eNotice 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 .
DETAILED ACTION
2. This Office Action is in response to application filed on 10/21/2024. Claims 22-41 were previously pending. Claims 22-41 are rejected.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 01/21/2025 is/are is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 24 & 40 objected to because of the following informalities: the claims recite “wherein that at least one processor” appears to be a typo for “where the at least one processor”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
4.1. 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.
4.2. 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.
4.3. Claim(s) 22-27, 29-36, 38-41 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Yerramalli et al., (“Yerra”, US 2020/0336921 A1) in view of Chen et al., (“Chen”, US 2021/0368372 A1).
Regarding Claim 22 Yerra teaches, A user equipment (UE) (FIG.1 120) for wireless communication (100) (Yerra, FIG.1, wireless network 100, UE 120, [0030]), comprising:
at least one memory (FIG.3 360); and at least one processor (359) coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE (350) to (Yerra, FIG.3, UE 350, processor 359, memory 360, [0043]: The processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data):
determine a sensing beam based at least in part on a plurality of transmission beams (Yerra, [0065]: determining a suitable sensing beam is finding a Rx beam based on a set of criteria so that the Rx beam may function as a proxy for the set of transmission beam);
perform an assessment of a channel associated with the sensing beam (Yerra, [0059]: related to the LBT procedure is a clear (i.e., nobody is using it) channel assessment procedure (CCA) that determines whether a transmission medium such as a channel or beam is available for transmission; [0064]: determining a suitable sensing Rx beam for the set of Tx beams);
initiate a channel occupancy for the UE based at least in part on a result of the assessment of the channel (Yerra, [0075]: initiating an listen before talk (LBT) procedure by sensing an energy on the determined sensing beam); and
communicate with the target devices based at least in part on the initiated channel occupancy (Yerra, [0075]: start transmitting data using the set of transmission beam).
Yerra does not expressly teach
identify a plurality of Layer 2 (L2) destination identifiers associated with a plurality of target devices;
Chen teaches
identify a plurality of Layer 2 (L2) destination identifiers associated with a plurality of target devices (Chen, [0036]: UE1 may send the information using the V2X sidelink broadcast communication mechanism, or may send the information through a multicast mechanism, for example, setting the destination L2 ID to the Group L2 ID (it is assumed that more than 2 UEs belong to a single group is implicit);
(Chen, [0032-33]: the beam identifier or reference signal identifier corresponding to the source L2 ID. [0034]: The V2X layer derives the destination L2 ID and QoS parameters according to the application identifier or the PSID/ITS-AID mapping, and then delivers the discovery message, the destination L2 ID);
(Chen, [0032-33]: the beam identifier or reference signal identifier corresponding to the source L2 ID. [0034]: The V2X layer derives the destination L2 ID and QoS parameters according to the application identifier or the PSID/ITS-AID mapping, and then delivers the discovery message, the destination L2 ID (“target devices”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine a sensing beam based on a set of transmission beams and communicate with the target devices as taught by Yerra, to identify a set of L2 destination identifiers associated with a set of UEs, as taught by Chen.
Doing so provides a method to determine a sensing beam based on a set of transmission beams and communicate with the target devices corresponding to the identified set of L2 destination identifiers (Chen, FIG.3C, [0036-37]).
Regarding Claim 23, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 22, wherein the channel associated with the sensing beam includes a channel associated with a sidelink operation in an unlicensed spectrum (Yerra, [0033]: UE 120 (e.g. UE 120a and UE 120e) communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels; [0005]: For unlicensed high-frequency bands such as millimeter wave frequency bands, as used in 5G, a transmission medium to be used for channel sensing is a directional beam generated from an antenna array).
Regarding Claim 24, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 23, wherein that at least one processor (359) is configured to cause the UE to perform sidelink sensing, transmission, and reception in the unlicensed spectrum using beamforming with a distributed multiple antenna technique for vehicular user equipment (Yerra, [0033]: the UEs 120 may communicate using a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol; Yerra, [0054]: a UE with a large number of antenna elements).
Regarding Claim 25, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 22, wherein the channel associated with the sensing beam is determined to be clear based at least in part on an energy associated with the channel being detected using the sensing beam during a sensing slot duration, and the energy satisfying an energy detection threshold (Yerra, [0059]: As part of the channel assessment procedure (CCA) procedure, the device perform energy detection for a certain period of time and make a decision whether the channel is clear or not. Yerra, [0065]: the energy of the sensing beam is equal or greater than a product of a weight factor and the energy of each of the set of the transmission beams).
Regarding Claim 26, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 22, wherein the sensing beam and the transmission beams correspond to a spatial domain filter using one or more of quasi co-location type-D, beam angle, beam gain, or effective isotropic radiated power (Yerra, [0007]: For unlicensed high-frequency bands such as millimeter wave frequency bands, as used in 5G, a transmission medium to be used for channel sensing is a directional beam generated from an antenna array).
Regarding Claim 27, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor (359) is configured to cause the UE to determine the sensing beam to include at least a prioritized transmission beam of the transmission beams associated with a communication target device (Yerra, [0040]: MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, and logical channel prioritization).
Regarding Claim 29, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE of claim 22, wherein the plurality of transmission beams are each associated with a selected one of multiple cast types of communication (Chen, [0029]: V2X sidelink communications include sidelink unicast, sidelink groupcast and sidelink broadcast communications).
Regarding Claim 30, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE of claim 29, wherein the multiple cast types of communication include one or more of unicast, groupcast, or broadcast (Chen, [0029]: V2X sidelink communications include sidelink unicast, sidelink groupcast and sidelink broadcast communications).
Regarding Claim 31, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE of claim 22, wherein the plurality of transmission beams include different beams that are multiplexed in a spatial domain (Yerra, FIG.5, Tx beam 506, [0051]: Tx beam 506 may have multiple narrow beams within a wide beam simultaneously is a form of spatial multiplexing).
Regarding Claim 32, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 22, wherein the plurality of transmission beams include different beams that are multiplexed in a time domain (Yerra , FIG.5, Tx beam 506, [0051]: Tx beam 506 may have multiple narrow beams within a wide beam, can be multiplexed in the time domain).
Regarding Claim 33, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 22, wherein to determine the sensing beam, the at least one processor (359) is configured to cause the UE to access a table that maps information between sensing beams and transmission beams (Chen, [0033]: the AS layer may record its corresponding beam identifier or reference signal identifier corresponding to the source L2 ID. When initiate a unicast communication, the AS layer may send the unicast PC5 connection establishment request information in the corresponding beam direction (“transmission beams”) according to the beam identifier corresponding to the previously recorded source L2 ID).
Regarding Claim 34, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE of claim 33, wherein the table is determined for one or more of different cast types of communication, a type of antenna placement which is distributed using a multiple antenna technique for vehicular user equipment, or a co-located multiple antenna technique for handheld devices (Yerra, [0055]: determining the transmission beams may include determining each of the transmission beams based on information such as a channel type, data contents to be transmitted, and others. For example, for broadcast channel such as synchronization signal block (SSB), a wider transmission beam may be appropriate).
Regarding Claim 35, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE of claim 33, wherein contents of the table are preconfigured in a resource pool (Chen, [0034]: UE1 transmits the information by using a V2X sidelink broadcast communication mechanism, and allocates an application identifier or a PSID/ITS-AID corresponding to the V2X broadcast. The V2X layer derives the destination L2 ID and QoS parameters according to the application identifier or the PSID/ITS-AID mapping, and then delivers the discovery message, the destination L2 ID, the QoS parameter, and the source L2 ID to the AS layer).
Regarding Claim 36, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE of claim 33, wherein contents of the table are signaled using UE dedicated signaling (Yerra, [0055]: UE-specific signal, such as an SRS or CSI-RS or PDCCH/PDSCH/PUSCH, a narrower, more focused beam may be appropriate. There may be other factors to be considered for determining the set of transmission beams, such as configuration of antenna elements, status of digital chains, MU-MIMO usage).
Regarding Claim 38, Yerra teaches, A processor (359) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to (Yerra, FIG.1, wireless network 100, UE 120, [0030]; FIG.3, UE 350, processor 359, memory 360, [0043]: The processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data):
determine a sensing beam based at least in part on a plurality of transmission beams (Yerra, [0065]: determining a suitable sensing beam is finding a Rx beam based on a set of criteria so that the Rx beam may function as a proxy for the set of transmission beam);
perform an assessment of a channel associated with the sensing beam (Yerra, [0059]: related to the LBT procedure is a clear (i.e., nobody is using it) channel assessment procedure (CCA) that determines whether a transmission medium such as a channel or beam is available for transmission; ;
initiate a channel occupancy for a user equipment (UE) based at least in part on a result of the assessment of the channel (Yerra, [0075]: initiating an listen before talk (LBT) procedure by sensing an energy on the determined sensing beam); and
communicate with the target devices based at least in part on the initiated channel occupancy (Yerra, [0075]: start transmitting data using the set of transmission beam).
Yerra does not expressly teach
identify a plurality of Layer 2 (L2) destination identifiers associated with a plurality of target devices;
Chen teaches
identify a plurality of Layer 2 (L2) destination identifiers associated with a plurality of target devices (Chen, [0036]: UE1 may send the information using the V2X sidelink broadcast communication mechanism, or may send the information through a multicast mechanism, for example, setting the destination L2 ID to the Group L2 ID. it is assumed that more than 2 UEs belong to a single group is implicit);
(Chen, [0032-33]: the beam identifier or reference signal identifier corresponding to the source L2 ID. [0034]: The V2X layer derives the destination L2 ID and QoS parameters according to the application identifier or the PSID/ITS-AID mapping, and then delivers the discovery message, the destination L2 ID);
(Chen, [0032-33]: the beam identifier or reference signal identifier corresponding to the source L2 ID. [0034]: The V2X layer derives the destination L2 ID and QoS parameters according to the application identifier or the PSID/ITS-AID mapping, and then delivers the discovery message, the destination L2 ID).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine a sensing beam based on a set of transmission beams and communicate with the target devices as taught by Yerra, to identify a set of L2 destination identifiers associated with a set of UEs, as taught by Chen.
Doing so provides a method to determine a sensing beam based on a set of transmission beams and communicate with the target devices corresponding to the identified set of L2 destination identifiers (Chen, FIG.3C, [0036-37]).
Regarding Claims 39-40, see similar rejection to Claims 23-24 respectively.
Regarding Claims 41, see similar rejection to Claims 22.
4.4. Claim(s) 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Yerramalli et al., (“Yerra”, US 2020/0336921 A1) in view of Chen et al., (“Chen”, US 2021/0368372 A1), and further in view of Wu et al., (“Wu”, US 2024/0292436 A1).
Regarding Claim 28, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE (120) of claim 27.
Yerra-Chen does not expressly teach
wherein the prioritized transmission beam is based at least in part on a cast type of communication.
Wu teaches
wherein the prioritized transmission beam is based at least in part on a cast type of communication (Wu, [0093-95]: one or more inter-UE coordination information messages (such as post-collision or pre-collision conflict indication messages) are initially prioritized based on a cast type, for a transmission an indication corresponding to a conflict of a transmission with a negative acknowledgement (NACK) feedback (a first groupcast type) may be prioritized over a transmission with an acknowledgement (ACK)/NACK feedback (a second groupcast type and a unicast type)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine the sensing beam to include a prioritized transmission beam as taught by Yerra, to determine the prioritized transmission beam is based on a cast type of communication, as taught by Wu.
Doing so provides a method to determine the sensing beam to include a prioritized transmission beam, wherein the prioritized transmission beam is based at least in part on a cast type of communication (Wu, [0093-95]).
4.5. Claim(s) 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Yerramalli et al., (“Yerra”, US 2020/0336921 A1) in view of Chen et al., (“Chen”, US 2021/0368372 A1), and further in view of Bhamri et al., (“Bhamri”, US 2025/0007588 A1).
Regarding Claim 37, Yerra-Chen teaches, The UE of claim 33.
Yerra-Chen does not expressly teach
wherein the table comprises content of mapping information between sensing beams and transmission beams indicated using one or more of quasi co-location type-D, beam angle, beam gain, or effective isotropic radiated power.
Bhamri teaches
wherein the table comprises content of mapping information between sensing beams and transmission beams indicated using one or more of quasi co-location type-D, beam angle, beam gain, or effective isotropic radiated power (Bhamri: [0106]: the sensing beams are quasi-co-located with type-D assumption with downlink reference signals, according to the first configuration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have mapping table includes mapping information between sensing beams and transmission beams as taught by Yerra, to indicate using quasi co-location type-D, as taught by Bhamri.
Doing so provides a method to have mapping table includes mapping information between sensing beams and transmission beams indicated using quasi co-location type-D (Bhamri, [0106]).
Conclusion
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Yerramalli et al., US 2021/0029740 A1, method for transmission countdown and improvements for a beam based channel access procedure, involves determining a set of UEs to be scheduled in a TxOP, and performing a channel access countdown procedure for each channel sensing beam.
Shibaike et al., US 2024/0324006 A1, Base station connected to terminal, has transmission unit that applies transmission beam corresponding to reception beam among reception beams that are not detected as busy in listen before talk, to transmissions at channel occupancy time.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHHIAN (AMY) LING whose telephone number is (571)270-1074. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6 ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MOO JEONG can be reached at (571)272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.L./
Examiner
Art Unit 2418
/MICHAEL A KELLER/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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