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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 have been examined and are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
An initialed and dated copy of Applicant’s IDS form 1449 submitted 07/24/2024 and 12/16/2024 is attached to the instant office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 12, 16, 17 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6 and 16 recites the equation for calculating power for an anchor RB set:
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Claims 12 and 17 recites the equation for calculating power for a non-anchor RB set:
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Both of these equations are based on the equation from 3GPP TS 38.213 V17.6.0, as seen in [0050] of the instant specification:
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However, 3GPP TS 38.213 V17.6.0, Section 16.2.0 recites:
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As shown, the equations being claimed do not match up with the equation as known in the common art. Specifically, the 10log10() function is based on “αS-SSB” and “PL” in both equations of the claims recited above, while the equation as recited in the 3GPP document has them external to the 10log10() function. It is unclear if such a change is intended.
Appropriate correction is required.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
[0050], recites:
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However, 3GPP TS 38.213 V17.6.0, Section 16.2.0 recites:
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As shown, the equations being claimed do not match up with the equation as known in the common art. Specifically, the 10log10() function is based on “αS-SSB” and “PL” in the equation described in the instant specification as seen above, while the equation as recited in the 3GPP document has them external to the 10log10() function. It is unclear if such a change is intended.
[0052], [0054], [0088], [0131], [0141], and [0142] of the instant specification are also objected to for further reciting similar equations as written in [0050] above.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-3, 5, 6, 13-16, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2025/0234362 A1 (foreign priority date of May 12, 2023) to Li et al. (hereinafter “Li”)
Regarding Claim 1, Li teaches One or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the one or more processors configured to when executing instructions stored in a memory, perform operations comprising: (Figure 27 and [0978], illustrates a terminal device including processor and memory)
generating a plurality of sidelink synchronization signal blocks (S-SSBs) for transmission on a sidelink unlicensed (SL-U) channel; ([0853], discloses The first terminal device sends N S-SSBs (i.e. plurality of S-SSBs) on an S-SSB occasion. [0454], discloses transmission on an SL-U band by terminal devices)
determining, using a per S-SSB calculation, a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs; and ([0853], discloses each of the N S-SSBs is sent by using a fifth power or a fourth power. [0854], discloses each of the N S-SSBs (i.e. per S-SSB calculation) is determined based on a smaller one of the fifth power and the fourth power (i.e. determining a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs))
instructing radio frequency (RF) circuitry to transmit the plurality of S-SSBs using the transmission power. (Figure 27 and [0979], discloses the control circuit and the antenna together may also be referred to as a transceiver, and are mainly configured to receive and send a radio frequency signal. ([0853], discloses each of the N S-SSBs (i.e transmit the plurality of S-SSBs) is sent by using a fifth power or a fourth power (i.e. using the transmission power). [0854], discloses each of the N S-SSBs is determined based on a smaller one of the fifth power and the fourth power)
Regarding Claim 2, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 1, wherein determining, using a per S-SSB calculation, a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs comprises: calculating, using a first equation, a first transmission power for a first subset of the plurality of S-SSBs for transmission on an anchor RB set. ([0840], discloses to ensure the power and the coverage of the S-SSB indicated by the ARFCN or the S-SSB on the RB set indicated by the ARFCN (i.e. S-SSBs for transmission on an anchor RB set), and reduce impact of the PAPR, to meet a synchronization requirement, a transmit power of the S-SSB may be determined by using the following method. [0855], discloses calculation is performed using the following formula (i.e. first equation):
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[0919], further discloses Optionally, N is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of an S-SSB in an RB set, or is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of all S-SSBs included in all RB sets on which an S-SSB occasion needs to be sent on an S-SSB occasion)
Regarding Claim 3, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein the first equation depends on a number of S-SSB repetitions in the anchor RB set. ([0919], further discloses Optionally, N is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of an S-SSB in an RB set)
Regarding Claim 5, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein the first equation comprises a difference between a maximum transmission power of the UE (𝑃𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑋) and a 10-based logarithm of a number of S-SSB repetitions in the anchor RB set (log10 (𝑁)). ([0855], discloses calculation is performed using the following formula (i.e. first equation):
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[0919], further discloses Optionally, N is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of an S-SSB in an RB set)
Regarding Claim 6, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein the first equation is:
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where PCMAX is a maximum transmission power of the UE, N is a number of S-SSB repetitions in the anchor RB set, PO,S-SSB is a received power target, αS-SSB is a power control factor, MRBS-SSB is a number of resource blocks for S-SSB transmission, μ is subcarrier spacing (SCS), and PL is a downlink path loss. ([0855], discloses calculation is performed using the following formula (i.e. first equation):
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[0919], further discloses Optionally, N is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of an S-SSB in an RB set)
Regarding Claim 13, Li teaches A user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more processors; and memory storing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to perform operations comprising: (Figure 27 and [0978], illustrates a terminal device including processor and memory)
generating a plurality of sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB) repetitions for transmission on a resource block (RB) set over a sidelink unlicensed (SL-U) channel; ([0853], discloses The first terminal device sends N S-SSBs (i.e. plurality of S-SSBs) on an S-SSB occasion. [0454], discloses transmission on an SL-U band by terminal devices)
calculating a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSB repetitions based on a 10-based logarithm of a number of the S-SSB repetitions (log10 (𝑁)); ([0840], discloses to ensure the power and the coverage of the S-SSB indicated by the ARFCN or the S-SSB on the RB set indicated by the ARFCN (i.e. S-SSBs for transmission on an anchor RB set), and reduce impact of the PAPR, to meet a synchronization requirement, a transmit power of the S-SSB may be determined by using the following method. [0855], discloses calculation is performed using the following formula:
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[0919], further discloses Optionally, N is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of an S-SSB in an RB set (i.e. based on 10 based log of a number of S-SSB repetitions), or is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of all S-SSBs included in all RB sets on which an S-SSB occasion needs to be sent on an S-SSB occasion)
and using the transmission power to transmit the plurality of S-SSBs over the SL-U channel. ([0853], discloses each of the N S-SSBs (i.e transmit the plurality of S-SSBs) is sent by using a fifth power or a fourth power (i.e. using the transmission power). [0854], discloses each of the N S-SSBs is determined based on a smaller one of the fifth power and the fourth power)
Regarding Claim 14, Li teaches The UE of claim 13, wherein the RB set is an anchor RB set or a non-anchor RB set. ([0840], discloses to ensure the power and the coverage of the S-SSB indicated by the ARFCN or the S-SSB on the RB set indicated by the ARFCN (i.e. anchor RB set), and reduce impact of the PAPR, to meet a synchronization requirement, a transmit power of the S-SSB may be determined by using the following method)
Regarding Claim 15, Li teaches The UE of claim 13, wherein calculating a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSB repetitions based on a 10-based logarithm of a number of the S-SSB repetitions (log10 (𝑁)) comprises: calculating the transmission power based on a difference between a maximum transmission power of the UE (𝑃𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑋) and the log10 (𝑁). ([0855], discloses calculation is performed using the following formula:
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)
Regarding Claim 16, Li teaches The UE of claim 13, wherein calculating the transmission power based on a difference between a maximum transmission power of the UE (𝑃𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑋) and the (log10 (𝑁)) comprises: calculating the transmission power using:
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where PCMAX is a maximum transmission power of the UE, N is a number of S-SSB repetitions in the anchor RB set, PO,S-SSB is a received power target, αS-SSB is a power control factor, MRBS-SSB is a number of resource blocks for S-SSB transmission, μ is subcarrier spacing (SCS), and PL is a downlink path loss. ([0855], discloses calculation is performed using the following formula (i.e. first equation):
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[0919], further discloses Optionally, N is a number of frequency-domain repetitions of an S-SSB in an RB set)
Regarding Claim 18, Li teaches a method comprising:
generating a plurality of sidelink synchronization signal blocks (S-SSBs) for transmission on a sidelink unlicensed (SL-U) channel; ([0853], discloses The first terminal device sends N S-SSBs (i.e. plurality of S-SSBs) on an S-SSB occasion. [0454], discloses transmission on an SL-U band by terminal devices)
determining, using a per S-SSB calculation, a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs; and ([0853], discloses each of the N S-SSBs is sent by using a fifth power or a fourth power. [0854], discloses each of the N S-SSBs (i.e. per S-SSB calculation) is determined based on a smaller one of the fifth power and the fourth power (i.e. determining a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs))
transmitting the plurality of S-SSBs using the transmission power ([0853], discloses each of the N S-SSBs (i.e transmit the plurality of S-SSBs) is sent by using a fifth power or a fourth power (i.e. using the transmission power). [0854], discloses each of the N S-SSBs is determined based on a smaller one of the fifth power and the fourth power)
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected for having the same limitations as claims 2-3, respectively, except the claims are in method format.
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.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of US 2025/0287404 A1 to Guo et al. (hereinafter “Guo”)
Regarding Claim 4, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 3, wherein
Li does not explicitly teach the number of S-SSB repetitions in the anchor RB set is configured by a network serving the UE.
However, the concept of configuring the number of S-SSB repetitions by a network is well known in the art. For example, in a similar field of endeavor, Guo discloses in [0004] a UE configured to: receive, with the transceiver, configuration information for S-SSB in an unlicensed spectrum including at least one of the following: a first configuration associated with an S-SSB structure. [0107]-[0108], discloses Configuration information of the S-SSB repetitions may include a structure configuration in the frequency domain, which may include at least one of the following parameters: 1. a number of S-SSB repetition(s) in a frequency band.
Therefore, 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 teachings of Li to include the above limitations as suggested by Guo, in order to meet requirements such as occupied channel bandwidth requirement as indicated in [0003] of Guo.
Claims 7-11 are rejected Li in view of US 2024/0381423 A1 (provisional application no. 63/501,987, filed on May 12, 2023) to Liu et al. (hereinafter “Liu”)
Regarding Claim 7, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein determining, using a per S-SSB calculation, a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs further comprises:
Li does not explicitly teach calculating, using a second equation different than the first equation, a second transmission power for a second subset of the plurality of S-SSBs for transmission on a non-anchor RB set.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Liu [0096], discloses The Tx UE may repeat the S-SSB across a plurality of resource block (RB) sets, such as on an anchor RB set and a non-anchor RB set to maintain a wideband COT across a set of S-SSB candidate slots. [0102], discloses the Tx UE 120 may allocate transmit power, of the maximum transmit power, to sets of transmissions according to a prioritization. For example, the Tx UE 120 may allocate transmit power to one or more transmissions on an anchor RB set, which has a higher relative priority (or order of allocation) and may allocate remaining transmit power to one or more transmissions on a non-anchor RB set, which has a lower relative priority (or order of allocation). Accordingly, a quantity of transmissions that occur on the non-anchor RB set (i.e. non-anchor RB set) may be based on the amount of remaining transmit power (i.e. non-anchor RB set TX power = maxTXpower – anchor RB set TX power, second equation).
Therefore, 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 teachings of Li to include the above limitations as suggested by Liu, such that a transmit power criterion is not exceeded as indicated in [0029] of Liu.
Regarding Claim 8, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 2, wherein determining, using a per S-SSB calculation, a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs further comprises:
Li does not explicitly teach equally allocating between one or more non-anchor RB sets a remaining available transmission power calculated as a difference between a maximum transmission power of the UE and the first transmission power.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Liu [0102], discloses the Tx UE 120 may allocate transmit power, of the maximum transmit power, to sets of transmissions according to a prioritization. For example, the Tx UE 120 may allocate transmit power (i.e. first transmission power) to one or more transmissions on an anchor RB set, which has a higher relative priority (or order of allocation) and may allocate remaining transmit power to one or more transmissions on a non-anchor RB set, which has a lower relative priority (or order of allocation). Accordingly, a quantity of transmissions that occur on the non-anchor RB set (i.e. non-anchor RB set) may be based on the amount of remaining transmit power (i.e. difference between max transmission power and first transmission power). [0105], the Tx UE 120 may allocate the remaining transmit power equally among transmissions in the non-anchor RB-sets (i.e. equally allocating a remaining available transmit power))
Therefore, 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 teachings of Li to include the above limitations as suggested by Liu, such that a transmit power criterion is not exceeded as indicated in [0029] of Liu.
Regarding Claim 9, Li teaches The one or more processors of claim 1, wherein determining, using a per S-SSB calculation, a transmission power for the plurality of S-SSBs comprises: calculating, using a first equation, a first transmission power for a first subset of the plurality of S-SSBs for transmission on a non-anchor RB set.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, [0096], discloses The Tx UE may repeat the S-SSB across a plurality of resource block (RB) sets, such as on an anchor RB set and a non-anchor RB set to maintain a wideband COT across a set of S-SSB candidate slots. [0102], discloses the Tx UE 120 may allocate transmit power, of the maximum transmit power, to sets of transmissions according to a prioritization. For example, the Tx UE 120 may allocate transmit power to one or more transmissions on an anchor RB set, which has a higher relative priority (or order of allocation) and may allocate remaining transmit power to one or more transmissions on a non-anchor RB set, which has a lower relative priority (or order of allocation). Accordingly, a quantity of transmissions that occur on the non-anchor RB set (i.e. non-anchor RB set) may be based on the amount of remaining transmit power (i.e. non-anchor RB set TX power = maxTXpower – anchor RB set TX power, first equation).
Therefore, 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 teachings of Li to include the above limitations as suggested by Liu, such that a transmit power criterion is not exceeded as indicated in [0029] of Liu.
Regarding Claim 10, Li/Liu teaches The one or more processors of claim 9, wherein Liu further teaches the first equation comprises a total number of RB sets allocated for S-SSB transmissions. ([0105], discloses In other words, in connection with the Tx UE 120 allocating transmit power for transmissions in the anchor RB set, the Tx UE 120 may allocate remaining transmit power from the maximum transmit power to transmissions in the non-anchor RB-sets. Examiner notes that the sum of the anchor RB set and non-anchor RB-sets is analogous to the total number of RB sets) Examiner maintains same motivation to combine as indicated in Claim 9 above.
Regarding Claim 11, Li/Liu teaches The one or more processors of claim 9, wherein Liu further teaches the first equation comprises a difference between a maximum transmission power of the UE (𝑃𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑋) and a second transmission power allocated to an anchor RB set. ([0105], discloses In other words, in connection with the Tx UE 120 allocating transmit power for transmissions in the anchor RB set (i.e. second transmission power allocated to an anchor RB set), the Tx UE 120 may allocate remaining transmit power from the maximum transmit power (i.e. maximum transmission power PCMAX) to transmissions in the non-anchor RB-sets) Examiner maintains same motivation to combine as indicated in Claim 9 above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12, 17 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
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/JENKEY VAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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