DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Application
2 This instant Office Action is in response to Original Filing filed on 10/1/2024.
3. This Office Action is made Non-Final.
4. Claims 1-15 and 21-25 are pending.
5. Claims 16-20 are currently cancelled prior to examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
1. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/11/24 and 4/14/26 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 (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 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.
2. Claims 1-15 and 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by LIU et al. US 20220167402 hereafter Liu.
As to Claim 1. (Currently Amended) Liu discloses a method, for performing wireless communication by a first device [i.e. UE/User Equipment or Transmitting UE/device], the method comprising [Fig. 3, Sections 0001, 0053: Present disclosure relate to wireless communication and to apparatuses for listen before talk (LBT) based resource modification and channel occupancy time (COT) sharing signaling for sidelink communication in unlicensed spectrum. A first UE 305-1 communicate with a second UE 305-2 via one or more sidelink channels]:
obtaining, by a first device [i.e. UE/User Equipment or Transmitting UE/device], information related to a resource block (RB) set [i.e. Resource pool/all resources or RB sets, see 0090] on which a channel access procedure [i.e. LBT/CCA] is performed in a shared spectrum [Sections 0035, 0058, 0090, 0116: In a shared frequency band (i.e. spectrum), a transmitting device contend for channel access before transmitting and perform a channel access procedure, such as a listen before talk (LBT) procedure to determine whether the radio resources are free or busy by another UE (i.e. second device). The sidelink channels use resource pools based on scheduling assignment of resource blocks (RBs) across time. Whereby shareable resources include all resources in the RB sets. The resource configuration component select set of resources to attempt LBT procedure to transmit over the sidelink channel];
obtaining a threshold for adjusting a transmission parameter [i.e. duration/time, energy level, or number of subchannels; Section 0061: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission]; performing channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035: Channel access procedure include sensing and determining whether the shared channel is free or busy] for the RB set [Sections 0046-0047, 0065: The UE-120 includes means for adjusting, the set of resources (i.e. RB set) in which to transmit over the sidelink channel to occupy a number of subchannels. The UE includes means for moving (i.e. adjust) earliest resource to an earlier symbol/slot based on the duration satisfying a threshold. For example, prior to gaining access, a transmitting device (e.g., UE-120 or UE-305) perform an LBT procedure include clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure that include detecting an energy level and determining whether the energy level satisfies a threshold],
determining, based on a result [i.e. Succeed or free/Unsuccessful or busy] of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] for the RB set and the threshold, the transmission parameter [Sections 0065-0066, 0084, 0128: The CCA include detecting an energy level (i.e. parameter), determining whether the energy level satisfies a threshold, when CCA is successful, the transmitting device gain access for a duration referred to as COT; when energy level does not satisfy the threshold, the CCA procedure is unsuccessful. When CCA results is unavailable because of energy level (i.e. parameter), CCA performed again. The MAC layer adjust the resource that defines the subchannel where a duration between a trigger indicating that the LBT succeeded and a resource satisfies a threshold. The method wherein adjusting the set of resources (i.e. RB sets) includes: determining the LBT procedure succeeded and moving resource based on the duration satisfying a threshold];
and performing, based on the transmission parameter [i.e. duration/time, energy level, or number of subchannels; Section 0061: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission], sidelink (SL) communication with a second device [Fig. 3, Sections 0053, 0058, 0098, 0116: A first UE communicate (transmit/receive) with a second UE via one or more sidelink channels-310. The sidelink channels-310 use resource pools transmitted in sub-channels using specific resource blocks (RBs) across time. Process includes transmitting, over sidelink channel, using the set of resources that are adjusted in at least the time. The resource configuration component select set of resources for LBT procedure and to transmit over the sidelink channel (i.e. to another UE/device)].
As to Claim 2. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the transmission parameter Section 0061: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission] includes at least one of a number of subchannels, a number of RBs, a number of RB sets, a number of interlaces, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), transmit power, an energy detection threshold, a contention window size, or a channel occupancy time (COT) duration size [Sections 0035, 0045, 0082: The channel access procedure include sensing, detecting an energy level, and determining whether the shared channel is free or busy. The UE includes means for selecting, within a resource selection window, a set of resources to transmit over sidelink channel, means for LBT procedure for a COT, means for adjusting, to transmit over the sidelink channel in at least a time domain. The UE may trigger an adjustment to the selected resources and may be further adjusted to occupy a number of subchannels].
As to Claim 3. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the result of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] is energy measured for the RB set [Sections 0035, 0065, 0116: Determine whether radio resources (i.e. RB set) are free to use or are busy by another UE and include sensing and detecting an energy level. A transmitting device perform LBT procedure include CCA that include detecting an energy level. The resource configuration component select set of resources to attempt LBT procedure to transmit over the sidelink channel].
As to Claim 4. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 3, wherein a first transmission parameter [i.e. duration/time, energy level, or number of subchannels] determined based on the result of the channel sensing being greater than the threshold is limited than a second transmission parameter determined based on the result of the channel sensing being less than the threshold [Sections 0035, 0061, 0065: To contend for channel access, the transmitting device perform a LBT procedure include sensing or measuring RSRP, detecting an energy level, or performing another type of measurement based at least in part on whether the measurement satisfies a threshold. One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission. In particular, the CCA procedure include detecting an energy level on the channel and determining whether the energy level is less than or equal to a threshold, and when the energy level exceed the threshold, the CCA procedure is deemed to be successful; when the energy level does not satisfy the threshold, the CCA procedure is unsuccessful].
As to Claim 5. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the result of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] is a number or ratio of listen before talk (LBT) failures for the RB set [Sections 0060, 0066: Additionally, the UE perform resource selection by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with sidelink channels, and a maximum number of resource blocks (RBs) that the UE can use. When the CCA (or LBT) procedure results in a determination that the channel band is unavailable (i.e. failure), CCA performed again from 1 to q in accordance with a counter].
As to Claim 6. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the result of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] is a number of times the RB set is determined to be busy [Sections 0060, 0066: Additionally, the UE perform resource selection by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with sidelink channels, and a maximum number of resource blocks (RBs) that the UE can use. When the CCA (or LBT) procedure results in a determination that the channel band is unavailable (i.e. failure or busy), CCA performed again from 1 to q in accordance with a counter].
As to Claim 7. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the result of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] is a number of times the RB set is determined to be idle [Sections 0035, 0059, 0128: The channel access procedure performed to determine whether the radio resources (i.e. RB sets) are free (i.e. idle) to use. A UE operate using a transmission mode where resource selection performed by sensing channel availability for transmissions. The method wherein adjusting the set of resources (i.e. RB sets) includes: determining the LBT procedure succeeded (i.e. resources are free/idle)].
As to Claim 8. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 7, wherein a third transmission parameter determined based on the result of the channel sensing being less than the threshold is limited than a fourth transmission parameter determined based on the result of the channel sensing being greater than the threshold [Sections 0061, 0065, 0084: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission. The UE includes means for moving (i.e. adjust) earliest resource to an earlier symbol/slot based on the duration satisfying a threshold. Accordingly, if a duration satisfies a threshold, equals or exceeds T threshold), the MAC layer may move the first resource within the effective resource selection window may be adjusted accordingly].
As to Claim 9. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the result of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] is a ratio between a number of times the RB set is determined to be busy and a number of times the RB set is determined to be idle [Sections 0035, 0060, 0066: The channel access procedure performed to determine whether the radio resources (i.e. RB sets) are free (i.e. idle) to use. Additionally, the UE perform resource selection by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with sidelink channels, and a maximum number of resource blocks (RBs). When the CCA (or LBT) procedure results in a determination that the channel band is unavailable (i.e. failure or busy), CCA performed again from 1 to q in accordance with a counter].
As to Claim 10. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the result of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] is a channel busy ratio (CBR) value or a channel occupancy ratio (CR) value measured for the RB set [Sections 0060, 0066: Additionally, the UE perform resource selection by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with sidelink channels, and a maximum number of resource blocks (RBs) that the UE can use. When the CCA (or LBT) procedure results in a determination that the channel band is unavailable (i.e. failure or busy), CCA performed again from 1 to q in accordance with a counter].
As to Claim 11. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 10, wherein, based on the RB set including a plurality of RB sets, the result of the channel sensing is a minimum value among CBR values or CR values measured for the plurality of RB sets [Sections 0060, 0066: Additionally, the UE perform resource selection by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with sidelink channels, and a maximum number of resource blocks (RBs) that the UE can use. When the CCA (or LBT) procedure results in a determination that the channel band is unavailable (i.e. failure or busy), CCA performed again from 1 to q in accordance with a counter].
As to Claim 12. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 10, wherein, based on the RB set including a plurality of RB sets, the result of the channel sensing is a maximum value among CBR values or CR values measured for the plurality of RB sets [Sections 0060, 0066: Additionally, the UE perform resource selection by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with sidelink channels, and a maximum number of resource blocks (RBs) that the UE can use. When the CCA (or LBT) procedure results in a determination that the channel band is unavailable (i.e. failure or busy), CCA performed again from 1 to q in accordance with a counter].
As to Claim 13. (Original) Liu discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] is performed within a channel occupancy time (COT), and the channel sensing is not performed outside the COT [Sections 0065, 0079, 0087: The CCA include determining of gain access for a duration referred to as COT. For example, a UE performs LBT procedure in a COT that includes an initial portion referred to as COT sharing region. Alternatively, the UE determines that a shared COT is unavailable, the UE may perform random resource selected in a projected used COT region. For example, a UE performs LBT procedure in a COT that includes an initial portion referred to as COT sharing region].
As to Claim 14. (Currently Amended) Liu discloses a first device [i.e. UE/User Equipment or Transmitting UE/device], adapted to perform wireless communication, the first device comprising [Fig. 3, Sections 0001, 0053: Present disclosure relate to wireless communication and to apparatuses for listen before talk (LBT) based resource modification and channel occupancy time (COT) sharing signaling for sidelink communication in unlicensed spectrum. A first UE 305-1 communicate with a second UE 305-2 via one or more sidelink channels]:
at least one transceiver [Antennas-252a-r]; at least one processor [Processor-280]; and at least one memory [Memory-282] connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform operations comprising [Fig. 2, Sections 0037, 0042: UE equipped with R antennas 252a through 252r. At UE, in some aspects, the UE includes a transceiver that include any combination of antenna(s) 252, a processor (e.g., controller/processor-280) and memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein]:
obtaining information related to a resource block (RB) set [i.e. Resource pool/all resources or RB sets, see 0090] on which a channel access procedure [i.e. LBT/CCA] is performed in a shared spectrum [Sections 0035, 0058, 0090, 0116: In a shared frequency band (i.e. spectrum), a transmitting device contend for channel access before transmitting and perform a channel access procedure, such as a listen before talk (LBT) procedure to determine whether the radio resources are free or busy by another UE (i.e. second device). The sidelink channels use resource pools based on scheduling assignment of resource blocks (RBs) across time. Whereby shareable resources include all resources in the RB sets. The resource configuration component select set of resources to attempt LBT procedure to transmit over the sidelink channel];
obtaining a threshold for adjusting a transmission parameter [i.e. duration/time, energy level, or number of subchannels; Section 0061: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission]; performing channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035: Channel access procedure include sensing and determining whether the shared channel is free or busy] for the RB set [Sections 0046-0047, 0065: The UE-120 includes means for adjusting, the set of resources (i.e. RB set) in which to transmit over the sidelink channel to occupy a number of subchannels. The UE includes means for moving (i.e. adjust) earliest resource to an earlier symbol/slot based on the duration satisfying a threshold. For example, prior to gaining access, a transmitting device (e.g., UE-120 or UE-305) perform an LBT procedure include clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure that include detecting an energy level and determining whether the energy level satisfies a threshold];
determining, based on a result [i.e. Succeed or free/Unsuccessful or busy] of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] for the RB set and the threshold, the transmission parameter [Sections 0065-0066, 0084, 0128: The CCA include detecting an energy level (i.e. parameter), determining whether the energy level satisfies a threshold, when CCA is successful, the transmitting device gain access for a duration referred to as COT; when energy level does not satisfy the threshold, the CCA procedure is unsuccessful. When CCA results is unavailable because of energy level (i.e. parameter), CCA performed again. The MAC layer adjust the resource that defines the subchannel where a duration between a trigger indicating that the LBT succeeded and a resource satisfies a threshold. The method wherein adjusting the set of resources (i.e. RB sets) includes: determining the LBT procedure succeeded and moving resource based on the duration satisfying a threshold];
and performing, based on the transmission parameter [i.e. duration/time, energy level, or number of subchannels; Section 0061: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission], sidelink (SL) communication with a second device [Fig. 3, Sections 0053, 0058, 0098, 0116: A first UE communicate (transmit/receive) with a second UE via one or more sidelink channels-310. The sidelink channels-310 use resource pools transmitted in sub-channels using specific resource blocks (RBs) across time. Process includes transmitting, over sidelink channel, using the set of resources that are adjusted in at least the time. The resource configuration component select set of resources for LBT procedure and to transmit over the sidelink channel (i.e. to another UE/device)].
As to Claim 15. (Original) Liu discloses a processing device [Processor-280] adapted to control a first device [i.e. UE/User Equipment or Transmitting UE/device], the processing device comprising: at least one processor [Processor-280]; and at least one memory [Memory-282] connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform operations comprising [Fig. 2, Sections 0042, 0044, 0053: At UE, in some aspects, the UE includes a a processor (e.g., controller/processor-280) and memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein. Memories 242 store data and program codes for UE, memory 282 include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication interpreting by one or more processors. A first UE 305-1 communicate with a second UE 305-2 via one or more sidelink channels]:
obtaining information related to a resource block (RB) set [i.e. Resource pool/all resources or RB sets, see 0090] on which a channel access procedure [i.e. LBT/CCA] is performed in a shared spectrum [Sections 0035, 0058, 0090, 0116: In a shared frequency band (i.e. spectrum), a transmitting device contend for channel access before transmitting and perform a channel access procedure, such as a listen before talk (LBT) procedure to determine whether the radio resources are free or busy by another UE (i.e. second device). The sidelink channels use resource pools based on scheduling assignment of resource blocks (RBs) across time. Whereby shareable resources include all resources in the RB sets. The resource configuration component select set of resources to attempt LBT procedure to transmit over the sidelink channel];
obtaining a threshold for adjusting a transmission parameter [i.e. duration/time, energy level, or number of subchannels; Section 0061: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission]; performing channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035: Channel access procedure include sensing and determining whether the shared channel is free or busy] for the RB set [Sections 0046-0047, 0065: The UE-120 includes means for adjusting, the set of resources (i.e. RB set) in which to transmit over the sidelink channel to occupy a number of subchannels. The UE includes means for moving (i.e. adjust) earliest resource to an earlier symbol/slot based on the duration satisfying a threshold. For example, prior to gaining access, a transmitting device (e.g., UE-120 or UE-305) perform an LBT procedure include clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure that include detecting an energy level and determining whether the energy level satisfies a threshold];
determining, based on a result [i.e. Succeed or free/Unsuccessful or busy] of the channel sensing [i.e. LBT/CCA; Section 0035] for the RB set and the threshold, the transmission parameter [Sections 0065-0066, 0084, 0128: The CCA include detecting an energy level (i.e. parameter), determining whether the energy level satisfies a threshold, when CCA is successful, the transmitting device gain access for a duration referred to as COT; when energy level does not satisfy the threshold, the CCA procedure is unsuccessful. When CCA results is unavailable because of energy level (i.e. parameter), CCA performed again. The MAC layer adjust the resource that defines the subchannel where a duration between a trigger indicating that the LBT succeeded and a resource satisfies a threshold. The method wherein adjusting the set of resources (i.e. RB sets) includes: determining the LBT procedure succeeded and moving resource based on the duration satisfying a threshold];
and performing, based on the transmission parameter [i.e. duration/time, energy level, or number of subchannels; Section 0061: One or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for sidelink transmission], sidelink (SL) communication with a second device [Fig. 3, Sections 0053, 0058, 0098, 0116: A first UE communicate (transmit/receive) with a second UE via one or more sidelink channels-310. The sidelink channels-310 use resource pools transmitted in sub-channels using specific resource blocks (RBs) across time. Process includes transmitting, over sidelink channel, using the set of resources that are adjusted in at least the time. The resource configuration component select set of resources for LBT procedure and to transmit over the sidelink channel (i.e. to another UE/device)].
As to Claim 21. (New) The first device of claim 14, wherein the transmission parameter includes at least one of a number of subchannels, a number of RBs, a number of RB sets, a number of interlaces, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), transmit power, an energy detection threshold, a contention window size, or a channel occupancy time (COT) duration size [See Claim 2 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 22. (New) The first device of claim 14, wherein the result of the channel sensing is energy measured for the RB set [See Claim 3 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 23. (New) The first device of claim 22, wherein a first transmission parameter determined based on the result of the channel sensing being greater than the threshold is limited than a second transmission parameter determined based on the result of the channel sensing being less than the threshold [See Claim 4 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 24. (New) The first device of claim 14, wherein the result of the channel sensing is a number or ratio of listen before talk (LBT) failures for the RB set [See Claim 5 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 25. (New) The first device of claim 14, wherein the result of the channel sensing is a number of times the RB set is determined to be busy [See Claim 6 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: STEFANATOS et al. US 20240008085.
Furthermore, each additional prior arts cited on PTO-892 but not applied in rejection contains a disclosed description related to the claimed subject matter found either in the Figures, description summary and/or disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAEL M ULYSSE whose telephone number is (571)272-1228. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chirag G. Shah can be reached at (571)272-3144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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July 19, 2026
/JAEL M ULYSSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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