Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/798,414

DEVICE-TO-DEVICE RELAY COMMUNICATION

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 08, 2024
Priority
Feb 14, 2022 — continuation of PCTCN2022076136
Examiner
BETTENDORF, SAMUEL ROBERGE
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
ZTE Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
100%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 100% — above average
100%
Career Allowance Rate
14 granted / 14 resolved
+40.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
40
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
99.1%
+59.1% vs TC avg
§102
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 14 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for domestic priority. The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. PCT/CN2022/076136, filed on 14 February 2022 AD. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 8 August 2024 AD, 28 May 2025 AD, and 9 June 2026 AD were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. 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 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng (US 20230262793 A1) in view of Kuo (US 20230007447 A1) in further view of Paladugu et al. (US 20210289391 A1) or Paladugu. Claim 1 Deng teaches, A method for wireless communication, comprising: reporting, by a first communication device to a first base station, at least… …applicable between the first communication device and a relay communication device,… (See Deng paragraph 0290, Step 600: the remote UE determines the PC5 PDB according to the resource configuration information of the PC5 interface and sends the PC5 PDB to the application service function AF.) Shows the remote UE transmitting a PC5 packet delay budget or PDB to the application service function or AF (See Deng paragraph 0237, ...the PC5 PDB in the embodiment of the disclosure is the communication delay of the communication between the relay UE and the remote UE through the PC5 interface, and is also understood as the upper limit of the packet transmission delay of the communication between the remote UE and the relay UE.) Shows the quality of service or QoS information of PC5 PDB applies between the remote UE and relay UE (See Deng paragraph 0214, It should be noted that the PQI and the PC5 PDB are the QoS parameter and the communication delay corresponding to the QoS flow between the relay UE and the remote UE;) Shows PC5 PDB as a QoS parameter …wherein the first part of QoS information includes a packet delay budget that indicates an upper bound value for a packet delay between the first communication device and the relay communication device; and… (See Deng paragraph 0237, ...the PC5 PDB in the embodiment of the disclosure is the communication delay of the communication between the relay UE and the remote UE through the PC5 interface, and is also understood as the upper limit of the packet transmission delay of the communication between the remote UE and the relay UE.) However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, …a first part of Quality of Service (QoS) information… …wherein the first communication device is configured to communicate with a second communication device via the relay communication device,… Nevertheless, Kuo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …a first part of Quality of Service (QoS) information… (See Kuo paragraph 0263, ...Relay will split the E2E QoS parameters into two parts: one part is the QoS parameters between source UE and Relay (we call it “Source side PC5 QoS parameters”)...) Shows a first part of QoS information …wherein the first communication device is configured to communicate with a second communication device via the relay communication device,… (See Kuo paragraph 0266, Source UE wants to establish unicast communication with target UE, it decides the E2E QoS parameters between source UE and target UE based on the application layer requirements. The Source UE sets up a PC5 QoS Flow with PFI=PFI_s. Then Source UE provides the PFI_s, E2E QoS parameters, source and target user info to UE-to-UE Relay.) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine a remote user equipment or UE transmitting to a base station quality of service or QoS information between a first communication device and relay UE, the QoS information including a packet delay budget or PDB indicating an upper bound value for a packet delay between the first communication device and the relay communication device as disclosed by Deng with the a first part of QoS information and the first communication device configured to communicate with a second communication device by the relay device as disclosed by Kuo to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to reduce the probability of incorrectly decoding the Qos information by the remote UE). However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, …receiving, by the first communication device, sidelink configuration information that is based on at least the first part of QoS information from the first base station. Nevertheless, Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …receiving, by the first communication device, sidelink configuration information that is based on at least the first part of QoS information from the first base station. (See Paladugu paragraph 0238, At 932, the base station 105-d may transmit, to the UE 115-o, a configuration message based on determining the QoS configuration, where the configuration message includes the first configuration and the second configuration. For example, the base station 105-d may inform the UE 115-o regarding the sidelink DRB/access stratum configuration for the end-to-end QoS configuration.) Shows the base station transmitting to UE 115-o sidelink configuration information based on first and second QoS configuration (See Paladugu paragraph 0237, ...the base station 105-d may determine a QoS configuration for the relay connection, the QoS configuration including a first configuration associated with a first interface (e.g., sidelink interface, such as a PC5 interface) of the first connection and a second configuration associated with a second interface (e.g., Uu interface) of the second connection.) Shows the first QoS configuration for a first interface or the first part of QoS information (See Paladugu paragraph 0234, ...the AMF 905 and the SMF 910 may set up a UE PDU session context based on the SMF 910 determining that the UE 115-o is authorized to handle the relaying service indicated by the relay service code.) Shows UE 115-o as a relay UE Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine a remote user equipment or UE transmitting to a base station quality of service or QoS information between a first communication device and relay UE, the QoS information including a packet delay budget or PDB indicating an upper bound value for a packet delay between the first communication device and the relay communication device as disclosed by Deng with the remote UE receiving sidelink configuration information based on the first part of QoS information by a base station as disclosed by Kuo to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to reduce the amount of energy required by the remote UE to configure sidelink communication). Claim 4 Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 4. Nevertheless, Kuo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink configuration information comprises at least one of:… …an adaptation layer configuration,… (See Kuo paragraph 0305, ...the sidelink SRB used for transmitting PC5-S messages to the Target UE could be configured (or associated) with an adaptation layer...) The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 5 Deng teaches, A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a first base station from a first communication device, at least… …applicable between the first communication device and a relay communication device,… (See Deng paragraph 0290, Step 600: the remote UE determines the PC5 PDB according to the resource configuration information of the PC5 interface and sends the PC5 PDB to the application service function AF.) Shows the remote UE transmitting a PC5 packet delay budget or PDB to the application service function or AF (See Deng paragraph 0237, ...the PC5 PDB in the embodiment of the disclosure is the communication delay of the communication between the relay UE and the remote UE through the PC5 interface, and is also understood as the upper limit of the packet transmission delay of the communication between the remote UE and the relay UE.) Shows the quality of service or QoS information of PC5 PDB applies between the remote UE and relay UE (See Deng paragraph 0214, It should be noted that the PQI and the PC5 PDB are the QoS parameter and the communication delay corresponding to the QoS flow between the relay UE and the remote UE;) Shows PC5 PDB as a QoS parameter …wherein the first part of QoS information includes a packet delay budget that indicates an upper bound value for a packet delay between the first communication device and the relay communication device; and… (See Deng paragraph 0237, ...the PC5 PDB in the embodiment of the disclosure is the communication delay of the communication between the relay UE and the remote UE through the PC5 interface, and is also understood as the upper limit of the packet transmission delay of the communication between the remote UE and the relay UE.) However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, …a first part of Quality of Service (QoS) information… …wherein the first communication device is configured to communicate with a second communication device via the relay communication device,… Nevertheless, Kuo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …a first part of Quality of Service (QoS) information… (See Kuo paragraph 0263, ...Relay will split the E2E QoS parameters into two parts: one part is the QoS parameters between source UE and Relay (we call it “Source side PC5 QoS parameters”)...) Shows a first part of QoS information …wherein the first communication device is configured to communicate with a second communication device via the relay communication device,… (See Kuo paragraph 0266, Source UE wants to establish unicast communication with target UE, it decides the E2E QoS parameters between source UE and target UE based on the application layer requirements. The Source UE sets up a PC5 QoS Flow with PFI=PFI_s. Then Source UE provides the PFI_s, E2E QoS parameters, source and target user info to UE-to-UE Relay.) The motivation to combine Deng and Kuo in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, …transmitting, by the first base station, sidelink configuration information that is based on at least the first part of QoS information to the first communication device. Nevertheless, Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …transmitting, by the first base station, sidelink configuration information that is based on at least the first part of QoS information to the first communication device. (See Paladugu paragraph 0238, At 932, the base station 105-d may transmit, to the UE 115-o, a configuration message based on determining the QoS configuration, where the configuration message includes the first configuration and the second configuration. For example, the base station 105-d may inform the UE 115-o regarding the sidelink DRB/access stratum configuration for the end-to-end QoS configuration.) Shows the base station transmitting to UE 115-o sidelink configuration information based on first and second QoS configuration (See Paladugu paragraph 0237, ...the base station 105-d may determine a QoS configuration for the relay connection, the QoS configuration including a first configuration associated with a first interface (e.g., sidelink interface, such as a PC5 interface) of the first connection and a second configuration associated with a second interface (e.g., Uu interface) of the second connection.) Shows the first QoS configuration for a first interface or the first part of QoS information (See Paladugu paragraph 0234, ...the AMF 905 and the SMF 910 may set up a UE PDU session context based on the SMF 910 determining that the UE 115-o is authorized to handle the relaying service indicated by the relay service code.) Shows UE 115-o as a relay UE The motivation to combine Deng and Paladugu in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 6 Deng teaches, The method of claim 5, wherein the receiving comprises receiving… …applicable between the relay communication device and the second communication device from the first communication device or from the relay communication device, (See Deng paragraph 0290, Step 600: the remote UE determines the PC5 PDB according to the resource configuration information of the PC5 interface and sends the PC5 PDB to the application service function AF.) Shows the remote UE transmitting a PC5 packet delay budget or PDB to the application service function or AF …wherein… …includes a packet delay budget that indicates an upper bound value for a packet delay between the relay communication device and the second communication device, and the method further comprises:… (See Deng paragraph 0260, ...the Uu PDB in the embodiment of the disclosure is the communication delay of the communication between the relay UE and the UPF through the Uu interface, and is also understood as the upper limit of the packet transmission delay of the communication between the relay UE and the UPF.) Shows the packet delay budget between the relay UE and the user plane function or UPF or second communication device Shows the upper bound limit for a packet delay between the relay UE and UPF However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, …a second part of QoS information… …the second part of QoS information… Nevertheless, Kuo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …a second part of QoS information… (See Kuo paragraph 0263, Relay will split the E2E QoS parameters into two parts: one part is the QoS parameters between source UE and Relay (we call it “Source side PC5 QoS parameters”), the other part is the QoS parameters between Relay and the target UE (we call it “Target side PC5 QoS parameters”).) Shows the second part of QoS information with the Target side PC5 QoS parameters …the second part of QoS information… (See Kuo paragraph 0263, ...the PDB and PER associated with the PQI in the Target side PC5 QoS parameters...) Shows the packet delay budget or PDB included in the Target side PC5 QoS parameters or the second part of the QoS information (See Kuo paragraph 0263, ...the other part is the QoS parameters between Relay and the target UE (we call it “Target side PC5 QoS parameters”).) Shows Target side PC5 QoS parameters consists of QoS information between the relay and target UE or second UE The motivation to combine Deng and Kuo in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, …transmitting, by the first base station to the relay communication device, sidelink configuration information that is based on the second part of QoS information. Nevertheless, Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …transmitting, by the first base station to the relay communication device, sidelink configuration information that is based on the second part of QoS information. (See Paladugu paragraph 0238, At 932, the base station 105-d may transmit, to the UE 115-o, a configuration message based on determining the QoS configuration, where the configuration message includes the first configuration and the second configuration. For example, the base station 105-d may inform the UE 115-o regarding the sidelink DRB/access stratum configuration for the end-to-end QoS configuration.) Shows the base station transmitting to UE 115-o sidelink configuration information based on first and second QoS configuration (See Paladugu paragraph 0237, ...the base station 105-d may determine a QoS configuration for the relay connection, the QoS configuration including a first configuration associated with a first interface (e.g., sidelink interface, such as a PC5 interface) of the first connection and a second configuration associated with a second interface (e.g., Uu interface) of the second connection.) Shows the second QoS configuration for a second interface or the second part of QoS information (See Paladugu paragraph 0234, ...the AMF 905 and the SMF 910 may set up a UE PDU session context based on the SMF 910 determining that the UE 115-o is authorized to handle the relaying service indicated by the relay service code.) Shows UE 115-o as a relay UE The motivation to combine Deng and Paladugu in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 7 Deng teaches, …wherein… …includes a packet delay budget that indicates an upper bound value for a packet delay between the relay communication device and the second communication device; and… (See Deng paragraph 0260, ...the Uu PDB in the embodiment of the disclosure is the communication delay of the communication between the relay UE and the UPF through the Uu interface, and is also understood as the upper limit of the packet transmission delay of the communication between the relay UE and the UPF.) Shows the packet delay budget between the relay UE and the user plane function or UPF or second communication device Shows the upper bound limit for a packet delay between the relay UE and UPF However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a relay communication device from a base station, sidelink configuration information that is based on at least a second part of Quality of Service (QoS) information applicable between the relay communication device and a second communication device,… Nevertheless, Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a relay communication device from a base station, sidelink configuration information that is based on at least a second part of Quality of Service (QoS) information applicable between the relay communication device and a second communication device,… (See Paladugu paragraph 0238, At 932, the base station 105-d may transmit, to the UE 115-o, a configuration message based on determining the QoS configuration, where the configuration message includes the first configuration and the second configuration. For example, the base station 105-d may inform the UE 115-o regarding the sidelink DRB/access stratum configuration for the end-to-end QoS configuration.) Shows UE 115-o receiving from a base station sidelink configuration based on second QoS configuration information (See Paladugu paragraph 0237, ...the base station 105-d may determine a QoS configuration for the relay connection, the QoS configuration including a first configuration associated with a first interface (e.g., sidelink interface, such as a PC5 interface) of the first connection and a second configuration associated with a second interface (e.g., Uu interface) of the second connection.) Shows the second configuration with a second interface of Uu interface (See Paladugu paragraph 0126, ...the relay connection may include a relay PDU session between the relay UE and the 5GC (e.g., via the Uu interface).) Shows the Uu interface consisting of a connection between a relay UE and the 5G Core or 5GC or second communication device The motivation to combine Deng and Paladugu in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach, …the second part of QoS information… …facilitating a communication between the second communication device and a first communication device by the relay communication device. Nevertheless, Kuo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …the second part of QoS information… (See Kuo paragraph 0263, ...the PDB and PER associated with the PQI in the Target side PC5 QoS parameters...) Shows the packet delay budget or PDB included in the Target side PC5 QoS parameters or the second part of the QoS information (See Kuo paragraph 0263, ...the other part is the QoS parameters between Relay and the target UE (we call it “Target side PC5 QoS parameters”).) Shows Target side PC5 QoS parameters consists of QoS information between the relay and target UE or second UE …facilitating a communication between the second communication device and a first communication device by the relay communication device. (See Kuo paragraph 0233, An “extended” unicast link is established between UE1 and UE3, via the UE-to-UE Relay. The extended link is secured end to end, i.e. a security association has been created between UE1 and UE3. Confidentiality and/or integrity/replay protected messages (i.e. data or PC5-S) may be exchanged between UE1 and UE3. The UE-to-UE Relay is not involved in the security association thus it cannot read nor modify the secured portion of the message (which excludes the source and destination fields).) Shows an establishment of communication between UE1 and UE3 by the UE-to-UE relay The motivation to combine Deng and Kuo in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 10 Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 10. Nevertheless, Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, The method of claim 9, wherein the relay assistance information comprises at least one of… (See Paladugu paragraph 0259, ...the UE 115-s may transmit assistance information to the base station 105-e. For example, the assistance information may include a SidelinkUEAssistanceInformation message that includes L3 relaying support,...) Shows UE 115-s transmitting relay assistance information to a base station The motivation to combine Deng and Paladugu in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Kuo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …an identity of the relay communication device,… (See Kuo paragraph 0301, ...the information could be an identity information and a specific value of the identity information may be used to identify the UE-to-UE Relay.) The motivation to combine Deng and Kuo in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 11 A wireless communication apparatus, at least one processor configured to cause the wireless communication apparatus to implement the method of claim 1. Deng teaches, (See Deng paragraph 0085, …a remote terminal, including a memory, a transceiver and a processor:…) Deng further teaches limitations of claim 11 as stated in claim 1. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 11 as stated in claim 1. Nevertheless, Kuo and Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 11 as stated in claim 1. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 14 Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 14 as stated in claim 4. However, Nevertheless, Kuo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches limitations of claim 14 as stated in claim 4. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 15 Deng teaches, A wireless communication apparatus, at least one processor configured to cause the wireless communication apparatus to implement the method of claim 5. (See Deng paragraph 0085, …a remote terminal, including a memory, a transceiver and a processor:…) Deng further teaches limitations of claim 15 as stated in claim 5. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 15 as stated in claim 5. Nevertheless, Kuo and Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 15 as stated in claim 5. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 16 Deng teaches, The wireless communication apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the wireless communication apparatus… (See Deng paragraph 0085, …a remote terminal, including a memory, a transceiver and a processor:…) Deng further teaches limitations of claim 16 as stated in claim 6. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 16 as stated in claim 6. Nevertheless, Kuo and Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 16 as stated in claim 6. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 17 Deng teaches, A wireless communication apparatus, at least one processor configured to cause the wireless communication apparatus to implement the method of claim 7. (See Deng paragraph 0085, …a remote terminal, including a memory, a transceiver and a processor:…) Deng further teaches limitations of claim 17 as stated in claim 7. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 17 as stated in claim 7. Nevertheless, Kuo and Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 17 as stated in claim 7. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 20 Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 20 as stated in claim 10. Nevertheless, Kuo and Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 20 as stated in claim 10. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claims 2, 8, 12, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng (US 20230262793 A1) in view of Kuo (US 20230007447 A1) in further view of Paladugu et al. (US 20210289391 A1) or Paladugu in further view of Mochizuki et al. (US 20220386333 A1) or Machizuki. Claim 2 Deng teaches, The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the first communication device,…. …to the relay communication device… (See Deng paragraph 0265, Step 500: the remote UE sends a direct communication request message carrying a PQI to the relay UE,...) Shows a remote UE transmitting to relay UE ….a mapping of one or more QoS flows to one or more data bearers between… (See Paladugu paragraph 0222, at 815, the UE 115-1 may transmit an RRC reconfiguration sidelink message for the sidelink communications to the UE 115-m. In some cases, the RRC reconfiguration sidelink message may include a radio bearer configuration, such as a QoS flow to DRB mapping,...) Shows a UE transmitting the mapping of Qos flows to radio bearers based on sidelink configuration The motivation to combine Deng and Paladugu in the independent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Mochiziuki, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …the first communication device and the second communication device… …based on at least the sidelink configuration information. (See Mochizuki paragraph 0613, ...the PC5 QoS flow is mapped to the radio bearer. Mapping the PC5 QoS flow to the bearer between the UE-TX and the relay UE may be different from that between the relay UE and the UE-RX. The QoS flow is mapped to the radio bearer in the relay UE, according to the mapping method configured between the relay UE and the UE-RX. The relay UE or the UE-TX may configure mapping of the QoS flow to the bearer between the relay UE and the UE-RX.) Shows a mapping of QoS flow to radio bearer between relay UE and UE-RX and between relay UE and UE-TX Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine a remote user equipment or UE transmitting to a base station quality of service or QoS information between a first communication device and relay UE, the QoS information including a packet delay budget or PDB indicating an upper bound value for a packet delay between the first communication device and the relay communication device as disclosed by Deng with a mapping of at least one data bearer between the first communication device and the second communication device as disclosed by Mochizuki to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to increase the probability of the reducing collision of data between the first and second communication device). Claim 8 Deng teaches limitations of claim 8 as stated in claim 2. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 8 as stated in claim 2. Nevertheless, Paladugu and Mochizuki, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 8 as stated in claim 2. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, Paladugu, and Mochizuki in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 2. Claim 12 Deng teaches limitations of claim 12 as stated in claim 2. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 12 as stated in claim 2. Nevertheless, Paladugu and Mochizuki, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 12 as stated in claim 2. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, Paladugu, and Mochizuki in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 2. Claim 18 The wireless communication apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is configured to… (See Deng paragraph 0085, …a remote terminal, including a memory, a transceiver and a processor:…) Deng further teaches limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 2. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 2. Nevertheless, Paladugu and Mochizuki, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 18 as stated in claim 2. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, Paladugu, and Mochizuki in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 2. Claims 3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng (US 20230262793 A1) in view of Kuo (US 20230007447 A1) in further view of Paladugu et al. (US 20210289391 A1) or Paladugu in further view of Li et al. (US 20240171522 A1) or Li. Claim 3 Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 2. Nevertheless, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the QoS information comprises information about one or more QoS flows, the information comprising at least one of a QoS Flow identifier or a QoS profile associated with a flow, (See Li paragraph 0138, ...the allocation unit 200 preferably also considers the existing QoS parameters in the QoS profile of the QoS flow carrying the first data transmission that include the association information and/or the existing QoS parameters in the QoS profile of the QoS flow...) Shows the QoS information comprising information about a QoS profile associated with a QoS flow wherein the QoS profile comprises at least one of a PC5 QoS Identifier (PQI), a resource type, a priority level, a packet delay budget, a packet error rate, an averaging window, a maximum data burst volume, a Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR), or a Maximum Flow Bit Rate (MFBR). (See Li paragraph 0138, Such existing QoS parameters may include, for example, but are not limited to, the following QoS parameters: PQI/5QI (PC5 QoS Identifier/5G QoS Identifier), which may be mapped to a set of characteristics of PC5/5G QoS, such as PDB (Packet Delay Budget), QoS Priority Level, PER (Packet Error Rate); and/or GFBR/MFBR (Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate/Maximum Flow Bit Rate)...) Shows the QoS profile may contain a PQI, a packet delay budget or PDB, guaranteed flow bit rate or GFBR, or maximum flow bit rate or MFBR Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine a remote user equipment or UE transmitting to a base station quality of service or QoS information between a first communication device and relay UE, the QoS information including a packet delay budget or PDB indicating an upper bound value for a packet delay between the first communication device and the relay communication device as disclosed by Deng with QoS information comprising information about a QoS flow with a QoS profile associated with a flow and the QoS profile comprising a PC5 QoS Identifier or PQI, a packet delay budget or PDB, guaranteed flow bit rate or GFBR, and a maximum flow bit rate or MFBR as disclosed by Li to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to increase the accuracy of configuring a QoS for a connection between a device and a relay UE). Claim 13 Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 13 as stated in claim 3. Nevertheless, Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches limitations of claim 13 as stated in claim 3. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, Paladugu, and Li in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 3. Claims 9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng (US 20230262793 A1) in view of Kuo (US 20230007447 A1) in further view of Paladugu et al. (US 20210289391 A1) or Paladugu in further view of Rao et al. (US 20230309161 A1) or Rao. Claim 9 Deng teaches a packet delay budget between a relay UE and the user plane function. (See Deng paragraph 0260, ...the Uu PDB in the embodiment of the disclosure is the communication delay of the communication between the relay UE and the UPF through the Uu interface, and is also understood as the upper limit of the packet transmission delay of the communication between the relay UE and the UPF.) Shows the packet delay budget between the relay UE and the user plane function or UPF or second communication device However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 9. Nevertheless, Rao, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, The method of claim 7, further comprising: reporting, by the relay communication device, relay assistance information to the base station, the relay assistance information… (See Rao paragraph 0178, ...the relay WTRU may send to the network the relay assistance indication when the estimated latency for relaying, determined as a function one or more component latency values, is greater than or equal to the latency threshold T, for example. For example, the component latency values used by the relay WTRU for determining the estimated latency for relaying may include one or more of the following: expected latency due to relaying data from the remote WTRU to the relay WTRU;) Shows the relay WTRU transmitting to a network or base station relay assistance information indicating the expected latency between the remote WTRU and relay WTRU Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling data of the claimed invention to combine a remote user equipment or UE transmitting to a base station quality of service or QoS information between a first communication device and relay UE, the QoS information including a packet delay budget or PDB indicating an upper bound value for a packet delay between the first communication device and the relay communication device as disclosed by Deng with the relay UE transmitting to a base station relay assistance information as disclosed by Rao to increase the efficiency of the system (i.e. to reduce the probability of configuring faulty connection between a relay UE and remote UEs). Deng also fails to explicitly teach, …comprising at least the second part of QoS information. Nevertheless, Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teaches, …comprising at least the second part of QoS information. (See Paladugu paragraph 0237, ...the base station 105-d may determine a QoS configuration for the relay connection, the QoS configuration including a first configuration associated with a first interface (e.g., sidelink interface, such as a PC5 interface) of the first connection and a second configuration associated with a second interface (e.g., Uu interface) of the second connection.) Shows the second configuration with a second interface of Uu interface (See Paladugu paragraph 0126, ...the relay connection may include a relay PDU session between the relay UE and the 5GC (e.g., via the Uu interface).) Shows the Uu interface consisting of a connection between a relay UE and the 5G Core or 5GC or second communication device Shows the QoS information as the delay between the relay UE and 5G Core The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, and Paladugu in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Claim 19 Deng further teaches limitations of claim 19 as stated in claim 9. However, Deng fails to explicitly teach limitations of claim 19 as stated in claim 9. Nevertheless, Rao and Paladugu, in the same field of endeavor, teach limitations of claim 19 as stated in claim 9. The motivation to combine Deng, Kuo, Paladugu, and Rao in the dependent claim consists of the same motivation as stated in claim 1. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yu et al. (US 20180279319 A1) or Yu teaches quality of service or QoS in device-to-device networks with determining packet delay budget as part of QoS. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL ROBERGE BETTENDORF whose telephone number is (571)272-4352. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri, 8:30a.m.-5:00p.m.. 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, Edan Orgad can be reached at 571-272-7884. 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. /SAMUEL ROBERGE BETTENDORF/Examiner, Art Unit 2414 /EDAN ORGAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2414
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Prosecution Timeline

Aug 08, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
100%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+0.0%)
2y 7m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 14 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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