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 § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, 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.
Claim(s) 1, 15-17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. US 2024/0049007 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Zhang”).
As to claim 1, Zhang teaches a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication (¶¶128-129 and 165; figures 3A and 7), comprising:
one or more memories (¶129; figure 3A); and
one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE to (¶¶128-129 and 165; figures 3A and 7):
transmit, to a network node, capability information associated with UE cooperation between the UE and a companion UE (¶¶166-178; figure 7: UE transmits and network node receives UE capability information regarding carrier aggregation capability of the UE and that the UE is capable of meeting a requirement for a Type 2, 3, or 4 UE); and
receive, from the network node, a configuration of at least one of carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC) based at least in part on the capability information associated with the UE cooperation between the UE and the companion UE (¶¶244-245; figure 7: UE receives and network node transmits carrier aggregation and ENDC configuration for PCell, PSCell, and/or SCell based on the UE’s indicated capabilities).
As to claim 15, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration is a configuration of CA for the UE (¶¶244-245; figure 7: UE receives and network node transmits carrier aggregation and ENDC configuration for PCell, PSCell, and/or SCell based on the UE’s indicated capabilities).
As to claim 16, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration is a configuration of DC for the UE (¶¶244-245; figure 7: UE receives and network node transmits carrier aggregation and ENDC configuration for PCell, PSCell, and/or SCell based on the UE’s indicated capabilities).
As to claim 17, Zhang teaches a network node for wireless communication (¶¶136-137, 165, and 355; figures 3B, 7, and 13), comprising:
one or more memories (¶137; figure 3B); and
one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the network node to (¶¶136-137, 165, and 355; figures 3B, 7, and 13):
receive, from a user equipment (UE), capability information associated with UE cooperation between the UE and a companion UE (¶¶166-178; figure 7: UE transmits and network node receives UE capability information regarding carrier aggregation capability of the UE and that the UE is capable of meeting a requirement for a Type 2, 3, or 4 UE); and
transmit, to the UE, a configuration of at least one of carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC) based at least in part on the capability information associated with the UE cooperation between the UE and the companion UE (¶¶244-245; figure 7: UE receives and network node transmits carrier aggregation and ENDC configuration for PCell, PSCell, and/or SCell based on the UE’s indicated capabilities).
As to claim 20, claim 20 is rejected the same way as claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 2 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Islam et al. US 2023/0246689 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Islam”).
As to claim 2, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “the capability information indicates that the UE is a reduced capability (RedCap) UE”.
However, Islam teaches the capability information indicates that the UE is a reduced capability (RedCap) UE (¶¶20 and 98-99; figures 4-5: the UE is a RedCap UE and transmits RedCap UE capability information indicating the UE is a RedCap UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “the capability information indicates that the UE is a reduced capability (RedCap) UE” as taught by Islam because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of “limit[ing] device complexity and power consumption while minimizing any adverse impact to network resource utilization, system spectral efficiency, and operation efficiency” (Islam, ¶¶5 and 98-99; figures 4-5).
As to claim 18, claim 18 is rejected the same way as claim 2.
Claim(s) 3, 8-9, 11, 14, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Bangolae et al. US 2023/03544152 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Bangolae”).
As to claim 3, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “the capability information indicates a UE identifier of the companion UE”.
However, Bangolae teaches the capability information indicates a UE identifier of the companion UE (¶¶70-71, 146, and 197: aggregate/multipath capability messaging includes candidate remote/relay UE ID).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “the capability information indicates a UE identifier of the companion UE” as taught by Bangolae because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of enhancing the split bearer architecture for increased throughput (Bangolae, ¶¶70-71, 146, and 197).
As to claim 8, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “the capability information indicates a UE cooperation capability and an availability of the companion UE”.
However, Bangolae teaches the capability information indicates a UE cooperation capability and an availability of the companion UE (¶¶69-71, 157, and 197: UE capability information indicates that the UE supports UE aggregation and provides availability, ID, and/or capability information of aggregate/remote/forwarding UE).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “the capability information indicates a UE cooperation capability and an availability of the companion UE” as taught by Bangolae because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of enhancing the split bearer architecture for increased throughput (Bangolae, ¶¶69-71, 146, 157, and 197).
As to claim 9, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “the capability information…sidelink conditions”.
However, Bangolae teaches the capability information indicates one or more sidelink conditions between the UE and the companion UE, and wherein the configuration of CA or DC is based at least in part on the one or more sidelink conditions (¶¶134, 148, 174, 197: UE capability information indicates SL conditions between the UE and peer UE(s), the SL conditions used in the selection of peer UE(s) and configuration of CA and/or DC including establishment of SL CA and Uu CAs).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “the capability information…sidelink conditions” as taught by Bangolae because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of enhancing the split bearer architecture for increased throughput (Bangolae, ¶¶70-71, 134, 146, 148, 17, and 197).
As to claim 11, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “receive, from the…with the configuration”.
However, Bangolae teaches receive, from the network node, one or more first downlink communications associated with a first carrier or a first cell in accordance with the configuration; and
receive, via forwarding from the companion UE, one or more second downlink communications associated with a second carrier or a second cell in accordance with the configuration (¶¶69-70, 142-143, and 148; figures 18-19: according to the CA and DC configuration, receive downlink communications on Uu CA from gNB and receive downlink communications on SL CA from 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 improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “receive, from the…with the configuration” as taught by Bangolae because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of enhancing the split bearer architecture for increased throughput (Bangolae, ¶¶69-71, 142-143, 146, 148, and 197).
As to claim 14, Zhang in view of Bangolae teaches the UE of claim 11.
Bangolae further teaches the one or more processors, to cause the UE to receive the one or more second downlink communications, are configured to cause the UE to receive the one or more second downlink communications via transport block (TB) or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) packets forwarding from the companion UE (¶¶142-143; figure 18: receive the downlink communications via PDCP packet forwarding/duplication from 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 improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang in view of Bangolae by including “the one or…the companion UE” as further taught by Bangolae for the same rationale as set forth in claim 11 (Bangolae, ¶¶69-71, 142-143, 146, 148, and 197).
As to claim 19, claim 19 is rejected the same way as claim 11.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Peng et al. US 2024/0064723 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Peng”).
As to claim 4, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “the capability information…packets forwarding”.
However, Peng teaches the capability information indicates that the UE supports UE cooperation between the UE and the companion UE via transport block (TB) forwarding or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) packets forwarding (¶¶67, 78, 97, and 106; figures 5 and 7: UE provides UE coordination capability information to a network device including forwarding latency information indicating the UE may provide a relay service for another UE via TB forwarding).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “the capability information…packets forwarding” as taught by Peng because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of performance gains (Peng, ¶¶67, 78, 97, and 106; figures 5 and 7).
Claim(s) 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Wang et al. US 2023/0042623 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Wang”).
As to claim 5, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “the capability information…samples forwarding”.
However, Wang teaches the capability information indicates that the UE supports UE cooperation between the UE and the companion UE via joint transmission and in-phase and quadrature (IQ) samples forwarding (¶¶17, 25, 54, 67; figure 5: UE transmits UECS capability report to base station indicating UE supports cooperation with other UE(s) via I/Q sample forwarding).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “the capability information…samples forwarding” as taught by Wang because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of improving transmit and receive signal quality by having a group of UEs act as a distributed antenna (Wang, ¶¶16-18, 25, 54, 67; figure 5).
As to claim 7, Zhang in view of Wang teaches the UE of claim 5. Zhang further teaches the capability information further indicates a request for a relaxed baseband processing time (¶¶331-338: capability switching indicates request for AGC adjustment time including baseband adjustment delay).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Rao et al. US 2026/02446744 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Rao”).
As to claim 10, Zhang teaches the UE of claim 1.
Although Zhang teaches “The UE of claim 1,” Zhang does not explicitly disclose “the capability information includes a request for CA approval or a request for DC approval”.
However, Rao teaches the capability information includes a request for CA approval or a request for DC approval (¶¶79, 86, 89, and 104: capability information includes request for activation of a configuration including activation of CA).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang by including “the capability information includes a request for CA approval or a request for DC approval” as taught by Rao because it provides Zhang’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of providing multiple carriers for the UE (Rao, ¶¶55, 79, 86, 89, and 104).
Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Bangolae as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Wang.
As to claim 12, Zhang in view of Bangolae teaches the UE of claim 11.
Although Zhang in view of Bangolae teaches “The UE of claim 11,” Zhang in view of Bangolae does not explicitly disclose “receive the one or more second downlink communications via in-phase and quadrature (IQ) samples forwarding from the companion UE”.
However, Wang teaches receive the one or more second downlink communications via in-phase and quadrature (IQ) samples forwarding from the companion UE (¶¶17 and 25; figure 1: UE receives downlink communications from other UE(s) via I/Q sample forwarding).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to improve upon the apparatus described in Zhang in view of Bangolae by including “receive the one or more second downlink communications via in-phase and quadrature (IQ) samples forwarding from the companion UE” as taught by Wang because it provides Zhang in view of Bangolae’s apparatus with the enhanced capability of improving transmit and receive signal quality by having a group of UEs act as a distributed antenna (Wang, ¶¶16-18, 25, 54, 67; figure 5).
As to claim 13, Zhang in view of Bangolae, and further in view of Wang teaches the UE of claim 12. Zhang further teaches the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to:
process the one or more first downlink communications and the one or more second downlink communications in accordance with a relaxed baseband processing time (¶¶331-338: process the downlink communications according to the baseband adjustment delay).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Shi et al. US 2023/0337175 A1 - METHOD FOR REPORTING POSITIONING CAPABILITY, TERMINAL DEVICE, AND NETWORK DEVICE
Freda et al. US 2026/0059600 A1 - METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR RADIO LINK FAILURE AND RECOVERY IN MULTIPATH SIDELINK RELAYS
Freda et al. US 2026/0012846 A1 - METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SR/BSR REPORTING IN MULTIPATH SIDELINK RELAYS
Xue et al. US 2022/0346133 A1 - CONFIGURED GRANT FOR MULTI-HOP IN SIDELINK
Baghel et al. US 2019/0239118 A1 - TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGING VEHICLE-TO-EVERYTHING (V2X) CAPABILITY CONVERGENCE PROTOCOL IN NEW RADIO (NR)
Balasubramanian et al. US 2019/0150031 A1 - METHODS AND APPARATUS TO REDUCE UE CAPABILITY INFORMATION MESSAGE SIZE
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN T VAN ROIE whose telephone number is (571)270-0308. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm.
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/JUSTIN T VAN ROIE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
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