DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims that mix apparatus and method limitations are indefinite when the boundaries are unclear.
Claim 11 recites “A user equipment (UE) device configured to:” that can perform a plurality of functions. There is neither memory, instruction(s), nor structure(s) ties to the user equipment (UE) device that being claimed and shows how each of the functions can be carried out. Therefore, claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph.
Claims 12-20 are depending on claim 11 and therefore they are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory 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 non-statutory obviousness-type 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); and 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 a non-statutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-9 of Patent No.: US 11678362.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct
from each other because they are obvious subsets and /or variant of one another.
Regarding claim 1 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses A method comprising: measuring, by a user equipment (UE), a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more slots; determining, by the UE, that the RSRP is greater than a threshold and, in response to determining that the RSRP is greater than the threshold, excluding one or more resources from a total number of resources associated with a selection window; determining, by the UE, whether a number of remaining resources, after excluding the one or more resources from the total number of resources, is smaller than a percentage of the total number of resources, wherein the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority; and performing, by the UE, one of: increasing the threshold if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; or reporting the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources (claim 1-3).
Regarding claim 2 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 1, comprising at least one iteration including: increasing the threshold based on the number of remaining resources being smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; and redetermining if a subsequent number of remaining resources is greater than or equal to a subsequent percentage of the total number of resources (claim 3).
Regarding claim 3 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on an iteration number or a transmission priority (claim 4).
Regarding claim 4 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration and the subsequent percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, wherein the subsequent percentage is based on a priority of a transmission that triggered a resource selection (claim 5).
Regarding claim 5 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a channel busy ratio (CBR) (claim 6).
Regarding claim 6 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a ratio between aperiodic and periodic traffic (claim 6).
Regarding claim 7 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the selection window is divided into at least a first section associated with a first percentage and a second section associated with a second percentage (claim 7).
Regarding claim 8 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 7, wherein the first percentage and the second percentage vary in each iteration, respectively (claim 7).
Regarding claim 9 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first percentage or the second percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority (claim 8).
Regarding claim 10 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more resources excluded from the total number of resources are occupied resources occupied by the UE, and a corresponding RSRP of the occupied resources is greater than or equal to the threshold (claim 9).
Regarding claim 11 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses A user equipment (UE) device configured to: measure a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more slots; determine whether the RSRP is greater than a threshold; exclude one or more resources from a total number of resources associated with a selection window if the RSRP is greater than the threshold; determine whether a number of remaining resources is smaller than a percentage of the total number of resources, wherein the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority; increase the threshold if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; report the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources (claim 1-3).
Regarding claim 12 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 11, comprising at least one iteration including: increasing the threshold based on the number of remaining resources being smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; and redetermining if a subsequent number of remaining resources is greater than or equal to a subsequent percentage of the total number of resources (claim 3).
Regarding claim 3 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on an iteration number or a transmission priority (claim 4).
Regarding claim 14 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration and the subsequent percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, wherein the subsequent percentage is based on a priority of a transmission that triggered a resource selection (claim 5).
Regarding claim 15 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a channel busy ratio (CBR) (claim 6).
Regarding claim 16 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a ratio between aperiodic and periodic traffic (claim 6).
Regarding claim 17 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the selection window is divided into at least a first section associated with a first percentage and a second section associated with a second percentage (claim 7).
Regarding claim 18 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 17, wherein the first percentage and the second percentage vary in each iteration, respectively (claim 7).
Regarding claim 19 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 17, wherein at least one of the first percentage or the second percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority (claim 8).
Regarding claim 20 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 11678362 discloses The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more resources excluded from the total number of resources are occupied resources occupied by the UE, and a corresponding RSRP of the occupied resources is greater than or equal to the threshold (claim 9).
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-8 of Patent No.: US 12082239.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct
from each other because they are obvious subsets and /or variant of one another.
Regarding claim 1 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses A method comprising: measuring, by a user equipment (UE), a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more slots; determining, by the UE, that the RSRP is greater than a threshold and, in response to determining that the RSRP is greater than the threshold, excluding one or more resources from a total number of resources associated with a selection window; determining, by the UE, whether a number of remaining resources, after excluding the one or more resources from the total number of resources, is smaller than a percentage of the total number of resources, wherein the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority; and performing, by the UE, one of: increasing the threshold if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; or reporting the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources (claim 1-3).
Regarding claim 2 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 1, comprising at least one iteration including: increasing the threshold based on the number of remaining resources being smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; and redetermining if a subsequent number of remaining resources is greater than or equal to a subsequent percentage of the total number of resources (claim 3).
Regarding claim 3 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on an iteration number or a transmission priority (claim 4).
Regarding claim 4 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration and the subsequent percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, wherein the subsequent percentage is based on a priority of a transmission that triggered a resource selection (claim 5).
Regarding claim 5 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a channel busy ratio (CBR) (claim 6).
Regarding claim 6 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a ratio between aperiodic and periodic traffic (claim 6).
Regarding claim 7 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the selection window is divided into at least a first section associated with a first percentage and a second section associated with a second percentage (claim 7).
Regarding claim 8 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 7, wherein the first percentage and the second percentage vary in each iteration, respectively (claim 7).
Regarding claim 9 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first percentage or the second percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority (claim 1).
Regarding claim 10 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more resources excluded from the total number of resources are occupied resources occupied by the UE, and a corresponding RSRP of the occupied resources is greater than or equal to the threshold (claim 8).
Regarding claim 11 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses A user equipment (UE) device configured to: measure a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more slots; determine whether the RSRP is greater than a threshold; exclude one or more resources from a total number of resources associated with a selection window if the RSRP is greater than the threshold; determine whether a number of remaining resources is smaller than a percentage of the total number of resources, wherein the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority; increase the threshold if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; report the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources (claim 1-3).
Regarding claim 12 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 11, comprising at least one iteration including: increasing the threshold based on the number of remaining resources being smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources; and redetermining if a subsequent number of remaining resources is greater than or equal to a subsequent percentage of the total number of resources (claim 3).
Regarding claim 3 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on an iteration number or a transmission priority (claim 4).
Regarding claim 14 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration and the subsequent percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, wherein the subsequent percentage is based on a priority of a transmission that triggered a resource selection (claim 5).
Regarding claim 15 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a channel busy ratio (CBR) (claim 6).
Regarding claim 16 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the subsequent percentage varies for each iteration, wherein a factor by which the subsequent percentage changes depends on a ratio between aperiodic and periodic traffic (claim 6).
Regarding claim 17 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 12, wherein the selection window is divided into at least a first section associated with a first percentage and a second section associated with a second percentage (claim 7).
Regarding claim 18 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 17, wherein the first percentage and the second percentage vary in each iteration, respectively (claim 7).
Regarding claim 19 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 17, wherein at least one of the first percentage or the second percentage is selected from the preconfigured set, based on a traffic priority (claim 1).
Regarding claim 20 of the instant application, Patent No.: US 12082239 discloses The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more resources excluded from the total number of resources are occupied resources occupied by the UE, and a corresponding RSRP of the occupied resources is greater than or equal to the threshold (claim 8).
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (Pub. No.: US 20180332564 A1), hereinafter Lee, in view of Kondapalli (Patent No.: US 8045456 A1), hereinafter Kondapalli.
With respect to claim 1, Lee teaches A method comprising:
measuring, by a user equipment (UE), a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more slots ([0162], UE measures RSRP of one or more slots);
determining, by the UE, that the RSRP is greater than a threshold and ([0162], the RSRP measurement value is greater than a preconfigured threshold value), in response to determining that the RSRP is greater than the threshold, excluding one or more resources from a total number of resources associated with a selection window ([0162], UE excludes the resource of which RSRP measurement value is greater than a preconfigured threshold value);
determining, by the UE, whether a number of remaining resources, after excluding the one or more resources from the total number of resources, is smaller than a percentage of the total number of resources ([0247], after excluding the resources from the total number of resources, UE determines the remaining candidate resource is smaller than a percentage of the entire candidate resources), wherein the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set ([0247], the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set); and
performing, by the UE, one of:
increasing the threshold if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources ([0247], the number of selectable candidate resources in a selection window is secured until preconfigured (/signaled) threshold value or greater), [0239], increasing the number of candidate resources if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources).
Lee does not explicitly teach based on a traffic priority.
However, Kondapalli teaches based on a traffic priority (column 4, line 49, based on a traffic priority).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kondapalli, based on a traffic priority, into the teachings of Lee, in order to rate limiting traffic entering a service provider's network, and to regulate traffic flow entering the service provider's network (Kondapalli, column 1, lines 19-22).
With respect to claim 2, the combination of Lee and Kondapalli teaches the method of claim 1. Lee teaches increasing the threshold based on the number of remaining resources being smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources ([0239, 0247]); and redetermining if a subsequent number of remaining resources is greater than or equal to a subsequent percentage of the total number of resources ([0247]).
With respect to claim 10, the combination of Lee and Kondapalli teaches the method of claim 1. Lee teaches wherein the one or more resources excluded from the total number of resources are occupied resources occupied by the UE, and a corresponding RSRP of the occupied resources is greater than or equal to the threshold ([0162]).
Claims 11-12 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, in view of Kondapalli, and further in view of Ye et al. (Pub. No.: US 20220085923 A1), hereinafter Ye.
With respect to claim 11, Lee teaches A user equipment (UE) device configured to ([0162], UE):
measure a reference signal received power (RSRP) of one or more slots ([0162], UE measures RSRP of one or more slots);
determine whether the RSRP is greater than a threshold ([0162], the RSRP measurement value is greater than a preconfigured threshold value);
exclude one or more resources from a total number of resources associated with a selection window if the RSRP is greater than the threshold ([0162], UE excludes the resource of which RSRP measurement value is greater than a preconfigured threshold value);
determine whether a number of remaining resources is smaller than a percentage of the total number of resources ([0247], after excluding the resources from the total number of resources, UE determines the remaining candidate resource is smaller than a percentage of the entire candidate resources), wherein the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set ([0247], the percentage is selected from a preconfigured set);
increase the threshold if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources ([0247], the number of selectable candidate resources in a selection window is secured until preconfigured (/signaled) threshold value or greater), [0239], increasing the number of candidate resources if the number of remaining resources is smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources).
Lee does not explicitly teach based on a traffic priority.
However, Kondapalli teaches based on a traffic priority (column 4, line 49, based on a traffic priority).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kondapalli, based on a traffic priority, into the teachings of Lee, in order to rate limiting traffic entering a service provider's network, and to regulate traffic flow entering the service provider's network (Kondapalli, column 1, lines 19-22).
The combination of Lee and Kondapalli does not explicitly teach report the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources.
However, Ye teaches report the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources ([0093], WTRU reports the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Ye, report the remaining resources to a higher layer if the number of remaining resources is not smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources, into the teachings of Lee and Kondapalli, in order to provide more reliable transmissions and/or achieve higher spectral efficiency for a given channel condition (Ye, [0100]).
With respect to claim 12, the combination of Lee, Kondapalli, and Ye teaches the method of claim 11. Lee teaches increasing the threshold based on the number of remaining resources being smaller than the percentage of the total number of resources ([0239, 0247]); and redetermining if a subsequent number of remaining resources is greater than or equal to a subsequent percentage of the total number of resources ([0247]).
With respect to claim 20, the combination of Lee, Kondapalli, and Ye teaches the method of claim 11. Lee teaches wherein the one or more resources excluded from the total number of resources are occupied resources occupied by the UE, and a corresponding RSRP of the occupied resources is greater than or equal to the threshold ([0162]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-9 and 13-19 are 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.
Pub. No.: US 20200196310 A1; “Tang”, ([0086])
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIET TANG whose telephone number is (571)270-7193. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-5:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, IAN MOORE can be reached on (571) 272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIET TANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469