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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 2-31 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-30 of U.S. Patent No. 12,075,473. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because 1-30 of U.S. Patent No. 12,075,473 disclose all the limitations of Claim 2-31 of the instant application just with some wording differences.
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.
Claims 2-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhao (US 2023/0217466 A1).
Regarding Claim 2, 15, 28, 30, Zhao teaches a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:
one or more memories; and one or more processors (Fig. 8, memory and processor), coupled to the one or more memories, configured to:
receive, from a transmitter, information to be used by the UE to identify a channel sensing mode, from one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of a sidelink channel, for a communication on the sidelink channel ([0092], “When the user equipment needs to transmit data, it can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode by itself or according to the indication of the base station”), wherein each channel sensing mode of the one or more channel sensing modes is associated with a set of resources ([0092], “two modes for determining candidate resources” implies each channel sensing mode of the one or more channel sensing modes is associated with a set of resources); and
transmit, based at least in part on an identification of the channel sensing mode and using resources selected from the set of resources associated with the channel sensing mode, the communication on the sidelink channel in accordance with the channel sensing mode, wherein the identification of the channel sensing mode is based at least in part on the received information ([0092], “One is the candidate resource determination mode in which the user equipment does not perform sensing before selecting a resource, and the other is the candidate resource determination mode in which the user performs sensing before selecting a resource. The embodiments of the disclosure may not limit the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode selected by the user equipment. When the user equipment needs to transmit data, it can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode by itself or according to the indication of the base station. For example, the user equipment can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode according to the current status of the equipment (such as power), the priority of the data to be transmitted, or other factors”).
Regarding claim 3, 16, 29, 31, Zhao further teaches the one or more channel sensing modes include at least one of:
a first channel sensing mode associated with a channel sensing window that occurs after a resource selection trigger in a time domain, or a second channel sensing mode that is associated with no channel sensing window ([0092], “One is the candidate resource determination mode in which the user equipment does not perform sensing before selecting a resource, and the other is the candidate resource determination mode in which the user performs sensing before selecting a resource”).
Regarding claim 4, 17, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to transmit the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to:
select resources associated with the sidelink channel for the communication in accordance with the channel sensing mode; and
transmit, using the resources, the communication on the sidelink channel ([0092]).
Regarding claim 5, 18, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to perform the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of the sidelink channel, for the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to:
determine a value of one or more parameters related to a quality of service (QoS) associated with the communication; and identify the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes, based at least in part on the value of the one or more parameters ([0092], “the user equipment can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode according to the current status of the equipment (such as power), the priority of the data to be transmitted, or other factors”).
Regarding claim 6, 19, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to identify the channel sensing mode based at least in part on the value of the one or more parameters, are configured to determine at least one of:
whether a transmission priority level, associated with the communication, satisfies a first threshold, whether a packet delay budget value, associated with the communication, satisfies a second threshold, or whether a remaining packet delay budget value, associated with the communication, satisfies a third threshold ([0065], “if the PDB of the data to be transmitted is small (that is, less than or equal to the third duration threshold), that is, the data delay requirement is relatively high, at this time, the user equipment at the transmitting end performs channel sensing or not perform channel sensing before selecting a resource”).
Regarding claim 7, 20, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to perform the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of the sidelink channel, for the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to:
determine a transmission priority level associated with the communication; determine whether the transmission priority level satisfies a threshold; and identify the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes, based at least in part on the determination of whether the transmission priority level satisfies the threshold ([0112], “in response to a data priority of the data to be transmitted being not less than a preset priority, and/or, in response to a PDB of the data to be transmitted being not greater than a sixth duration threshold, not sensing before selecting a resource or sensing less than a seventh duration threshold before selecting a resource.”).
Regarding claim 8, 21, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to perform the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of the sidelink channel, for the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to:
determine a packet delay budget value associated with the communication; determine whether the packet delay budget value satisfies a threshold; and identify the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes, based at least in part on the determination of whether the packet delay budget value satisfies the threshold ([0065], “if the PDB of the data to be transmitted is small (that is, less than or equal to the third duration threshold), that is, the data delay requirement is relatively high, at this time, the user equipment at the transmitting end performs channel sensing or not perform channel sensing before selecting a resource”).
Regarding claim 9, 22, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to perform the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of the sidelink channel, for the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to: determine a remaining packet delay budget value associated with the communication; determine whether the remaining packet delay budget value satisfies a threshold; and identify the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes, based at least in part on the determination of whether the remaining packet delay budget value satisfies the threshold ([0065], “if the PDB of the data to be transmitted is small (that is, less than or equal to the third duration threshold), that is, the data delay requirement is relatively high, at this time, the user equipment at the transmitting end performs channel sensing or not perform channel sensing before selecting a resource”).
Regarding claim 10, 23, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to receive the information from the transmitter, are configured to: receive, from the transmitter, an indication of the channel sensing mode to be used by the UE, wherein the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes, is based at least in part on the indication of the channel sensing mode to be used by the UE ([0092], “When the user equipment needs to transmit data, it can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode by itself or according to the indication of the base station”).
Regarding claim 11, 24, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to perform the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of the sidelink channel, for the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to: identify the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes, based at least in part on a configuration in the received information ([0092]).
Regarding claim 12, 25, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to perform the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of the sidelink channel, for the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to: identify the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes, based at least in part on a value associated with one or more parameters corresponding to a power constraint of the UE ([0092], “the user equipment can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode according to the current status of the equipment (such as power), the priority of the data to be transmitted, or other factors”).
Regarding claim 13, 26, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors are further configured to: determine whether the UE is enabled to change the channel sensing mode associated with the UE based at least in part on a configuration in the received information ([0092], “When the user equipment needs to transmit data, it can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode by itself or according to the indication of the base station. For example, the user equipment can determine the sensing mode or the non-sensing mode according to the current status of the equipment (such as power), the priority of the data to be transmitted, or other factors”).
Regarding claim 14, 27, Zhao further teaches the one or more processors, to perform the identification of the channel sensing mode, from the one or more channel sensing modes for sensing channel availability of the sidelink channel, for the communication on the sidelink channel, are configured to: determine one or more permitted channel sensing modes from the one or more channel sensing modes; and identify the channel sensing mode, from the one or more permitted channel sensing modes, based at least in part on the determination of the one or more permitted channel sensing modes ([0092], “two modes for determining candidate resources can be provided. One is the candidate resource determination mode in which the user equipment does not perform sensing before selecting a resource, and the other is the candidate resource determination mode in which the user performs sensing before selecting a resource”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIMING LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-3859. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30am-5:00pm.
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, Derrick Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123. 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.
/SIMING LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights