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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 9 and 18-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Lin (U.S. 12,739,795)
With respect to Claim 1, Lin teaches a transmission method, the method being applied to a user equipment and comprising:
determining to-be-transmitted information, wherein the to-be-transmitted information indicates that a management entity selects a resource for the user equipment (column 10, line 60 – column 11, line 10, “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer;”) and
transmitting the to-be-transmitted information to the management entity (column 10, line 60 – column 11, line 10, “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer,”)
With respect to claim 2, Lin teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the to-be-transmitted information comprises conflict information, and the conflict information indicates a resource on which conflict exists in an allocated or reserved resource (column 10, line 40-50, “When the resource pool in which the resources are selected is configured with resource reservation for another T.sub.B (sl-MultiReserveResource) “enabled”, the UE monitors periodic sensing occasions corresponding to the remaining Y candidate slots/candidate resource set (S.sub.A)” and column 8, lines 35-50, “the UE performs re-evaluation on the pre-selected sidelink resources and/or pre-emption checking on the reserved sidelink resources, so as to minimize and avoid transmission collisions, thereby improving the performance and reliability of sidelink communication.”)
With respect to Claim 3, Lin teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the to-be-transmitted information comprises a resource set, and the resource set comprises one or more of the following:
a New Radio (NR) candidate resource set (column 10, line 60 – column 11, line 10, “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer,”);
an NR unavailable resource set (column 10, line 60 – column 11, line 10, “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer,”), wherein the NR unavailable resource set is a set of resources that are reserved for sidelink (SL) of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or unavailable to the user equipment for a capability reason; or an available resource set, wherein the available resource set is a candidate resource the user equipment through an LTE perception process.
With respect to Claim 4, Lin teaches the method of claim 3, wherein the NR candidate resource set comprises one or more of the following: a first candidate resource set acquired through an NR perception process; or a second candidate resource set (column 10, line 60 – column 11, line 10, “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer,”)
With respect to Claim 5, Lin teaches the method of claim 4, wherein the second candidate resource set comprises one or more of the following:
NR unavailable resource set (column 10, line 60 – column 11, line 10, “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer,”);
an intersection of the candidate resource set acquired in the NR perception process and the available resource set;
set acquired by excluding, through the NR perception process, unavailable resources from a first initial set, wherein the available resource set is used as the first initial set (column 10, line 60 – column 11, line 10, “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer,”);
or a set acquired by excluding, through the NR perception process, unavailable resources from a second initial set, wherein an intersection of a set of all candidate resources determined according to a resource selection window and the available resource set is used as the second initial set;
wherein the unavailable resources comprise one or more of the following: all possible reserved resources on an unmonitored slot; resources overlapping with resources reserved by sidelink control information corresponding to SL transmission whose reference signal received power (RSRP) measured in a monitored time slot is greater than a first RSRP threshold; or resources overlapping with the NR unavailable resource set (column 5, lines 1-10, “ responsive to determining based on the sensing results that one or more resources in the candidate resource set overlap with one or more resources indicated in a received SCI and a reference signal received power (RSRP) measured for the received SCI is higher than a configured threshold, exclude the one or more resources from the candidate resource set to obtain the remaining candidate resource set.”)
With respect to Claim 7, Lin teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the to-be-transmitted information comprises:
a first candidate resource set and an NR unavailable resource set (column 6, line 55- 57 “In some implementation modes, the UE initializes the candidate resource set to a remaining candidate slot set.”), wherein
the first candidate resource set is acquired by a first module of the user equipment (column 8, lines 25-40, “In some implementation modes, when a first resource in the pre-selected resource set is not part of the remaining candidate resource set, the physical layer of the UE reports re-evaluation of the first resource to the higher layer;”), and
the NR unavailable resource set is acquired by a second module of the user equipment (column 8, lines 25-40, “In some implementation modes, when a first resource in the pre-selected resource set is not part of the remaining candidate resource set, the physical layer of the UE reports re-evaluation of the first resource to the higher layer;”).
With respect to Claim 9, Lin teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the to-be-transmitted information comprises:
an NR unavailable resource set, wherein the NR unavailable resource set is acquired by the user equipment or a second module of the user equipment;
a first candidate resource set and an NR unavailable resource set, wherein the first candidate resource set is acquired by the user equipment, and the NR unavailable resource set is acquired by the user equipment;
a set acquired by excluding, in an NR perception process, resources overlapping with an NR unavailable resource set, wherein the set acquired by excluding, in the NR perception process, the resources overlapping with the NR unavailable resource set and the NR unavailable resource set are acquired by the user equipment;
a first candidate resource set and an available resource set, wherein the first candidate resource set is acquired by a first module of the user equipment, and the available resource set is acquired by a second module of the user equipment (column 10, line 50 – column 11, line 10, “A resource is excluded from the initialized candidate resource set (S.sub.A) 308 if the resource overlaps with a resource indicated in a SCI received among all sensing results (from PBPS and/or CPS) and the measured RSRP for the received SCI is higher than a configured threshold, which is based on the priority of the received SCI (prio.sub.RX) and L1 priority of the sidelink transport block for transmission (prio.sub.TX),” and “The UE reports the remaining candidate resource set (S.sub.A) after the resource exclusion to the higher layer,”);
an intersection of a candidate resource set acquired in an NR perception process and an available resource set, wherein the intersection of the candidate resource set acquired in the NR perception process and the available resource set is acquired by a first module of the user equipment, and the available resource set is acquired by a second module of the user equipment;
an available resource set, wherein the available resource set is acquired by the user equipment or a second module of the user equipment; a first candidate resource set and an available resource set, wherein the first candidate resource set is acquired by the user equipment, and the available resource set is acquired by the user equipment;
a set acquired by excluding, through an NR perception process, unavailable resources from a first initial set, wherein an available resource set is used as the first initial set, and the set acquired by excluding, through the NR perception process, the unavailable resources from the first initial set is acquired by a first module of the user equipment, and the available resource set is acquired by a second module of the user equipment;
or a second initial set, wherein an intersection of a set of all candidate resources determined according to a resource selection window and an available resource set is used as the second initial set, wherein the set acquired by excluding, through the NR perception process, the unavailable resources from the second initial set is acquired by a first module of the user equipment, and the available resource set is acquired by a second module of the user equipment.
With respect to Claim 18, Lin teaches the method of claim 2, wherein in a case where the allocated or reserved resource of the user equipment meets one or more of following conditions, conflict exists on the allocated or reserved resource:
the allocated or reserved resource overlaps with a reserved resource indicated by sidelink control information received by the user equipment (column 9, line 25-40, “The timing or slot (n) in which the re-evaluation and pre-emption checking of pre-selected and reserved resource sets is requested/triggered by the higher layer should be just before earliest transmission resource provided by the higher layer. Assume that slot (m) is the smallest slot index among the resources from the pre-selected resource set (r.sub.0, r.sub.1, r.sub.2, . . . ) for re-evaluation and the reserved resource set (r.sub.0′, r.sub.1′, r.sub.2′, . . . ) for pre-emption checking.”)
the allocated or reserved resource overlaps with a reserved resource indicated by sidelink control information received by the user equipment, and a transmission priority of the user equipment on the allocated or reserved resource is lower than a transmission priority indicated by sidelink indication information;
the allocated or reserved resource overlaps with a reserved resource indicated by sidelink control information received by the user equipment, and RSRP corresponding to a physical sidelink control channel that corresponds to the sidelink control information or RSRP corresponding to a physical sidelink shared channel that corresponds to the sidelink control information is greater than a second RSRP threshold;
the allocated or reserved resource overlaps with a reserved resource indicated by sidelink control information received by the user equipment, and the user equipment is a target receiving terminal of a transmission block sent on the reserved resource indicated by the sidelink control information;
a target receiving terminal of a transmission block sent on the allocated or reserved resource processes a sleep state of discontinuous reception;
the user equipment is unable to use the allocated or reserved resource due to a limitation of a transmission capability; or
the allocated or reserved resource is unavailable due to a limitation of half-duplex.
With respect to Claim 19, Lin teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting one or more of the following:
a resource pool corresponding to a resource set (column 9, line 60-67, “it is important for the UE continuing to perform sensing in the resource pool after the initial resource selection for the purpose of resource verification by re-evaluation and pre-emption checking.”)
a bandwidth part corresponding to a resource set;
a start position of a time window of a resource set (column 12, lines 25-35, “Part or all of candidate slots in the remaining candidate slot set belong to the candidate slot set, and a starting slot corresponding to the remaining candidate slot set is a first slot with a smallest slot index among the first resource set and the second resource set.”;
a reference time slot of resources in a resource set;
a time-frequency position of resources in a resource set; or
a resource set type.
With respect to Claims 20-25, the claim is the method by the management entity that is the corresponding transmission method of claim 1-5 and 19.
With respect to Claim 26, the claim is the user equipment that corresponds to the method of claim 1.
With respect to Claims 27, the claim is the method by the management entity that is the corresponding transmission method of claim 1.
With respect to Claims 28, the claim is the non-transitory storage medium that corresponds to the method of claim 1.
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (U.S. 12,739,795) in view of Fouad et al. (U.S. 2023/0081456), hereinafter Fouad
With respect to Claim 6, Lin teaches the method of claim 3, Lin fails to explicitly teach wherein the NR unavailable resource set comprises one or more of the following:
a reserved resource for LTE SL transmission of other user equipments;
a reserved resource for an LTE module of the user equipment;
all resources on a slot on which a reserved resource for an LTE SL process of the user equipment is located;
a resource unavailable to the user equipment due to exceeding a transmission capacity; or
a resource unavailable to the user equipment due to a limitation of half-duplex.
Fouad teaches wherein the NR unavailable resource set comprises one or more of the following:
a reserved resource for LTE SL transmission of other user equipments (¶ 0102, “In FIG. 10, the NR future reservations are based only on the resources unoccupied by LTE 1020. Resources occupied by LTE 1010 are considered as being outside of the NR resource pool, and ¶ 0104, “This skipping of resources that are occupied by LTE 1010 from the NR resource pool can be configured by RRC signaling, can be enabled/disabled depending on the system occupancy (e.g., CBR), and can be disabled when the CBR is large, such as when the CBR is above a pre-configured threshold.”);
a reserved resource for an LTE module of the user equipment (¶ 0102, “In FIG. 10, the NR future reservations are based only on the resources unoccupied by LTE 1020. Resources occupied by LTE 1010 are considered as being outside of the NR resource pool, and ¶ 0104, “This skipping of resources that are occupied by LTE 1010 from the NR resource pool can be configured by RRC signaling, can be enabled/disabled depending on the system occupancy (e.g., CBR), and can be disabled when the CBR is large, such as when the CBR is above a pre-configured threshold.”);
all resources on a slot on which a reserved resource for an LTE SL process of the user equipment is located;
a resource unavailable to the user equipment due to exceeding a transmission capacity (¶ 0102, “In FIG. 10, the NR future reservations are based only on the resources unoccupied by LTE 1020. Resources occupied by LTE 1010 are considered as being outside of the NR resource pool, and ¶ 0104, “This skipping of resources that are occupied by LTE 1010 from the NR resource pool can be configured by RRC signaling, can be enabled/disabled depending on the system occupancy (e.g., CBR), and can be disabled when the CBR is large, such as when the CBR is above a pre-configured threshold.”);; or
a resource unavailable to the user equipment due to a limitation of half-duplex.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the application to combine the invention of Fouad with the system of Lin in order to increase coexistence with other radio technologies that are used together such as LTE.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (U.S. 12,739,795) in view of Hoang et al. (US 2025/0227738), hereinafter Hoang.
With respect to Claim 8, Lin teaches the method of claim 1, Lin fails to explicitly teach wherein the to-be-transmitted information comprises:
a set acquired by excluding, in an NR perception process, resources overlapping with an NR unavailable resource set, wherein the set acquired by excluding, in the NR perception process, resources overlapping with the NR unavailable resource set is acquired by a first module of the user equipment, and the NR unavailable resource set is acquired by a second module of the user equipment.
Hoang from the same or similar field of endeavor a set acquired by excluding, in an NR perception process, resources overlapping with an NR unavailable resource set, wherein the set acquired by excluding, in the NR perception process, resources overlapping with the NR unavailable resource set is acquired by a first module of the user equipment, and the NR unavailable resource set is acquired by a second module of the user equipment (¶ 0233, “In some approaches, the WTRU may add the resources (e.g., PSCCH/PSSCH) to the first set of resources (e.g., the set of unavailable resources) and/or exclude the resource from the second set of resources (e.g., the set of available resources) due to the overlapping transmission/reception in another carrier if the priority of the data (e.g., LCH) triggering resource allocation is greater than a threshold.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the application to combine the invention of Hoang with the invention of Lin in order to better communicate unavailable resources in the system of Lin.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5660. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9AM - 5PM.
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/ANGELA NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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