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
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 7-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sun et al. (US 2021/0092783 A1), hereinafter referred to as D1.
Regarding claims 1, D1 discloses channel occupancy time sharing for sidelink communication, which comprises:
determining a length of a channel sensing interval (Referring to Figures 5-8, to reduce the probability of multiple monitoring sidelink UEs in the neighborhood of the UE 715a from selecting the same unoccupied time resources in the COT 602 for sidelink transmission, the scheme 700 may apply a contention time slot grid 709 in the unoccupied time period 706 for contention. The grid 709 may include a plurality of contention slots 708, where a monitoring sidelink UE may contend for resources in the unoccupied time period 706. The time slot grid 709 may start at time T2, after a delay 707. The delay 707 may have a duration long enough for a monitoring sidelink UE to perform a CAT2 LBT. Each contention slot 708 may have a duration long enough for a one-shot LBT measurement. See paragraphs 0106-0108.);
selecting at least one resource on an unlicensed band, wherein a time interval between the at least one resource is longer than the length of the channel sensing interval (Referring to Figures 5-8, A UE interested in joining the COT 702 may select a contention slot 708 based on a hashed random number and perform a CAT2 LBT for the selected contention slot 708. To facilitate the use of the contention slots 708, the UE 715a may include in the SCI 740, an indication of the contention time slot grid 709, the delay longer than the contention slot. See paragraphs 0106-0108.);
performing first channel sensing from a time point prior to a starting time point of a first resource among the at least one resource by the channel sensing interval, to the starting time point of the first resource (Referring to Figures 5-8, For instances, the SCI 740 may indicate the delay 707, the starting time (e.g., time T2) of an earliest contention slot 708 in the period 706, and/or a duration of a contention slot 708 (thereby, comprising sensing from a time point prior to a starting point of a first resource among the at least resource by the channel sensing interval, to the starting time point of the first resource corresponding to the contention grid with a starting point prior to the selected contention slot). See paragraphs 0106-0108.); and
performing a sidelink (SL) transmission using the first resource, based on a result of the first channel sensing being IDLE (Referring to Figures 5-8, A UE interested in joining the COT 702 may select a contention slot 708 based on a hashed random number and perform a CAT2 LBT for the selected contention slot 708 (performing a SL transmission using the first resource, based on a result of the first channel sensing being IDLE corresponding to the LBT CAT 2). To facilitate the use of the contention slots 708, the UE 715a may include in the SCI 740, an indication of the contention time slot grid 709. For instances, the SCI 740 may indicate the delay 707, the starting time (e.g., time T2) of an earliest contention slot 708 in the period 706, and/or a duration of a contention slot 708. See paragraphs 0106-0108.)
Regarding claim 2, D1 discloses wherein the at least one resource is selected based on sensing (Referring to Figures 5-8, the SCI 740 may indicate remaining unused time resources (e.g., the period 706) in the COT 702 so that other sidelink UE(s) (e.g., a UE 715c) monitoring for the sidelink COT sharing SCI 740 may opportunistically join the COT 702 and utilize the remaining unused time period 706 in the COT 702 for sidelink transmission (sensing). In this regard, the UE 715a may include in the SCI 740, timing information associated with the unoccupied time period 706. In this regard, the UE 715a may include in the SCI 740, a transmission end time 760 (e.g., a time T1) of the PSSCH communication 710, a starting time (e.g., a time T2) when sharing of the COT 702 may start UE may join the COT 702 (e.g., T2), and/or an end time 762 (e.g., a time T6) of the COT 702. See paragraphs 0106-0108.)
Regarding claim 3, D1 discloses wherein the sensing includes: decoding sidelink control information (SCI) received in a target resource of sensing; and excluding a resource in which a collision is expected from a candidate resource, based on the decoded SCI (Referring to Figures 5-8, the network 100 may operate over a shared channel, which may include shared frequency bands or unlicensed frequency bands. For example, the network 100 may be an NR-unlicensed (NR-U) network operating over an unlicensed frequency band. In such an aspect, the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 may be operated by multiple network operating entities. To avoid collisions, the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 may employ a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to monitor for transmission opportunities (TXOPs) in the shared channel. For example, a transmitting node (e.g., a BS 105 or a UE 115) may perform an LBT prior to transmitting in the channel (decoding sidelink control information received in a target resource of sensing). When the LBT passes, the transmitting node may proceed with the transmission. When the LBT fails, the transmitting node may refrain from transmitting in the channel (excluding a resource in which a collision is expected from a candidate resource, based on eh decoded SCI). In an example, the LBT may be based on energy detection. For example, the LBT results in a pass when signal energy measured from the channel is below a threshold. Conversely, the LBT results in a failure when signal energy measured from the channel exceeds the threshold. In another example, the LBT may be based on signal detection. For example, the LBT results in a pass when a channel reservation signal (e.g., a predetermined preamble signal) is not detected in the channel A TXOP may also be referred to as channel occupancy time (COT). See paragraphs 0056-0058.)
Regarding claim 4, D1 discloses wherein the first channel sensing includes measuring energy within the channel sensing interval (Referring to Figures 5-8, the network 100 may operate over a shared channel, which may include shared frequency bands or unlicensed frequency bands. For example, the network 100 may be an NR-unlicensed (NR-U) network operating over an unlicensed frequency band. In such an aspect, the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 may be operated by multiple network operating entities. To avoid collisions, the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 may employ a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to monitor for transmission opportunities (TXOPs) in the shared channel. For example, a transmitting node (e.g., a BS 105 or a UE 115) may perform an LBT prior to transmitting in the channel. When the LBT passes, the transmitting node may proceed with the transmission. When the LBT fails, the transmitting node may refrain from transmitting in the channel. In an example, the LBT may be based on energy detection. For example, the LBT results in a pass when signal energy measured from the channel is below a threshold. Conversely, the LBT results in a failure when signal energy measured from the channel exceeds the threshold. In another example, the LBT may be based on signal detection (measuring energy with the channel sensing interval). For example, the LBT results in a pass when a channel reservation signal (e.g., a predetermined preamble signal) is not detected in the channel A TXOP may also be referred to as channel occupancy time (COT). See paragraphs 0056-0058.)
Regarding claim 7, D1 discloses wherein the at least one resource is a burst resource (Referring to Figures 3 and 5-8, the frequency interlaces 308 spanning one slot or one RB 310 duration (e.g., the time period 314), the frequency interlaces 308 can span a longer duration, for example, 2, 3, or more slots or any suitable number of symbol 306 durations. Since an LBT (e.g., the LBT 330) is required for each transmission burst in the frequency band 302 and each LBT may have a certain delay or overhead, a UE may take full advantage of the channel access after winning a COT (e.g., the COT 320). For example, the UE may schedule multiple sidelink communications (e.g., over multiple contiguous transmission time intervals (TTIs)) in a duration of the COT without performing additional LBTs between the sidelink communications. See Figure 7 for multiple slots/resources. See paragraphs 0071-0073.)
Regarding claim 8, D1 discloses wherein the at least one resource is consecutive in terms of slots (Referring to Figures 3 and 5-8, the frequency interlaces 308 spanning one slot or one RB 310 duration (e.g., the time period 314), the frequency interlaces 308 can span a longer duration, for example, 2, 3, or more slots or any suitable number of symbol 306 durations. Since an LBT (e.g., the LBT 330) is required for each transmission burst in the frequency band 302 and each LBT may have a certain delay or overhead, a UE may take full advantage of the channel access after winning a COT (e.g., the COT 320). For example, the UE may schedule multiple sidelink communications (e.g., over multiple contiguous transmission time intervals (TTIs)) in a duration of the COT without performing additional LBTs between the sidelink communications. See Figure 7 for multiple consecutive slots/resources. See paragraphs 0071-0073.)
Regarding claim 9, D1 discloses reselecting a resource after a second resource among the least one resource to at least one reselection resource (Referring to Figures 5-8 and 11, At step 1110, the method 1100 includes determining, by a first UE (e.g., the UEs 115, 215, 400, 615, 715, and/or 1015), a COT (e.g., the COTs 320, 602, 702, and/or 1002) in a shared radio frequency band (e.g., the frequency band 302) for communicating a sidelink (e.g., the PSSCH communications 610, 710, and/or 1010 and/or PSCCH communications 612, 712, 822, and/or 1012 and/or the PSSCH/PSCCH communications 620, 720, and/or 750) with a second UE (e.g., the UEs 115, 215, 400, 615, 715, and/or 1015). The first UE may utilize the processor 402 to perform an LBT by measuring the signal energy of the received signal and comparing the measured signal energy to a detection threshold. The first UE may utilize the processor 402 and/or the sidelink communication module 408 to determine the COT based on the LBT being successful (e.g., the measured signal energy being below the threshold). The LBT process repeated and performing reselection of a time slot. See paragraphs 0129-0131.)
Regarding claim 10, D1 discloses wherein all resources after the second resource are reselected, and wherein the at least one reselection resource is consecutive in term of slots (Referring to Figures 5-8 and 11, At step 1110, the method 1100 includes determining, by a first UE (e.g., the UEs 115, 215, 400, 615, 715, and/or 1015), a COT (e.g., the COTs 320, 602, 702, and/or 1002) in a shared radio frequency band (e.g., the frequency band 302) for communicating a sidelink (e.g., the PSSCH communications 610, 710, and/or 1010 and/or PSCCH communications 612, 712, 822, and/or 1012 and/or the PSSCH/PSCCH communications 620, 720, and/or 750) with a second UE (e.g., the UEs 115, 215, 400, 615, 715, and/or 1015). The first UE may utilize the processor 402 to perform an LBT by measuring the signal energy of the received signal and comparing the measured signal energy to a detection threshold. The first UE may utilize the processor 402 and/or the sidelink communication module 408 to determine the COT based on the LBT being successful (e.g., the measured signal energy being below the threshold). The LBT process repeated and performing reselection of a time slot, corresponding to a all resources after the second resource are reselected, with a series of consecutive time slots as shown in Figure 7. See paragraphs 0129-0131.)
Regarding claim 11, D1 discloses performing second channel sensing from a time point prior to a starting time point of the second resource by the channel sensing interval, to the starting time point of the second resource, wherein the reselection is performed based on a result of the second channel sensing being BUSY (Referring to Figures 5-8, For instances, the SCI 740 may indicate the delay 707, the starting time (e.g., time T2) of an earliest contention slot 708 in the period 706, and/or a duration of a contention slot 708 (repeating LBT procedure, thereby, comprising second sensing from a time point prior to a starting point of a second resource among the at least resource by the channel sensing interval, to the starting time point of the second resource corresponding to the contention grid with a starting point prior to the selected contention slot upon a second LBT procedure). A UE interested in joining the COT 702 may select a contention slot 708 based on a hashed random number and perform a CAT2 LBT for the selected contention slot 708 (performing a SL transmission using the first resource, based on a result of the second channel sensing being BUSY corresponding to the LBT CAT 2 after contention is sensed initially then repeating the process to perform the second channel sensing). To facilitate the use of the contention slots 708, the UE 715a may include in the SCI 740, an indication of the contention time slot grid 709. For instances, the SCI 740 may indicate the delay 707, the starting time (e.g., time T2) of an earliest contention slot 708 in the period 706, and/or a duration of a contention slot 708. See paragraphs 0106-0108.)
Regarding claim 12, D1 discloses wherein the length of the channel sensing interval is determined based on a priority class related to SL data transmitted through the SL transmission (Referring to Figures 5-8, the UE 615a may perform the CAT4 LBT 630 based on a certain CAPC. The CAPC may determine what type or priority of traffic that the UE 615a may transmit in the COT 602 and/or a transmission power or duration that the UE 615a may use for transmissions in the COT 602 upon passing the CAT4 LBT 630. To facilitate COT sharing, the UE 615a may include in the SCI 640, an indication of the CAPC to provide the responding UE 615c with CAPC information. Upon receiving the SCI 640, the UE 615c may recover the CAPC information and use the COT 602 for traffic with the same CAPC or a lower CAPC than the CAPC indicated in the SCI 640. In general, the sidelink UE 615a may include COT sharing information, such as information associated with one or more of the unoccupied frequency interlaces in the COT 602, the end time of the COT 602, the duration of the COT 602, gap period(s) 604 in the COT 602, and/or the CAPC associated with the CAT4 LBT 630 used for acquiring the COT 602, in the SCI 640. See paragraphs 0102-0103.)
Regarding claim 13, D1 discloses wherein the length of the channel sensing interval is determined based on a priority value related to SL data transmitted through the SL transmission (Referring to Figures 5-8, the UE 615a may perform the CAT4 LBT 630 based on a certain CAPC. The CAPC may determine what type or priority of traffic that the UE 615a may transmit in the COT 602 and/or a transmission power or duration that the UE 615a may use for transmissions in the COT 602 upon passing the CAT4 LBT 630. To facilitate COT sharing, the UE 615a may include in the SCI 640, an indication of the CAPC to provide the responding UE 615c with CAPC information. Upon receiving the SCI 640, the UE 615c may recover the CAPC information and use the COT 602 for traffic with the same CAPC or a lower CAPC than the CAPC indicated in the SCI 640. In general, the sidelink UE 615a may include COT sharing information, such as information associated with one or more of the unoccupied frequency interlaces in the COT 602, the end time of the COT 602, the duration of the COT 602, gap period(s) 604 in the COT 602, and/or the CAPC associated with the CAT4 LBT 630 used for acquiring the COT 602, in the SCI 640. See paragraphs 0102-0103.)
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, 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.
Claim(s) 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of Jeong et al. (US 2023/0032652 A1), hereinafter referred to as D2.
Regarding claims 5 and 6, D1 does not disclose wherein the first channel sensing includes a type 1 listen before talk (LBT) operation/type 2 LBT operation.
D2 teaches a channel access procedure for SL transmission over unlicensed band, which comprises Type 1 and Type 2 LBT operation. See paragraphs 0202-0204, 0209, and 0212-0216.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the Type 1/2 LBT operation of D2 in the D1. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have been motivated to do so to comply with well-known standards and improve system operability.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Farag et al. (US 2023/0025259 A1) - performing sensing on a SL interface; determining, based on the sensing, a set of available SL resources within a SL resource pool; and selecting a slot within the SL resource pool. The method further includes performing a listen-before-talk (LBT) channel access procedure before the slot; determining a presence of available SL resources from the set of available SL resources within the slot; and transmitting, based on the LBT channel access procedure being successful and the presence being determined, in an available SL resource from the available SL resources within the slot.
Xue et al. (US 2022/0256539 A1) - A first user equipment (UE) selects at least a first resource from available resources in a sidelink resource pool within a shared radio frequency band. The selecting the first resource may be based on a channel-access gap preceding each resource of the available resources. The first UE further transmits, to a second UE using the selected first resource, one or more data blocks for a sidelink transmission.
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DONALD L. MILLS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2462
/Donald L Mills/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
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