam associated with the one transmitted beam in the TTI, or if the first UE cannot select a destination due to no destination being selected or determined as monitoring via the received beam associated with the one transmitted beam in the TTI, the first UE drops or ignores the sidelink grant or does not perform sidelink transmission on the one or more sidelink resources scheduled by the sidelink grant (Paragraph 246, 267, 269, 306, These passages collectively teach that when a valid scheduling/communication condition corresponding to a sidelink transmission (i.e., a valid control context tied to a communication link/destination) is not satisfied or is invalid, the UE treats the sidelink DCI/grant as invalid, ignores it, deactivates monitoring, or refrains from performing sidelink transmission on the scheduled resources).
Regarding claim 20, Yi et al. teaches a first User Equipment (UE) performing sidelink transmission in a sidelink resource pool, comprising: a memory; and a processor operatively coupled with the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code to: perform one or more unicast sidelink transmissions with one or more destinations comprising a second destination associated with a second UE (Paragraph 241, 245, 246, These passages disclose a first UE transmitting sidelink data to a specific second UE and expressly describe unicast transmission identified by a destination UE ID); and transmit information indicating a set of Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) to a network node (Paragraph 246, 280, These passages disclose sidelink resources scheduled at specific slot indices (time intervals) and further disclose the UE transmitting control information (e.g., MAC CE/UCI) to the base station).
Yi et al. does not explicitly teach wherein the set of TTIs corresponds to the second UE monitoring or receiving Sidelink Control Information (SCI) in the sidelink resource pool via a second beam associated with the first UE.
However, Hui et al. teaches wherein the set of TTIs corresponds to the second UE monitoring or receiving Sidelink Control Information (SCI) in the sidelink resource pool via a second beam associated with the first UE (Paragraph 377, 383, 409, 417, The passage teaches SCI being received by a second UE during sidelink transmissions in a sidelink resource pool and further teaches configured time intervals/reservation intervals governing when such transmissions (and thus SCI monitoring/receiving) occur).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the set of TTIs corresponds to the second UE monitoring or receiving Sidelink Control Information (SCI) in the sidelink resource pool via a second beam associated with the first UE as taught by Hui et al. in the system of Yi et al., so that it would enable the network node and participating UEs to coordinate beam-based sidelink SCI monitoring and reception during configured sidelink transmission intervals, thereby improving reliability, scheduling awareness, and resource coordination for unicast sidelink communications in the sidelink resource pool.
Allowable Subject Matter
The applicant could consider adding concepts such as: the first UE determining to apply a single transmitted beam for sidelink transmission to multiple destinations and receiving, from each destination, a message indicating a beam-specific monitoring pattern and TTI information corresponding to a received beam associated with that transmitted beam; the first UE maintaining sidelink data availability for only a subset of destinations and dynamically selecting a destination from that subset based on the reported monitoring pattern and TTI alignment; the first UE receiving a sidelink grant from a network node scheduling specific sidelink resources in particular TTIs and performing destination selection responsive to both the grant and the beam-based monitoring feedback; and the coordination between transmitted beam selection, received beam association at the second UE, and TTI-specific monitoring to optimize resource usage and ensure that sidelink transmissions occur in TTIs in which the selected destination is actively monitoring via the associated beam.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Noh et al. (US 20250056576 A1)
Wang et al. (US 20220225297 A1)
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/ANDREW SHAJI KURIAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2464
/IQBAL ZAIDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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