DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Introduction
The claims 17-31 and 49-53 are pending in this application. This is a non-final office action in response to Application Number 18/842,922 filed on 30 August 2024 with a preliminary amendment also filed on 30 August 2024 in which the specification is amended, no claims are amended, claims 1-16, 32-48, and 54-69 are canceled, and no claims are added; the instant application is a 371 of PCT/US2023/063112 filed on 23 February 2023 and also claims priority to provisional application 63/268,883 filed on 4 March 2022.
The applicant of record is Apple Inc. and the inventors of record are Chunxuan Ye, Hong He, Dawei Zhang, Haitong Sun, Weidong Yang, Zhibin Wu, Haijing Hu, Sigen Ye, Yushu Zhang, and Wei Zeng.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 30 August 2024 was filed on the initial filing date of the instant application and before the mailing date of a first office action on the merits. 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 Interpretation
The claims have been considered according to the latest Patent Eligibility Guidelines and are considered eligible.
Claim Objections
Claims 17-19 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 17 recites “beam paring procedure” in the last limitation. This appears to be a typographical error, however if it is not a typographical error (e.g., beam paring as in paring down a beam size/number/etc.), then examiner requests clarification and recommends amending the claims to clarify the desired interpretation. Dependent claims 18-19 also recite “the beam paring procedure”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 17-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0421876; U.S. Provisional 63/275,195) in view of Vieira et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2023/0064199).
Regarding claim 17, Deng disclosed a method of a transmit (Tx) user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) communications with a receive (Rx) UE (see Deng Fig. 3, [0105]; provisional Fig. 3, [prov-0106]: sidelink communication between UE1 and UE2), comprising:
sending, to the Rx UE, one or more combined physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH)/physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmissions comprising one or more channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) configured to be used at the Rx UE for one or more beam measurements (see Deng Fig. 2, [0093]; provisional Fig. 2, [prov-0094]: WTRU performs SL CSI-RS transmission in a SL slot multiplexed with a PSCCH/PSSCH transmission | [0142], [prov-0143]: A RX WTRU triggers SL CSI-RS measurement of a SL CSI-RS transmission | [0145], [prov-0146]: RX WTRU measures NCSI-RS-index L1-RSRP values and indicates the index of the SL CSI-RS transmission with the highest one-shot measurement metric, e.g., L1-RSRP);
receiving, from the Rx UE, one or more beam reports corresponding to the one or more beam measurements, each of the one or more beam reports comprising a measured quality of a serving beam (see Deng [0136], [prov-0137 first bullet]: SL CSI reporting for CQI measurement | [0137], [prov-0138]: TX WTRU receives SL CSI reporting information that is based on SL CSI-RS transmissions | [0145], [prov-0146]: RX WTRU measures NCSI-RS-index L1-RSRP values and indicates the index of the SL CSI-RS transmission with the highest one-shot measurement metric, e.g., L1-RSRP); and
determining whether to perform a beam paring procedure based on a comparison of the measured quality of the serving beam from each of the one or more beam reports to a threshold (see Deng-Vieira combination below).
Although Deng disclosed that it is important to ensure the SL operations meet data rate and latency requirements (see Deng [0075], [prov-0072]) and performing SL TX/RX switching (see Deng [0096], [prov-0097]), Deng did not explicitly disclose “determining whether to perform a beam paring procedure based on a comparison of the measured quality of the serving beam from each of the one or more beam reports to a threshold”. However in a related art, Vieira disclosed selecting the most suitable beam pair based on signal quality (see Vieira [0022]) and switching to a different beam pair when the current beam pair’s signal quality falls below a threshold (see Vieira [0042]). The radio node is informed about available beams and beam pairs based on measurements provided by the network (see Vieira [0052]). Examiner notes that selecting a suitable beam pair and switching to another beam pair are interpreted as two examples of performing a beam pairing procedure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Deng and Vieira to further clarify how to use measurement reports and when to perform beam pairing. Including Vieira’s teachings would improve signal quality and reduce overhead (see Vieira [0008]).
Regarding claim 18, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, wherein the beam paring procedure is performed when the measured quality of the serving beam from a minimum number of the one or more beam reports is below the threshold (see Vieira [0042]: switching to a different beam pair when the current beam pair’s signal quality falls below a threshold).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Deng and Vieira to further clarify how to use measurement reports and when to perform beam pairing. Including Vieira’s teachings would improve signal quality and reduce overhead (see Vieira [0008]).
Regarding claim 19, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, wherein the beam paring procedure is performed with the measured quality of the serving beam from a minimum number of consecutive beam reports of the one or more beam reports is below the threshold (see Vieira [0042]: switching to a different beam pair when the current beam pair’s signal quality falls below a threshold; examiner notes that the minimum number is interpreted as being one).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Deng and Vieira to further clarify how to use measurement reports and when to perform beam pairing. Including Vieira’s teachings would improve signal quality and reduce overhead (see Vieira [0008]).
Regarding claim 20, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, wherein the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions are sent in response to an expiration of a SL beam maintenance timer (see Deng [0183], [prov-0182]: triggering inclusion of CSI-RS in a PSCCH/PSSCH transmission of the SL TB based on a timer value, remaining packet delay budget, etc. | [0160], [prov-0160]: applying default SL TCI state to PSCCH/PSSCH transmission when timer has expired).
Regarding claim 21, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, wherein the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions are sent according to a beam measurement periodicity configured at the Tx UE (see Deng [0132], [prov-0133]: preconfiguring periodicity; determining SL CSI-RS resource in terms of both PRB and sequence for SL CSI-RS transmission at the (pre)configured symbols in a SL slot based on the selected PSCCH/PSSCH resource).
Regarding claim 22, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, wherein the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions are sent in response to a request received from the Rx UE (see Deng [0142], [prov-143]: RX requests SL CSI report and triggers SL CSI-RS measurement of a SL CSI-RS transmission in the same slot with the PSCCH/PSSCH transmission).
Regarding claim 23, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, further comprising detecting a beam measurement event at the Tx UE, and wherein the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions are sent in response to detecting the beam measurement event (see Deng [0142], [prov-143]: RX requests SL CSI report and triggers SL CSI-RS measurement of a SL CSI-RS transmission in the same slot with the PSCCH/PSSCH transmission; examiner notes that a request is one type of event).
Regarding claim 24, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, wherein the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions are sent on resources selected using a SL resource selection procedure (see Deng [0132], [prov-0133]: preconfiguring periodicity; determining SL CSI-RS resource in terms of both PRB and sequence for SL CSI-RS transmission at the (pre)configured symbols in a SL slot based on the selected PSCCH/PSSCH resource, periodicity, etc.).
Regarding claim 25, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 24, wherein a packet delay budget (PDB) for the SL resource selection procedure is based on a configured timer value (see Deng [0183], [prov-0182]: triggering inclusion of CSI-RS in a PSCCH/PSSCH transmission of the SL TB based on a timer value, remaining packet delay budget, etc.).
Regarding claim 26, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 24, wherein a priority value for the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions used during the SL resource selection procedure is determined at the Tx UE according to a resource pool used for the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions (see Deng [0128], [prov-0129]: determining to use a particular CSI-RS resource configuration when the configuration(s) are enabled/configured in a resource pool and when the priority exceeds a (pre)configured threshold; a low priority value indicates a high QoS requirement | [0133], [prov-0134]: the (pre)configured resources are indexed and mapped to each sub-channel of a resource pool such that each sub-channel corresponds to one resource; TX WTRU determines the resources corresponding to the sub-channel for the PSCCH/PSSCH transmission).
Regarding claim 27, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 24, wherein a priority value for the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions used during the SL resource selection procedure is pre-defined at the Tx UE (see Deng [0128], [prov-0129]: determining to use a particular CSI-RS resource configuration when the priority exceeds a (pre)configured threshold; a low priority value indicates a high QoS requirement | [0132], [prov-0133]: configuring priority of SL TB; determining SL CSI-RS resource in terms of both PRB and sequence for SL CSI-RS transmission at the (pre)configured symbols in a SL slot based on the selected PSCCH/PSSCH resource, priority, etc.).
Regarding claim 28, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 24, wherein a priority value for the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions used during the SL resource selection procedure is configured by signaling between the Tx UE and the Rx UE (see Deng [0128], [prov-0129]: determining to use a particular CSI-RS resource configuration when the priority exceeds a (pre)configured threshold; a low priority value indicates a high QoS requirement | [0132], [prov-0133]: configuring priority of SL TB; determining SL CSI-RS resource in terms of both PRB and sequence for SL CSI-RS transmission at the (pre)configured symbols in a SL slot based on the selected PSCCH/PSSCH resource, priority, etc.).
Regarding claim 29, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 17, wherein the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions are sent using dedicated resources (see Deng [0084], [prov-0083]: dedicated resources are used in Mode 1).
Regarding claim 30, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 29, wherein the dedicated resources are periodically reserved (see Deng [0167], [prov-0166]: PSCCH/PSSCH transmission includes SCI indicating resource reservation; resource is reserved according to n+TRSVP where TRSVP is the resource’s reservation interval indicated in the SCI).
Regarding claim 31, Deng-Vieira disclosed the method of claim 29, wherein the dedicated resources correspond to sub-channels indicated by a resource pool configuration for a resource pool used for the one or more combined PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions (see Deng [0133], [prov-0134]: the (pre)configured resources are indexed and mapped to each sub-channel of a resource pool such that each sub-channel corresponds to one resource; TX WTRU determines the resources corresponding to the sub-channel for the PSCCH/PSSCH transmission).
Claims 49-53 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deng et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0421876; U.S. Provisional 63/275,195) in view of Sarkis et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2020/0145077).
Regarding claim 49, examiner notes that claim 49 describes the method of claim 1 from the opposite perspective. Regarding claim 49, Deng disclosed a method of a receive (Rx) user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) communications with a transmit (Tx) UE (see Deng Fig. 3, [0105]; provisional Fig. 3, [prov-0106]: sidelink communication between UE1 and UE2), comprising:
receiving, from the Tx UE, a combined physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH)/physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission comprising one or more channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) configured to be used at the Rx UE for a beam measurement (see Deng Fig. 2, [0093]; provisional Fig. 2, [prov-0094]: WTRU performs SL CSI-RS transmission in a SL slot multiplexed with a PSCCH/PSSCH transmission | [0142], [prov-0143]: A RX WTRU triggers SL CSI-RS measurement of a SL CSI-RS transmission | [0145], [prov-0146]: RX WTRU measures NCSI-RS-index L1-RSRP values and indicates the index of the SL CSI-RS transmission with the highest one-shot measurement metric, e.g., L1-RSRP):
performing the beam measurement using the one or more CSI-RSs (see Deng [0145], [prov-0146]: RX WTRU measures NCSI-RS-index L1-RSRP values and indicates the index of the SL CSI-RS transmission with the highest one-shot measurement metric, e.g., L1-RSRP); and
sending, to the Tx UE, a beam report corresponding to the beam measurement, the beam report comprising one or more measured quality fields corresponding to beams of the beam report (see Deng [0136], [prov-0137 first bullet]: SL CSI reporting for CQI measurement | [0137], [prov-0138]: TX WTRU receives SL CSI reporting information that is based on SL CSI-RS transmissions | [0145], [prov-0146]: RX WTRU measures NCSI-RS-index L1-RSRP values and indicates the index of the SL CSI-RS transmission with the highest one-shot measurement metric, e.g., L1-RSRP), the one or more measured quality fields comprising an absolute measured quality value of a first beam of the beam report (see Deng-Sarkis combination below).
Although Deng disclosed performing beam measurements (see Deng [0145], [prov-0146]) and sending beam reports (see Deng [0137], [prov-0138]), however Deng did not explicitly disclose “the one or more measured quality fields comprising an absolute measured quality value of a first beam of the beam report”.
While it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that reports would include absolute measured values, however in a related art, Sarkis disclosed reporting at least one CQI as an absolute value and reporting the other as a relative value that is relative to the absolute value (see Sarkis [0022]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Deng and Sarkis to further clarify how to present information in measurement reports. Including Sarkis’ teachings would allow for fewer total bits when reporting CQI values, thereby lessening overhead to comply with throughput requirements (see Sarkis [0022]).
Regarding claim 50, Deng-Sarkis disclosed the method of claim 49, wherein the one or more measured quality fields further comprise a differential measured quality value of a second beam of the beam report, wherein the differential measured quality value is differential to the absolute measured quality value of the first beam (see Sarkis [0022]: reporting at least one CQI as an absolute value and reporting the other as a relative value that is relative to the absolute value).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Deng and Sarkis to further clarify how to present information in measurement reports. Including Sarkis’ teachings would allow for fewer total bits when reporting CQI values, thereby lessening overhead to comply with throughput requirements (see Sarkis [0022]).
Regarding claim 51, Deng-Sarkis disclosed the method of claim 49, wherein the beam report is sent in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) (see Deng [0119], [prov-0120]: reporting is included in MAC CE).
Regarding claim 52, Deng-Sarkis disclosed the method of claim 49, wherein the beam report is sent in sidelink channel information (SCI) (see Deng [0119], [prov-0120]: reporting is included in SCI in a PSCCH/PSSCH transmission).
Regarding claim 53, Deng-Sarkis disclosed the method of claim 49, wherein the one or more measured quality fields are ordered in the beam report according to beam identifiers (IDs) of one or more corresponding beams (see Deng [0137], [prov-0138]: TX WTRU receives SL CSI reporting information that is based on SL CSI-RS transmissions and includes measurements and a variety of identifiers; examiner notes that the order of information within the report is a matter of implementation choice).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Angela Widhalm de Rodriguez whose telephone number is (571)272-1035. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 6am-2:30pm EST.
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/ANGELA WIDHALM DE RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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